Fire protection textiles

The reported world tonnage in 1990 was 20001 [688]. One of the major limitations to its use in visible applications is that it is available only in black. For protection against intense heat, however, it offers considerably more protection than conventional fire protection textile fibers. A PANOX-based fabric is reported to maintain a barrier against a 900°C flame for more than 5 min. In addition to its low flammability, it has an exceptionally low thermal conductivity [689]. 

The Fire Tests for Flame Resistant Textiles and Films, issued by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) ia 1989, is the method most used by iadustrial fire-retardant finishers (ca 1993) (50). It has been approved by the American National Standards Institute. 

RCF is sold in a variety of forms, such as loose fiber, blanket, boards, modules, cloth, cements, putties, paper, coatings, felt, vacuum-formed shapes, rope, braid, tape, and textiles. The products are principally used for industrial appHcations as insulation in furnaces, heaters, kiln linings, furnace doors, metal launders, tank car insulation, and other uses up to 1400°C. RCF-consuming industries include ferrous and nonferrous metals, petrochemical, ceramic, glass, chemical, fertiH2er, transportation, constmction, and power generation/incineration. Some newer uses include commercial fire protection and appHcations in aerospace, eg, heat shields and automotive, eg, catalytic converters, metal reinforcement, heat shields, brake pads, and airbags. 

A mixture of ammonium chloride and borax was one of the treatments of cellulosic fabrics reported by Gay-Lussac in 1821. Due to its low dehydration temperature and water solubility, sodium borates are only used as flame retardants in cellulose insulation (ground-up newspaper— see Sections 9.2.1.2 and 9.2.2.1), wood timber, textiles, urethane foam, and coatings. For example, a mixture of urethane (100 parts), borax (100 phr), and perlite (30phr) was claimed to provide flame-retardant urethane foam.8 Borax in conjunction with boric oxide, silica, ammonium chloride, and APB as ceramizing additives and volume builders, are claimed in a fire-protection coating based on polybutadiene and silicone microemulsion.9 Using a modified DIN 4102 test, the chipboard with the coating showed a loss of mass less than 1% and there was no pyrolysis of the wood sample. 

NFPA 265 Standard Method of Tests for Evaluating Room Fire Growth Contribution of Textile Wall Coverings. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA. 

Nazare, S. 2008. Fire protection in military textiles. In Advances in Fire Retardant Materials, Horrocks, A.R. and Price, D. (Eds.), Woodhead Publishing Ltd., Cambridge, U.K., Chapter 19. 

Applications Their main application is as ammonium phosphates in fertilizers. In addition, they are used in fire protection e.g. as an additive in fire-extinguishing agents for fighting forest fires, as flame retardants in paper, textiles and poly(urethanes), in the prevention of afterglow in matches and as a component of intumescent paints (flame retarding coatings). They are also used in small quantities in animal nutrition, particularly for cattle. 

Polybenzimidazole fibre forms one of the most fire-resistant textiles (mp 760 °C usable to 540 °C) and, although very expeusive, is used for high-tech applicatious, such as protective clothing for fire fighters, astronauts and motor-racing drivers. 

Generally the fibres are protected by a polymeric coating, which in addition enables the membrane to have a barrier function against the environment (light, wind, rain, fire, etc.). Textile membranes for building construction are available in many varieties and in different qualities. In the following a selection of the main products available on the market today will be described. 

Fundamental scientific principles of textile heat and fire protection 246... 

Notwithstanding the above, heat and fire protection afforded by any material is environmentally and time dependent and the concept of a perfectly heat protective textile should be dismissed. Levels of protection are therefore relative rather than absolute and so, for example, should be qualified by time of exposure to a heat source having a defined character (e.g. radiant versus flame), intensity, and temperature as well as a measure of access to oxygen as mentioned above. 

Horrocks AR. Thermal (heat and fire) protection. In Scott R, editor. Textiles for protection. Cambridge Woodhead Publishing 2005. p. 398-440. 

Loftin D. Care and maintenanee of fabrics used for flame resistant personal protective equipment (PPE). In Kiline FS, editor. Flandbook of fire resistant textiles. Oxford Woodhead Publishing 2013. p. 94—107. 

Volume 2 - Technical Textile Applications offers an indispensable guide to established and developing areas in the use of technical textiles. The areas covered include textiles for personal protection and welfare, such as those designed for ballistic protection, personal thermal and fire protection, and medical applications textiles for industrial, transport and engineering applications, including composite reinforcement and filtration, and the growing area of smart textiles. 

The normal method of surface-based fire protection involves the application of a protective dye or coating on textiles, woods, or even metals and building construction materials. This technique is rather exceptional for plastics, but it is worth discussing. 

Lantor Universal Carbon Fibres, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, England—previously called Universal Carbon Fibres. Supply fire protection and high performance textiles and yams with trade name Panotex. 

Fire protection requirements exist in the fields of E E engineering, the construction industry, transportation, textiles and upholstery for furniture. More than 40% of FRs are utilised by the E E sector and cables, especially for consumer electronics, business machines, household appliances and industrial applications. 

Key words protective textiles, fire resistance, heat resistance, aramid, thermoset, ceramic, intumescent, nanotechnology. 

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