Column crush tests provide information about the crushing properties of blown thermoplastic containers when employed under conditions approximating those under which the tests are made.

The column crush properties include the crushing yield load, deflection at crushing yield load, crushing load at failure, and apparent crushing stiffness. Blown thermoplastic containers made from materials that possess a low order of ductility may fail in crushing by brittle fracture. In such cases, the crushing yield load is equivalent to the crushing load at failure. Blown thermoplastic containers made of ductile materials may not exhibit a crushing load at failure although they will normally provide a crushing yield load value.

Column crush tests provide a standard method of obtaining data for research and development, applications, design, quality control, acceptance or rejection under specifications, and special purposes. The tests cannot be considered significant for engineering design in applications differing widely from the load - time scale of the standard test. Such applications require additional tests such as impact, creep, and fatigue.

Before proceeding with this test method, reference should be made to the specification of the material being tested. Any test specimen preparation, conditioning, dimensions, or testing parameters, or combination thereof, covered in the materials specification shall take precedence over those mentioned in this test method. If there are no material specifications, then the default conditions apply.

1.1 This test method covers the determination of mechanical properties of blown thermoplastic containers when loaded under columnar crush conditions at a constant rate of compressive deflection. Any container, whether blown commercially or in the laboratory, may be used as the test specimen.

1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard.

Note 1—There is no similar or equivalent ISO standard.

1.3 his 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.