Purpose

This procedure evaluates the performance of bottle bases when they are exposed to a 0.1% solution of NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide) to simulate the failure associated with Stress Cracking.

Description

Bottles are carbonated to 4.3° ± 0.2 volumes and allowed to come to equilibrate to room temperature overnight. Once the bottles are at room temperature, they are placed in a 0.1% Sodium Hydroxide solution for 3 or 4 hours (some customers prefer the longer test times to better differentiate between samples because failures are not always observed within 3 hours). The performance of the bottle is determined by the average time to failure of the sample set.