ISO 13938-1:2019 describes a hydraulic method for the determination of bursting strength and bursting distension of textile fabrics.

In this document, a hydraulic pressure is applied using a constant rate of pumping device.

NOTE ISO 13938-2 describes a method using pneumatic pressure.

The method is applicable to knitted, woven, nonwoven and laminated fabrics. It can be suitable for fabrics produced by other techniques. The test is suitable for test specimens in the conditioned or wet state.

From the available data, there appears to be no significant difference in the bursting strength results achieved using hydraulic or pneumatic burst testers, for pressures up to 800 kPa. This pressure range covers the majority of performance levels expected of general apparel. For speciality textiles requiring high bursting pressures, the hydraulic apparatus is more suitable.