Test methods for quantifying the propensity of cigarettes to ignite soft furnishings

Ohlemiller, Thomas J.; Villa, Kay M; Braun, Emil; Eberhardt, Keith R.; H, Jr Harris Richard; Lawson, James R.; Gann, Richard G.

doi:10.6028/nist.sp.851-2

Cited by 34 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…NIST, under the auspices of the 1990 Fire-Safe Cigarette Act, has since developed a test method that it claims will predict the propensity of a cigarette to ignite upholstered furniture [3]. In practice, however, the method relies on the extinction propensity of a given cigarette on the mockups selected for the test [4].…”

Section: Greensboro Nc 27401mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Upholstery Fabric Properties on Fabric Ignitabilities by Smoldering Cigarettes. II

Dwyer

Fournier

Lewis³

et al. 1995

Journal of Fire Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Upholstery fabrics for residential use were obtained from various fabric shops and manufacturers' catalogs. Screening was conducted with four experimental cigarettes of varying design. By the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cotton duck mockup method, two of the cigarettes display "low" ignition propensity and two show "high" ignition propensity. Of the fabrics obtained for this study, 316 smoldered when in contact with at least one of the experimental cigarettes. Further examination within this set of upholstery fabrics showed once again that cigarette ignition propensity ranking are dependent on fabric characteristics. The number of fabrics that showed ignition propensity rankings opposite to the NIST test "ranking" was similar to the number that agreed with it. That is, on the fabrics with rankings opposite to the NIST ranking, cigarettes of "low" ignition propensity by the NIST test showed more ignitions than cigarettes of "high" ignition propensity by the NIST test. These results are consistent with those of a previously published study with a smaller set of ignitable fabrics. Fabric weight was a key factor in determining fabric ignition behavior; two of the cigarettes showed increasing ignition propensity and two showed decreasing ignition propensity with fabric weight. For the majority of fabrics, however, cigarette design was unimportant in determining ignition behavior; that is, no differences in ignition behavior were observed with the different cigarette designs. The physical and chemical properties of the cotton duck fabrics of the NIST test are such that they repre-JOURNAL OF FIRE SCIENCES, VOL.

show abstract

Section: Greensboro Nc 27401mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Upholstery Fabric Properties on Fabric Ignitabilities by Smoldering Cigarettes. II

Dwyer

Fournier

Lewis³

et al. 1995

Journal of Fire Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, the porous nature of BF-3 may permit easier oxygen transport to the reaction site by diffusion and convection. Previous studies 45 have shown that the primary means of oxygen permeation through a fabric is diffusion, whereas air permeability measurements are based on air flow resistance. Since smoldering in systems such as those studied here is usually an oxygen-limited,…”

Section: Cf-induced Bf Smoldermentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating smoldering behavior of fire-blocking barrier fabrics

Nazaré

Pitts

Matko

et al. 2014

Journal of Fire Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study reports on the smoldering propensity of commercially available barrier fabrics in a small-scale mock-up configuration. Most barrier fabrics are smolder resistant when tested alone over a standard flexible polyurethane foam. However, when covered with a smolderprone cover fabric, most barrier fabrics failed the smoldering ignition test described in the Consumer Product Safety Commission's proposed standard 16 CFR Part 1634. The results of this study suggest that the smolder-prone cover fabrics, when placed on top of a number of barrier fabrics, are capable of releasing sufficient heat to initiate the char oxidation smoldering process of some of the barrier fabrics and subsequently transmit the heat to the underlying flexible polyurethane foam. A smoldering index for barrier fabrics was derived from the measured char volume fraction of the flexible polyurethane foam by varying the barrier fabric component in the flexible polyurethane foam/barrier fabric/cover fabric mock-up systems, while holding the other two components constant. The smoldering index for self-extinguishing barrier fabrics was 0. Barrier fabrics with smoldering index of 1 or more resulted in sustained smoldering in the flexible polyurethane foam. The smoldering propensity of barrier fabrics and the amount of heat transmitted to the flexible polyurethane foam varied depending on the barrier fabric structure, fiber content, air permeability, and bulk density. Flame-retardant treatments and use of char-forming fibers showed a greater tendency for barrier fabric smolder in the presence of the smolder-prone cover fabric. Barrier fabrics with char-forming fiber blends had greater smoldering propensity as compared to barrier fabrics with low charring fiber Downloaded from blends. The lower the smoldering propensity of the barrier fabric, the less likely was the development of sustained smoldering in the flexible polyurethane foam.

show abstract

“…If the cigarette coal extinguishes prior to placement on the filter paper, this result is recorded as a self-extinguishment (SE), and is tallied as an extinguishment on filter paper. 2 The test is conducted on a set of 40 cigarettes and out of this number the percentage of total burns is calculated. The percentage of total burns (%TB) is defined as the IS for that particular cigarette design.…”

Section: Cigarette Extinction Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As part of the research mandated by the Cigarette Safety Act, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) investigated the cigarette design parameters that could be used to manufacture cigarettes with potentially reduced ignition propensity (IP) on upholstered furniture [1]. As part of the research mandated by the Fire Safe Cigarette Act, NIST developed two tests intended to measure the IP of cigarettes [2]. The first test, the Mock-up Ignition Test (MIT), measures whether a lit cigarette transfers enough heat to a fabric/foam simulation of a piece of upholstered furniture to cause smoldering ignition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semi-Empirical Model using Radiant Coal Power to Predict Cigarette Ignition Strength as Measured by Extinction Test

Sherwood¹,

Issac

Murthi

et al. 2006

Fire Technol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A semi-empirical model was developed to use the radiant coal power of cigarettes in non-contact free smolder to predict the percentage of cigarettes smoldering on 10 layers of filter paper from a sample set that would burn the entire length of the tobacco rod. To develop the model the radiant coal power for cigarettes in non-contact free smolder was measured using infrared imaging and the percentage of the same type of cigarettes smoldering on 10 layers of standard chemical filter paper that burned the entire length of the tobacco rod was measured. From the experimental data, a characteristic coal power and an effective extinguishment threshold were established for the cigarettes. The effective extinguishment threshold was plotted as a function of the characteristic coal power for different cigarette designs, and the optimized Boltzmann model of the data allows the percentage of cigarettes smoldering on 10 layers of filter paper that would burn the entire length of the tobacco rod to be predicted by measuring the radiant coal power for the cigarettes in non-contact free smolder. The model was also used to predict the percentage of cigarettes smoldering on 7 layers of filter paper that would burn the entire length of the tobacco rod. The percentages predicted shows good agreement with the percentages measured for both 7 and 10 layers of filter paper.

show abstract

Test methods for quantifying the propensity of cigarettes to ignite soft furnishings

Cited by 34 publications

References 0 publications

The Effects of Upholstery Fabric Properties on Fabric Ignitabilities by Smoldering Cigarettes. II

The Effects of Upholstery Fabric Properties on Fabric Ignitabilities by Smoldering Cigarettes. II

Evaluating smoldering behavior of fire-blocking barrier fabrics

Semi-Empirical Model using Radiant Coal Power to Predict Cigarette Ignition Strength as Measured by Extinction Test

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About