British MUNRO89100 Friction Coefficient Tester Pendulum Friction Coefficient Tester

MUNRO Digital Display Portable Resistance Tester (Pendulum Tester)

The slip resistance tester is suitable for measuring the dynamic coefficient of friction on almost any material surface, hence also known as the friction coefficient tester. Examples include rubber surfaces, plastic surfaces, road surfaces, airport runways, wooden floor surfaces, tile surfaces, etc. It primarily tests the friction coefficient, or slip resistance, between transportation vehicles, bare feet, shoe soles, and the aforementioned surfaces. Due to its working principle involving the swinging of a pendulum arm, it is also referred to as a pendulum tester.

Pendulum Tester Detection Method

A standard smooth rubber slider is mounted under the support block at the end of the swinging arm and held in place by a spring. This slider will follow the swinging arm as it descends from a 90° position toward the runway surface, sliding a certain distance along the surface. The swinging arm drives an inertia pointer, which remains at the highest point of the swing.

Place the slip resistance tester horizontally on the runway surface and release the support legs to prevent local deflection of the synthetic material surface under the support feet when the swinging arm passes over the surface. When the swinging arm is freely released from the normal horizontal position, the pointer should indicate zero. If not, adjust the friction ring (located at the pivot center of the swinging arm) and repeat the operation until a consistent zero reading is obtained.

When testing a sample, adjust the height of the swinging arm so that the slider contacts the test surface. The distance of contact from the left edge to the right edge of the slider should be between 125 mm and 127 mm. Fix the height at this position and repeatedly swing the slider to verify the distance. Then, place the swinging arm in the horizontal weight position.

Sprinkle clean water on the test area, release the swinging arm to let it fall freely, disregard the first pointer reading, and then conduct five identical tests. Record the scale reading after each swing and calculate the average of these five readings. This average represents the resistance value of the wet surface, also known as the slip resistance.

If the synthetic material surface exhibits a directional pattern, the instrument should be able to measure different values in various directions. Adjust the instrument so that the sliding component passes over the same surface area from starting swing directions of 90° and 180°. The results obtained can serve as reference values for the initial set of readings.

When using the portable resistance tester for measurements, the friction coefficient of the synthetic surface layer in wet conditions must not be below 0.5 anywhere. This value corresponds to a scale reading of 47 on the testing instrument.

The scale reading obtained from the testing instrument is the anti-slip value, which can be converted to the friction coefficient (U) using formula (C.1):

Anti-slip value = 330U ÷ (3 + U)

Main Features of the MUNRO Digital Display Portable Resistance Tester:
Pendulum Test Value (PTV) is automatically displayed on the OLED digital screen, eliminating the possibility of parallax error.
The digital display provides helpful prompts to simplify and speed up the testing process.
Data is transmitted via Bluetooth to our dedicated slip resistance software.
The instrument complies with all relevant international standards.
BSI certification is available.

Main Technical Specifications:

1. Friction coefficient detection range: 0–150

2. Pendulum weight: 1.50 kg; pendulum arm length: 410 mm

3. Friction rubber slider dimensions (L × W): 76 × 25 mm or 31.8 × 25 mm; thickness: 6.4 mm

Rubber slider performance requirements: rebound between 66–73%, hardness requirement IRHB 53–65

4. Slider weight: 32 g or 20 g

5. Complies with EN 14331:2003 testing standard

6. Configuration includes: one main unit, five rubber sliders, thermometer, setting gauge, two wrenches, water bottle, base pad, tool bag, user manual, all packaged in a transport case with handles and wheels.