ASTM E171/E171M-11(2020)
(Practice)Standard Practice for Conditioning and Testing Flexible Barrier Packaging
Standard Practice for Conditioning and Testing Flexible Barrier Packaging
ABSTRACT
This specification defines the standard temperature and humidity for conditioning and testing of materials at nominally ambient conditions. Materials for conditioning and testing include material containing paper and plastic material. The instruments and techniques used to measure these standard conditions of temperature and humidity must be validated.
SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 Conditioning is used to minimize the variation in test results that may result from fluctuations in temperature and humidity, or both. Many flexible packaging materials or components of flexible packaging materials, particularly materials that are hygroscopic, undergo changes in physical properties as the temperature and the relative humidity (RH) to which they are exposed are varied.
4.2 Many packaging materials do not exhibit a meaningful change in physical properties across the temperature and humidity range that is generally found in office and general laboratory settings. As a result, conditioning of samples is often not required in order to achieve useful test results and is often bypassed during routine testing.
4.3 Conditioning should be considered when (a) comparing between or among laboratory results (for example, supplier and customer), (b) temperature or humidity is anticipated to have an effect on the test outcomes, or (c) potential sources of variation in test results must be minimized.
4.4 Temperature and humidity alone are not sufficient to completely define a storage condition. Many other factors may be relevant (such as time, light, and atmospheric pressure) that are not defined in this specification.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice defines the standard temperature and humidity for conditioning and testing of flexible barrier packaging and flexible barrier packaging materials at nominally ambient conditions.
1.2 There are many other temperature and humidity conditions that may be appropriately used to test end use conditions (such as freezer, refrigerated, or abusive storage). These need to be individually established and are not in the scope of this practice.
1.3 Only those materials that fall under the general area of flexible barrier packaging materials are included in this practice.
1.4 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in non-conformance with the standard.
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
General Information
- Status
- Published
- Publication Date
- 30-Apr-2020
- Technical Committee
- F02 - Primary Barrier Packaging
- Drafting Committee
- F02.50 - Package Design and Development
Relations
- Replaces
ASTM E171/E171M-11(2015) - Standard Practice for Conditioning and Testing Flexible Barrier Packaging - Effective Date
- 01-May-2020
- Effective Date
- 01-May-2020
- Effective Date
- 01-Oct-2018
- Effective Date
- 15-Aug-2018
- Effective Date
- 01-Mar-2018
- Effective Date
- 01-Jun-2017
- Effective Date
- 01-Oct-2015
- Effective Date
- 01-Aug-2013
- Effective Date
- 15-Apr-2013
- Effective Date
- 15-Mar-2013
- Effective Date
- 01-Nov-2012
- Effective Date
- 01-Dec-2010
- Effective Date
- 01-Dec-2010
- Effective Date
- 01-Aug-2008
- Effective Date
- 01-Sep-2007
Overview
ASTM E171/E171M-11(2020) is the internationally recognized standard practice for conditioning and testing flexible barrier packaging under defined temperature and humidity conditions. Developed by ASTM International, this standard establishes the procedures and atmospheres necessary to promote consistency in testing results for materials such as paper and plastics used in flexible packaging. By defining ambient conditioning and testing parameters, ASTM E171/E171M helps manufacturers, laboratories, and quality control professionals minimize variations in test results, ensuring reliability and comparability across different settings and stakeholders.
Key Topics
Standard Conditioning Atmospheres:
- Temperature: 23 ± 2°C (73 ± 4°F)
- Humidity: 50 ± 5% RH
- Minimum conditioning time: 24 hours
Applicability:
- Focused on materials used in flexible barrier packaging, including paper and plastics.
- Supports consistent and valid comparison of test results by controlling environmental variables.
Importance of Conditioning:
- Helps mitigate effects of temperature and humidity fluctuations.
- Particularly vital for hygroscopic materials that can change physical properties when exposed to varying conditions.
Limitations:
- Does not apply to all possible storage or use cases (e.g., freezer, refrigerated, or abusive environments).
- Values in SI and inch-pound units are not interchangeable; each must be used independently.
Defined Use Cases:
- Recommended when comparing results across different laboratories or parties.
- Advised if temperature or humidity may impact test outcomes, or to reduce test result variation sources.
