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Author
Krasny, J. F.
Title
Cigarette Ignition of Soft Furnishings: A Literature Review With Commentary. Volume 2. Technical Study Group Cigarette Safety Act of 1984.
Coporate
National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD Technical Study Group Cigarette Safety Act of 1984
Report
NBSIR 87-3509, April 1987, 108 p.
Distribution
AVAILABLE FROM National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. Telephone: 1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000; Fax: 703-605-6900. Website: http://www.ntis.gov
Keywords
cigarettes | flammability tests | mattresses | smoldering combustion | upholstered furniture
Identifiers
consumer products; cigarette combustion; ignitability of soft furnishings
Abstract
Literature pertinent to the ignition by smoldering cigarettes of upholstered furniture and mattresses (soft furnishings) was searched through early 1986. This included literature on the smoldering behavior of cigarettes in air; their behavior on a variety of substrates simulating soft furnishings; mechanism of smoldering in substrates; relative cigarette ignition resistance of substrates; and relative propensity of commercial cigarette packings to ignite substrates. According to the reviewed literature, the smoldering behavior of cigarettes on substrates differs from that of cigarettes burning in air: on substrates, cigarette temperatures tend to be lower, and burning rates slower. These differences seem to be larger for substrates which ignite than for those which self-extinguish after the cigarette burns out. The characteristics of soft furnishings which insure resistance to cigarette ignition have been established, but those of cigarettes with low propensity to ignite furnishings have not. No mathematical model has been reported for the interaction of cigarette and substrate, but some empirical data do exist.