title: Technical note: converting durometer data into elastic modulus in biological materials.
abstract: Researchers have increasingly recognized the need to quantify the material properties of primate food items, particularly hardness (H) and stiffness (E), which is measured as elastic modulus. Assessing E in the field is particularly difficult because the typical equipment needed to perform the requisite analyses is expensive and cumbersome. Alternatively, researchers can use hand-held, relatively inexpensive, portable durometers that measure H on Shore scales. Shore-D durometers show a reliable ability to characterize H in harder-stiffer materials, and Shore-D measures in these materials can be reliably converted to E. Shore-A durometers-employed in past field studies of food properties-do not accurately characterize the properties of harder-stiffer materials, which are likely to be those materials exerting the greatest mechanical demands on primate masticatory morphology. We offer recommendations for Shore-D durometer usage in the field.
authors: Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. jpampush@ufl.edu
authors: James D
authors: JD
authors: Pampush
authors: David J
authors: DJ
authors: Daegling
authors: Anna E
authors: AE
authors: Vick
authors: W Scott
authors: WS
authors: McGraw
authors: Ryan M
authors: RM
authors: Covey
authors: Andrew J
authors: AJ
authors: Rapoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D005504:Food Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D006244:Hardness; D006245:Hardness Tests / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000737:chemistry; D008409:Mastication; D011323:Primates; D064028:Tracheophyta / Q000737:chemistry; D014934:Wood / Q000737:chemistry