These test methods are described in order to standardize procedures for determining the tensile strength of nonmetallic gasket materials. The measurement of this property characterizes various classes and grades of materials of a given type and in so doing, it will give the manufacturer a measurement of the quality of his product. It also will aid the purchaser of the gasketing materials to be able to determine whether the gasket material that he has approved for a given application is being manufactured in acceptable quality.

The measurement of this property should not be misconstrued as to give the purchaser of the gasket material an indication of the performance of that material in application.

The property may be useful in establishing material specifications.

Various procedures are given for the different types of materials, and in order to compare the results from one laboratory to another, it is imperative that the applicable procedure be selected.

Various types of tension-testing apparatus are allowed to be used. These types of equipment can produce different indicated results. Laboratories having different equipment may have to establish correlations between each other; otherwise, misinterpretation of the test data could result.

1.1 These test methods cover the determination of tensile strength of certain nonmetallic gasketing materials at room temperature. The types of materials covered are those containing asbestos and other inorganic fibers (Type 1), cork (Type 2), cellulose or other organic fiber (Type 3), and flexible graphite (Type 5) as described in Classification F 104. These test methods are not applicable to the testing of vulcanized rubber, a method for which is described in Test Methods D 412 nor for rubber O-rings, a method for which is described in Test Methods D 1414.

1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The values in parentheses are for information only.

1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.