Openly porous acoustic foam, process for manufacture and uses thereof

Abstract

There is provided a method of manufacturing an openly and highly porous thermoset foam, the method comprising the steps of mixing a thermosetting resin and crystals to form a mixture; applying pressure to the mixture to expel excess thermosetting resin, thereby producing a network of crystals touching each other with the thermosetting resin filling the interstices between the crystals of said network; curing the thermosetting resin in the mixture under pressure to produce a cured material; and contacting the cured material with a solvent for the crystals, thereby leaching the crystals out of the cured material, thereby obtaining said openly and highly porous thermoset foam. There is also provided a thermoset foam made of a thermoset and having a porosity of at least about 70%, wherein more than about 75% of the pores in the foam are connected to a neighboring pore.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.