One of Aerofoam’s first and longest practiced capabilities include the fireblocking of aircraft seat cushions. Fireblocking fabrics improve the flame retardant properties of aircraft seating cushions and foams. This additional layer ensures cushions built using traditional foams pass all FAA and EASA burn testing criteria.
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Most of Aerofoam’s fireblocking fabrics used are high-end technical synthetics. Poly-aramid, meta-aramid, and woven/spun fabrics like Nomex and Kevlar are typically used. These fabrics were developed by leading chemistry and defense companies like Dow Chemical.
Fireblocking fabric can either be bonded to a cushion or loosely covered. To ensure the comfort of an aircraft cushion than that cushion’s fireblocking layer should be bonded. This minimizes the movement of the cover under the dress cover and maximizes consumer comfort. For foams that are not inherently flame retardant, fireblocking provides peace of mind that the critical burn testing required for seat certification goes smoothly.
As well as providing the necessary flame retardant properties, a fireblocking layer provides a crucial substrate for sewing labels, velcro, and other important sub-components. An aircraft seat cushion built entirely using Aerofoam’s AF Comfort Series foams do not require the use of a fireblocking fabric. However, some cushions built with this series have just one side bonded with fireblocking to allow velcro and other necessary components to be easily added.
The additional layer of fireblocking provides a negligible increase in weight and provides an absolutely necessary increase in safety and performance.