What the Cushion Keeps

Recoverable and Permanent Set in One Lecture Theatre's Polyurethane Seat Foam

A research poster from the School of Continuous Improvement measures thickness loss in all 312 flexible polyurethane seat cushions of one tiered lecture theatre at the end of a teaching year and again after the summer break. Centre seats recover about two-thirds of their compression set over the break and aisle seats about a third, with the residual set concentrated at the cushion's front edge, where occupants push up to stand.

@misc{slop_w3t112,
  author       = {Signy Okpara and Hedvig Anyanwu and Casimir Beng},
  title        = {What the Cushion Keeps: Recoverable and Permanent Set in One Lecture Theatre's Polyurethane Seat Foam},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.w3t112},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-poster-compression-set-and-w3t112/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research poster},
}