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Author
Barker, R. L. | Shalev, I. | Lee, Y. M.
Title
Analyzing the Performance of Fabrics in TPP Exposures.
Coporate
North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh
Book or Conf
International Conference on Flammability. INTERFLAM '85. Conference Workbook. March 26-28, 1985, Guildford, England, 235-242 p., 1985
Keywords
fabrics | exposure time
Abstract
Research was conducted to obtain a deeper understanding of the thermal protective performance of heat resistant fabrics. This involves predicting burn energy protection from laboratory measurements of heat transfer through fabrics. Novel methods are described for monitoring changes in thermophysical and dimensional properties as a function of exposure time in thermal protective performance (TPP) tests. Heat induced changes in sample mass, thickness, density, opacity and conductivity are related to TPP traces obtained for fabrics made using polybenzimidazole, Kevlar, Nomex, THPOH FR cotton, Halogenated FR cotton and PBI/Kevlar blends. We observe that the direction and rate of properties change are largely controlled by the fiber type involved. We find that the absolute intensity of the heat exposure to be an overriding factor determining protective insulation in radiant/convective exposures ranging from 20 to 84 kw/m(2). We demonstrate that the TPP index is an inherent property of the fabric that depends upon intensity of the heat flux and percentage of radiant component in the exposure. We present these observations and discuss how these data facilitate the development of superior protective fabrics.