Mechanical properties of dried fruit packaging materials

Abstract

One of the important mechanical properties of packaging materials is its tensile strength. The good tensile strength is essential for materials and their mobility, packaging and for correctness when forming packing units. In this paper, stability of mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation) was tested, for five types of plastics used as packaging material. The tested materials are made of single and combined packaging materials: PE 95 μm, OPP 20 μm, PE/OPP 20/50 μm, OPPmet 20 μm and PET/PE/OPP 12/38/30 μm. Testing of tensile strength and elongation of the material during tearing of the packaging material was performed with the following dynamics: 0, 30, 60, 120 and 180 days. The packed contents were dried apples. All materials showed good insulating properties and stability of the welding site. The quality of packaged dried apples, based on the test results, was assessed as good for the technology and product characteristics. In terms of strength PET/OPPmet/PE, OPPmet and OPP proved to be the best materials. In case of exposure of the package to mechanical loads it is recommended to use some of these three materials.