Introduction to High Resiliency Foam—What Are Its Advantages?

High resiliency foam, also known as "HR" foam, is a new generation of polyurethane soft foam plastic products that emerged after the one-step process of polyether-type foams. These foam products are gaining attention across various industrial sectors due to their ability to undergo cold curing, simple processing techniques, and excellent physical properties. Compared to conventional thermal curing foam plastics, HR foam has numerous advantages.

1. Excellent Mechanical Properties
Compared to general foam products, high resiliency foam exhibits higher elasticity, lower hysteresis loss, a higher compression load ratio, a latex-like surface feel, and good breathability. The comparison of its performance to conventional foam products is shown in the table below.

Note: Compression Set Factor (i.e., compression load index) is the ratio of the compression hardness at 65% deformation to that at 25% deformation.

2. Low Energy Consumption
High resiliency foam plastics can be cold-cured, resulting in lower energy consumption during production. For example, producing 1 kg of hot molded foam consumes 3600 × 10³ kJ, whereas producing 1 kg of high resiliency foam only consumes 670 × 10³ kJ, a difference of 5.4 times. See the table below for a detailed comparison of energy consumption.

As seen in the table, the energy required for curing alone in high resiliency foam is only 1/10th of that required for conventional thermal curing foam.

3. Shorter Production Cycle and Cost Savings
High resiliency foam cures quickly, requiring fewer molds for the same scale of production, leading to higher equipment efficiency, lower costs, and reduced investment. The economic and technical comparison between HR foam and conventional thermal curing foam is shown in the table below.

4. Good Flame Resistance
Due to its unique molecular structure, high resiliency foam has lower combustibility than conventional foam. Products without or with minimal flame retardants can still meet self-extinguishing standards. For instance, the United States has established fire resistance standards for motor vehicles, and similar standards are applied to furniture and mattresses. High resiliency foam products can meet these standards without the need for additional flame retardants, reducing manufacturing costs and minimizing harmful smoke produced during combustion.

Thanks to these advantages, high resiliency foam have gained widespread application in recent years.