IMBSIR 81-2363

Development of A Candidate

I Test Method for the Measurement

I of the Propensity of Cigarettes to

Cause Smoldering Ignition of

Upholstered Furniture and

Mattresses

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Bureau of Standards

National Engineering Laboratory

Canter for Fire Research

Washington, DC 20234

October 1981

F*nal Report

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MAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NBSIR 81-2363

DEVELOPMENT OF A CANDIDATE

TEST METHOD FOR THE MEASUREMENT

OF THE PROPENSITY OF CIGARETTES TO

CAUSE SMOLDERING IGNITION OF

UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE AND

MATTRESSES

John F. Krasny

Paula J. Allen

Adalberto Maldonado

Nilsa Juarez

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Bureau of Standards

National Engineering Laboratory

Center for Fire Research

Washington, DC 20234

October 1981

Final Report

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Ernest Ambler, Director
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES iv

Abstract 1

1. INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 Current Cigarette Ignitability Tests for Mattresses and

Upholstered Furnitxire 4 1.2 Cigarette-Upholstered Furniture Interaction 5

2. TEST DEVELOPMENT 9

2.1 Ranking of Cigarettes 9

2.1.1 Approach ^9

2.1.2 Experimental Procedure iO

2.2 Choice of Test Concept -5

2.2.1 Burning Rate of Cigarettes in Air i3

2.2.2 Burn Cone Temperature 19

2.2.3 Contact With Heat Sinks 19

2.2.4 Burning Behavior of Cigarettes in Contact With

Chromatography Paper 20

2.3 Cigarette Ignition of Wildland Material 23

2.4 Background for Choices- of Test Conditions and Areas of

Additional Work 24

3. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 2 3

4. REFERENCES '. 31

APPENDIX I 34

iii
LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 1. Furniture construction parameters listed in approximate

order of increasing cigarette ignitability . . 6

Table 2. Propensity of commercial brands of cigarettes to ignite

various fabrics/foam substrates 13

Table 3. Propensity of commercial cigarettes to ignite various

fabrics and experimental foams 14

Table 4. Some physical, chemical, and ignition propensity

characteristics of selected experimental cigarettes . . . 15

Table 5. Weight loss rate of cigarette/standard paper systems:

effects of standard paper lot, sheet, and operator .... 21

IV
Development of a Candidate Test Method for the Measurement

of the Propensity of Cigarettes to Cause Smoldering

Ignition of Upholstered Furniture and Mattresses

by

J.F. Krasny*, P.J. Allen**, A. Maldonado Rosado***

and N. Juarez Martinez***

ABSTRACT

A Ccmdidate test method for the measurement of the

propensity of cigarettes to cause smoldering ignition

of upholstered furniture cuid mattresses was developed.

It consists of placing burning cigarettes pn pieces of

a standard, alpha cellulose, chromatographic paper and

measuring the weight loss rate of the paper/cigarette

system. The results were compared to the propensity of

cigarettes to ignite upholstered furniture substrates.

The agreement was satisfactory. Of the approximately

30 cigarette brands investigated, most had a similar

propensity to ignite the upholstered furniture substrates,

but a few ignited fewer siibstrates, and exhibited longer

*Center for Fire Research, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C.

**Participant in the Cooperative Study Program, NBS-University of Maryland.

***Participants in the Cooperative Study Program, NBS-University of Puerto

Rico

1
times to ignition on those which ignited. Many upholstered furniture substrates resisted ignition by any

cigarette, while others were ignited even by those

commercial cigarettes which ranked lowest in ignition

propensity in these tests. However, a substantial

number of upholstered furniture types did ignite with

some cigarettes but not with others. Self-extinguishing

time alone does not define the propensity of a cigarette

to ignite upholstered fxirniture.

Keywords: cigarettes; f Icunmability ; ignition; selfextinguishment; smoldering; test development; upholstered

furniture.

1 . INTRODUCTION

The National Bureau of Standards' Center for Fire Research has main9 tained a long-standing program on the ignition euid burning of mattresses

and upholstered furnitiire. According to estimates by the U.S. Fire

Administration, burning cigarettes and other smoking materials inadvertently dropped on upholstered fiirniture caused 29,000 residential fires

in 1977 [1]^. These fires led to 1170 deaths, 3000 injuries, and $150

million property damage. Upholstered furniture fires were the leading

cause of deaths in residential fires, and dropped cigarettes caused about

75 percent of them. Another report states that cigarettes dropped on

upholstered furniture and bedding caused 27 percent of U.S. fire deaths [2].

A more detailed breakdown of the data is given in a recent report by the

Consximer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) [3] .

