Open-flame tests

Open flame ignition of mattresses is regulated by CPSC and is covered, once again, by the FFA, since the fairly severe open flame test for mattress sets in 16 CFR 163319 came into effect in 2007. 

The USCG regulations include reaction-to-fire requirements for the same products as the FTP code, but the tests required tend to be more realistic or severe. In particular, upholstered furniture and mattresses need to meet open-flame tests and not just smoldering tests, for example. Smaller... 

At the state level, California has been the leader in handling the fire problem. This state requires all flexible urethane foams used in furniture to be flame retardant (i.e., to pass a vertical open flame test and smolder resistant screening as set forth in the test requirement of the California Bureau of... 

Cal. 117 (Vertical Open Flame Test) (Radiant Panel Test) ... 

In all of these tests, flame acceleration was minimal or absent. Acceleration, when it occurred, was entirely due to intrinsic flame instability, for example, hydrodynamic instability (Istratov and Librovich 1969) or instability due to selective diffusion (Markstein 1964). To investigate whether the flame would accelerate when allowed to propagate over greater distances, tests were carried out in an open-sided test apparatus 45 m long (Harris and Wickens 1989). Flame acceleration was found to be no greater than in the balloon experiments (Table 4.1a). 

Three types of light sources for artificial weathering are in common use (1) enclosed UV carbon arc [7.5 UV energy output, approx. (x sunlight)], (2) open-flame sunshine carbon, and (3) water-cooled xenon arc. Selection of the light source involves many conditions and circumstances, such as the type of material being tested, product service conditions, previous testing experience, or the type of information desired. 

Test 4. To 30 mg of miconazole in a porcelain crucible add 0.3 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate R. Heat over an open flame for 10 min. Allow to cool. Take up the residue with 5 mL of dilute nitric acid R and filter. To 1 mL of the filtrate add 1 mL of water R. The solution gives reaction (a) of chloride (general test (2.3.1)). 

Standardized test using a small quantity of liquid that is slowly heated until a flash is observed when an open flame is dipped down into a covered vapor space. Flash point temperatures are normally given as open cup or closed cup, based on the type of apparatus used to measure the flash point. The open cup flash point is normally a few degrees above the closed cup flash point. 

A. Those testing the response of a substance to an open flame ie determination of the flame temperature at whcih a substance ignites and remains burning. Usually this temp is a few degrees higher than the so-called flash point of the substance... 

B. Those testing the behavior of materials exposed to high temperatures in the absence of an open flame. These tests are used to determine so-called ignition or explosion temperatures. Ignition or explosion temperature is an indefinite quantity since its evaluation depends strongly on the conditions of measurement. As an example of this variability and dependence on test conditions, the explosion temperatures for as standard an explosive as TNT are quoted from 290 to 570° (Ref 16)... 

Inflammability of Explosives Tests (Flammability Tests). See also Index of Inflammability in Vol 1, p XVII. These tests are designed to ascertain the behavior of explosives towards open flame. The following tests are described by Reilly (Ref 1) ... 

Brisance — lower than for TNT Combustion Test (French) — igoites by open flame after 1 min and continues to bum at the rate of l,5cm/min... 

Close the test tube under the water with your thumb, extract it from the bath, wrap it in a towel, bring it up to the flame of a burner and, after opening the test tube, light the gas mixture. What happens ... 

Assemble an apparatus (see Fig. 21). Place the prepared vanadi-um(V) oxide into a flask and add 12 ml of freshly distilled thionyl chloride. Heat the flask in a water bath for three or four hours. Replace the reflux condenser with a dephlegmator provided with an inclined cooler (see Fig. 20). Distil off the fraction boiling at 126-127 °C by carefully heating the flask with the open flame of a burner. Transfer the collected liquid into a weighed drawn out test tube. (Wear eye protection, seal the substance in the presence of your instructor ) Weigh the ampoule with the substance and the remaining part of the tube. Calculate the yield in per cent. 

The test is conducted by placing about lkg (or more) of a sample to be tested on a noninflammable surface (such as beaten ground or a cement floor) in such a manner chat a conical heap is formed, After measuring the height and diameter of the cone, its base is touched with either an open flame (such as a Bunsen burner or cotton soaked... 

FILL PINT CAN ONE QUARTER FULL OF HOUSEHOLD AMMONIA. FIT STOPPER WITH 6" GLASS TUBE IN OPENING. PLACE TEST TUBE OVER GLASS TUBE. HEAT CAN OVER LOW FLAME. TEST TUBE IS FULL OF AMMONIA WHEN MOIST, RED LITMUS PAPER HELD AT ITS MOUTH TURNS BLUE. 

The nitrated deacetylated chitin was insol in w or acet but sol in a 1 1 mixt of the two. On heating in a test tube over an open flame, it decompd with a puff leaving a considerable amt of carbon residue... 

Flammability of children s sleepwear is regulated by CPSC and is also covered as a result of the FFA, since a small-scale vertical open flame ignition test was developed in 1971, as 16 CFR 1615.15 This was expanded to older children in 1974, as 16 CFR 1616.16... 

Requirements and test procedure for resistance of a mattress/box spring set to a large open flame... 

Draft TB 604 2007 Test procedure and apparatus for the open-flame resistance of filled bedclothing... 

Chapter 6 Smoke test. The test is based on the National Bureau of Standards (NBS, now NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology) smoke density chamber, which has also been standardized as ASTM E 66239 (see also Section 4.1.1). The test exposes a vertical test specimen ca. 75 mm x 75 mm (3 in. x 3 in.) to an incident radiant heat flux of 25kW/m2, from a radiant heat burner for 4 min, in the presence of an open-flame pilot burner. The test applies to the same materials as the heat release rate test. The acceptance criterion is an average maximum specific optical density of smoke that does not exceed 200 (no units). 

ASTM D 7016 Standard Test Method to Evaluate Edge Binding Components Used in Mattresses after Exposure to an Open Flame... 

CA TB 603, California Technical Bulletin 603, Requirements and Test Procedure for Resistance of a Mattress/Box Spring Set to a Large Open Flame, California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation, North Highlands, CA. 

The data treatment is different for the small gap test the variable initiator test The explosive materials evaluated in the small gap test are ignited and combusted easily by an open flame. Some materials in the closed space underwent deflagration to detonation. In the small gap test it seems to be dangerous when the exothermal decomposition occurs partially and complete explosion is incomplete. In the small gap test we must assume that a dangerous reaction has occurred when smoke or a flame is seen without explosive reaction. 

Many durable flame retardants for cotton have been developed to convey open-flame resistance [344,346,360,361]. The vertical flame test for determining the U.S. children s sleep-wear flammability (16 CFR 1615 and 1616) is a rather severe test and cotton fabrics require a FR treatment to pass the test. The test method requires treatments that are durable to 50 hot water wash and dry cycles. Currently there are relatively few commercially available FR chemistries that are durable under these conditions required today. Some of the reasons include low commercial availability of the chemicals, costs, safety concerns, process control issues, and difficulty in application. 

The main durable FR finishes used on cotton to meet more severe open-flame resistance requirements are phosphorus based [343,358]. One of the problems with typical phosphorus-based FR treatments on fleece, which only requires a mild treatment to pass the 45° angle test, is that the often-required levels alter the esthetic properties of the fleece, resulting in a fabric that is stiff or matted and often has unpleasant odors. Most common types of dyes used on cotton are affected by pH or oxidation-reduction procedures that are used during the FR treatments. 

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