SUMMARYA set of 17 commercial garments were purchased, categorized based on their fabric composition and fire tested. Three fire exposures were used: (a) a simile of the United States regulatory test for apparel fabrics (16CFR1610), (b) a small vertical candle on a small swatch of fabric and (c) a candle applied to a full garment, placed on a mannequin. Comparisons were made between the results of the various tests and of the various fabrics tested. A general correlation was observed whereby increased fabric areal density [weight/unit fabric area] resulted in improved fire performance. Where outliers to this generalization were observed the improved fire performance was due to the superior inherent fire performance of specific fabric types such as silk. Overall, the quantitative behavior with regard to flame spread rate observed after ignition of cellulosic, thermoplastic and blended fabrics was more heavily dependent on fabric areal density than on their chemical composition. Two key conclusions are that very lightweight fabrics constitute a potential danger and that the United States regulatory value, set at 88.3g/m 2 (2.6oz/yd 2 ), represents an essentially arbitrary cut-off in this regard.
Wood fiberboard-based, cellulose ceiling tiles have been used for many years. While various fire-retardant technologies have been developed to reduce the surface flammability of these products to acceptable levels, questions of their suitability for use due to their intrinsic fuel value and the impact of attachment methods used on fire performance have been raised from time to time. This paper reviews the history of these products from a fire-performance perspective and presents materials property data on surface flamespread, thermal conductivity and ignition phenomena. In addition, large-scale room fire test results are presented including compartment tests conducted on a variety of assemblies (including those installed with mastic construction adhesives) according to ASTM E 603-Standard Guide for Room Fire Experiments.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.