Numbers in brackets refer to the references at the end of this report.
Numerous voluntary and mandatory routes have been taken in the U.S.

a:,d abroad to reduce this toll. For example, mattresses sold in the U.S.

are covered by a Federal standard designed to make them more resistant to

cigarette ignition [4]

A substantial part of the furniture sold in the

U.S. is now covered by a voluntary labeling program initiated by the

Upholstered Furniture Action Council (UFAC) [5,6]. However, reported

restrictions on choice of upholstery materials, and the delay in seeing

the effects of such efforts because of the 15 to 20 years service life of

upholstered furniture and mattresses, have prompted alternative approaches

to be suggested as well. The most widely discussed of the alternatives is

the "self-extinguishing cigarette" [7] .

The pros and cons of self-extinguishing cigarettes have been widely

discussed. However, the technical content of that discussion has, to date,

been sparse. Of particular importance are two issues; 1) whether the

manufacture of such cigarettes is technically feasible and commercially

desirable and 2) whether, and to'what extent, the burning properties of a cigarette translate into the reduced likelihood of furnitiire ignition.

NBS has no expertise in the technology of cigarette manufacture, so it

cannot contribute to the debate on the former. However, we can contribute

technical information in the latter area.

This report reviews the state of the art of increasing the cigarette

ignition resistance of upholstered furniture and mattresses. This is

followed by a progress report on laboratory work leading to the ranking^ of

3
the propensity of different cigarettes to ignite upholstered furniture

substrates, and the efforts to develop a test which would predict this

propensity. A draft of such a test method is appended. No attempt was made

to evaluate systematically the performance of commercial or experimental

cigarettes.

1.1 Current Cigarette Ignitability Tests for

Mattresses and Upholstered Furniture

Current tests for the ignitability of mattresses and upholstered

furniture employ one of two technical approaches. In one, the actual product (or a mock-up in which the fabric, filling material, etc. are arranged

in the same manner as in the production item) is tested by placing one or

more specified cigarettes in specific locations on the item. Among the

measures following this approach are the U.S. [4]

Canadian [8] and

French [9] mattress standards, the Draft Proposed Standard for the Flammability (Cigarette Ignition Resistance) of Upholstered Furniture prepared

by NBS for the U.S. Consiuner Product Safety Commission (CPSC) [10], the

voluntary upholstered furniture standard of the Business and Institutional

Furniture Association which is based on the CPSC draft standard [11] , the

British upholstered furniture standard [12] , and the essentially identical

International Standards Orgamization (ISO) draft standard. Criteria such

as "continuing combustion” and char length are used in these standards.

Another approach is to test single components of the furniture, e.g.,

the fabric, filling material, welt cord, etc. separately. This approach

does not consider interaction effects between the materials, but is

4
somewhat simpler and cheaper. This approach has been adopted by UFAC [5]

and the California Bureau of Home Furnishings [13] . For example, in the

classification of filling materials like foam, a standard fabric covers the

specimen to be tested. A lighted cigarette is then placed into the crevice

formed by a horizontal and a vertical fabric/foam surface. UFAC specifies

a maximum char length as the pass- fail criterion, while California uses a maximum allowed weight loss.

1.2 Cigarette-Upholstered Furniture Interaction

A considerable amount of information on the cigarette ignitability

of a wide variety of upholstered furniture constructions can be found in

the literature [5, 14-26]. Some of this information is summarized in

Table 1, where fabric types, filling and welt cord materials, and furniture configuration features are listed in order from least to most

cigarette ignition prone. ‘Materials listed next to each other in the

table may overlap in their ignitability. Cellulosic fabrics of a given

weight may vary because of differences in construction, present of backcoatings which tend to reduce ignitability, or the presence of alkali

metal ions (sodium, potassium) which increase smoldering tendency and

are found on natural cotton or as a deposit originating with the dyeing

or finishing processes [27]

Similarly, the various construction parameters of foam, such as choice of chemicals, density, cell structure, etc. can affect cigarette

ignitability. Some foams are .made smolder-resistant (SR) by addition of

certain chemicals. Flame retardants (FR) which improve the resistance of

foam and fabrics to ignition by flames do not necessarily increase the

smolder resistance, and in the case of some early formulations, decrease

it [14]

5
TABLE

1.

Furniture

Construction

Parameters

Listed

in

Approximate

Order

of

Increasing

Cigarette

Ignitability

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**Smolder

resistant
In order to pass any one of the above mentioned cigarette ignition

tests, it is not necessary to use only the materials listed near the top

of Table 1. In- many cases a combination of medium weight thermoplastic

fabrics with polyurethane foam, or a low to medium weight cellulosic fabric

over foam covered with polyester batting will pass. In some cases combinations may pass when ignition is attempted in the flat area of the cushion

but not the crevice.

