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Designation: D 522 – 93a
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS
100 Barr Harbor Dr., West Conshohocken, PA 19428
Reprinted from the Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Copyright ASTM

Standard Test Methods for

Mandrel Bend Test of Attached Organic Coatings1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D 522; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the Department of Defense.

1. Scope the flexibility of coatings on flexible substrates.

1.1 These test methods cover the determination of the 5. Test Specimen
resistance to cracking (flexibility) of attached organic coatings
on substrates of sheet metal or rubber-type materials. 5.1 Substrates:
1.2 This standard does not purport to address all of the 5.1.1 If the purpose of the test is to determine the percent of
safety problems, if any, associated with its use. It is the elongation of the coating material, the substrate shall be
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- cold-rolled steel strip 1⁄32 in. (0.8 mm) (22 gage) thick.
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- 5.1.2 If the purpose of the test is to rate the coated material
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use. for resistance to cracking, the substrate may be any type of
sheet metal or rubber-type material (for example, steel, alumi-
2. Referenced Documents num, tinplate, or synthetic rubber). The thickness of the sheet
2.1 ASTM Standards: metal may be less than 1⁄32 in. (0.8 mm) and the thickness of the
D 823 Practices for Producing Films of Uniform Thickness rubber-type materials may be as great as 1⁄2 in. (13 mm).

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of Paint, Varnish, and Related Products on Test Panels2 5.1.3 The recommended panel size is 4 in. (100 mm) in
D 1005 Test Methods for Measurement of Dry-Film Thick- width and 6 in. (150 mm) in length. The maximum size that the
ness of Organic Coatings Using Micrometers2 conical mandrel can accommodate is 41⁄2 in. (115 mm) wide
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D 1186 Test Methods for Nondestructive Measurement of
Dry Film Thickness of Nonmagnetic Coatings Applied to
and 71⁄2 in. (190 mm) long.
5.1.4 The surface preparation of the substrate shall be
a Ferrous Base2
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D 1400 Test Method for Nondestructive Measurement of
agreed upon between the purchaser and the seller. Prior to the
application of the coating, round slightly the edges of metal
panels to remove burrs in order to eliminate anomalous edge
Dry Film Thickness of Nonconductive Coatings Applied to
a Nonferrous Metal Base2 effects.
ASTM D522-93a
NOTE 1—If elongations are to be determined for coatings applied to
3. Summary https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/53853380-d19d-467f-8383-7cf176d72629/astm-d522-93a
of Test Method substrates other than 1⁄32 in. (0.8 mm) thick cold-rolled steel, they must be
3.1 The coating materials under test are applied at uniform measured with a special mandrel jig as described in Appendix X1.2.
thickness to panels of sheet metal or rubber-type materials. 5.2 Coated Panels:
After drying or curing the coated panels are bent over a 5.2.1 Apply uniform coatings of the materials under test to
mandrel and the resistance to cracking of the coating is the substrates in accordance with Practices D 823 and air dry or
determined. In Test Method A the coated panels are bent over bake under conditions mutually agreeable to the purchaser and
a conical mandrel. In Test Method B the coated panels are bent the seller. If percent elongation is to be measured, a minimum
over cylindrical mandrels of various diameters. thickness of 1.0 mil is required on 1⁄32 in. (0.8 mm) thick
cold-rolled steel. Perform a minimum of three determinations
4. Significance and Use
of coating thickness on each of the specimens in accordance
4.1 Coatings attached to substrates are elongated when the with Test Methods D 1005, D 1186, or D 1400.
substrates are bent during the manufacture of articles or when 5.2.2 From precoated sheets cut at least three specimens of
the articles are abused in service. These test methods have been the size given in 5.1.3. Use only plane (flat) sheets and round
useful in rating attached coatings for their ability to resist the edges of the panels slightly as in 5.1.4. The coating surface
cracking when elongated. They have been useful in evaluating shall be free of oil and other foreign matter that might increase
the flexibility of the coating or interfere with the observation
1
These test methods are under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D-1 on Paint for cracking. Measure the film thickness as in 5.2.1.
and Related Coatings, Materials, and Applications and is the direct responsibility of
Subcommittee D01.23 on Physical Properties of Applied Paint Films. 6. Conditioning and Number of Tests
Current edition approved Sept. 15, 1993. Published November 1993. Originally
published as D 522 – 39. Last previous edition D 522 – 93.
6.1 Condition the test specimens for at least 24 h at 73.5 6
2
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 06.01. 3.5°F (23 6 2°C) and 50 6 5 % relative humidity, and test in

