- Author
-
Lantz, R. V.
- Title
- Ignition Index: An Engineering Based Methodology for Fabric Flammability Testing.
- Coporate
- Worcester Polytechnic Inst., MA
- Report
-
Thesis
May 1996
82 p.
- Keywords
-
ignition index
|
fabric flammability
|
flammability testing
|
methodology
|
thermal flux
|
test methods
|
mathematical models
- Abstract
- The objective of this thesis is to provide an engineering basis for fabric flammability testing. This is done in terms of a new quantity called the Ignition Index, which is simply the characteristic time constant of a fabric material. The quantity can be calculated from a single time-to-ignite test under a known thermal flux. The power of the methodology lies in the limited number of experimental measurements that are necessary to develop the characteristic time-to-ignition. The Ignition Index quantity can be used to make predictions of the entire time-to-ignite versus flux curve for any single given experimental configuration. It also can be used to rank fabrics with respect to ignitability. Both uses are relevant to the needs of fabric flammability regulations where the existing methods are quite arbitrary and provide no real-life measure of the potential hazard. The validity of the concept was substantiated by comparisons with both experimental results reported in the literature as well as with a different, measurement-intensive, analytical model of Georgia Institute of Technology. The Ignition Index results were extremely good and provide a solid foundaiton to begin a thorough analysis of the practicality of using this method to replace those that exist.