Durometer is a method of determining the hardness of rubber and other elastomeric substances.
Usually, the higher the hardness, the stiffer the material.
Roller blade wheels require a stiff elastomer so a high durometer reading is desirable as part of the selection process.
For plastic materials as against elastomeric materials and we work with thermosetting plastics which are generally "hard" we use a Barcol hardness tester. Made by Barber Colman, 1354 Clifford Avenue Loves Park, IL but that's an old address and they may have moved.
Porous plastic presents a challenge in that only part of the material is solid.
Assuming that you are interested in measuring the elastic and or plastic strain of a porous plastic material against a given stress I doubt a Barcol will be of much help.
You should be able to get specific information from a rubber products manufacturer. They are familiar with durometer readings. Especially a rubber manufacturer who makes foam rubber. Specialist instrument suppliers would be worth a call as well.
Thanks for the info,we receive porous platic that we use on our vacuum equipment. The porous plastic called porex is wavy before baking. After baking to 279 F it becomes flat . I need a measure of this baked porex.
mechantaeus
If I understand it correctly, you are using the porex material as a gasket on vacuum equipment and when you heat to 279 deg. F the porex material goes flat.
If this is correct, the material is undergoing compression-set as a result of heat, compression and time. I had a quick look at the Porex website and some of the material is foamed PE. I doubt this is suitable material for what is described above.
