- Author
- Mehta, A. K. | Wong, F.
- Title
- Measurement of Flammability and Burn Potential of Fabrics. Progress Report 6.
- Coporate
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
- Sponsor
- National Science Foundation, Washington, DC
- Report
- Progress Report 6; Project DSR 73884, July 5, 1972, 39 p.
- Contract
- NSF-GI-31881
- Keywords
- fabrics | flammability | burns (injuries) | skin burns (human) | flame spread | fabric weight | flash burns
- Identifiers
- modification of Henriques' burn damage criterion; check of damage rate criterion with University of Rochester flash-burn data; flame spread and burn injury results; review of flame extension model; experimental apparatus to verify flame extension model
- Abstract
- A skin burn-damage criterion based on the principle of damage as a rate process involving high activation energy has been applied successfully to literature pig-burn data. This criterion predicts the depth of damage suffered by skin when exposed to a thermal dose. A crude model of heat transfer, accounting for the diathermancy of skin has been tested and shown to be promising. All the GIRCFF fabrics except for the fire-retarded have been tested by 45 deg upward mode of burning and, except for wool and synthetic, found to give reproducible results. 100% wool and synthetics do not propagate flame uniformly when burned alone, but they give reproducible results when burned as composites with a cotton T-shirt material as undercloth. Almost all the fabrics, except for some lighter ones are prediced to inflict burns higher than third degree. A description of the experimental apparatus that will be used to test the flame extension model discussed previously is presented. It consists of a gas-fired flame spread burner which simulates the burning of a solid fuel and a particle flow visualization system for measuring induced convective velocities in the vicinity of the leading edge of the flame.