Applications flexible foams

Flexible foams are used in mattresses, cushions, and safety applications. Rigid and semiflexible foams are used in structural applications and to encapsulate sensitive components to protect them against shock, vibration, and moisture. Foam coatings are tough, hard, flexible, and chemically resistant. 

The mechanical properties of rigid foams vary considerably from those of flexible foams. The tests used to characterize these two classes of foams are, therefore, quite different, and the properties of interest from an application standpoint are also quite different. In this discussion the ASTM definition of rigid and flexible foams given earlier is used. 

The market is dominated by flexible foam applications (43% in the United States) and rigid and semi-rigid foam (29%). Cast elastomers (4%) and RIM elastomers (3%) have only specialised outlets. The remaining sizeable 21% of the market cover such diverse uses as thermoplastic rubbers, surface coatings, adhesives, sealants and synthetic leathers. 

Hie most representative member of this class of polyesters is the low-molar-mass (M 1000-3000) hydroxy-terminated aliphatic poly(2,2/-oxydiethylene adipate) obtained by esterification between adipic acid and diethylene glycol. This oligomer is used as a macromonomer in the synthesis of polyurethane elastomers and flexible foams by reaction with diisocyanates (see Chapter 5). Hydroxy-terminated poly(f -caprolactonc) and copolyesters of various diols or polyols and diacids, such as o-phthalic acid or hydroxy acids, broaden the range of properties and applications of polyester polyols. 

Flexible foams are used in applications where a high degree of resiliency is required with moderate load-bearing capacity. Essentially all foam seating is urethane based, including the furniture and automotive markets. Other examples are packaging, textiles, filters, sports equipment, and recreational items. 

As much as a quarter of a flexible foam block can be wasted in downstream processing into flnished products. Thanks to the efforts of process technologists and engineers, this scrap material can be recycled by at least 17 basic methods. However, only a few have found significant practical applications. Most other PU scrap ends up as uncollectable domestic waste with perhaps one key exception, materials from end-of-life vehicles. WESTERN EUROPE-GENERAL Accession no. 709465... 

With foams, one is dealing with a gaseous state or phase of matter in a highly dispersed condition. There is a definite relationship between the practical application of foams and colloidal chemistry. Bancroft (4) states that adopting the very flexible definition that a phase is colloidal when it is sufficiently finely divided, colloid chemistry is the chemistry of bubbles, drops, grains, filaments, and films, because in each of these cases at least one dimension of the phase is very small. This is not a truly scientific classification because a bubble has a film round it, and a film may be considered as made up of coalescing drops or grains. ... 

Semi-rigid foams take much longer to return to their original dimensions after deformation than flexible foams. They offer exceptional shock absorbance, which suits them for many protective applications, especially in automobiles. In general, we use polyester diols in semirigid foams because of their superior mechanical properties. 

Molded flexible foam products, 25 470 Molded materials, ionomers in, 14 482—483 Molded phenolic parts, applications for, 18 786t... 

Polyurethanes are useful in numerous applications such as reaction injection molding, rigid and flexible foams, coatings and adhesives. However, due to the high reactivity of the isocyanate group [96], yielding either dimers, via self-condensation or a carbamate via the reaction with an alcohol, the A,jB-monomers have to be produced in-situ in the reaction vessel. 

Polymerization of the oxiranes is typically propagated from a starter molecule that is chosen to define the functionality if) of the final polyol. The functionality and the molecular weight of polyols are the main design features that define the polyurethane properties in the end-use applications. Additionally, the balance of EO and PO in the polyether polyols, mainly for flexible foam polyols, is tailored to enhance the compatibility of formulations and the processability of the foam products. The exact composition of the polyols defines the crucial performance features of the final polyurethane product. Even seemingly small differences in polyol composition can result in changes to polyol processabihty and polyurethane performance. This becomes a crucial issue when replacing conventional petrochemical polyols with polyols from different feedstocks. To demonstrate the sensitivity of commercial formulations to changes in feedstocks, a simple example is offered below. 

Applications for Polyurethanes with Renewable Content 7.1 Flexible Foams... 

When added to the opportunities that are now being created through tax incentives for environmentally responsible commercial and residential construction, flexible foams in housing and construction applications appear to be headed for future growth. 

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