The scope of this program will be to investigate the feasibility of producing for transportation vehicles a lightweight, fire resistant, low smoke generating seating foam through the use of polyimide foam chemistry. Imi-Tech Corporation manufactures a lightweight, fire-resistant, low smoke generating thermal/ acoustical foam insulation material which shows great potential for modification to a seat cushion material. Efforts will focus on modifications to lmi-Techs existing proprietary polyimide resin to obtain a polyimide based seat cushion material that offers a reasonable life cycle cost. The material identified by this program will greatly increase the fire safety of all transportation vehicles, due to the inherent high temperature stability of polyimide materials :The risk of fires occurring and the dangers presented when they do occur in surface and non-surface transportation vehicles can be greatly reduced through the use Of polyimide-based seating foam. A polyimide seating foam would greatly reduce the likelihood of fires, dramatically reduce the rate of fire spread, and significantly lower the amount of toxic gases and smoke generated. These materials could be made available to the general public quickly. Anticipated usage could also be extended to include nontransportation applications, such as homes, theaters, hotels, and institutional buildings
