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Journal articles
Local delamination in pharmaceutical blister packages • A thermomechanical theory on buckling of heat-sealed composite laminates in flexible packaging, TAPPI Journal July 2025
ABSTRACT: Pharmaceutical blister packages consist of cavities made from a thick polymeric form foil and a thin aluminum lid foil. Heat-sealing technology is usually used to bond the lid foil to the form foil. Occasionally, the sealed area shows buckling defects of the lid foil, which allow contamination to enter into the cavity. A contaminated product is a worst-case scenario for pharmaceutical production and must be avoided. We discuss a thermomechanical theory on buckling defects in blister packages and derive strategies to avoid these. The theory is based on the assumption that the seal of a blister packaging behaves like a laminate of thin composite layers under compressive load. Literature research on buckling of thin laminated films, thermal behavior of polymers, and seal strength of heat-sealed polymers provides the technical and physical background to elaborate the theory. The theory comprises three elements: an initial condition regarding thermal load and precedent defects; a buckling condition; and a crack propagation condition. The plausibility of the theory is verified using model calculations and heat-seal tests. The paper concludes with strategies against buckling of heat-sealed lid foils and an outlook on other applications in laminating and coating of polymer films.
Journal articles
Adhesion with purpose: The value of primers in sustainable flexible packaging, TAPPI Journal July 2025
ABSTRACT: Primers play a crucial role in flexible packaging by providing adhesion, enhancing performance, and improving the overall quality of packaging structures. As the packaging industry shifts towards more sustainable solutions, it brings new challenges for meeting adhesion requirements. Different types of sustainable materials, with their complicated physical and chemical properties, usually result in poor adhesion in extrusion coating or extrusion lamination, whether this is due to fast crystallization, secondary crystallization, low processing temperature, lack of functional groups, or a combination thereof. Water-based primers ensure that these innovations meet both functional and environmental standards for the packaging of tomorrow. Conventional water-based primers, including polyethyleneimine (PEI) and ethylene acrylic acid (EAA), offer significant advantages in sustainable packaging design by chemically modifying the surface of the substrate to enhance adhesion. In this study, we will discuss adhesion issues in three case studies involving sustainable packaging materials: (1) extrusion coating of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) on paper; (2) extrusion lamination of paper and metallized film with starch biopolymer; and (3) extrusion coating of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) on paper. These cases represent three adhesion challenges related to sustainable materials, namely fast crystallization rate, low processing temperature, and secondary crystallization. A three-step adhesion improvement procedure was employed to identify the proper primer in each case study. This procedure included a wetting-out test with primer, an adhesion test, and an extrusion test with priming. In our results, strong fiber tearing or destructive bonds were achieved in each case with the help of water-based primers. These results demonstrate the value of water-based primers in enabling the transition to more sustainable packaging structures without compromising performance.
Journal articles
Influence of kraft pulping on the kinetics of oxygen delignification, TAPPI JOURNAL, February 2000, Vol. 83(2)
Influence of kraft pulping on the kinetics of oxygen delignification, TAPPI JOURNAL, February 2000, Vol. 83(2)
Journal articles
Innovations in forming earn brian attwood TAPPI's 2000 Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal, TAPPI JOURNAL, February 2000, Vol. 83(2)
Innovations in forming earn brian attwood TAPPI's 2000 Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal, TAPPI JOURNAL, February 2000, Vol. 83(2)
Journal articles
Green bay packaging's continuing journey of excellence - rebuild of pm 2, TAPPI JOURNAL, February 2000, Vol. 83(2)
Green bay packaging's continuing journey of excellence - rebuild of pm 2, TAPPI JOURNAL, February 2000, Vol. 83(2)
Journal articles
Predicting the press dewatering of heavyweight grades, TAPPI JOURNAL, February 2000, Vol. 83(2)
Predicting the press dewatering of heavyweight grades, TAPPI JOURNAL, February 2000, Vol. 83(2)
Journal articles
Tissue roll handling with an agvs, TAPPI JOURNAL, February 2000, Vol. 83(2)
Tissue roll handling with an agvs, TAPPI JOURNAL, February 2000, Vol. 83(2)
Journal articles
Energy-efficient pre-evaporation of bleach plant filtrates economic evaluation of various options, TAPPI JOURNAL, September 2000, Vol. 83(9)
Energy-efficient pre-evaporation of bleach plant filtrates economic evaluation of various options, TAPPI JOURNAL, September 2000, Vol. 83(9)
Journal articles
Effect of entrained air on the performance of a pressure screen, TAPPI JOURNAL, September 2000, Vol. 83(9)
Effect of entrained air on the performance of a pressure screen, TAPPI JOURNAL, September 2000, Vol. 83(9)
Journal articles
Qualification of welding procedures for duplex stainless steels, TAPPI JOURNAL, September 2000, Vol. 83(9)
Qualification of welding procedures for duplex stainless steels, TAPPI JOURNAL, September 2000, Vol. 83(9)