Foam-in-foam polyurethane composite (Reprinted)

Open-pore flexible polyurethane (PUR) foams with various pore sizes (1-8 mm) were used as 3-D filler to reinforce low-density, closed-cell PUR flexible foam. The final composite has a "foarn-in-foam" structure. Compared to the unfilled PUR flexible foam, the composite exhibits considerable improvement on mechanical properties: with the same density, the compressive modulus increased up to 11 times. A model developed for cellular material was used to predict the compressive modulus of the foam-in-foam composite, and the results were compared with the experimental data. Marketing aspects of a new family of reinforced PUR foams are discussed, such as cushioning and packaging.