ISO 15987 Biaxially oriented nylon films tensile expansion testing methods

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ISO 15987 Plastics — Film and sheeting — Biaxially oriented polyamide (nylon) films

ISO 15987 sets out complete classification rules and mandatory performance criteria for roll-form transparent BOPA film, widely applied as single-layer packaging or laminated composite material paired with PE, CPP, PET and aluminum foil to fabricate multi-layer food packaging structures.

This international standard enforces comprehensive inspection indexes covering visual appearance, dimensional tolerance, mechanical properties, barrier performance, optical characteristics, surface energy and food contact safety.

Core physical and functional tests required by ISO 15987 include tensile strength, elongation at break, oxygen transmission coefficient, thermal dimensional shrinkage, haze value, wetting tension and other critical packaging film indicators.

Core Industrial Application Fields

BOPA film regulated by ISO 15987 is widely adopted across packaging industries:

Food packaging: Retort pouch, frozen food, meat/seafood vacuum bags, high-barrier snack packaging.

Laminated composite packaging: Co-extruded/laminated multi-layer structures for high oxygen/moisture barrier

Industrial flexible packaging: Chemicals, electronic component moisture-proof wrapping

Printable flexible substrates: Corona-treated grades for gravure/flexo printing

Medical sterile packaging: sterilisable laminates (with approved food-grade formulations)

ISO 15987 Biaxially oriented nylon films tensile expansion testing methods

Quick List of Tests Map Stipulated in ISO 15987

#	Property	Test Method Standard	Note
1	Thickness	ISO 4593 (mechanical scan)	±10 %
2	Tensile strength @ break	ISO 527-3	MD ≥150 MPa, TD ≥150 MPa
3	Tensile strain @ break	ISO 527-3	MD ≤200 %, TD ≤200 %
4	Dimensional change on heating	Internal (oven method)	MD ≤6 %, TD ≤6 %
5	Oxygen transmission coeff.	ISO 15105-1 (diff-pressure) or -2 (eq-pressure)	≤41 fmol·100µm/(m²·s·Pa)
6	Haze	ISO 14782	≤8 %
7	Wetting tension	ISO 8296	≥40 mN/m (treated only)

Full Breakdown of All Tests Stipulated in ISO 15987 Nylon film (Mainly for the mechanical test)

1, Tensile Strength & Tensile Strain at Break	Mandatory Performance, Both directions must satisfy — BOPA is balanced biaxially but not identical.
Importance	BOPA film is anisotropic due to biaxial stretching during manufacturing. MD/TD tensile strength and elongation directly determine packaging durability: high tensile strength prevents bag tearing during vacuum packaging; controlled maximum elongation (<200%) avoids excessive film stretching during heat sealing or retort sterilization.
Specimen Information	Specimen width: 10 mm ~ 25 mm Total specimen length: >150 mm Gauge length (L₀): 50 mm ±0.5 mm Initial grip separation: 100 mm ±5 mm Film thickness ≤1 mm (all commercial BOPA film falls within this range) Sampling rule: Minimum 5 replicate specimens for MD and 5 replicates for TD separately Specimen preparation notes: Cut smooth burr-free edges; mark gauge length with non-damaging ink (no scoring/punching); avoid edge areas of film roll for sampling (edge defects distort tensile results)
Test Equipment	Biaxial (Cross) Stretch Tensile Testing Machine with variable stretching speed; Pneumatic soft-jaw grips (rubber coated to avoid film slippage/crushing) Non-contact video extensometer (to track gauge length without damaging thin film) Precision die cutter for specimen cutting
Test Procedure	Pre-condition all MD/TD specimens; Measure average thickness of each specimen for stress calculation; Mark 50 mm gauge length markers on specimen central zone; Mount specimen vertically aligned in pneumatic grips, apply minimal pre-tension to eliminate slack; Set test speed: 200 ±20 mm/min (fixed speed required by ISO 15987); Start tensile extension until specimen rupture; record maximum breaking force and elongation at break; Calculate tensile strength (MPa) and tensile strain (%) for each replicate; Average 5 replicates per direction to compare against standard limits.
Mandatory Stipulations	Test both Machine Direction (MD, parallel to extrusion) and Transverse Direction (TD, perpendicular to extrusion): Tensile strength at break ≥ 150 MPa (MD & TD) Tensile strain at break ≤ 200% (MD & TD)
2, Dimensional Change on Heating (Thermal Shrinkage Test)	Evaluates thermal mechanical stability, ensures dimensional stability under heat processing.
Imp	Critical for retort food packaging: Excessive thermal shrinkage causes pouch curling, wrinkling, seal failure during high-temperature sterilization.
Specimen Information	Size: 20 mm wide × ~150 mm long (both MD and TD specimens) Gauge: mark 100 mm gauge length centred (each mark ~25 mm from end) Replicates: 5 specimens per direction
Test Equipment	Film Thermal Shrinkage Tester, Size Change Measuring Tester; Thermal oven with precise temperature control, steel ruler, marking pen
Test Procedure	Measure original length of marked gauge segment Place specimen in constant-temperature oven for standardized heating cycle Cool specimen to ambient temperature, re-measure gauge length Compute percentage thermal shrinkage and verify ≤6.0% limit
Mandatory Stipulations	Max allowable shrinkage ≤6.0% for both MD and TD directions
3, Oxygen Transmission Coefficient	BOPA’s core advantage is low oxygen permeability; this test controls shelf life of oxygen-sensitive food (meat, cheese, snacks) by standardizing barrier performance across all film suppliers.
Test Equipment	Oxygen permeability tester (differential pressure or equal-pressure barrier test instrument).
Mandatory Stipulations	Oxygen transmission coefficient PO₂ ≤ 41 fmol·100 μm/(m²·s·Pa).
4, Wetting Tension Test (Surface Energy Test)	Corona treatment activates film surface for printing ink and adhesive adhesion; ≥40 mN/m guarantees strong lamination and print bonding without ink peeling or delamination in composite packaging.
Test Equipment	Surface/interface tensiometer. Standard dyne test pens/solutions (graded surface tension liquids)
Mandatory Stipulations	Minimum wetting tension ≥ 40 mN/m (untreated film exempt)
5, Haze Test	Low haze ensures packaging transparency for product visibility; high haze indicates internal film defects, uneven stretching or surface contamination during production.
Specimen Information	Condition film ≥8 h under standard atmosphere; mount flat film sample in hazemeter, measure scattered light haze percentage, compare to 8% maximum limit.
Test Equipment	Hazemeter (integrating sphere).
Mandatory Stipulations	Haze value ≤ 8.0%

