Peel strength of foam band on PPE face visors

Case study

Adhesive peel test on a face visor using a MultiTest-dV motorised force tester

Woman wearing a face visor / face shield PPE

Solution

Motorised peel strength tester
Digital force gauge with graphing software

Benefits

Versatile equipment easy to use with minimal training
Intuitive software to calculate peel strength
Extensive reporting to log results for audit purposes

Requirement

Face Shields (also known as Face Visors) are a vital PPE tool being used by front-line workers in the healthcare sector to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. As containment measures expand, they are also essential to restricting coronavirus transmission in the community. Workers in close contact with each other, in sectors such as retail, food preparation, construction and manufacturing, benefit from the extra protection provided by a full-face visor.

Bloc Blinds, a leading UK manufacturer of roller blinds, is helping meet the surge in demand for PPE equipment by repurposing production facilities to produce self-assembly face shields. The Bloc FaceShield is a clear lightweight visor fitted with a foam forehead band. It covers the eyes, nose and mouth to provide a barrier to help prevent droplets (in breath, coughs and sneezes) being spread directly to people or indirectly via surfaces.

The foam forehead band provides a seal between the visor and the forehead and is assembled by using a self-adhesive sticky tape. Bloc Blinds wanted to make sure that the peel adhesive properties of the sticky tape were strong enough that the foam would not become detached as the wearer went about their duties, often subject to heat and perspiration. Yet the adhered foam also needed to be easily removable so that the visor materials could be separated, cleaned and recycled appropriately.

Solution

A Mecmesin peel-tester provides the ideal affordable solution.

A MultiTest-dV test stand pulls the foam band away from the visor at a constant rate to ensure accurate consistent readings. The Advanced Digital Force Gauge captures peel force values and transmits them to the VectorPro-Lite software for a clear visual profile of the adhesive characteristics.

Test results can be classified as pass/fail according to the minimum & maximum tolerances specified for the foam and included in a test report.