Tear resistance of coated fabrics according to ISO 4674-1:2016

• A rectangular test piece is cut with a slit partway along its length to form a "trouser" shape with two legs.
• One leg is clamped in a stationary jaw, and the other leg is pulled in the opposite direction by a moving jaw on a tensile testing machine.
• The force required to propagate the tear (i.e., to continue tearing the material from the slit) is measured.

Results

• Report the average tearing force in Newtons (N).
• Include the maximum, minimum, and standard deviation for statistical context.

Advantages

• Simulates real-world tearing scenarios.
• Useful for quality control and comparison of different material batches.

Method B determines the force required to propagate a tear in a pre-cut specimen by measuring the energy absorbed by a falling pendulum. The material is mounted vertically, and a pendulum swings to tear the material along a precut slit. The loss of kinetic energy due to the tearing is used to calculate the tear resistance.

Results

• The tear resistance is reported in milliNewtons (mN) or milliJoules (mJ).
• Usually, results are averaged over the number of specimens tested.
• The test may be repeated with weights added to the pendulum if the tear strength exceeds the scale's capacity.

Advantages

• Quick and repeatable test.
• Widely used in quality control for thin films, paper, textiles, and coated fabrics.
• Sensitive enough for detecting small differences in tear resistance.