Foamed Memories

Shape memory alloys such as nitinol (muscle wire) are gradually moving into public nomenclature. While the novelty of such materials is ripe for exploration, application has proven difficult as the cost of such materials is quite prohibitive. Shape memory alloys, unless they are developed using more abundant metals such as aluminum, will likely remain a niche product developed for very specific applications.

The extraordinarily expensive Homeostatic Facade.

Memory plastics, while less developed and responsive, have significant potential to become a familiar fixture in our daily lives. Combining this technology with the lightweight, structural capabilities of foamed materials, our preconceptions of the portable and flat packed may soon transform from disposable and insubstantial into something much more beautiful and valuable.

Carl de Smet combines material science and design in his firm Noumenon to push the boundaries of shape memory application. Polyurethane furniture is engineered in such away that its behavior takes on characteristics suitable for transport and self-assembly. Eschewing the Ikea Allen wrench approach, Noumenon’s website states outright that “the material is the mechanism; packing = product.” Prototype chairs are shipped in compressed bricks that expand to their final shape under the appropriate stimulus.

The memory foam chair, expanding from 1/20th its final size.

While nascent, this technology has far reaching applications, perhaps even for mobile or emergency relief shelter. The memory material in question can be both milled and injection-molded. According to de Smet:

“This is a kind of a polyurethane, or PU. In the car industry the fake leather is made out of PU. So we can do it like fake leather or fake wood; it’s just the finishing of the molding process. It depends on the moulding and how you present it.”

The prototype furniture itself is dense enough such that it, “is rigid, so it’s strong, which means you can use it as a structural support. And when it becomes hot and when it wants to change form, it becomes soft.” The current formulation is programmed such that it expands into its imprinted memory shape at roughly 70°C. Like nitinol, current can also be used to trigger the memory response.

Of course, this emergent technology is not without its problematic nuances. While polyurethane is created through an exothermic process, its volatile constituent ingredients and blowing agents (used to create foamed polyurethane) have a questionable environmental history. It is not biodegradable and usually downcycled rather than recycled.

Nonetheless, if we elevate the status of flat pack into something that is to be valued and maintained, the issue of disposal becomes less urgent. Further, development of plant-based plastics may provide a suitable alternative. In combination with the single-material application used by Noumenon, this technology may soon prove revolutionary.

Feske, Bert (October 2004). “The Use of Saytex RB-9130/9170 Low Viscosity Brominated Flame Retardant Polyols in HFC-245fa and High Water Formulations”. Las Vegas, NV: Alliance for the Polyurethane Industry Technical Conference.

“Memories of the Future by Carl De Smet.” Interview by Marcus Fairs. Dezeen. 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.dezeen.com/2012/10/25/noumenon-by-carl-de-smet/>.

Minner , Kelly . “Moving Homeostatic Facade Preventing Solar Heat Gain” 05 Jan 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 26 Oct 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/101578>

Noumenon – Shape Memory Polymer. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.noumenon.eu/>.