Why Mechanical Tests Are Central to ISO 15987

Tensile test (ISO 527-3) quantifies the core mechanical strength of BOPA film, resisting puncture, stretching, and tearing during packaging conversion and end-use. Separating MD/TD results controls manufacturing consistency of biaxial stretching processes.

Thermal dimensional shrinkage test addresses thermo-mechanical stability, a non-negotiable property for heat-processed food packaging (retort, hot-fill).

All mechanical test parameters (speed, specimen geometry, conditioning time, pass/fail limits) are globally standardized by ISO 15987, eliminating inconsistent testing data between film factories, converters, and brand owners, enabling fair material comparison and reliable quality control.

Related Standard

ISO 17555	Plastics - Film and sheeting - Biaxially oriented polypropylene (PP) films
ISO 15988	Plastics - Film and sheeting - Biaxially oriented poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films
ISO 13636	Plastics — Film and sheeting — Non-oriented poly (ethylene terephathalate) (PET) sheets
JIS Z 1714	Biaxially oriented nylon films for packaging
TCVN 12795	Plastics. Film and sheeting. Biaxially oriented polyamide (nylon) films
GB/T 20218	Biaxially oriented polyamide (nylon) film
Related Test Standard	ISO 527-3: Plastics – Tensile properties of films and sheets (core mechanical tensile test standard) ISO 4593: Mechanical scanning thickness measurement (dimensional mechanical test) ISO 8296: Wetting tension test for plastic films ISO 14782: Haze measurement for transparent plastics ISO 15105-1 Gas transmission — Part 1: Differential-pressure ISO 15105-2 Gas transmission — Part 2: Equal-pressure

ISO 17555, ISO 15987, used for uniaxial and biaxial stretching of non-metallic materials such as PET, PA, PP, PS, and EVA. The two axes can be independently closed-loop controlled, allowing for equal biaxial (1:1 synchronous stretching) or unequal biaxial (1:2, 2:1, or uniaxial) loading.

Transmission and Haze testing machine (General type) can easily realize ASTM D1003 non compensating method, ISO 13468 compensating method, full transmittance and haze testing. The open sample chamber can be tested vertically or horizontally to adapt to more tested samples.

Professional film heat shrink tester is precision lab equipment engineered to evaluate thermal shrinkage characteristics and thermal dimensional stability of diverse raw materials, including plastic films. compliant with international testing standards ASTM D2732 and ISO 11501.

Water vapor transmittance tester is a set of industrial, efficient and intelligent test system, which is suitable for the determination of water vapor transmittance of plastic film, composite film, medical, construction and other materials.

Adopts advanced electrochemical coulometric detection method for accurate, time-efficient oxygen transmission rate analysis for medium and high barrier packaging materials. Conform with ISO 15105-2, ASTM D3985. Key testing indicators Oxygen Transmission Rate (OTR), oxygen volume passing through.

Pipe Size Change Measuring Tester/ Longitudinal Reversion Tester suitable to measure various kinds of plastic pipe or plastic materials size change after heating, or used to heat the test sample. It can be used as a heating oven as well.