Applications
The standard is crucial for a variety of stakeholders in the flexible packaging industry, including packaging engineers, manufacturers, testing laboratories, and suppliers. Key applications include:
Quality Control:
- Ensures products meet performance specifications by standardizing environmental test conditions.
Product Development:
- Supports research, comparison, and validation of new materials or constructions under controlled, reproducible conditions.
Supplier-Customer Agreements:
- Facilitates reliable, mutually agreed-upon testing protocols for acceptance testing and specification verification.
Research and Compliance:
- Provides an accepted reference point for scientific studies or compliance with regulatory or contract requirements.
By following ASTM E171/E171M-11(2020), organizations can better assure product performance, streamline communication between supply chain partners, and support claims of product consistency and quality.
Related Standards
For more comprehensive packaging test protocols, ASTM E171/E171M refers to several supporting standards:
- ASTM D4332: Practice for Conditioning Containers, Packages, or Packaging Components for Testing - guidance for special temperature and humidity requirements.
- ASTM F17: Terminology Relating to Primary Barrier Packaging - provides relevant definitions for packaging materials.
- ASTM F2825: Practice for Climatic Stressing of Packaging Systems for Single Parcel Delivery - covers protocols for climatic stressing beyond standard ambient conditions.
Other international standards relevant to the conditioning and testing of packaging materials may also complement ASTM E171/E171M, particularly when specialized or end-use specific testing environments are required.
Summary
ASTM E171/E171M-11(2020) is the benchmark standard for ensuring consistency, reliability, and comparability in the conditioning and testing of flexible barrier packaging materials. Implementing this standard provides practical value throughout the flexible packaging industry, enabling improved product quality, research validity, and supply chain efficiency while aligning with international principles of standardization.
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Frequently Asked Questions
ASTM E171/E171M-11(2020) is a standard published by ASTM International. Its full title is "Standard Practice for Conditioning and Testing Flexible Barrier Packaging". This standard covers: ABSTRACT This specification defines the standard temperature and humidity for conditioning and testing of materials at nominally ambient conditions. Materials for conditioning and testing include material containing paper and plastic material. The instruments and techniques used to measure these standard conditions of temperature and humidity must be validated. SIGNIFICANCE AND USE 4.1 Conditioning is used to minimize the variation in test results that may result from fluctuations in temperature and humidity, or both. Many flexible packaging materials or components of flexible packaging materials, particularly materials that are hygroscopic, undergo changes in physical properties as the temperature and the relative humidity (RH) to which they are exposed are varied. 4.2 Many packaging materials do not exhibit a meaningful change in physical properties across the temperature and humidity range that is generally found in office and general laboratory settings. As a result, conditioning of samples is often not required in order to achieve useful test results and is often bypassed during routine testing. 4.3 Conditioning should be considered when (a) comparing between or among laboratory results (for example, supplier and customer), (b) temperature or humidity is anticipated to have an effect on the test outcomes, or (c) potential sources of variation in test results must be minimized. 4.4 Temperature and humidity alone are not sufficient to completely define a storage condition. Many other factors may be relevant (such as time, light, and atmospheric pressure) that are not defined in this specification. SCOPE 1.1 This practice defines the standard temperature and humidity for conditioning and testing of flexible barrier packaging and flexible barrier packaging materials at nominally ambient conditions. 1.2 There are many other temperature and humidity conditions that may be appropriately used to test end use conditions (such as freezer, refrigerated, or abusive storage). These need to be individually established and are not in the scope of this practice. 1.3 Only those materials that fall under the general area of flexible barrier packaging materials are included in this practice. 1.4 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in non-conformance with the standard. 1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
ABSTRACT This specification defines the standard temperature and humidity for conditioning and testing of materials at nominally ambient conditions. Materials for conditioning and testing include material containing paper and plastic material. The instruments and techniques used to measure these standard conditions of temperature and humidity must be validated. SIGNIFICANCE AND USE 4.1 Conditioning is used to minimize the variation in test results that may result from fluctuations in temperature and humidity, or both. Many flexible packaging materials or components of flexible packaging materials, particularly materials that are hygroscopic, undergo changes in physical properties as the temperature and the relative humidity (RH) to which they are exposed are varied. 