ISO 1974 Elmendorf paper tearing resistance test,

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ISO 1974 Elmendorf Tearing Resistance Tester for Paper | UnitedTest

UnitedTest manufactures professional ISO 1974 compliant Elmendorf tearing resistance testers, widely used for precise paper and lightweight paperboard strength testing in pulp and paper quality control laboratories.

ISO 1974 Paper – Determination of tearing resistance – Elmendorf method is the universal international standard for evaluating the out-of-plane tearing resistance of paper and lightweight paperboard materials. It adopts the classic Elmendorf pendulum test principle, delivering accurate and consistent tear strength measurement results for paper material performance verification.

This standard specifies the complete standardized technical workflow, covering sampling procedures, specimen preparation guidelines, equipment calibration requirements, testing operation steps, and final test result calculation methods. Our ISO 1974 Elmendorf tear test machine fully complies with the full standard technical chain, ensuring reliable, repeatable, and industry-recognized tearing resistance data for paper production quality inspection and material R&D.

Core Test Principle

The core mechanism relies on pendulum energy loss to quantify tearing work:

Four stacked rectangular paper sheets (one test piece) are pre-cut with a controlled initial slit, clamped between fixed and pendulum-mounted jaws.

When the locked pendulum is released, it swings and tears the specimen along a fixed 43.0 mm tear length out of the paper plane.

The energy consumed to propagate the tear equals the energy lost by the pendulum during swing.

The average tearing force for a single sheet is calculated by dividing total tearing work by tear distance and the number of sheets in one test piece (normally n=4).

ISO 1974 Elmendorf paper tearing resistance test

Test Specimen Specifications

Specimen Size

Single rectangular sheet width: 50 ±2 mm (for 25 mm jaws) or 76 ±2 mm (for 36 mm jaws).

The total length covers clamp depth, initial cut and fixed 43.0 mm untorn tear length.

Quantity

Minimum 10 valid readings per testing direction (MD and CD separately), equivalent to at least 40 individual sheets per direction.

Assembly Rules

One standard test piece = 4 identical sheets stacked uniformly, same paper surface facing upward.

Sheet edges must align strictly with machine direction (MD) or cross direction (CD) for directional tear testing.

Specimens shall exclude areas within 15 mm of paper edges, folds, creases, watermarks or visible defects.

Test Equipment of ISO 1974 Elmendorf paper tearing resistance test:

Elmendorf tear tester	Equipped with a spirit level to guarantee vertical pendulum rest; must be fixed firmly on a stable bench to avoid vibration interference. Interchangeable pendulums with standard capacities: 2000, 4000, 8000, 16000 mN. Test readings must fall within 20%–80% of the pendulum’s maximum scale to ensure accuracy. Pendulums have mounting holes for calibration weights. Instant-release catch: Locks the pendulum at its starting position and releases fully upon triggering.
Double clamping jaws	Fixed jaw on frame, movable jaw on pendulum; gap between jaws: 2.8 ± 0.3 mm at pendulum start position. Clamp surface dimensions: width 25 ±1 mm or 36 ±1 mm, depth 15 ±1 mm, flat and parallel. Fixed geometric tolerances for jaw axis distance and mounting angle to match original Elmendorf design.
Integrated cutting knife	Centered between jaws, creates the initial slit to leave an untorn length of 43.0 ±0.5 mm after clamping.
Auxiliary Tools	Specimen cutting tools (die cutter, guillotine, template knife) to produce standardized rectangular test sheets.

Test Parameters

Standard tear length after initial cut: 43.0 ±0.5 mm

Jaw separation distance: 2.8 ±0.3 mm

Clamp depth: 15 ±1 mm

Pendulum axis to jaw top edge distance: 102.7 (-0.5 / +3.3) mm

Jaw mounting angle relative to vertical: 27.5 ±0.5°

Sampling Stipulation: For batch quality evaluation, samples shall be selected following ISO 186 sampling rules; random samples must be fully representative of the original paper reel/ sheet lot.

Test Procedures of ISO 6383-2 Plastic film Elmendorf tear test:

Complete instrument leveling, zero adjustment and friction check per Annex A before testing.

Select appropriate pendulum mass combination to fit the predicted tear resistance range.

Place pre-conditioned 4-sheet test piece into clamps, align pre-cut slit centrally between jaws, fully tighten clamps to avoid specimen slip.

