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This document lists the terminology and common test methods used by manufacturers and laboratories to quantify the performance of a foam material. It also and gives information to users or buyers of these products to make an educated assessment of the relevance of the physical characteristics between various products offered to them.

This document summarizes/gives information about the tests for

—    polyurethane foams – typically polyether (polyether polyurethane foam) or polyester based (polyester polyurethane foam) – produced by either slabstock (slabstock foam) or moulded foam process, and

—    latex foams produced by either the Dunlop process or Talalay process.

The physical properties addressed in this document are

a) resilience,

b) hysteresis,

c) support/SAG factor,

d) density,

e) hardness,

f) compression set,

g) tensile strength,

h) tear strength,

i) air flow/permeability,

j) resistance to fatigue, and

k) microbial resistance.

NOTE       The test methods presented in this document do not necessarily simulate conditions of use in practice. The use of resulting data is therefore restricted to a broad comparative assessment between different foam products.

This document addresses only the characterization and performance of foam materials used in APTIs. It does not address the design, construction method or other factors relating to the final clinical efficiency of the product.

Test methods for characterizing the physical properties of any coverings, or the effects of any coverings on the physical properties of the foams, are not addressed in this document.