Packaging Bursting Strength — ISO 2759 / TAPPI T810

What Is Burst?

The bursting strength test clamps the specimen over a circular opening and applies increasing pressure from below through a flexible diaphragm, measuring the pressure at the moment of rupture. In corrugated board it shows the box's resistance to puncture and point loading.

Purpose of Burst

The purpose is to determine the packaging material's resistance to puncture and point pressure from the contents during handling. It is widely used to verify the box code and material specification.

Which Products Is Burst Applied To?

Corrugated board sheets
Kraft paper and testliner
Carton packaging materials
Bag and sack papers

In Which Sectors Is Burst Used?

PackagingLogisticsRetailFood

Standards Related to Burst

TS EN ISO 2759 (boards — determination of bursting strength)
TS EN ISO 2758 (paper — determination of bursting strength)
TAPPI T810 (corrugated board)
ASTM D3786
ISTApackaging transport performance test series test

Burst Conditions

Conditioning: In the standard atmosphere; humidity directly affects the result
Clamping: Clamping ring pressure defined in the standard; slippage lowers the result
Repeats: Multiple measurements spread across the sheet surface

Equipment for Burst

Mullen burst tester
High-capacity diaphragm and clamping ring sets
Conditioning room

Sample Requirements for Burst

Specimens spread across the sheet surface
Creases, fold marks and printed areas must not fall in the test zone
The specimen must fully cover the clamping ring
Corrugated board type and grammage must be provided

Duration of Burst

The measurement itself is quick; total duration is set by conditioning and the number of measurement points.

Burst Procedure

1Specimens are conditioned.
2The specimen is clamped between the rings.
3Pressure is applied to the diaphragm at the rate defined in the standard.
4The pressure at the moment of rupture is recorded.
5The measurement is repeated at different points.
6The average and coefficient of variation are calculated.

Burst Acceptance Criteria

The acceptance criterion is the minimum bursting strength value (kPa) in the specification or box code. The test standard does not define a pass value.

Evaluation of Results

Bursting strength alone does not show box performance: ECT (edge crush) is more decisive for stacking strength. The two values reveal different defects and are usually required together in a specification.

Burst Report

Specimen identification, flute type and grammage
Conditioning conditions
Individual measurements, average and coefficient of variation
Standard applied

Accreditation

EUROLAB holds internationally recognised accreditation obtained from accreditation bodies party to the IAF and ILAC multilateral recognition arrangements, under ISO/IEC 17025 for laboratory testing, ISO/IEC 17020 for inspection and surveillance, and ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17065 for system and product certification. This chain ensures the reports and certificates issued are accepted worldwide.

Whether this test can be offered within accredited scope depends on your product and the standard applied; since accreditation is method-based, the scope is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.

Scope and authorisations

Related Regulations

EU 94/62/EC Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive
Regulation on the Control of Packaging Waste
EU 1935/2004 (materials in contact with food — where applicable)

Ambalaj Testleri — What Does This Testing Field Cover?

The section below describes the field that the Burst test belongs to; the conditions and acceptance criteria of this particular test are given in the sections above. The scope specific to your product is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.

Packaging testing examines two different functions separately: does the packaging protect the product during transport, and does the packaging material transfer harmful substances into its contents? These two questions require different laboratory infrastructure and must not be confused.

On the protection side, distribution simulation is carried out: drop, vibration, compression, stacking and, where needed, low pressure tests are applied in sequences representing the real shipping chain. These tests are meaningful as a SEQUENCE rather than individually; in real life too, packaging is exposed to successive loads and each load builds on the damage left by the previous one. Specifications such as ISTA and ASTM D4169 define these sequences by shipment type.

The shipment type determines the sequence itself. The exposure of a palletised load differs from that of a parcel shipped individually: the latter sees far more handling, more drops and impacts in a wider variety of orientations. The growth of e-commerce has brought this second scenario to the fore and turned parcel shipping simulation into a specification group of its own.

On the food contact side, MIGRATION is what counts: the amount of substance passing from the packaging material into the food is compared against overall and specific migration limits. For plastic packaging the list of permitted substances and the limits are defined in separate legislation; the declaration of conformity (DoC) rests on this assessment and is a document that every link in the supply chain must carry.

In a migration test the choice of SIMULANT is critical. Because testing with real food is not practical, liquids representing food are used: different simulants for aqueous foods, for fatty foods and for acidic foods. Choosing the wrong simulant invalidates the result; the choice depends on which food type the packaging will contact and at what temperature.

Barrier properties are a third axis. Oxygen and water vapour permeability directly determine the shelf life of the product; in pharmaceutical and food packaging these values are a design input. Barrier performance is sensitive to temperature and relative humidity, so the measurement conditions are part of the report.

Sterile medical device packaging is the most tightly regulated sub-body of this family. Here the packaging is a barrier maintaining sterility; seal strength, leak testing, distribution simulation and shelf-life studies run together as a validation package.

The packaging legislation side is becoming rapidly more demanding. Recyclability, recovered content ratio, packaging reduction and reuse targets must now be measurable and declarable; this turns packaging design from a material selection exercise into a conformity exercise.

Method groups in this field

Distribution simulation
Drop, random and fixed frequency vibration, compression, stacking, low pressure; as ISTA and ASTM D4169 sequences.
Mechanical strength
Edge crush (ECT) in corrugated board, bursting strength, box compression strength, tape peel adhesion.
Barrier measurements
Oxygen transmission rate (OTR), water vapour transmission rate (WVTR), permeability in film and sheet materials.
Migration
Overall and specific migration tests; simulant and temperature conditions are chosen according to the use scenario.
Seal and integrity
Seal peel strength, leak detection by dye penetration, bubble test, headspace analysis.
Shelf life
Real-time and accelerated ageing; part of the validation package in sterile packaging.

Commonly confused in this field

A single drop test is not a distribution simulation; the tests are applied as the sequence defined in the specification.
A migration test carried out with the wrong simulant or the wrong contact temperature is invalid.
Accelerated ageing does not replace real-time ageing; a shelf life claim is supported by real-time data.
Barrier values are valid together with the measurement temperature and relative humidity; an OTR/WVTR value given without conditions cannot be compared.
A packaging change (film supplier, seal parameter, box design) may require the validation to be repeated.
A food contact declaration of conformity is not a test report; it is a document that rests on reports but summarises a broader assessment.

Which decisions these results support

Reducing shipping damage and verifying the packaging design
Declaration of conformity for food contact packaging
Supporting the shelf-life claim
Validation of sterile device packaging
Recyclability and content declarations under packaging legislation

Related Tests

Frequently Asked Questions About Burst

Should I ask for bursting strength or ECT?

If you want to predict stacking strength, ECT is more meaningful; bursting strength is used for resistance to puncture and point loading. Many specifications require both, since they measure different risks.