Indentation force-deflection is a process used in the flexible foam manufacturing industry to assess the "softness" of a sample of foam such as
memory foam
Memory foam consists mainly of polyurethane with additional chemicals that increase its viscosity and density. It is often referred to as "viscoelastic" polyurethane foam, or low-resilience polyurethane foam (LRPu). The foam bubbles or ‘cells’ ...
. To conduct an IFD test, a circular flat indenter with a surface area of 323 square centimeters (50 sq. inches - 8" in diameter) is pressed against a foam sample usually 100 mm thick and with an area of 500 mm by 500 mm (
ASTM
ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, an ...
standard D3574). The foam sample is first placed on a flat table perforated with holes to allow the passage of air. It is then "warmed up" by being compressed twice to 75% "strain", and then allowed to recover for six minutes. The force is measured 60 seconds after achieving 25% indentation with the indenter. Lower scores correspond with less firmness; higher scores with greater firmness.
US measurements are given in
pounds-force
The pound of force or pound-force (symbol: lbf, sometimes lbf,) is a unit of force used in some systems of measurement, including English Engineering units and the foot–pound–second system.
Pound-force should not be confused with pound-ma ...
, and European ones are given in
newtons
The newton (symbol: N) is the unit of force in the International System of Units (SI). It is defined as 1 kg⋅m/s, the force which gives a mass of 1 kilogram an acceleration of 1 metre per second per second. It is named after Isaac Newton in r ...
.
References
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External links
* Joint Industry Foam Standards And Guidelines https://www.pfa.org/industry-standards/
ASTM standards