The other obvious approach to the problem of cigarette ignition of

upholstered furniture is to change the cigarette by reducing its propensity

to cause smoldering ignition (which may or may not lead to flaming ignition) . Legislation to this effect is ciorrently before Congress [7]

The

original versions of these bills require self -extinguishment of cigarettes

within five minutes if not smoked. This choice of time was probably based

on a report which stated that ”95 percent of furniture ignitions occurred

within ten minutes or more after exposure of the material to the lit cigarette” [28]

These results were, obtained in a laboratory situation by

estimating the time of ignition of the furniture fabric and filling material while cigarettes were smoldering on them. Such visual estimates are

unreliable because the cigarette and its ashes obscure the smoldering zone.

As is described in detail below, our experience shows that better results

can be obtained when burning cigarettes are placed on upholstered furniture

substrates and removed after 1, 2, 3. . .minutes, and continued smoldering or

self-extinguishment of the substrate is observed for at least 10 minutes.

By this method, cigarette ignitions of substrates were found to occur after

as short as 1 to 2 minute exposures.

7
In addition, the term "self-extinguish" is not easily defined.

Whether a cigarette seif-extinguishes or not depends on the nature of the

substrate which it contacts. That is, some cigarettes self-extinguish in

air but may cause smoldering ignition of heavy cellulosic fabrics over

cotton batting or foam. Seif-extinguishment of the cigarette itself has

been observed to occur for certain cigarettes on some fabric/focun substrates while the substrates continued to smolder.

Current versions of the two bills [7] contain a provision which

would give the Consxamer Product Safety Commission (the agency identified

to administer the law if passed) considerable latitude to define an

acceptable level of the propensity of cigarettes to cause smoldering

ignition of furniture. Specifically, the bills provide for use of

laboratory screening tests "to insure that cigarettes or little cigars

do have minimim capacity for igniting smoldering upholstered furniture

and mattress fires". Although begxin before and independently from the

proposed legislation, the work in this report provides a means of determining the likelihood of ignition by different cigarettes.

To our knowledge, there has been no previous effort to develop a test for the propensity of various cigarettes to ignite upholstered furniture or mattresses. Testing of the propensity of cigarettes to ignite

wildland material, such as grass and forest cover, has been reported in

the literature [29-31] . Several authors have described efforts to

ignite various textile materials with cigarettes [32,33]. Apparel fabrics

could’.not be ignited by cigarettes, but as discussed earlier, smoldering

ignition of upholstered furniture and mattresses was found to be a common

occurrence. Such smoldering may lead to flaming ignition, after periods

of minutes or hours.

8
2 . TEST DEVELOPMENT

2.1 Ranking of Cigarettes

2.1.1 Approach

During the initial stages of the development of a test for the

propensity of cigarettes to cause smoldering ignition of various upholstered substrates, the following decisions were made:

(1) The general approach would be as follows: first, identify

fabric/filling material stabstrates with graduated cigarette ignitability

second, test a number of different cigarettes to obtain, if possible, a rank over which the propensity to ignite upholstered furniture substrates

varies; and third, develop a test which predicts this propensity of

cigarettes to ignite upholstered furniture siibstrates.

(2) Only machine-made cigarettes would be used in the test development. No attempts would be made to obtain any of the cigarettes made

under the about 20 patents for "self-extinguishing" cigarettes, as long

as they would be hand produced and their reproducibility would be in

question.

(3) The ranking of the cigarettes would be determined by placing

them on the fabric/filling material substrates of varying ignitabilities.

Ranking would be based both on smoldering ignition vs. non-ignition, and

if ignition occurred, on the time to ignite.

9
(4) The fabric/filling material substrates would be tested in the

horizontal configuration, as in the mattress tests [4,8,9] rather than in

a crevice configuration (formed by a horizontal and a vertical member) as

in the above mentioned upholstered furniture tests [5,10-13]. This was

done because the intent was to provide relative rankings of cigarettes

and of upholstered substrates, not to test fabrics and filling materials

in a near worst case configuration.

(5) The experimental work was carried out under the following

conditions; air flow at the test location was 10-15 m/min. In the

early experiments, cigarettes were placed at random directions; later,

they were placed so the burn direction was in the direction of the air

flow. Laboratory temperature varied between 17 and 23 ®C, cuid relative

humidity from 30 to 65 percent.

2.1.2 Experimental Procedure

About 25 cellulosic fabric-foam combinations were tested with a number of commercial cigarettes. The fabrics varied widely in weight and

construction. Of these, five were identified in preliminary tests as

representing a spectrum of cigarette ignitability . These fabrics were

stretched over pieces of commercial polyurethane foam, all cut from the

same piece. Cigarettes were placed on the fabrics for 1, 2, 3... minutes,

and then removed, or the cigarettes were left to burn their whole length.

