Bursting strength is a measurement of a sample’s resistance to rupturing and is a general indicator of the strength and toughness properties of paper. Increased use of fillers decreases bursting strength, but basis weight, wet pressing, MD/CD ratio, refining, use of longer fibers and surface sizing increases a paper’s bursting strength.
Bursting strength is commonly seen in product specifications, on paper and boards used in packaging, such as linerboard and sack paper.