What's up with duct tape
Recent research suggests that almost any tape can be made to work for a core-to-collar joint when perfectly applied. Given all the better choices available and all the problems that can and do occur in the field, we would not recommend that cloth-backed (natural) rubber-adhesive tapes be used, unless they can pass a suitable E2343 test. If visual degradation is an important factor, Oriented Polypropylene (OPP) and cloth-backed tapes should be avoided. While tapes that fail usually show visual degradation, the converse is not always true. We speculate, however, that visually degraded tapes are more likely to be susceptible to damage from vibration and other mechanical stresses. Conventional nylon straps are quite prone to fail at higher temperatures, but no systematic studies have yet been done across product classes. UL has proposed a new standard for straps, but the protocol for the current UL test does not, however, suggest that it would be a good indicator of durability. Products meeting the new UL standard for straps should be independently tested for the failure modes observed in the field and laboratory to determine if that test is a reasonable indicator of durability. Until a suitable test for strap durability exists, they recommend that only high temperature nylon or metal straps be used--especially in cases where tapes may be sensitive to mechanical stresses.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE.Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency andRenewable Energy. Office of the Building Technologies Program; CaliforniaInstitute for Energy Efficiency. Memorandum Agreement C-03-11.Interagency Agreement 500-99-019
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 860900
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL-56111; HOENE2; R&D Project: 950803; BnR: BT0302000; TRN: US200524%%356
- Journal Information:
- Home Energy, Vol. 21, Issue 6; Related Information: Journal Publication Date: November - December2004; ISSN 0896-9442
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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