Composite cushion
June 10, 2004 | bengisu
Basotect melamine resin foam from BASF is now being used in aircraft seat cushioning. Seat maker, Groupe JSO of Toulouse in France, has patented a special process that allows Basotect to be used for cushioning in combination with other foam materials.
Seat cushions containing the melamine foam are much lighter than conventional ones and the significant weight saving is a real boon to airline companies in both economic and environmental terms.
As a result of its noise deadening and low thermal conductivity, Basotec has previously been used for sound and heat insulation - applications that place no direct loads on the foam's fine cellular structure. Compression tests had also shown that cushions made from Basotect foam alone lack the resilience to return sufficiently to their original shape - not good enough for aircraft seats, which must remain comfortable during years of service.
As a result, JSO developed a composite cushion comprising Basotect and standard foam. Called Solyt, the cushioning is manufactured by Celso, a Groupe JSO subsidiary. The cushions have a core of Basotect enveloped by conventional foam such as a graphite polyurethane. Soly't's physical properties exceed those of the standard foams used up to now in aeronautics. For example, the material shows no signs of compression fatigue when subjected to 80,000 load cycles. The resulting cushions consequ
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