SATRA Test Methods

SATRA Test Methods

SATRA is an independent testing and research organization that develops and publishes its own test methods. These methods are used heavily in footwear and in adjacent material and product areas such as leather, coated textiles, solings, components, and finished goods.

In practice, SATRA methods are often specified in supplier manuals, product approval plans, accredited laboratory scopes, and failure-investigation programs. They are especially common when test conditions need to reflect real footwear use, construction details, or product-specific durability concerns.

Quick Definition

SATRA is best understood here as a private test-method family centered on footwear, footwear materials, and closely related products. Its documents are typically identified by the SATRA TM prefix and a method number.

Why SATRA Methods Matter in Testing

SATRA methods matter because they give manufacturers and laboratories a practical route to evaluate materials, components, and finished products with procedures that are deeply embedded in footwear testing practice.

Common workflows: Supplier qualification, incoming material checks, product development, benchmark comparison, failure analysis, and production quality control.

Why buyers care: SATRA-cited requirements often point to specialized fixtures, abrasion heads, flexing geometries, or whole-shoe machines that affect capital equipment selection and laboratory capability planning.

Common Materials or Application Areas Covered

Although SATRA publishes methods across a broad range of uses, the family is strongest in footwear and materials closely tied to footwear performance.

• Leather for uppers, linings, and other footwear components
• Textiles and coated textiles, including synthetic uppers and linings
• Polymeric soling materials such as rubber, EVA, polyurethane, PVC, TR, and related compounds
• Insoles, toe puffs, stiffeners, laces, trims, and other footwear components
• Finished footwear and whole-shoe durability applications
• Adjacent product areas including luggage, PPE, and some floor-covering applications

Relevant examples: Upper materials, sole materials, complete shoes, leather components, coated fabrics, and soft polymer parts.

Common Test Types

The SATRA catalogue spans many laboratory activities, but several testing patterns appear repeatedly across footwear and soft-goods workflows.

• Abrasion resistance testing for uppers, linings, and solings
• Flexing and fatigue testing for materials, components, and whole footwear
• Strength and burst testing for thin flexible materials and assemblies
• Water resistance, water absorption, and related durability checks
• Colour fastness and rubbing assessments
• Slip, friction, adhesion, and construction performance testing

Common equipment: Abrasion testers, flexometers, rotating drum abrasion machines, burst testers, conditioning cabinets, balances, and whole-shoe durability systems.

How to Read a SATRA Designation

SATRA documents are usually cited as SATRA TM plus a number, such as SATRA TM31 or SATRA TM174.

In purchase documents, accreditation scopes, or customer specifications, the reference may also include an edition year or a method qualifier. That detail matters because sample preparation, calculations, or result reporting can change between editions or named method variants.

Examples: SATRA TM31, SATRA TM55, SATRA TM60, SATRA TM92, SATRA TM170, and SATRA TM174.

Featured Standards / Methods / References

A small group of SATRA methods illustrates how this family connects testing requirements to equipment selection and day-to-day laboratory work.

Edition sensitivity is important. Customer and accreditation documents often cite a year, such as SATRA TM31:2021 or SATRA TM174:2016, and laboratories should confirm the exact cited edition before selecting equipment, fixtures, and report formats.

Standards / Methods by Application Area

Where a project involves multiple shoe parts or material layers, SATRA methods are often chosen by application area rather than by property alone.

Uppers and linings: SATRA TM31 is commonly used for abrasion resistance, SATRA TM55 for flexing endurance, and SATRA TM170 for burst strength and distension.

Solings: SATRA TM60 is used for cut-growth resistance on flexing, while SATRA TM174 is used for abrasion resistance of polymeric sole materials.

Finished footwear: SATRA TM92 is used to assess the resistance of completed footwear to repeated flexing.

Equipment Commonly Used with These Standards / Methods / References

SATRA methods commonly lead to specialized footwear and materials test equipment rather than only general-purpose laboratory machines.

Supporting tools: Conditioning equipment, balances, density-measurement tools, specimen cutters, and reference consumables are often needed to complete SATRA workflows correctly.

Related Standards Organizations or Related Frameworks

SATRA methods are often used alongside broader national and international requirements rather than in isolation.

ISO: Common in global footwear, PPE, and materials specifications, and frequently encountered alongside SATRA procedures in laboratory scopes and customer requirements.

ASTM International: Commonly used in multinational sourcing programs and North American customer specifications where testing plans may need to align across regions.

BSI: Still relevant in long-established footwear and leather testing environments, especially where historical British practice or legacy procurement references remain in use.

Need Equipment for SATRA Testing?

If your specification cites a SATRA method, the fastest way to scope a laboratory is to match the document number to the actual test action, specimen geometry, conditioning needs, and reporting format.

We can help map SATRA method requirements to the equipment families commonly used for abrasion, flexing, burst, slip, and finished-footwear durability testing.