The Martindale is a unit for quantifying the abrasion resistance of textiles, especially when used for upholstery.
The Martindale method, also known as the Martindale rub test, simulates natural wear of a seat cover, in which the textile sample is rubbed against a standard abrasive surface with a specified force. The test equipment works in intervals of 5000 cycles, totalling the wear number (unit: Martindale) of abrasion cycles that leads to the material being worn to a specified degree. The higher the value, the more resistant the material is to abrasion.[1]
The national German textile institute specifies a minimum requirement for various applications, and here are some examples:
| Soft padding [Martindale] | Hard padding [Martindale] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private use | 10,000 | 15,000 | |
| Office use | 25,000 | 35,000 | |
| 30,000 | 40,000 |
In the US, the Wyzenbeek test is often used instead of the Martindale.
The Martindale machine also tests for fabric pilling.