Automatic interface tensiometer is an instrument that uses physical methods (such as the platinum ring method and platinum plate method) as an alternative to chemical analysis. It is mainly used to measure the surface and interfacial tension of liquids and is suitable for industries.

Q1: Why do all mechanical, haze and wetting tension specimens need 8+ hours conditioning per ISO 291?

A: Polyamide (nylon) strongly absorbs moisture, which drastically changes mechanical properties: moisture softens BOPA, lowers tensile strength and raises elongation. Conditioning at 23°C ±2°C, 50% ±5% RH stabilizes moisture content in film samples, ensuring repeatable, comparable tensile and shrinkage test results across labs. Thermal shrinkage specimens also follow identical conditioning rules.

Q2: Why is ISO 15987 critical for BOPA film manufacturers, converters and food brands?

A: Four core values:

Global unified test protocols: Eliminates inconsistent lab data between suppliers and buyers; tensile, barrier, shrinkage results are comparable worldwide.

Controls anisotropic mechanical performance: BOPA is stretched biaxially during production; standardized MD/TD tensile and thermal shrinkage tests prevent pouch tearing, curling, seal failure during printing, lamination, retort sterilization.

Guarantees downstream processability: Regulates corona wetting tension, thickness tolerance, haze and oxygen barrier to ensure stable printing, lamination and long food shelf life.

Creates clear acceptance criteria for incoming quality control (IQC): Fixed pass/fail limits for all key properties simplify batch qualification and dispute resolution between supply chains.

Q3: How does ISO 15987 classify BOPA film, and does classification change required tests?

A: Two product groups:

Corona discharge treated film: Must complete all tests including wetting tension (≥40 mN/m).

Non-corona treated film: Exempt from wetting tension testing; all other dimensional, mechanical, barrier, optical tests remain mandatory.

Packaging marking must clearly state which classification the roll belongs to.

Q4: What specimen geometry and test speed are fixed for tensile testing under ISO 527-3 (referenced by ISO 15987)?

A: Specimen rules:

Width: 10–25 mm

Gauge length L₀: 50 mm ±0.5 mm

Initial grip separation: 100 mm ±5 mm

Total specimen length >150 mm

Film thickness ≤1 mm (all commercial BOPA meets this)

Fixed test speed: 200 ±20 mm/min. Speed cannot be adjusted arbitrarily; faster speeds overstate tensile strength, slower speeds increase measured elongation, breaking standard data comparability. Minimum 5 replicate specimens per direction for averaging.

Q5: What is thermal dimensional change (heat shrinkage) test limit, and why is this thermo-mechanical test mandatory?

A: Maximum allowable shrinkage ≤6.0% for both MD and TD (Clause 4.3). BOPA is widely used for retort food packaging exposed to high-temperature sterilization. Excessive thermal shrinkage causes pouch wrinkling, edge curling, broken heat seals and distorted printed graphics; this test verifies thermal stability under processing heat loads.

Q6: If a BOPA sample passes tensile strength but exceeds 200% elongation at break, does it fail ISO 15987 compliance?

A: Yes. Both tensile strength minimum and tensile strain maximum are hard mandatory limits in the standard property table. High elongation means the film stretches excessively under load, leading to thin, weak spots in vacuum bags that puncture easily during transportation.

Q7: Why test MD and TD mechanical properties separately instead of one single direction?

A: BOPA is manufactured via sequential biaxial stretching (machine direction first, then transverse). This creates anisotropy—mechanical strength and stretch behaviour differ between the two axes. Testing both directions ensures balanced stretching during production; unbalanced MD/TD performance leads to uneven shrinkage, film curling during lamination and inconsistent bag durability.

Q8: Does ISO 15987 include food contact safety testing?

A: It sets a mandatory requirement (Clause 4.4): BOPA for food contact must comply with all local regulatory migration standards (EU 10/2011, FDA 21 CFR, China GB 4806.7, etc.). ISO 15987 itself does not define full migration test protocols, only mandates compliance with regional food material laws as a pass condition.

Q9: What industries rely most heavily on ISO 15987 mechanical test results?

A:Retort food packaging (meat, ready meals, seafood): Tensile strength & thermal shrinkage prevent pouch failure during high-temperature sterilization

Frozen food vacuum bags: High tensile puncture resistance avoids tearing during cold storage and transport

Laminated multi-layer packaging converters: Balanced MD/TD mechanical properties eliminate curling after lamination

Electronic/moisture-sensitive component wrapping: Consistent tensile strength ensures robust barrier packaging

Q10: Why does ISO 15987 set a maximum elongation cap instead of a minimum?

A: Polyamide film with ultra-high elongation stretches irreversibly under load. For flexible packaging, controlled stretch is necessary, but excessive elongation creates thin, weak film sections prone to puncture and oxygen ingress, shortening packaged food shelf life. Capping strain at 200% balances flexibility and structural integrity.

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