Over the last year, Monument Scientist, Vijay Nadgir, has gotten very comfortable with viscoelastic or memory foam. Turning a career’s worth of experience working with polyols and foams into a focused effort to answer one question: what does tan delta mean when we measure Tg (glass transition temperature)?

The answer got a lot of attention!

“Analyzing memory foam can be very complicated, and the data are interpreted in different ways,” Vijay shared. “While working for a customer, I was looking at the temperature at which foam transitions into viscoelastic state, and it became of real interest to me. While the data output is referred as tan delta, there’s was no simple conversion to a useful parameter, which brings so much confusion and inconsistency across labs. So, the lab team set our studies on providing that clarity.”

In their efforts, they created more than 300 foams in the lab, measuring the glass transition temperatures and comparing the data to create a standard equation that could be used by all labs. This equation converted tan delta into a simple variable % visco.

“We first presented this data internally and discovered that individual who aren’t familiar with the science behind the foam behavior found the data difficult to understand,” Vijay said. “This % visco concept verified that we were able to convert complex information into a simple parameter that all levels could interpret and understand.

So the next step was presenting their findings, titled Glass Transition Temperature of Viscoelastic Foams: Some Fundamental Studies, to an audience of 60 professionals across the polyurethane foam industries at the Polyurethane Foam Association’s (PFA) semi-annual conference. As one of six presenters selected to participate, Vijay co-shared the highest ranking amongst the PFA to receive the Herman Stone Technical Excellence Award.

“We are very proud of this achievement not simply because of the validation it brings to our work, but also because of the distinction it brings Monument Chemical as a company,” Vijay shared. “This award is recognized within the polyurethane industry and really puts us in the spotlight. It’s always our goal to advance the capabilities and expertise of our team, and this certainly helps us put the Monument Chemical name to the forefront of this industry.”  

Vijay is very thankful to Mike Purvis and Sibel Selcuk for their strong support and encouragement for this work.