Operate the built-in knife to make the standardized initial slit if no pre-cut is prepared.

Reset the pointer to stop position, fully depress the pendulum release trigger in one sharp motion, hold the trigger down.

Gently catch the returning pendulum without shifting pointer position, record scale/ digital tear resistance reading.

Reset pendulum and pointer, remove torn specimen. Repeat for 10 replicates, alternating paper surface orientation toward/ away from pendulum for each specimen.

Screen invalid readings (excessive tear deviation, incomplete tearing, skinning) and supplement tests to secure 10 valid results.

After finishing MD testing, prepare cross-direction specimens and repeat the full procedure for CD tear resistance.

Calculate single-sheet tearing resistance and tear index, compile the formal test report with all abnormal conditions and deviations noted.

Industrial Application Fields

This standard applies to all paper and lightweight paperboard manufacturing and downstream industries:

Pulp & paper manufacturing: Newsprint, offset printing paper, copy paper, tissue, kraft packaging paper, specialty asphalt paper, lightweight folding boxboard.

Packaging industry: Food paper bags, retail carton liners, wrapping paper, label base paper.

Printing & publishing: Magazine paper, book paper, poster base stock.

Specialty paper sectors: Filter paper, medical disposable paper, electrical insulating thin paper.

Excluded materials: Full corrugated fibreboard, heavy high-grammage cardboard exceeding pendulum load limits, highly anisotropic paper requiring cross-direction tear characterization.

Related Standard:

ISO 1974	Paper - Determination of tearing resistance - Elmendorf method
ASTM D689	Standard Test Method for Internal Tearing Resistance of Paper
GB/T 455	Paper and board--Determination of tearing resistance
TAPPI T414	Internal Tearing Resistance of Paper (Elmendorf-Type Method)
TCVN 3229	Paper. Determination of tearing resistance (Elmendorf method)
ISO 6383-2	Plastics; Film and sheeting; Determination of tear resistance; Part 2 : Elmendorf method
ASTM D1922	Standard Test Method for Propagation Tear Resistance of Plastic Film and Thin Sheeting by Pendulum Method

Importance of ISO 1974 Elmendorf paper tearing resistance test

Reflects paper fiber bonding quality: Tear resistance directly correlates with inter-fiber bonding strength and fiber length distribution. Low tear index indicates weak fiber bonding or short pulp fibers, which leads to easy rupture during printing, converting or end use.

Predicts real-world service performance:

Printing paper: Resists tearing under high-speed printing machine tension.

Packaging kraft paper: Avoids breakage during bag filling, stacking and transportation.

Newsprint & tissue: Prevents accidental tearing during handling by end users.

Guides pulp and paper production optimization: Mills adjust pulp beating, fiber blending, wet-end additives and calendering processes based on tear index data to balance tensile strength, stiffness and tear resistance.

Quality control & batch consistency verification: Serves as a core routine mechanical test for incoming raw pulp, finished paper batch release and inter-laboratory product comparison, with standardized repeatability/reproducibility limits defined in Annex C for cross-lab data alignment.

Product specification benchmarking: Tear resistance and tear index are mandatory technical indicators in paper purchasing contracts, enabling objective quality grading between suppliers and buyers.

Failure root cause analysis: Abnormally low tear strength identifies production defects like over-beaten pulp, insufficient retention aid, uneven moisture or damaged fiber during processing.

Keywords: UnitedTest ISO 1974 tester, ISO 1974 Elmendorf tearing resistance tester, paper tear strength test machine, lightweight paperboard Elmendorf tear tester, ISO 1974 out-of-plane paper tearing resistance test, Elmendorf pendulum tear strength testing equipment for paper, standardized paperboard tear resistance analyzer, paper quality control Elmendorf tear tester with full calibration compliance

Elmendorf Tearing Tester is designed for the tearing test of films, sheets, flexible PVC, PVDC, waterproof films, woven materials, polypropylene, polyester, paper, cardboard, textiles and nonwovens.

A single column tensile tester is a sophisticated material testing instrument designed for measuring mechanical properties of various materials under tension, compression, bending, shear, and other loading conditions. As the name suggests, it features a single vertical column supporting a moving crosshead that applies force to test specimens.

