Floor coverings

SABS 961 - fire index offloor coverings. A specimen is placed horizontally on the floor of a tunnel furnace incorporating a radiant gas burner. It is ignited with a pilot flame and flame spread is observed. A Spread of Flame Index is calculated from the distance burned. SABS 960 describes a similar test for building materials, in which the specimen is mounted at 30° from the horizontal. 

Scandinavia Nordtest NT Fire 004. The test is designed to measure the ability of floor covering to resist fire spread and smoke development, a flaming wood crib is placed on a 1000x400 mm specimen. After 15 seconds the blower and suction fans are switched on to give a specified airflow. Highest classification 

Fire situation Euro-class Class of product Test methods  

Fuily developed fire in a room Level of exposure more A than 60 kW m - No contribution to Are Very limited calorific content and heat release. No flaming combustion. Limited mass loss Documents CEN/TC127/N229and CEN/TC 127/N230.and list of non-combustible products  

Singie burning item in a room Level of exposure C radiation on a limited area of max. 10 k W m Limited contribution to fire Very limited spread of flame and smoke production Documents CEN/TC 127/N 125 Critical flux 10 kW m . Test 30 minutes. Observation extent of spread of flame, smoke production. Assess pass/fail 

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Zinc is also used extensively to galvanize other metals such as iron to prevent corrosion. Zinc oxide is a unique and very useful material for modern civilization. It is widely used in the manufacture of paints, rubber products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, floor coverings, plastics, printing inks, soap, storage batteries, textiles, electrical equipment, and other products. Lithopone, a mixture of zinc sulfide and barium sulfate, is an important pigment. 

Fillers. Micronized carbonate whiting is the preferred mineral fill for putty and caulking compounds based on linseed oil or plastic, and vinyl-based floor coverings. It comprises 20—60% of the raw material mix (see Fillers). 

Color Color Association of the United States 24 East 39th Street New York, NY 10016 Color standards for fabrics, paints, wallpaper, plastics, floor coverings, automotive and aeronautical materials, china, chemicals, dyestuffs, cosmetics, etc. 

G. Robinson, Carpets and Other Textile Floor Coverings, Trinsky Press, London, 1972. 

Excluding floor coverings, vinyl-coated fabrics, and textiles. Based on gross weight of pigment. 

Vinyl chloride polymers are produced in two main types, homopolymers and copolymers, usually with vinyl acetate. Both types can be plasticized by a wide variety of plasticizers (qv), usually esters. Rigid or unplasticized PVC is used extensively for pipe. The plasticized material is used largely in floor coverings. The homopolymer itself is inherently fire-resistant, but addition of plasticizers, unless they are especially fire-resistant, considerably reduces this characteristic (see Elame retardants). 

Asphalt Asphalt is used as a flexible protective coating, as a bricklining membrane, and as a chemical-resisting floor covering and road surface. Resistant to acids and bases, alphalt is soluble in organic solvents such as ketones, most chlorinated hydrocarbons, and aromatic hydrocarbons. 

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Outgassing of building materials, coatings, wall and floor coverings, and furnishings... 

Glutaraldehyde foam plastics for wallcoverings, floor coverings, insulation and packaging materials Hospitals, laboratories, cooling tower systems and... 

Linoleum, asphalted-fett-base, and other hard surface floor coverings, n.e.c. ... 

If the floor is too warm or too cool, occupants may feel uncomfortable due to warm or cool feet. For people wearing light indoor shoes, it is the temperature of the floor rather than the material of the floor covering that is important to comfort. Figure 6.4 shows the percentage of dissatisfied for seated or standing people as a function of floor temperature. 

This book not only deals with major matters, such as laboratory size and location, layout, and utilities. It also includes seemingly minor topics, such as choice of paints and floor coverings, money saving hints for utility hookups, and types of ceiling treatment. 

Colors in a laboratory should be coordinated, just as in a home. If pre-finished work benches are to be installed, they might set the color scheme. While they are available in several colors or combination of colors, the choice is not unlimited. In one case, the laboratory operator was color blind, so his wife took over the job as decorator. First, she selected a two-color scheme for the work benches. Color chips in hand, she then chose a floor covering from a number of samples submitted. For the wall paint, she found a standard color of the recommended quality that harmonized with the cabinets. A few appropriate charts and a colorful cloth wall-hanging of pipes and valves completed the decor. The result received many favorable comments from visitors to the facility. 

About 10% of the ethylene produced in the U.S. is used to make vinyl chloride, which in the chemical trade is usually referred to as vinyl chloride monomer or VCM. The largest use of VCM is for polymerization to poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), a thermoplastic, which in terms of volume is second only to polyethylene. PVC is used in such diverse areas as containers, floor coverings (linoleum), plastic pipes, raincoats, and many, many others. PVC has an evironmental disadvantage over non-chlorine containing plastics in that when it is disposed of by incineration it produces hydrogen chloride, which dissolves in atmospheric water to give hydrochloric acid. Polyethylene does not have this undesirable feature. 

Gunther A, Langowski HC (1997) Life cycle assessment study on resilient floor coverings. Int... 

Potting J, Blok K (1995) Life-cycle assessment of four types of floor covering. J Cleaner Prod... 

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