1
 D 522
the same environment or immediately on removal therefrom end of the mandrel, which shall be considered as the end point,
unless otherwise specified by the purchaser and seller. bring the drawbar to the starting position and remove the panel
6.2 Test at least three replicate specimens in Test Method A from the mandrel. Measure the distance from the farthest end
and at least two replicate specimens in Test Method B at each of the crack to the small end of the mandrel. This distance is
mandrel diameter of interest. used to compute the elongation. The mandrel diameter at
which cracking ceased is taken as the resistance to cracking
TEST METHOD A—CONICAL MANDREL TEST value.
7. Apparatus NOTE 2—In some cases, the measured distance is used as a measure of
7.1 Conical Mandrel Tester3 , consisting of a metal cone, a crack resistance.
rotating panel-bending arm, and panel clamps, all mounted on
9. Calculation
a metal base as illustrated in Fig. 1.
7.1.1 Cone, smooth steel, 8 in. (200 mm) in length, with a 9.1 When required, determine the elongation of the finish
diameter of 1⁄8 in. (3 mm) at one end and a diameter of 11⁄2 in. from the plotted curve in Fig. 2. This curve represents the
(38 mm) at the other end. relationship between the percent elongation and the diameter of
the conical mandrel for a 1.0 mil coating thickness. The
8. Procedure relation between the distance along the conical mandrel and the
8.1 With the operating lever of the apparatus in a horizontal corresponding diameter has also been plotted on this curve.
position, slip the test specimen between the mandrel and the 9.2 Adjust the percent elongation value obtained from Fig.
drawbar with the finish side towards the drawbar. Rigidly 2 for coating thickness by adding the correction obtained from
clamp the specimen in a vertical position adjacent to the Fig. 3.
mandrel by placing the long edge behind the clamping bar in
such a manner that the panel is always set up to the narrow end NOTE 3—Example—Suppose visual examination of the finish on the
bent cold-rolled steel specimens 1⁄32 in. (0.8 mm) in thickness shows that
of the mandrel. Slip two sheets of No. 1 brown kraft wrapping
the end of the first crack in the coating is at a distance of 3 in. (75 mm)
paper, substrate 30, thoroughly lubricated on each side with
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from the small end of the cone. From Fig. 2 determine the percent
talc, between the specimen and the drawbar and hold in elongation of the film from the measured crack distance, in this example
position only by the pressure of the drawbar against the paper. 5.2 %. To correct for coating thickness add the value obtained in Fig. 3. At

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8.2 Move the lever through about 180° at uniform velocity
to bend the specimen approximately 135°. If the purpose of the
a crack distance of 3 in. the correction per mil (25 µm) of coating
thickness is 0.3 %. If the film thickness in the example is 2 mils (50 µm),
the actual percent elongation is 5.2 + (2 3 0.3) 5 5.8 %.
test is to measure elongation, the bend should be 15 s. To
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determine crack resistance under more simulated use condi-
tions, the bend time should be about 1 s unless an alternative
10. Report
time is agreed upon between the producer and the user. 10.1 Report the following information:
8.3 Examine the bent surface of the specimen immediately ASTM D522-93a
10.1.1 Mean and range of coating elongation or resistance to
with the unaided eye for cracking. Having determined and cracking values for each specimen,
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suitably marked the end of the crack farthest from the small 10.1.2 Mean and range of coating film thickness for each
specimen,
3
10.1.3 Specimen preparation procedures used,
Conical mandrel tester, or equivalent, available from BYK-Gardner, Inc. 2435
Linden Lane, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and from Paul N. Gardner Co., 316 N. E. 10.1.4 Test conditions, and
First St., Pompano Beach, FL 33061-6688 has been found suitable for this purpose. 10.1.5 Mean and range of elongation or resistance to crack-
ing, and film thickness for the replicate specimens.

FIG. 2 Distance Along Cone and Corresponding Mandrel Size

versus Percent Elongation for Specimens on Cold-Rolled Steel
FIG. 1 Conical Mandrel Test Apparatus 1⁄32 in. (0.8 mm) in Thickness