41--FOAM-BACKED TEXTILES: A NEW LAMINATING MACHINE AND THE PROPERTIES OF A RANGE OF LAMINATES.

An account is given of a simple laboratory-type mangle, developed for laminating textile fabrics with foam material. It is shown that it is possible to obtain with this equipment laminates with negligible loss of thickness in the lamination process and with a bond of satisfactory strength. It is also shown that, when a few of the laminates were given a waterproof finish with polyurethane resin on the same equipment, a satisfactory degree of waterproofness was imparted to them with the simultaneous retention of some of their inherent water-vapour-transmitting capacity. The resistance of foam, fabrics, and laminates to the transmission of water vapour is evaluated in terms of the equivalent thickness of still air for purposes of comparison, and the measurement of the thermal-insulation values of the foam, fabrics, and laminates with a simplified hot-plate apparatus is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]