Investigation of the flammability of different textile fabrics using micro-scale combustion calorimetry

• Published in: Polymer degradation and stability Vol. 95; no. 2; pp. 108 - 115
• Main Authors: Yang, Charles Q., He, Qingliang, Lyon, Richard E., Hu, Yuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Compounding ingredients; Exact sciences and technology; Fibers and threads; Fireproof agents; Flame retardant finishing; Forms of application and semi-finished materials; Heat release rate; Micro-scale combustion calorimetry; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Technology of polymers; Textile flammability; Heat release rate; Micro-scale combustion calorimetry; Textile flammability; Flame retardant finishing; Nylon; Cellulose hydrate; Synthetic fiber; Aromatic polymer; Plant fiber; Organic phosphinate; Combustion; Cotton; Additive; Silk; Natural fiber; Animal fiber; Olefin polymer; Acrylic polymer; Propylene polymer; Ester polymer; Flame retardant; Organic phosphonate; Experimental study; Oxygen index; Cellulose derivatives; Flammability; Calorimetry; Aramid fiber; Cellulose organic ester; Measurement method; Woven material; Cellulose acetate; Textile finishing
• ISSN: 0141-3910; 1873-2321
• DOI: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2009.11.047

Evaluating and analyzing the performance of flame retardant (FR) textiles are a critical part of research and development of new FR textiles products by the industry. The testing methods currently used in the industry have significant limitations. Most analytical and testing techniques are not able to measure heat release rate (HRR), the single most important parameter in evaluating the fire hazard of materials. It is difficult to measure HRR of textile fabrics using cone calorimetry because textile fabrics are dimensionally thin samples. The recently developed micro-scale combustion calorimetry (MCC) is able to measure the following flammability parameters for textile using milligram sample sizes: heat release capacity, HRR, temperature at peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release and char yield. In this research, we applied MCC to evaluate the flammability of different textile fabrics including cotton, rayon, cellulose acetate, silk, nylon, polyester, polypropylene, acrylic fibers, Nomex and Kevlar. We also studied the cotton fabrics treated with different flame retardants. We found that MCC is able to differentiate small differences in flammability of textile materials treated with flame retardants. We were also be able to calculate the limiting oxygen index (LOI) using the thermal combustion properties of various textile samples measured by the MCC. The calculated LOI data have yielded good agreement with experimental LOI results. Thus, we conclude that MCC is an effective new analytical technique for measuring textile flammability and has great potentials in the research and development of new flame retardants for textiles.