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Effects of laundering on military uniform fabric flammability
Author(s) -
Morgan Alexander B.,
Yip Pearl W.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
fire and materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-1018
pISSN - 0308-0501
DOI - 10.1002/fam.2313
Subject(s) - fire retardant , flammability , cone calorimeter , flame spread , combustion , pyrolysis , composite material , materials science , flame test , poison control , fiber , fire performance , flammability limit , waste management , forensic engineering , chemistry , char , engineering , organic chemistry , medicine , environmental health , fire resistance
Summary In this paper, the effects of laundering on the flammability of a military uniform fabric were studied. The flame retardant was incorporated into the fiber prior to fiber spinning, and its ability to maintain flame spread and flame retardancy was evaluated by multiple test methods. Vertical flame spread, cone calorimeter, and pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry were used to determine how many of the flame retardants were removed as a function of wash cycles and if there was any measurable reduction in heat release/fire safety performance that correlated with a loss in flame retardant from washing. Fire testing showed that flame spread performance was maintained within the normal error for the measurement and heat release testing showed very little difference between samples as a function of laundering. Additional analysis via pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry showed that while the flame retardant levels did decrease with washing, enough of the material remained embedded in the fibers so that fire performance could be maintained. The results do indicate that the flame retardant can be washed off, but because of the flame retardant being deeply embedded in the fiber, enough will remain with the fabric after 25 washes to maintain flame retardant performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.