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Viscoelastic Pads Convert Motion to Heat
Sorbothane achieves shock absorption levels of up to 94.7 percent
Doug Smock, Contributing Editor -- Design News, September 10, 2009
Silent Feet uses an advanced polymer technology to
absorb vibrations caused by appliances such as refrigerators and washing
machines. The material, called Sorbothane, is said to have achieved shock
absorption levels of up to 94.7 percent.
Sorobothane is a thermoset, polyether-based polyurethane that has a high damping coefficient and maintains its property over a wide temperature range. Its unique effectiveness derives from the fact that it's a solid that flows like a liquid under load and retains excellent memory. Other polyurethanes and rubber are one-dimensional under load. Sorbothane's visco-elastic properties mimic human flesh. The elastic properties of rubber return energy to the system. The material is custom molded using the resin transfer molding process at Sorbothane's manufacturing location in Kent, Ohio. Another interesting aspect of the process is its use as a middle, or "constrained" layer, between two structural layers, or as an "extensional" layer on top of a structural layer. It's produced in a durometer range from 25 to 85 Shore "00" Scale.
Sorbothane, first developed in 1982, has been widely used as a shoe insole, as well as for a variety of engineering applications. Silent Feet are newly engineered pads that feature two "easy-slide" rear feet and two "super-sticky" front feet.
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