What is BS 5131-4.5 - Tensile strength of footwear fibreboard about?
Some footwear components are produced by bonding together fibrous materials into sheets. These materials are known as fibreboards and are used mainly for insoles, stiffeners, counters, toe puffs, reinforcing, patterns, templates, etc. Fibreboards are made from vegetable materials such as wood pulp, cellulose, wastepaper, carton or animal fibres such as leather scrap.
The BS 5131 series describes methods of test for footwear and footwear materials. BS 5131-4.5 describes a method for the determination of the tensile strength of fibreboard both in the air-conditioned state and in the wet state.
The principle of BS 5131-4.5, states that test specimens cut from the fibreboard, are tested in a tensile testing machine after air conditioning or soaking with water. The force required to break the test specimen is determined in each case.
Who is BS 5131-4.5 - Tensile strength of footwear fibreboard for?
BS 5131-4.5 on tensile strength of footwear fibreboard is useful for:
- Footwear manufacturers
- The footwear industry
- Footwear design engineers
- Fibreboard manufacturers and suppliers
- Testing laboratories
Why should you use BS 5131-4.5 - Tensile strength of footwear fibreboard?
Fibreboards are used in shoemaking mainly for reinforcing the waist and heel seat area of the insole. The most important mechanical properties of materials used for footwear are tensile strength. Tensile testing is crucial in choosing the most appropriate materials.
In addition, the fibreboard needs to provide sufficient flexibility for the walking step while having the ability to withstand repeated flex cycles without damage. BS 5131-4.5 provides you with a test method to calculate the tensile strength of the footwear fibreboard. Information provided by the results of the test is considered to provide a good guide to the general quality of the fibreboard.