The development of a simple test method to characterise the compliance and viscoelasticity of long-term soft lining materials.

A simple test, based on the measurement of depth of penetration, has been devised to characterise long-term soft lining materials. Inter-laboratory testing has shown the method to be reproducible and to be capable of comparing and contrasting the compliance and viscoelastic behaviour of commercially available materials. Additional results emphasise the point that it is imperative to control the testing temperature, especially for the soft acrylic materials.