Abstract:
THE EXTERIOR, LESS DENSE LAYERS IN A SELECTED, FLEXIBLE DENSIFIED POLYURETHANE FOAM PREPARED BY APPLYING A COMPRESSIVE FORCE TO A PARTIALLY CURED CELLULAR MATERIAL AT A CRITICAL TIME TO REDUCE ITS VOLUME BY A SPECIFIED AMOUNT ARE REDUCED BY MAINTAINING THE COMPRESSIVE FORCE FOR BETWEEN ABOUT 0.1 AND ABOUT 10 MINUTES. IF DESIRED, THE COMPRESSIVE MEANS CAN BE HEATED TO A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 40* AND ABOUT 200*C. THE RESULTING FOAMS ARE PARTICULARLY USEFUL FOR SUCH APPLICATIONS AS RUG PADDING.