Evaluation of a small-scale cushion tester

A small-scale cushion tester using small-area test pieces was constructed primarily to evaluate the shock absorbing properties of corrugated fibreboard. Experiments were set up to compare results between the small-area tester and a commercially available model, using samples of cross-linked polyethylene foam from 2 to 4.2 cm thick, and thus validate the results obtained with the former. A regression equation was developed to correlate the two testers. The findings indicate that there is a strong correlation between the results obtained by two testers and that the small-scale tester may be used when experimental design requires that the samples be exposed to extreme conditions of humidity and temperature and when there is a large number of samples of thin cushioning materials to evaluate. This paper does not suggest a replacement to commercially available testers but offers an option for handling experiments involving samples of thin cushioning materials that will be exposed to extreme environmental conditions.