PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS DEAS 934 
First  Edition  
2018-mm-dd 
 
 Reference number  
DUS DEAS 934: 2018 
© UNBS 2018 
   
Packaging — Flexible laminate tubes — Test methods to assess 
the strength of the side seam  
 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDUS DEAS 934: 2018  
ii                © UNBS  2018 - All rights reserved 
 Compliance with this standard does not, of itself confer immunity from legal obligations  
A Uganda Standard does not purport to include all necessary provisions of a contract. Users are 
responsible for its correct application  
© UNBS 2018 
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any 
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without prior written 
permission from UNBS. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to 
The Executive Director 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards 
P.O. Box 6329 
Kampala 
Uganda 
Tel: +256 417 333 250/1/2 
Fax: +256 414 286 123 
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDUS DEAS 934: 2018  
© UNBS  2018 - All rights reserved                iii National foreword 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and 
Cooperatives established under Cap 327, of the Laws of Uganda, as amended.  UNBS is mandated to co-
ordinate the elaboration of standards and is  
(a) a member of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) a nd  
(b) a contact point for the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enquiry Point on TBT Agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). 
The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carried out through Technical Committees. A Technical 
Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consists of key stakeholders 
including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties.  
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committee reviews the comments before recommending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council. 
This Draft Uganda Standard, DUS DEAS 934:2018 , Packaging — Flexible laminate tubes — Test methods to 
assess the strength of the side seam , is identical with and has been reproduced from an East African 
Standard, EAS 934:2018 , Packaging — Flexible laminate tubes — Test methods to assess the strength of the 
side seam , and is being proposed for adoption as a Uganda Standard. 
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee UNBS/TC 19, Packaging . 
Wherever the words, “ East African Standard " appear, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard." PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT DEAS 934: 2018  
ICS 55.120  
 
© EAC 201 8 – All rights reserved  ii 
 
DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
Packaging — Flexible laminate tubes — Test methods to assess the 
strength of the side seam 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITYPUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTPUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 934: 2018 
© EAC 201 8 – All rights reserved  ii 
 Copyright notice 
This EAC document is copyright-protected by EAC. While the reproduction of this document by 
participants in the EAC standards development process is permitted without prior permission from EAC, 
neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form for 
any other purpose without prior written permission from EAC. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document for the purpose of selling it should be addressed 
as shown below or to EAC’s member body in the country of the requester:  
© East African Community 2018 — All rights reserved 
East African Community 
P.O.Box 1096, 
Arusha 
Tanzania 
Tel: + 255 27 2162100 
Fax: + 255 27 2162190 
E-mail: eac@eachq.org   
      Web: www.eac-quality.net   
Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement. 
Violators may be prosecuted. PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 934: 2018 
© EAC 2018  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword 
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee(EASC) mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards(EAS).The Committee is composed of representatives of the National Standards 
Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector organizations in 
the community .  
East African Standards are developed through Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 066, Packaging. 
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. 
During the preparation of this Standard, reference was made to the following document: 
EN 15387 , Packaging — Flexible laminate tubes — Test methods to assessthe strength of the side seam 
Acknowledgment is hereby made for the assistance derived from this source. 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTPUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 934: 2018  
 
© EAC 201 8 – All rights reserved  1 
 Packaging — Flexible laminate tubes — Test methods to assess 
the strength of the side seam 
1 Scope 
This Draft East African Standard specifies methods for the assessment of the strength of the side seam of 
flexiblelaminate tubes.It is applicable to flexible laminate tubes used for packing pharmaceutical, cosmetic, 
hygiene, food and otherhousehold products 
2 Normative reference 
There are no normative references in this document 
3 Principle 
The burst test and the overlap test serve to assess the strength of the side seam. These tests are 
complementary. The burst test is used to measure whether the tube can withstand a defined air pressure. In 
addition the overlap test gives information about possible reasons for an insufficient strength of the overlap of 
the laminate at the side seam. 
4 Test equipment for burst test 
4.1 Compressed air system 
Air compressor with an initial minimum pressure of 2 bar equipped with an air regulator allowing a constant 
and stable pressure. 
4.2 Test device 
 
PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 934: 2018 
2 © EAC 2018  – All rights reserved  
 Key 
1 Valve 
2 Pressure gauge 
3 Tube 
4 Clamp 
5 Adaptor for thread 
6 Protective box 
7 Compressed air 
Figure 1 — Burst test  principle  
4 Test operation 
4.1 Burst test 
4.1.1  Place the tube in the clamp (side s eam centred), close one end of the tube and intr oduce t he air from 
the other e nd of the tube. 
4.1.2 For tubes with a diam eter less than or equal to 40 mm apply a pre ssure of 2 bar f or 10 s. F or tubes 
with a diam eter larger than 40 mm apply a pre ssure of 1.8 bar for 10 s. 
4.1.3 The tube shall not burst in the overlap area or the side seam during the 10 s that the pressure is 
applied. If the tube bursts in any other area than the side seam or the overlap or if the tube does  not burst at 
all, it meets the specifications. 
4.1.4 Below 250 µm laminate thickness the test shall be subject to a mutual  agreement between customer 
and supplier. 
4.2 Ov erlap test 
4.2.1  An appropriate m easure s hall be tak en to make the inner lay er visible. If the inner lay er is not visible, 
samples s hall be pre pared by using an appropria te contrasting agent. 
4.2.2  Cut a cross-section of the tube approxim ately10 mm fr om its open en d. 
a) if the tube is an ethylene vinyl alc ohol (EVOH) barrier lami nate,  stain the section with a co ntrasting agent 
(e.g .iodi ne sol ution of 2.5 grams iodin e, 2.5 grams pota ssium iodide, 15 grams distilled wa ter, 80 grams 
ethanol).This will turn an EVOH ba rrier layer dark brown or b lack within approximately one mi nute and 
enable it to be seen easily u nder the magnifying devic e; 
b) if the tube is an a luminium barrier laminate, no additio nal sample pr eparation is r equired; 
c) other p lastic or m etal laminates will require caref ul examinat ion to allow co rrect m easurem ent of the 
overlap. 
4.2.3  Under the m agnifying de vice the sideseam will show an ove rlap of aluminium or a blackline wi th 
polymer flow around the weld. 
4.2.4  Take the reading in mm fr om the graticule. PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 934: 2018 
© EAC 2018  – All rights reserved  3 
 
4.2.5  The ove rlap shall be equal to or larger than 1mm. 
4.2.6  The ove rlap test do es not a pply to lami nate tubes where the tube wa ll is joined ed ge to edge.  
 
 
 
 
 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 934: 2018 
4 © EAC 2018  – All rights reserved  
 Key 
1 external layer 
2 adhe sive 
3 barrier 
4 inner layer 
5 overlap  
Figure 2 — Tested  side seam 
If laminate structures without an aluminium or EVOH barrier are used, a suitable test procedure should be 
mutually agreed upon between customer and supplier. 
5 Test report 
If not otherwise agreed between supplier and customer the test report shall contain the following information: 
a) reference to this East African Standard and – if necessary – a specification for the method of sampling 
and acceptance of the batch; 
b) the complete identification of the batch and of the tubes checked; 
c) the number of tubes checked; 
d) the number of defects; 
e) the test result; 
f) all factors which could have affected the results or all operating details not specified in this standard; 
g) date, place of test and name of tester. 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDEAS 934: 2018   
 
© EAC 201 8 – All rights reserved