Q1: Why is the ISO 1974 tear test critical for paper and paperboard materials?

A1: Tearing resistance measured by this standard directly reflects fiber length, inter-fiber bonding, and internal paper toughness. It predicts real-world usability:

Packaging paper avoids breaking during filling, stacking and transit;

Printing papers withstand high-speed press tension without rupture;

Tissue, newsprint and specialty papers resist accidental tearing during handling.

It also acts as a core production control metric for pulp refining, fiber blending and additive adjustment, and serves as a standardized contractual quality indicator between paper manufacturers and buyers.

Q2: What is the difference between tearing resistance and tear index in ISO 1974?

A2: Tearing resistance (F, unit: mN): Raw average force required to tear a single paper sheet, only reflects absolute toughness of the tested paper.

Tear index (X, unit: mN·m²/g): Tearing resistance divided by paper grammage (tested per ISO 536). It eliminates the influence of paper thickness/weight, enabling fair comparison of tear performance across papers of different basis weights.

Q3: What is the test principle behind the Elmendorf pendulum method in ISO 1974?

A3: A weighted pendulum releases stored potential energy to tear a stack of 4 paper sheets over a fixed 43.0 mm length. The energy lost by the pendulum equals the work consumed to propagate the tear. The instrument calculates average tearing force by dividing total tear work by tear distance and the number of sheets per test piece (n=4).

Q4: Why does ISO 1974 require 4 sheets stacked as one standard test piece instead of testing single sheets?

A4: Single-sheet tear force signals are too weak and prone to high measurement noise. Stacking four sheets amplifies the total tearing load to fit the instrument’s calibrated pendulum range (20%–80% full scale), drastically improving test repeatability. The standard formula later normalizes results to output tearing force for one individual sheet.

Q5: How many valid test readings do I need per testing direction (MD/CD)?

A5: A minimum of 10 valid readings for machine direction (MD) and another 10 for cross direction (CD), meaning at least 40 separate paper sheets for each direction. Any invalid tear paths (deviation >10 mm) must be discarded and retested to meet the 10 valid result requirement.

Q6: Which paper areas cannot be used to cut test specimens?

A6: Specimens must exclude paper regions within 15 mm of sheet/reel edges, plus areas with folds, creases, visible holes or watermarks. If watermarks are unavoidable on test pieces, this must be clearly stated in the final test report.

Q7: What counts as an invalid test run that must be discarded?

A7: Discard readings if:

The tear path deviates more than 10 mm from the center slit for 1 or 2 out of 10 replicates;

The paper stack fails to tear fully along the designated length;

Severe interlayer peeling (“skinning”) occurs with no clear central tear line.

If over 2 out of 10 samples show >10 mm deviation, keep all data and note the abnormal tear paths in the report instead of discarding.

Q8: How often does an Elmendorf tester need formal calibration?

A8: ISO 1974 does not set a fixed time interval, but calibration with certified check masses is required:

After major instrument disassembly, bearing replacement or pendulum modification;

When inter-lab test results show obvious deviation;

Periodically per laboratory quality management system rules (e.g., annual calibration for production labs).

Q9: What materials are excluded from ISO 1974 testing?

A9: Corrugated fibreboard (only its liner paper components can be tested separately);

Highly directional paper/board: the standard cannot reliably measure cross-direction tear resistance for heavily anisotropic paper;

Ultra-heavy board with tear resistance exceeding the maximum pendulum capacity.

Q10: What's the "pointer friction" check for?

A10: On mechanical models, the pointer must have just enoughfriction to stay put after the swing, but not so much it drags. The test: release empty pendulum, stop before full return — pointer should deflect 4–8 scale divisions from zero. Too low = worn lining; too high = sticky bearing.

Q11: ISO 1974 vs. ASTM D689 vs. TAPPI T 414 — what's the difference?

A11: All three use the Elmendorf principle. Main differences:

Number of sheets: ISO = 4; ASTM D689 = 4; TAPPI T 414 = 4 (mostly aligned)

Clamp width: ISO allows 25 mm or 36 mm; ASTM/TAPPI typically 25 mm

Reporting: ISO gives tear index (normalized by grammage); ASTM reports mN/sheet or gf; TAPPI similar

Precision data: each has its own inter-lab studies

Practically: results are very closeif you use same pendulum & sheets, but report format differs

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