ISO 13934-1 Tensile Properties of Fabrics

As with most textiles testing, a high data rate is key to capturing good results. To consistently and accurately measure the tear strength of your material, it is important to remember that the data sampling rate needs to be high enough that the test peaks and troughs are adequately captured. Because of this we recommend a high tier system such as Instron's 6800 Series, which comes equipped with a 5 kHz data acquisition rate. For most testing to ISO 13934-1 a single column frame is appropriate, as the loads rarely rise above 5 kN.  Instron’s Bluehill® Universal software can be equipped with a test method suite that provides pre-built calculations for ISO 13934-1 to help simplify testing and ensure compliance.

Instron's pneumatic side action grips with rubber faces are well suited for gripping nearly all types of fabric specimens when testing to ISO 13934-1. While manual action grips can also work, pneumatic side action grips are often preferred due to their ease of use, productivity, and better repeatability. Adjustable grip pressure also allows users to fine-tune the gripping pressure to avoid jaw breaks or slippage. ISO 13934-1 calls for smooth and flat jaw faces for testing, but this largely depends on the material being tested. In some cases, serrated or wave profile jaw faces may be more appropriate for preventing slippage while testing and are allowable per the standard when smooth or flat jaw faces cannot hold the specimen until break. Wave profile faces increase the clamping surface area per unit height and are intended to help grip some of the most difficult textile materials through failure. In some cases, serrated jaw faces may be more appropriate for preventing slippage while testing. The standard also calls for the use of extra material within the jaw faces such as paper or medium grit emery cloth for some fabrics as an additional way to help prevent slippage when necessary.