23-01-2011 Shore durometer - Wikipedia, the free …

Shore durometer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Durometer is one of several measures of the hardness

of a material. Hardness may be defined as a material's
resistance to permanent indentation. The durometer
scale was defined by Albert F. Shore, who developed a
measurement device called a durometer in the 1920s.
The term durometer is often used to refer to the
measurement, as well as the instrument itself. Durometer
is typically used as a measure of hardness in polymers,
elastomers and rubbers.[1]

An automotive tire tread typically ranges from 50A

Contents to 70A, depending on the application.

1 Durometer scales
2 Method of measurement
3 Relation between Shore hardness and elastic
modulus
4 Patents
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Durometer scales
There are several scales of durometer, used for materials with different properties. The two most common
scales, using slightly different measurement systems, are the ASTM D2240 type A and type D scales. The A
scale is for softer plastics, while the D scale is for harder ones. However, the ASTM D2240-00 testing standard
calls for a total of 12 scales, depending on the intended use; types A, B, C, D, DO, E, M, O, OO, OOO,
OOO-S, and R. Each scale results in a value between 0 and 100, with higher values indicating a harder
material.[2]

Method of measurement
Durometer, like many other hardness tests, measures the depth of an indentation in the material created by a
given force on a standardized presser foot. This depth is dependent on the hardness of the material, its
viscoelastic properties, the shape of the presser foot, and the duration of the test. ASTM D2240 durometers
allows for a measurement of the initial hardness, or the indentation hardness after a given period of time. The
basic test requires applying the force in a consistent manner, without shock, and measuring the hardness (depth
of the indentation). If a timed hardness is desired, force is applied for the required time and then read. The
material under test should be a minimum of 6.4 mm (.25 inch) thick.[3]

Test setup for type A & D[3]

Applied Resulting
Durometer Indenting foot
mass [kg] force [ ]
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Type A Hardened steel rod 1.1 mm - 1.4 mm diameter, with a truncated 0.822 8.064
35º cone, 0.79 mm diameter
Hardened steel rod 1.1 mm - 1.4 mm diameter, with a 30º
Type D 4.550 44.64
conical point, 0.1 mm radius tip

The final value of the hardness depends on the depth of the indenter after it has been applied for 15sec on the
material. If the indenter penetrates 2.54 mm (0.100 inch) or more into the material, the durometer is 0 for that
scale. If it does not penetrate at all, then the durometer is 100 for that scale. It is for this reason that multiple
scales exist. Durometer is a dimensionless quantity, and there is no simple relationship between a material's
durometer in one scale, and its durometer in any other scale, or by any other hardness test.[1]

Durometers of various common

materials
Material Durometer Scale
Bicycle gel seat 15-30 OO
Chewing gum 20 OO
Sorbothane 40 OO
Sorbothane 30-70 A
Rubber band 25 A
Door seal 55 A
Automotive tire tread 70 A
Soft skateboard wheel 75 A
Hydraulic O-ring 70-90 A
Hard skateboard wheel 98 A
Ebonite Rubber 100 A
Solid truck tires 50 D
Hard hat 75 D

Relation between Shore hardness and elastic modulus

A semi-empirical relation between the Shore hardness and the Young's modulus for elastomers has been
derived by Gent[4]. This relation has the form

where E is the Young's modulus in MPa and S is the Shore hardness. This relation gives a value of at
S = 100 but departs from experimental data for S < 40.
Another relation that fits the experimental data slightly better is[5]

where erf is the error function and E is in units of Pa.

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A first order estimate of the relation between Shore D hardness and the elastic modulus for a conical indenter
with a 15 degree cone is [6]

where S D is the Shore-D hardness and E is in MPa.

Another linear relation between the Shore hardness and the Young's modulus is applicable over a large range of
Shore A and Shore D hardnesses[6]. This relation has the form

where S A is the Shore A hardness, S D is the Shore D hardness, and E is the Young's modulus in MPa.

Patents
US patent 1770045 (http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US1770045) , A.F.
Shore, "Apparatus for Measuring the Hardness of Materials", issued 1930-07-08

US patent 2421449 (http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US2421449) , J.G. Zuber,

"Hardness Measuring Instrument", issued 1947-06-03

See also
Brinell hardness test
Bloom (test)
Hardness
Knoop hardness test
Leeb Rebound Hardness Test
Rockwell hardness test
Vickers hardness test

References
1. ^ a b "Shore (Durometer) Hardness Testing of Plastics" (http://www.matweb.com/reference/shore-
hardness.asp) . http://www.matweb.com/reference/shore-hardness.asp. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
2. ^ "Material Hardness" (http://www.calce.umd.edu/general/Facilities/Hardness_ad_.htm#3.5) . CALCE and the
University of Maryland. 2001. http://www.calce.umd.edu/general/Facilities/Hardness_ad_.htm#3.5. Retrieved
2006-07-22.
3. ^ a b "Rubber Hardness" (http://www.npl.co.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.379) . National Physical
Laboratory, UK. 2006. http://www.npl.co.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.379. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
4. ^ A.N. Gent, (1958), On the relation between indentation hardness and Young's modulus, International Rubber
Institute Transactions, 34 , pp. 46–57.
5. ^ British Standard 903, (1950,1957), Methods of testing vulcanised rubber Part 19 (1950) and Part A7 (1957).
6. ^ a b Qi, HJ and Joyce, K. and Boyce, MC, (2003), Durometer hardness and the stress-strain behavior of
elastomeric materials, Rubber Chemistry and Technology, 76(2), pp. 419-435.

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External links
Durometer reference guide (http://www.rexgauge.com/content/tech_reference_guide)
Durometer Hardness Scale Chart (http://www.plasticsintl.com/polyhardness.htm)
Durometer comparison chart (http://www.rexgauge.com/content/tech_comparison_chart)
Durometer range (http://www.worldoftest.com/bareissmain.htm)
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Categories: Dimensionless numbers | Hardness tests

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