A Test Methodology for Studying Liquid Penetration of Barrier Materials

Abstract

A test apparatus for determining pressure at liquid breakthrough as a function of flow rate is designed and constructed. The method reveals that as flow rate increases, the volume of material penetrated by the liquid increases. In addition, pressure at penetration does not strongly depend on flow rate and even decreases with flow rate for some materials. Peak pressure and distance to peak increase with flow rate. Steady-state pressure increases with flow rate but not according to the Poiseuille equation, as would be expected. This test method permits comparison of materials in terms of barrier perfor mance.