Patent ID: 8287982

Claim:
A flexible fabric that can be set to become rigid or semi-rigid, the fabric comprising: a first face having a yarn and pores; a second face also having a yarn and pores, the second face being separated from the first face by a space; self-supporting pile yarns extending between the first and second faces that maintain the first and second face in a spaced-apart arrangement; and a powder material comprising a cement located in the space between the first and second faces, the powder material being capable of setting to a rigid or semi-rigid solid on the addition of a liquid wherein the pores of the first face are at least partly sealed or have been reduced in size by an applied sealant, such that the size of any partly sealed pores of the first face is sufficiently small as to retain the powder material within the space, the second face includes pores that are sufficiently small as to retain the powder material within the space but allow the passage of the liquid causing the powder material to set.