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The presentation gives an overview about the testing of packagings according to the UN-Recommendations. After an introduction of the worldwide recommendations and the European regulations some packaging tests are presented. Examples of the current work of the UN Subcommittee on packaging testing and some on going research on packaging tests are presented.
Sift-proofness is a requirement for different types of dangerous goods packagings for solid substances according to the international Dangerous Goods Regulations. In these regulations, a siftproof packaging is defined as a packaging which is completely impermeable to dry contents. This means indirectly that absolutely no mass transport of solid substances is allowed. Moreover, this requirement applies both to the original filling substance and to fine solid material generated during transport. Further specifications, test conditions or tolerable limit values are not given. This is in contrast to physical principles and the usual practice in other fields of technology in which sift-proofness is relevant.
This article shows the necessary steps for how the requirements for sift-proofness of dangerous goods packagings can be defined more precisely. Physical basics of the term “sift-proofness” are explained. A qualitative as well as a quantitative approach are possible. In any case, it is essential to carry out appropriate vibration tests to assess the sift-proofness. There is a need for systematical investigations of the sift-proofness of dangerous goods packagings.
In practice, checks on dangerous goods transports often detect leaks of powdered dangerous goods from valved bags. In this work, the influence factors of a sudden release of powdery substances from the valves of valved bags were investigated. Drop tests were carried out on paper bags of UN design type 5M2 with internal sleeve valve using two different powdery substances (Esplas H130 and zinc oxide “Rotsiegel”). The internal sleeve valves of all test samples were not sift-proof with respect to both filling substances. For almost all test samples, the Esplas H130 powder already leaked out of pasted joints during manual filling. This is a contradiction to the requirement in UN 6.1.4.18.1, according to which closures and joints of paper bags 5M2 should be sift-proof. In the drop tests, longer valve lengths had a greater sealing effect for both filling substances (for filling degrees of at least 95% and for test samples which had already been mechanically loaded). As an extreme example, at the drop height of 1.20 m and a filling degree of 100%, the released amount of zinc oxide powder from a 10 cm long valve was about 16 times higher than from a valve length of 12.5 cm. The valve length is therefore a safety-relevant parameter and should be specified by the manufacturer. To ensure that only filling goods with similar physical properties in comparison to the test substance are used for valved bags, the user must be informed of the particle size of the test substance.
In practice, checks on dangerous goods transports often detect leaks of powdered dangerous goods from valved bags. In this work, the influence factors of a sudden release of powdery substances from the valves of valved bags were investigated. Drop tests were carried out on paper bags of UN design type 5M2 with internal sleeve valve using two different powdery substances (Esplas H130 and zinc oxide “Rotsiegel”).
The internal sleeve valves of all test samples were not sift-proof with respect to both filling substances. For almost all test samples, the Esplas H130 powder already leaked out of pasted joints during manual filling. This is a contradiction to the requirement in UN 6.1.4.18.1, according to which closures and joints of paper bags 5M2 should be sift-proof.
In the drop tests, longer valve lengths had a greater sealing effect for both filling substances (for filling degrees of at least 95% and for test samples which had already been mechanically loaded). As an extreme example, at the drop height of 1.20 m and a filling degree of 100%, the released amount of zinc oxide powder from a 10 cm long valve was about 16 times higher than from a valve length of 12.5 cm. The valve length is therefore a safety-relevant parameter and should be specified by the manufacturer.
To ensure that only filling goods with similar physical properties in comparison to the test substance are used for valved bags, the user must be informed of the particle size of the test substance.
This work focuses on the question if the bubble test prescribed in the Dangerous Goods Regulations has sufficient sensitivity to detect leakage rates which could result in the formation of explosive atmospheres during transport. The sensitivity of the bubble test is not directly comparable with other leak testing methods because of its different flow conditions.
Therefore, a normalized minimum detectable leakage rate under Helium test conditions is calculated for the bubble test. This sensitivity of the bubble test under reference conditions is compared with limit leakage rates for a worst-case transport scenario. The sensitivity of the bubble test is not sufficient to prove the limit leakage rates for 6-L packagings. The Formation of explosive vapour-air-mixtures cannot be excluded. Therefore, more sensitive leak testing methods should be considered for smaller packaging design types.
The Dangerous Goods Regulations currently do not include limit leakage rates or sensitivity requirements for industrial leak testing procedures that are equivalent to the bubble test, which is the prescribed test method for design type testing of dangerous goods packagings. During series production of such packagings, various methods are used which often do not reach the sensitivity of the bubble test. Based on a suitable pragmatic approach, its sensitivity under industrial conditions can be considered 10-4 Pa m³/s (SLR).
