RECENT ADVANCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF AUTOMOTIVECOMFORT SEATING FOAMS

The continuous pressure from the automotive industry for cost saving h as resulted in greater demands for car seat weight reduction coupled w ith improved comfort. This has led to even more in-depth studies on th e contribution of flexible polyurethane seating foams to ride comfort and durability. Advanced techniques-such as small-angle X-my scatterin g (SAXS), dynamic creep, vibrational characterisation and finite eleme nt analysis (FEA)-have been used to characterise the foams. Seat effec tive amplitude transmissibility (S.E.A.T.) analysis of comfort seat cu shions has made it possible to assess their vibrational performance. R ide comfort and durability of MDI-based cushions has been verified by accelerated field evaluation. As a result of this work, ICI Polyuretha nes has developed a versatile, tow density foam technology based on MD I which can be tailored to specific seat requirements, ensuring superi or ride comfort and durability performance.