Flame Retardants
Wednesday, September 10 •
3:30 p.m.
– 6:00 p.m.
Moderator: Gajanan Bhat, University of
Tennessee
The Science of Fire & Heat
Resistance
Tom Fabian, Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
- An in-depth look at the technology
and standards of flame resistant and
retardant furniture.
Barrier Designs
Ronald Dombrowski, TechTex Solutions, Inc.
- The chemical ingredients used to
build thermal barrier coatings are all
interdependent; those dependencies
will be explained.
- CPSC stated that barrier fabrics can pass
an open flame test, but it has witnessed
that some of those barriers will fail the
smolder test.
[ Open Abstract ]
There are many compositions and designs that can
be used to produce a thermal barrier. In what ways can these barrier
properties be enhanced or weaken through the way the barriers are incorporated
or tested? This paper will look into a portion of these designs and property
affects.
Advantages and Applications of Multi-Component Flame
Retardant Systems
Gerald Keep, Missing Octave Insights, Inc.
- Multi-component FR Systems place
reactive matched ingredients in different
portions of a fabric construct.
- Activation is in the flame not in the
spinning or pre-treatment.
- Behavior ranging all the way up to fire
barrier performance can be achieved in
synthetic and natural fiber fabrics.
- Materials are inexpensive, nonhazardous
and durable.
[ Open Abstract ]
The Multi-Component Flame Retardant (MCFR) concept is that physical
intermingling on fiber/fabric scale gives sufficient proximity to trigger
acid-base reactions under burning conditions. This can allow the use
of simple but highly reactive chemicals, like "vinegar and baking
soda", to off-gas and provide intumescent flame retardant effects.
Several different levels of flame retardant performance can be achieved
by this technique, and have been presented at previous technical conferences.
Lab-scale demonstrations of thermoplastic systems were presented at
The Fiber Society meeting Spring 2007 and of cotton-based systems at
INTC07 in the Fall. These papers will be reviewed.
The commercial status and opportunities for MCFR systems will be
discussed. Applications being pursued range from drapable fabrics to
laminates capable of performing as a mattress fire barrier. Both thermoplastic
and cotton-based systems are moving towards commercialization.
Advantages of Spunlace
Materials in Protective Apparel
Stuart Smith, Norafin (Americas) Inc.
- A new spunlace process has resulted
in the creation of high performance
nonwoven fabrics that can be used as
protective apparel.
- Durable, comfortable, soft and drapable,
the spunlace fabric can replace
traditional woven fabrics used for
thermal insulation; performance and
data.
[ Open Abstract ]
Increased technical and performance requirements represent new challenges
for fabric manufacturers active in the protective apparel market today.
People working in hazardous environments need improved protection against,
for example, fire or electrical arc, yet the materials must still be
comfortable, soft and drapable, and in many cases, be durable or re-usable.
Through much process and product development, our proprietary spunlace
process has evolved to allow development of a wide range of high performance
materials for many different protective apparel end-uses.
In applications such as; thermal insulation barriers, or durable FR
protective apparel offering a high performance alternative to traditional
textiles, the advantages these materials bring in performance are discussed.
