Overview
ISO 6450:2021 - Rubber- or plastics-coated fabrics - Determination of resistance to liquids - specifies laboratory procedures to evaluate how rubber- or plastics-coated fabrics respond when exposed to liquids. The standard defines two immersion methods to measure selected properties before and after exposure: Method A (total immersion) and Method B (one-surface side immersion). It sets rules for test liquids, conditioning, immersion temperature and time, and reporting of results.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Two test methods
- Method A: Total immersion of test pieces in a test liquid (vessel, temperature control, reflux where required).
- Method B: One-surface side immersion (added in the 2021 revision).
- Selection of properties: Test properties are chosen according to intended end-use (e.g., tensile strength, coating adhesion, mass per unit area, tear resistance, low-temperature properties) and measured using relevant test method standards.
- Test liquids: Preferential use of well-defined reference liquids (Annex A). If commercial liquids are used, the report must include origin, composition, properties and batch number.
- Immersion conditions
- Temperature control: Maintain immersion temperature at T ± 2 °C (preferred temperatures listed in Annex B).
- Immersion periods: Recommended durations include 22 h, 46 h, 72 h, 168 h and multiples of 7 days; select periods long enough to reach equilibrium.
- Light/environment: Tests performed in the absence of direct light; conditioning and testing atmospheres per ISO 2231.
- Post-immersion handling
- Procedure A1: Remove excess liquid by wiping (or rinsing with volatile solvent where necessary) and immediately retest.
- Procedure A2: Drying in an oven (70 °C for 2 h) before remeasurement.
- Safety and reporting: Emphasis on laboratory safety for toxic, corrosive or flammable liquids; test reports shall document test conditions, liquids used, and relevant identifiers (including CAS number where available per Clause 10).
Applications and users
ISO 6450:2021 is used by:
- Manufacturers of coated fabrics for product development and quality control
- Independent testing laboratories performing conformity and performance testing
- Procurement and specification writers requiring objective performance data
- R&D teams assessing chemical resistance for specific end-use environments (industrial protective clothing, tarpaulins, inflatable products, sealing membranes)
Its practical value lies in providing reproducible, comparable measures of liquid resistance to inform design choice, material selection and compliance claims.
Related standards
Keywords: ISO 6450:2021, rubber- or plastics-coated fabrics, resistance to liquids, immersion test, Method A, Method B, test liquids, conditioning, immersion temperature, coated fabric testing.