Abstract
The present paper introduces a simple method to predict the modulus of elasticity and the hardness of polymeric materials that range from soft elastomers to hard plastics. Hertzian elastic impact model is used to define the relationship between the contact time duration and the maximum force of normal contact due to the impact of a hard sphere indenter with the tested polymer sample. It is shown that the adopted model and experimental method can be used as a tool for extracting the magnitude of the complex modulus of elasticity. Moreover, a new impact index is shown to be proportional to the polymer shore hardness. Theoretical and experimental results based on the force-time signals are consistent and show good correlation.