{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/34857"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/34857","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Predicting Package Defects: Quantification of Critical Leak Size","abstract":"Threshold leak sizes and leak rates were calculated for a number of liquid food products exhibiting a wide range of surface tension and viscosity values. From this data, one can see that mathematically, under typical pressure differentials generated in food packages (less than or equal to ±34.5 kPa), a leak will never start through a 2 μm defect. The calculated leak rates were compared to calculated evaporation rates. The evaporation rate exceeds the leak rate at lower sized microholes (2, and 5 μm diameter) under typical pressure differentials found in food packages. If the liquid, typically aqueous in food products, is evaporating off faster than the leak itself, then there will be solids left behind that could effectively plug the leak. The critical leak size is the size micro-defect that allows microbial penetration into the package. The critical leak size of air-filled defects was found to be 7 μm at all pressures tested. This size is considerably important to food packagers because this is when sterility of the package is lost. Previous leak studies have shown that the critical leak size for liquid-filled defects coincide with the threshold leak size and pressure. If this is in fact true, then air-filled defects should exhibit a larger critical leak size than the liquid-filled defects. In this study, air-filled defects were examined. A bioaerosol exposure chamber was used to test micro-defects, nickel microtubes of known diameters 2, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 50 μm hydraulic diameters, against pressure differentials of 0, -6.9, -13.8, and -34.5 kPa.","abstract_html":"Threshold leak sizes and leak rates were calculated for a number of liquid food products exhibiting a wide range of surface tension and viscosity values. From this data, one can see that mathematically, under typical pressure differentials generated in food packages (less than or equal to ±34.5 kPa), a leak will never start through a 2 μm defect. The calculated leak rates were compared to calculated evaporation rates. The evaporation rate exceeds the leak rate at lower sized microholes (2, and 5 μm diameter) under typical pressure differentials found in food packages. If the liquid, typically aqueous in food products, is evaporating off faster than the leak itself, then there will be solids left behind that could effectively plug the leak. The critical leak size is the size micro-defect that allows microbial penetration into the package. The critical leak size of air-filled defects was found to be 7 μm at all pressures tested. This size is considerably important to food packagers because this is when sterility of the package is lost. Previous leak studies have shown that the critical leak size for liquid-filled defects coincide with the threshold leak size and pressure. If this is in fact true, then air-filled defects should exhibit a larger critical leak size than the liquid-filled defects. In this study, air-filled defects were examined. A bioaerosol exposure chamber was used to test micro-defects, nickel microtubes of known diameters 2, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 50 μm hydraulic diameters, against pressure differentials of 0, -6.9, -13.8, and -34.5 kPa.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gibney, Matthew Joseph IV"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Food Science and Technology","degree_department":"Food Science and Technology","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Marcy, Joseph E."],"committee_members":["Hackney, Cameron Raj","Blakistone, Barbara A.","Davis, Richey M."],"year":2000,"date_issued":"2000-06-30","date_published":"2000-06-30","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:50Z","subjects":["leakers","hermetic seal","microbial ingress","package sterility","threshold leak size"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-08312000-14550031"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-08312000-14550031","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/34857","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Marcy, Joseph E."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Hackney, Cameron Raj","Blakistone, Barbara A.","Davis, Richey M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Food Science and Technology"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gibney, Matthew Joseph IV"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T20:44:32Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T20:44:32Z","2001-09-05"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2000-06-30"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Food Science and Technology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["leakers","hermetic seal","microbial ingress","package sterility","threshold leak size"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-08312000-14550031"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/34857"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Threshold leak sizes and leak rates were calculated for a number of liquid food products exhibiting a wide range of surface tension and viscosity values. From this data, one can see that mathematically, under typical pressure differentials generated in food packages (less than or equal to ±34.5 kPa), a leak will never start through a 2 μm defect. The calculated leak rates were compared to calculated evaporation rates. The evaporation rate exceeds the leak rate at lower sized microholes (2, and 5 μm diameter) under typical pressure differentials found in food packages. If the liquid, typically aqueous in food products, is evaporating off faster than the leak itself, then there will be solids left behind that could effectively plug the leak. The critical leak size is the size micro-defect that allows microbial penetration into the package. The critical leak size of air-filled defects was found to be 7 μm at all pressures tested. This size is considerably important to food packagers because this is when sterility of the package is lost. Previous leak studies have shown that the critical leak size for liquid-filled defects coincide with the threshold leak size and pressure. If this is in fact true, then air-filled defects should exhibit a larger critical leak size than the liquid-filled defects. In this study, air-filled defects were examined. A bioaerosol exposure chamber was used to test micro-defects, nickel microtubes of known diameters 2, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 50 μm hydraulic diameters, against pressure differentials of 0, -6.9, -13.8, and -34.5 kPa."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Predicting Package Defects: Quantification of Critical Leak Size"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Marcy, Joseph E."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Hackney, Cameron Raj","Blakistone, Barbara A.","Davis, Richey M."],"dc:contributor.department":["Food Science and Technology"],"dc:creator":["Gibney, Matthew Joseph IV"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T20:44:32Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T20:44:32Z","2001-09-05"],"dc:date.issued":["2000-06-30"],"dc:description.abstract":["Threshold leak sizes and leak rates were calculated for a number of liquid food products exhibiting a wide range of surface tension and viscosity values. From this data, one can see that mathematically, under typical pressure differentials generated in food packages (less than or equal to ±34.5 kPa), a leak will never start through a 2 μm defect. The calculated leak rates were compared to calculated evaporation rates. The evaporation rate exceeds the leak rate at lower sized microholes (2, and 5 μm diameter) under typical pressure differentials found in food packages. If the liquid, typically aqueous in food products, is evaporating off faster than the leak itself, then there will be solids left behind that could effectively plug the leak. The critical leak size is the size micro-defect that allows microbial penetration into the package. The critical leak size of air-filled defects was found to be 7 μm at all pressures tested. This size is considerably important to food packagers because this is when sterility of the package is lost. Previous leak studies have shown that the critical leak size for liquid-filled defects coincide with the threshold leak size and pressure. If this is in fact true, then air-filled defects should exhibit a larger critical leak size than the liquid-filled defects. In this study, air-filled defects were examined. A bioaerosol exposure chamber was used to test micro-defects, nickel microtubes of known diameters 2, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 50 μm hydraulic diameters, against pressure differentials of 0, -6.9, -13.8, and -34.5 kPa."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:identifier.other":["etd-08312000-14550031"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/34857"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["leakers","hermetic seal","microbial ingress","package sterility","threshold leak size"],"dc:title":["Predicting Package Defects: Quantification of Critical Leak Size"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Food Science and Technology"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:50Z"}