Theory and Method
Ball rebound testing measures foam resilience by dropping a steel ball onto the specimen surface and recording how high it bounces back. The rebound height, expressed as a percentage of the original drop height, corresponds to the share of impact energy the foam returns rather than absorbs. A highly resilient foam returns most of the impact energy and produces a high rebound percentage, while a foam chosen for shock damping absorbs more energy and rebounds less.
The test follows the procedures defined in ASTM D3574 Test H and DIN EN ISO 8307, which are functionally equivalent methods. A ball of specified mass falls freely through a vertical guide onto the sample surface, and the peak rebound height is captured either electronically or read from graduated markings on the measuring column. Because the foam's cellular structure and polymer chemistry govern its elastic recovery, the reading reflects both formulation and processing quality.
The Ball Rebound Tester applies this principle with a magnetic test ball guided through a vertical column marked at 1% resolution intervals, paired with a firmware-controlled cycle that removes operator judgment from the reading. The instrument needs no external calibration and reports the median resilience value in percent directly on its display, giving operators a stable, repeatable figure across successive tests on the same material batch.
