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Lokendra Pal

Testing Services

State-of-the-Art Equipment, Testing and Services for Paper, Packaging, and Tissue & Hygiene Products

Testing Services

PAL ARMI provides extensive testing services utilizing state-of-the-art equipment and highly trained staff.

Email lpal@ncsu.edu to inquire about using our services.

We Provide

  • Surface, optical, mechanical, and structural testing of paper and boards, packaging, hygiene products, films, composite materials
  • Basis weight, caliper, bulk, tensile, tear, burst, stiffness, fold, compression, ring crush, Scott bond, stretch, elongation, tensile energy absorption (TEA), wet tensile (Finch cup), brightness, opacity, gloss, La*b*
  • Wet and dry rub abrasion, scratch resistance, and micro/nano-scale abrasion characterization, fold cracking, dusting, and peel adhesion
  • Formation, porosity, roughness/smoothness, compressibility, surface friction, softness, ball burst (dry/wet), hand-panel testing, stain testing
  • Water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), water absorption Cobb test, Hercules Sizing Test (HST), 3M Kit (oil/grease resistance),
  • Contact angle/surface energy, adhesion, optical density, transmittance, image analysis
  • Chemical analysis: Ash testing, filler content determination, starch analysis, plastics extraction
  • Fiber length, fines content, width, coarseness, kappa (lignin content), morphological testing, freeness, pressing, drying, etc.
  • Small-scale material and process studies using a Fourdrinier pilot paper machine
    • Operating Range:
      • Basis weight: 20–400 gsm
      • Speed: 20–150 fpm
      • Trim width: 12 inches
    • Features:
      • Automated wet-end additive system
      • Two felted press nips, smoothing press
      • Inline size press for biopolymer and synthetic surface treatments
      • Steam-jacketed cooking system for starches and polymers
      • Inline steel nip calender stack
      • High-precision drive system with real-time monitoring (tank levels, stock flow, consistency, pH, temperature, pressure, moisture)
    • Additional Capabilities:
      • Inline Size Press: Enhances surface properties such as printability and barrier performance
      • Calendering: Online and offline calenders to modify gloss, porosity, and smoothness
  • Tissue creping simulator (up to 2,000 fpm) for evaluating tissue and hygiene products, chemical additives, and Yankee/blade materials
  • Evaluation of fiber quality on tissue properties
  • Evaluation of chemistry on tissue and towels properties
  • Testing of tissue and towels properties such as basis weight, bulk, tensile, ball burst, softness, absorption
  • Packaging design and materials testing
  • Flutter testing for corrugated materials
  • Vibration, clamp handling, and impact/drop testing
  • Stacking and creep testing
  • Weatherability testing
  • Food service items testing: hot oil and water resistance, OGR tests, rigidity, composting, etc.
  • Packaging design and simulations
  • Life cycle analysis
  • 3D prototyping
  • Thermoformed and molded products testing
  • Coating preparation and rheological testing
  • Barrier tests: 3M Kit test (Tappi T559), Turpentine test (Tappi T454), Hot Mazola Oil test, Pet-Food test, RP (Ralston-Purina) test, Oxygen Transmission Rate, Water Transmission Rate, Water absorption, HST, Porosity, Contact Angle, Surface Energy, etc.
  • Release tests: Si coat weight (X-ray fluorescence analyzer), extraction, release/curing tests, dimensional stability, adhesion tests
  • Polymers and coatings testing: solids, density, pH, viscosity, surface tension, particle size, water retention, melt-flow index, flowability tests (Carr’s index), coat weight, thickness, etc.
  • Small roll-to-roll coater with roll, air knife, gravure, and flexo metering
  • Compatible substrates: paper, film, foil, and composites
  • Applications: digital printing papers, food packaging, hygiene composites
  • Specs: Up to 9-inch roll width; speeds up to 130 fpm
  • Bench-top units for inkjet, electrophotography, flexo, and gravure
  • Printability analysis of digital prints (dye and pigment-based production inkjet, dry toners, and liquid toners (Indigo) systems)
  • Print quality evaluations: density, gloss, dot gain, mottle, image/text analysis, wet/dry durability, smudge resistance, dry time
  • Assessment of print product recyclability (deinkability testing)
  • Testing for fold cracking, abrasion, dusting, fiber tear, and more
  • Waste composition and contamination analysis
  • Repulpability and recyclability testing
  • Stickies identification
  • Compostability testing (home and industrial conditions)
  • Biodegradability assessments in various environments
  • BOD/COD analysis
  • Recycled and non-recycled municipal solid waste (MSW) characterization
    • Paper waste testing – composition, moisture, density, contaminants analysis, thermal, chemical and structural analysis
    • Plastic waste testing – composition, moisture, density, contaminants analysis, thermal, chemical and structural analysis
    • Textile waste testing – composition, moisture, density, contaminants analysis, thermal, chemical and structural analysis
    • Metal and glass waste testing – composition, density, contaminants analysis, thermal, chemical and structural analysis

Resources

  • Extremely diverse team of engineers, chemists, scientists and economists
  • Highly trained professional faculty, staff, graduate research assistants (Ph.D. and M.S. Students), and undergraduate researchers
  • Strong funding support from industry, NGO’s and public agencies

Relevant Equipment

  • High shear mechanical devices for nanomaterials production
  • Two atmospheric plasma units
  • Mocon-OX-TRAN-Oxygen-Transmission-Rate-Tester
  • Mocon-PERMATRAN-WVTR-Tester
  • Electrospinning unit
  • 3D material deposition printers
  • Image analysis (microscopic and scanner)
  • 3D scanning system
  • QD proofer coating with gravure and flexo coating and printing heads
  • Euclid blade coater
  • Rod drawdown system
  • Roll-to-roll coating machine with roll applicator and air-knife metering
  • Hot air, IR and UV curing units
  • Hercules Hi-Shear viscometer (HHSV)
  • Brookfield viscometer
  • Advanced rheometer
  • Melt-flow indexer
  • Injection mold
  • Mini-Haake Micro-Compounder
  • Fully-equipped mechanical, optical and surface properties lab
  • KRÜSS spinning drop tensiometer
  • Contact angle goniometer
  • Charge demand analyzer
  • Horiba laser scattering particle sizer
  • Malvern zetasizer nano
  • Confocal and polarized microscopes
  • X-Supereme 8000 ED-XRF spectrometer
  • Coating mixers and various applicators
  • Aging/yellowing via controlled irradiation, and various environmental chambers, etc.

Advanced analytical tools such as DSC, TGA, FTIR, NMR, AFM, SEM, ToF-SIM, HPLC, GC/MS, etc. accessible in various central laboratories on NCSU campus.