Heat-sealing integrity assessment through nondestructive evaluation techniques

Sealing is a critical step in different packaging industries. In heat sealing as one of the major types of sealing processes, two layers of materials (typically thermoplastics) are joined together through the application of heat and pressure load for a certain sealing time. Due to the capabilities of the heat-sealing process to seal different kinds and sizes of packages, it has a wide range of applications in many different industries such as the packaging of food and medical products. The quality and integrity of sealings produced by these techniques are crucial for the quality and safety of the contained materials. In this paper, different types and processes of sealing are discussed. Due to the variations in shape, size, and complexity of the sealing region, quality testing and inspection of these products is a challenging task. Nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDTE) techniques can be promising tools to overcome these challenges. Furthermore, a detailed study of various types of potential defects and their generation mechanism in heat sealing is presented. Then, various types of NDTE techniques that can be potentially used for the inspection of heat-sealing regions and their working principles, as well as their strength and weakness in sealing inspection, are debated. Finally, several cases of sealing inspection and relevant NDTE techniques that are developed as standard procedures are presented. The discussions in this study provide useful information for the selection and implementation of appropriate quality inspection and inline quality monitoring of sealing parts and processes.