- Author
-
Spivak, S. M.
|
Block, I.
|
Smith, B. F.
|
Yeh, K.
|
Bhat, G. R.
|
Sun, R. L.
|
Miles, L.
|
Fairall, P.
|
Potthoff, P.
- Title
- Extinguishability as a Component Measure of Flammability Hazard. Final Report. June 1975-October 1976.
- Coporate
- Maryland Univ., College Park
- Sponsor
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
-
NBS GCR 77-90,
April 1977,
180 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Contract
- GRANT-49019
- Keywords
-
air flow
|
extinguishment
|
fabric flammability
|
fibers
|
heat flux
|
heat sinks
|
oxygen concentration
|
textiles
|
TRI flammability analyzer
- Abstract
- Extinguishability of flammable fabrics has been investigated under two separate basic and applied phases. Twenty-two fabrics have been investigated. The basic phase focused on the influence of extinction mechanisms which control burning behavior during extinguishment, and thus extinguishability. Mechanisms studied include effects of ambient oxygen concentration and placement of a heat sink in proximity to the flame. A modified TRI Flammability Analyzer was used. Results show that burning rate and heat flux vary linearly with oxygen concentration, and the general behavior of fiber type can be ascertained. Further analyses show the influence of both sensitivity to and lower limits of, oxygen concentration as these influence burning behavior. Heat sink effects cause reductions in flammability etih increasing impingement of the heat sink device. The applied phase concentrated on laboratory simulations of extinguishment strategies, i.e. slapping out the flames and running to blow out the flames. In slapping, the test device consisted of two boards which could be closed onto a burning fabric. Numerous experimental variables influence these results. Thus, slapping is highly method dependent and may not be a good candidate as a simple test to assess extinguishability. A method of greater promise consisted of blowing air over burning fabric to simulate running. This utilized a controlled air flow directed at burning fabric mounted on an NBS Mushroom Apparel Flammability Tester (MAFT).