Information on the most widely used ASTM standards within the materials testing industry
Wide width tensile testing is a tensile testing method that covers the measurement of elongation characteristics of tensile loads, as well as offset modulus, secant modulus, and fracture toughness. The main difference between this method and other methods of measuring strip tensile properties is the width of the specimen.
Why conduct a wide width tensile test?
Materials typically tested in wide format include fabrics and geotextiles, including woven and non-woven geotextiles, composite materials, knitted geotextiles, and felt. The recommended sample width for these materials is much larger than the sample width used for strip testing methods such as ASTM D5035. When force is applied, some fabrics tend to shrink within the specified length range. The larger sample width minimizes the shrinkage effect and provides a closer relationship with the expected behavior of the geotextile in practice.
ASTM D4595 Test Method for Tensile Properties of Geotextiles by the Wide-Width Strip Method
ASTM D4595 is a method covering the wide width tensile testing of geotextile specimen. Each wide width specimen is gripped across its entire width in grip jaws and pulled in tension with a constant rate of extension type tensile testing machine.Force is applied until specimen ruptures and tensile properties such as tensile strength, elongation, initial and secant modulus, and breaking toughness are calculated.
The specimen size per ASTM D4595 is 8 by 8 inches and the recommended grip jaw size is 8 by 2 inches. Wet and dry specimens may be tested following this method. Refer to the ASTM standard for further details.
ISO 10319 Geosynthetics — Wide-width tensile test
Similar to ASTM D4595, ISO 10319 outlines a standardized procedure to pull wide width geosynthetic specimens in tension until rupture. This standard, however, specifies different dimensions based on the material type: nonwoven geotextiles, woven geotextiles, geogrids with one axis (shown below), geogrids with two and four axes, geogrids with three axes, and metallic geotextiles. Tensile properties measured include the tensile strength and strain data and secant stiffness.
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Related Standard
ISO 10319: Geosynthetics -- Wide-width tensile test
ISO 10319 describes an index test method for the determination of the tensile properties of geosynthetics (polymeric, glass, and metallic), using a wide-width strip. It is applicable to most geosynthetics, including woven geotextiles, nonwoven geotextiles, geocomposites, knitted geotextiles, geonets, geomats, and metallic products. It is also applicable to geogrids and similar open-structure geotextiles, but specimen dimensions might need to be altered. It is not applicable to polymeric or bituminous geosynthetic barriers, while it is applicable to clay geosynthetic barriers.
ISO 10319 specifies a tensile test method that covers the measurement of load elongation characteristics and includes procedures for the calculation of secant stiffness, maximum load per unit width and strain at maximum load. Singular points on the load-extension curve are also indicated.
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