ISO 505 Tear propagation resistance test of textile conveyor belts

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ISO 505:2025 Test Introduction – Tear Propagation Resistance of Textile Conveyor Belts

ISO 505 specifying a universal tensile test method to quantify the tear propagation resistance of textile carcass conveyor belts, tested either at full belt thickness or stripped carcass-only condition, targeting belts prone to dangerous longitudinal splitting in service. Like you make an initial slit/tear in a rectangular textile belt specimen, then pull the two “legs” apart on a tensile machine at a controlled speed, and measure the force required to keep the tear propagating.

It applies to:

Textile-reinforced conveyor belts

Tested full thickness (with covers) or carcass only (covers removed)

Where there is a risk of longitudinal tearing in service (mining, crushing, ports, bulk handling, etc.).

ISO 505 Tear propagation resistance test of textile conveyor belts

Test Principle

A pre-cut initial starter slit is made on a rectangular belt specimen. The specimen is pulled apart at constant crosshead speed via tensile equipment, continuously recording real-time force required to extend and propagate the existing pre-made tear for a minimum fixed distance. Median peak tearing force from recorded multi-peak curve is defined as the official mean tear propagation resistance per ISO 6133 analysis rules.Tear propagation resistance here is not“how easy it is to start a rip” — it’s how hard the belt resists letting that rip run once it exists.

Because belts are composites, the force trace is not a flat line — you get peaks and drops as the tear jumps across threads, breaks bundles, and negotiates rubber-to-fabric interfaces. That’s why ISO 505 explicitly relies on ISO 6133 to analyze the trace.

Specific Test Method

There is essentially one standardized method in ISO 505, but it is typically evaluated in two orientations:

Cut a longitudinal rectangular specimen, at one end, you cut/slit along ~100 mm parallel to the length, splitting the end into two legs;

Clamp each leg in opposite jaws of a tensile tester so the inner edges of the initial cut are centered in the jaws;

ISO 505 Tear propagation resistance test of textile conveyor belts

The machine separates the jaws at (50 ± 10) mm/min, which propagates the tear down the specimen;

The tearing force is recorded graphically over the tear length.

Test Specimen Info:

Standard size	Rectangular; 300 mm length × 100 ±1 mm width; if warp threads pull out instead of tearing, expand specimen width to 300 mm.
Sampling Rule	Cut specimens longitudinally along belt running direction, minimum 50 mm clearance from any belt edge. Specimens can be tested with full rubber covers intact or with outer covers removed (buff/strip off covers for carcass-only testing). If breaker ply exists, only strip covers over 20 mm central width (10 mm each side of center axis), keep breaker ply undamaged except clamped zone.
Quantity	Total 2 specimens: one tested in mounting Sense A, another in opposite mounting Sense B.
Preparation	Pre-cut a starter slit (~100 mm long) from one end centerline parallel to specimen length as pre-existing initial tear. Specimen production-to-test waiting time: minimum 16 hours after belt manufacturing before cutting and conditioning.
Conditioning	minimum 8 hours; in case of test result dispute, extend conditioning to full 72 hours.

ISO 505 Tear propagation resistance test of textile conveyor belts Test Equipment

CRE tensile testing machine

Select machine rating such that measured tearing force falls within upper 90% of full load capacity.

Free jaw distance: Capable of ≥ 300 mm;

Fixed pulling crosshead speed adjustable to 50 ±10 mm/min.

Tear test Fixtures

General tear or tensile vice type fixture can hold sample firmly.

Cutting tools

for standardized starter slit preparation and optional cover stripping.

ISO 505 Complete Step-by-Step Test Procedure

1, Prepare specimens ≥16 h post belt production, strip rubber covers selectively if carcass-only testing is required. Cut standard 100 mm central starter slit on one end of each specimen.

2, Condition prepared samples under specified temperature/humidity per ISO18573 required atmosphere for minimum 8 h (72 h for disputed test cases).

3, Mount two slit-cut ends into tensile machine jaws: align inner slit edges exactly at each jaw’s central position, install Specimen1 per Sense A setup and Specimen2 per Sense B setup separately.

4, Set crosshead pulling speed to 50±10 mm/min and start tensile extension.

5, Maintain pulling until initial starter tear propagates ≥100 mm along specimen length; continuously record full force vs displacement trace via graphic recorder.

6, Analyze multi-peak recorded curves following ISO6133 specification to extract median peak force for each single specimen.

7, Calculate final average tear propagation resistance from results of the two tested specimens.

8, Result and report:

Tear propagation resistance = median peak force from the ISO 6133 analysis;

Reported per specimen + mean of the two (Sense A + B);

Report must include: Belt ID & manufacturing date; Reference: ISO 505:2025; Conditioning/testing temperature & RH;Whether tested with or without covers; Any non-standard conditions; Date of test.

Test Parameters & Stipulations:

Parameter	Requirement (2025 edition)
Jaw speed	(50 ± 10) mm/min
Minimum free jaw distance	≥ 300 mm
Initial slit length	≈ 100 mm (cut parallel to length at one end)
Tear run to record	Continue until tear has extended ≥ 100 mm, recording forces over that length
Force trace	Must be graphically recorded (for ISO 6133 analysis)
Timing from manufacture	Specimens prepared ≥ 16 h after manufacturing; conditioning ≥ 8 h
Conditioning atmosphere	ISO 18573: typically Atmosphere D or E (for light belts / carcass samples, B or C may be used)
Dispute rule	Conditioning 72 h
Test atmosphere	Same as conditioning; reported in report

Industrial Application Fields

Bulk mineral mining (coal, iron ore, limestone), cement manufacturing, quarrying industry.