4.2 Many packaging materials do not exhibit a meaningful change in physical properties across the temperature and humidity range that is generally found in office and general laboratory settings. As a result, conditioning of samples is often not required in order to achieve useful test results and is often bypassed during routine testing. 4.3 Conditioning should be considered when (a) comparing between or among laboratory results (for example, supplier and customer), (b) temperature or humidity is anticipated to have an effect on the test outcomes, or (c) potential sources of variation in test results must be minimized. 4.4 Temperature and humidity alone are not sufficient to completely define a storage condition. Many other factors may be relevant (such as time, light, and atmospheric pressure) that are not defined in this specification. SCOPE 1.1 This practice defines the standard temperature and humidity for conditioning and testing of flexible barrier packaging and flexible barrier packaging materials at nominally ambient conditions. 1.2 There are many other temperature and humidity conditions that may be appropriately used to test end use conditions (such as freezer, refrigerated, or abusive storage). These need to be individually established and are not in the scope of this practice. 1.3 Only those materials that fall under the general area of flexible barrier packaging materials are included in this practice. 1.4 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in non-conformance with the standard. 1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
ASTM E171/E171M-11(2020) is classified under the following ICS (International Classification for Standards) categories: 19.040 - Environmental testing. The ICS classification helps identify the subject area and facilitates finding related standards.
ASTM E171/E171M-11(2020) has the following relationships with other standards: It is inter standard links to ASTM E171/E171M-11(2015), ASTM F17-20, ASTM F17-18a, ASTM F17-18, ASTM F2825-18, ASTM F17-17, ASTM F2825-10(2015), ASTM F17-13a, ASTM F17-13, ASTM D4332-13, ASTM F17-12, ASTM F2825-10, ASTM F2825-10e1, ASTM F17-08, ASTM F17-07a. Understanding these relationships helps ensure you are using the most current and applicable version of the standard.
ASTM E171/E171M-11(2020) is available in PDF format for immediate download after purchase. The document can be added to your cart and obtained through the secure checkout process. Digital delivery ensures instant access to the complete standard document.
Standards Content (Sample)
This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
Designation: E171/E171M − 11 (Reapproved 2020)
Standard Practice for
Conditioning and Testing Flexible Barrier Packaging
This standard is issued under the fixed designation E171/E171M; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year
of original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.
A superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope 3. Terminology
1.1 This practice defines the standard temperature and 3.1 conditioning—the exposure of a material to the influ-
humidity for conditioning and testing of flexible barrier pack- ence of a prescribed atmosphere for a stipulated period of time
aging and flexible barrier packaging materials at nominally or until a stipulated relation is reached between material and
ambient conditions. atmosphere.
1.2 There are many other temperature and humidity condi- 3.2 Terms and definitions used in this practice may be found
tions that may be appropriately used to test end use conditions in Terminology F17.
(such as freezer, refrigerated, or abusive storage). These need
to be individually established and are not in the scope of this 4. Significance and Use
practice.
4.1 Conditioning is used to minimize the variation in test
1.3 Only those materials that fall under the general area of results that may result from fluctuations in temperature and
flexible barrier packaging materials are included in this prac- humidity, or both. Many flexible packaging materials or
tice. components of flexible packaging materials, particularly ma-
terials that are hygroscopic, undergo changes in physical
1.4 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units
properties as the temperature and the relative humidity (RH) to
are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in
which they are exposed are varied.
each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each
system shall be used independently of the other. Combining 4.2 Many packaging materials do not exhibit a meaningful
values from the two systems may result in non-conformance change in physical properties across the temperature and
with the standard. humidity range that is generally found in office and general
laboratorysettings.Asaresult,conditioningofsamplesisoften
1.5 This international standard was developed in accor-
not required in order to achieve useful test results and is often
dance with internationally recognized principles on standard-
bypassed during routine testing.
ization established in the Decision on Principles for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recom-
4.3 Conditioning should be considered when (a) comparing
mendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical
between or among laboratory results (for example, supplier and
Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
customer), (b) temperature or humidity is anticipated to have
an effect on the test outcomes, or (c) potential sources of
2. Referenced Documents
variation in test results must be minimized.
2.1 ASTM Standards:
4.4 Temperature and humidity alone are not sufficient to
D4332 Practice for
...
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