ASTM_D_4332_-_14.pdf

Designation:D433214Standard Practice forConditioning Containers,Packages,or PackagingComponents for Testing1This standard is issued under the fixed designation D4332;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This practice provides for standard and special condi-tioning and testing atmospheres that may be used to simulateparticular field conditions that a container,package,or pack-aging component may encounter during its life or testing cycle.1.2 This practice describes procedures for conditioningthese containers,packages,or packaging components so thatthey approach or reach equilibrium with the atmosphere towhich they may be exposed.This standard is commonly usedfor conditioning when conducting transit simulation tests.1.3 Practice D685 should be used as the relevant condition-ing standard when quantification of box compression strengthat standard atmosphere conditions is required.1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2D685 Practice for Conditioning Paper and Paper Productsfor TestingD996 Terminology of Packaging and Distribution Environ-mentsE41 Terminology Relating To ConditioningE171 Practice for Conditioning and Testing Flexible BarrierPackagingE337 Test Method for Measuring Humidity with a Psy-chrometer(the Measurement of Wet-and Dry-Bulb Tem-peratures)F2825 Practice for Climatic Stressing of Packaging Systemsfor Single Parcel Delivery3.Terminology3.1 Terms and definitions used in this practice may be foundin Terminology D996,Terminology E41,or SpecificationE171.4.Significance and Use4.1 Many materials from which containers and packages aremade,especially cellulosic materials,undergo changes inphysical properties as the temperature and the relative humidity(RH)to which they are exposed are varied.Therefore,thepackage should be placed and kept in a specified atmospherefor a length of time such that subsequent measurements ofphysical properties will be meaningful and reproducible.4.2 The conditions described in this practice are eitherhistorically accepted standard conditions or special laboratoryconditions chosen to represent particular phases of the distri-bution environment.These special conditions do not necessar-ily duplicate actual field conditions,but tend to simulate themand have effects on packages and materials which may berelated to their field performance.5.Atmospheric Conditions5.1 Preconditioning Atmosphere20 to 40C(68 to 104F)and 10 to 35%relative humidity.5.2 Standard Conditioning Atmosphere 23 6 1C(73.4 62F)and 50 6 2%relative humidity.NOTE1Average values must fall within these limits.Short-termfluctuations and measurement limitations may cause individual measure-ments to vary up to 62C(63.6F)and 65%relative humidity withoutsignificant impairment of test precision.5.3 Environmental Conditioning AtmosphereThe environ-mental conditions shown in Table 1 may be selected whenappropriate(also see Practice F2825).NOTE2In the absence of a specific requirement for a particularatmospheric condition,use the conditioning atmosphere given in 5.2.NOTE3Conditioning at the desert condition(see Table 1)at a constanttemperature of 60C(140F)may have effects on some materials that donot relate to effects of cyclical field conditions.1This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D10 on Packagingand is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D10.21 on Shipping Containers andSystems-Application of Performance Test Methods.Current edition approved Nov.1,2014.Published January 2015.Originallyapproved in 1984.Last previous edition approved in 2013 as D4332 13.DOI:10.1520/D4332-14.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 5.4 The measurement of temperature and relative humidityof the conditioning atmosphere shall be made as close to thespecimen being exposed as is possible.(See Test Method E337for a detailed description of methods.)The temperature andrelative humidity indicated at the control point,may not berepresentative of conditions elsewhere in the conditioned spacedue to local effects or deficiency in air circulation.Tolerancesat the controller usually must be smaller than those at thespecimen.6.Apparatus6.1 Room(or Cabinet)of such size that sample containersor