Port terminal bulk cargo conveying, aggregate processing plant, power plant fuel transportation.

Conveyor belt factory incoming raw material inspection, finished product factory QC & third-party incoming acceptance inspection for buyers.

R&D new formula/structure belt development performance verification.

ISO 505 related standard:

ISO 6133	Rubber and plastics - Analysis of multi-peak traces obtained in determinations of tear strength and adhesion strength
ISO 21183-1	Defines light conveyor belts excluded from ISO505 testing scope.
GB/T 7985	Conveyor belts—Method for the determination of the tear propagation resistance of textile conveyor belts
ISO 283	Textile conveyor belts — Full thickness tensile strength, elongation at break and elongation at the reference load — Test method

WDW Series Computer Control Electronic Universal Testing Machine made by UNITEDTEST range from 100N to 600KN load capacity with various models like single columns, table type, door frame type etc., is used to perform tension, compression, flexure/bending, shearing, peeling etc., test for metal and nonmetal specimens.

Tear fixture ISO 505, ASTM D1004, vise grip or self-tightening roller grips are the most popular for this application and the least expensive. They can be provided with a rubber faced surface to measure the tear resistance strength of flexible plastic film and sheeting.

T-Peel Resistance Test Fixture for Adhesives is based on ASTM D1876 standard, used to measure the adhesion strength of adhesive maeterial. ASTM D1876 peel strength test method is commonly used to measure the strength of adhesive bonds between two sealed materials.

Webbing test fixture used for tensile testing of the webbing, belt test sample, determine the webbing, belt tensile strength, elongation etc., Webbing is a strong fabric woven as a flat strip or tube of varying width and fibres often used in place of rope.

Q1: What does this test actually measure?

A: ISO 505 measures tear propagation resistance — the force required to keep an existing tear running through a textile conveyor belt (or its carcass alone). Think of it as a "rip-stop" test: you make a controlled starter slit, then pull the two legs apart on a tensile machine and record the tearing force. The result isn't about startinga tear (impact/puncture) — it's about how violently the belt resists letting that tear travel once it exists.

Q2: Why is tear propagation resistance important? What's the real-world problem? A belt passes tensile and adhesion — isn't that enough? Why do I also need this?

A: Because one of the most expensive conveyor failures isn't the belt snapping in tension — it's a longitudinal rip that runs the length of the belt:

A puncture or edge nick happens (tramp steel, oversized rock, fallen chute lip, bucket tooth)

If the carcass can't arrest it, that local damage becomes a running tear → belt slits like a sheet of paper

Result: hundreds of meters of belt destroyed, spillage everywhere, days of downtime, massive safety hazard

ISO 505 tells you: once a tear starts, how hard does it fight to keep going? Two belts with identical tensile ratings can behave completely differentlyhere — one self-arrests, the other runs.

Q3: Is this the same as "tear strength" or "impact resistance"?

A: No, but they're related.

Impact/puncture resistance = can a rock/steel initiatea hole? (often tested via drop-impact or indentor methods)

Tear propagation resistance (ISO 505) = once there's a slit/crack, will it run or stop?

A belt can resist initiation but still propagate badly (or vice versa). Both properties matter for different failure modes.

Q4: How many pieces do I need?

A : Two — one tested in Sense A, one in Sense B (the two symmetric orientations shown in Figure 4). Report each individually, then the mean of the two.

Q5: Do I test with covers on or off?

A: Both are allowed — the standard covers testing with covers (full thickness) or without covers (carcass only, covers removed by stripping or buffing). Your spec/purpose decides:

With covers = closer to real life (the covers contribute to tear path/bridging)

Without covers (carcass only) = isolates the carcass architecture (weft, weave, breaker) — popular in R&D and forensics.

Q6: Sometimes instead of tearing, the weft threads just pull out of the edge — what then?

A: If you observe weft threads being pulled out instead of breaking, the 100 mm width is too narrow for that particular construction. The standard says: increase specimen width to 300 mm.

This is a quality-of-failure-mode check. If the weft is just dragging out of the selvage/edge rather than fracturing, you're not measuring tear propagation — you're measuring poor edge confinement. Going to 300 mm gives the weft more "anchor" so the tear propagates through the body properly.

Q7: What's the Common mistakes / invalid results?

#	Mistake	Why it hurts you
1	Sloppy slit cut — ragged, angled, or not parallel to length	Tear wanders off-axis → force drops, reproducibility dies
2	Jaws not centered on cut edges	Tear path asymmetric; one leg carries more load → misleading low value
3	Slippage in jaws	Trace shows gradual force drop instead of repeating peaks → ISO 6133 peaks are fake
4	Weft pull-out ignored — you report it anyway	You measured yarn pull-out friction, not tear propagation
5	Skipping conditioning / not reporting atmosphere	Rubber stiffness is temp-sensitive; without ISO 18573 compliance, your number isn't comparable
6	Using wrong machine range (force in bottom 10% of capacity)	Accuracy tanks → your "median" is built on noise

Q8: Can test remove belt rubber covers?

A: Yes, users can choose full-thickness test or strip outer rubber covers to test bare carcass only; for belts with breaker ply, keep central breaker ply intact except clamping area.

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