Vicat softening temperature

The Vicat softening temperature is an important physical property of materials, particularly plastics. It is usually measured with a needle-shaped indenter that is subjected to a defined test force.

During the measurement, the test specimen is subjected to controlled heating in order to observe the change in its physical properties. The temperature at which the indenter reaches a certain penetration depth into the test specimen is referred to as the Vicat softening temperature.

This temperature is an important indicator of a material's heat resistance and deformability and is frequently used in quality control and material characterisation.