For the selection of a suitable industrial leak testing method, however, factors other than the sensitivity are also important, for example flow direction, pressure level and automatability. The following methods are in principal suitable and equally effective as the bubble test: pressure rise test (vacuum chamber), ultrasonic bubble leak detection and gas detection methods (pressure technique by accumulation and vacuum chamber technique).
To ensure a uniform test level during design type testing and production line leak testing and therefore a comparable safety level as required by the Dangerous Goods Regulations, it is necessary to include a more precise specification in these regulations. On the one hand, this requires an information about the sensitivity of the bubble test, on the other hand, the inclusion of a list of suitable, equally effective industrial test methods with their specific boundary conditions
The leaks of dangerous goods from actually intact bags detected in the years 2018 to 2020 tend to be at an almost constant high level. These releases of powdery or granular dangerous goods represent violations of the sift-proofness required in the dangerous goods regulations. This article first analyzes the causes. The components of the bags that are affected by leaks are micro-perforations, joins and closures, in particular internal sleeve valves. A distinction must be made between bags closed in conformity with or contrary to the manufacturer's instructions. The particle release is determined by a number of influencing factors of the filling substance, the packaging and other boundary conditions. Therefore, a comprehensive test concept is developed in this work, which takes all these factors into account. The application of this test concept facilitates the planning of the test setup and the experiments. On this basis, the complex mechanisms involved in the release of solid substances can be systematically investigated in the test laboratory. To prevent releases of powdery or granular substances from intact bags, it is necessary that the user has access to the closing instructions and the relevant properties of the test substance used for the design type approval. Further experimental investigations are needed to assess whether filling substances change their properties during transport and whether this enables them to escape.
The mechanical and geometrical properties of impact targets greatly influence the outcome of a drop test. The International Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) as well as ISO 2248 describe the characteristics of impact targets for drop tests of dangerous goods packagings.
According to these regulations, the impact target’s surface needs to be unyielding, under testing conditions non-deformable, flat, and integral with a mass at least 50 times that of the heaviest packaging to be tested. The problem is that many production facilities, especially manufacturers of corrugated fibreboard boxes, do not have their own testing device with the required 50 times mass ratio of the impact target for a regulation compliant drop test during series production. Furthermore, at UN level it is considered necessary to revise these requirements.
In the present paper, the impact target requirements are examined in detail and compared with those in other technical areas (e.g., impact target for container for the transport of radioactive materials). A research method is being developed to investigate the dependency between the mass ratio of the packaging and the target as well as the damage resistance of a drop tested package in relation to specific design characteristics. The results are of high relevance for industry purposes and intended to ensure a uniform level of safety assessment for the mechanical testing of dangerous goods packagings.
Due to the high damping mechanical properties of fibreboard materials, corrugated fibreboard boxes are widely used as transport packages of dangerous goods.
Since there is a hazard of vertical impact within the distribution system, drop tests are performed as design type tests to assess the package’s ability to withstand damage. However, there is little information in this context regarding the mechanical response of a filled fibreboard box.
This work aims to propose a concept utilizing experimental drop test results by means of finite-element (FE) analyses in order to predict the damage resistance of complete, filled corrugated fibreboard boxes which are ready for transportation.
For dangerous goods packagings, drop testing onto an essential unyielding target can be used to assess the mechanical resistance to impact loads. Adopted regulations like ADR/RID require that the impact surface provided shall be integral with a mass at least 50 times than that of the heaviest package to be tested. The problem is that many manufacturers do not possess impact targets that satisfy the required 50 times mass ratio for regulative drop tests during series production. The objective of this work is to verify existing and define improved criteria for impact target structures based on systematic investigations. Previous evidence highlights the relevance of other parameters in addition to the mass ratio. Therefore, in this research, a variation of drop test parameters was carried out experimentally. Furthermore, numerical vibration analysis was applied to investigate the deformability of the impact surface. The results conclude that the mass ratio of 1:50 cannot be defined as a decisive criterion. In order to determine the influence of further drop test parameters, the research findings were used to validate a parametric model which assesses impact target deflection. An approximation quality of over 90 % was achieved. As a result, new evaluation criteria are proposed. Firstly, a method for identifying critical impact target designs is provided. Secondly, a new comprehensive formula compares the approximated maximum deflection of a real impact target to the respective theoretical threshold derived from a worst-case assumption. In practice, this leads to great advantages in the evaluation of already installed impact targets for dangerous goods packagings.