If no smoke or heat was observed five (later extended to 10) minutes

after cigarette removal, non-ignition^ (NI) was noted; otherwise the

notation I (ignition) was used.

10
More than 30 U.S. and foreign filter and non-filter cigarettes,

varying in weight, diameter, length, and tar and nicotine content were

placed on at least two of the five fabrics. Cigarettes which varied

in time to ignite on these two fabrics were tested on all five fabrics.

The results for six such cigarettes are shown in Table 2. Most of the

other brands behaved . similarly to cigarettes A and B. Based on the

matrix shown in Table 2, it appears that there were five graduations

of propensity to ignite the various fabrics, in terms of both whether

the cigarettes ignited the fabrics or not, and if they ignited the

fabric, the time to ignite upholstered fxirniture substrates. Thus, a ranking of cigarettes with respect to ignition propensity can be

established; it was the basis for development of a test to predict

this propensity, as discussed in 2.2, below.

The non-filter and filter cigarettes A cuid B gave similar results

in the present tests, as did the saune non-filter and a different

filter cigarette brand in a recent study on 72 furniture cushions

[25]. Other studies, with different fabrics and filling materials,

found filter cigarettes less likely to cause ignition [34]In a non-filter cigarette, air has access to the burn cone from both ends

of the stub, and a more intensive glow and presumably more heat flux

occurs. This does not occur with filter cigarettes and they may not

ignite some "borderline substrates" which ignite with non-filter

cigarettes.

Cigarettes A, B, and C had normal circtimference; cigarettes D, E,

and F were smaller. Cigarette C was a very low tar/nicotine type, the

others normal or high tar/nicotine. Cigarette C had ventilation holes

at the base of the filter.

11
Times to ignite listed in Table 2 varied only from 2 to 7 minutes.

With one exception, whenever a cigarette was found to have an ignition

time of 4 or more minutes on one fabric, it did not ignite the fabric

with a lower ignitability listed below it.

Table 3 shows results of an experiment performed to extend the

work on the ranking of cigarettes. Cigarettes A, B and F, and two

fabrics which were used in the experiments leading to Table 2 were

used again in these tests. Four types of experimental foams were

tested. They were described as flame retardant (FR) and non-flame

retardant (NFR) , each represented in two densities, with the denser

foam intended for seats and the other for backs of furniture.

The results shown in Table 2 were essentially confirmed. Cigarette

F clearly had lower propensity to cause smoldering ignition, although

it ignited the denser NFR foam with both fabrics. Cigarettes A and B

again performed very similarly, and it again took longer to ignite the

damask than the velvet. Among the NFR foams, the lighter foam had

longer ignition times than the heavier oney among the FR foams these

differences were smaller, and reversed. Some of these foam-fabric

combinations were re-tested by a different operator about six months

later, and the same ignition times or times differing by no more than

1 minute were obtained.

Table 4 presents another attempt to rank cigarettes according to

their propensity to ignite furniture substrates. Experimental cigarettes

from the third set of cigarettes produced for the National Cancer

Institute Smoking and Health Program [35] were chosen because of their

12
TABLE

2.

Propensity

of

Commercial

Cigaretttes

to

Ignite

Various

Fabric/Foam

Substrates

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B

B

r-4 c U 0 O

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CO « 44 )4

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13

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sel

f-ext i

npii i

shed.
TABLE

3.

Propensity

of

Conunerclal

Cigarettes

to

Ignite

Various

Fabrics

and

Experimental

Foams

(Uw

(0 c

•Ha

CO

<u H « O

•H < c

00

fO t-t

M

M z z z

CM ^ cn <r

«N ^ mm

M

M

M Z Z Z

fn tn in <•

cnm in <r

>* U fO

•H

a 00 < o CM 00 <r o CM

CO— o CM iH

O CM iH

C 00 • • • • • • • • <u ^ Q

rH iH

b 2

COo OJ

u

u

Cx* CO CO

y CO

U COu CO

O z (U CO y CO • y CO y fl cn P9 CO 03 CO OQ C/3 03

0) oc oc

CLb 00b QO >> z b Z b

&-l

u

Xi

CO

Cl4

CM

a

00 m

so

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<u>

rH

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cno

CO

COa

CO Q

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<uu

<ua

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ct

CZ4 Z a

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14

flame

retardant
TABLE

4.

Some

Physical,

Chemical,

and

Ignition

Propensity

Characteristics

of

Selected

Experimental

Cigarettes

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CN

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CN cn c^

CN

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CN cn cn

CN cn fH CN

CN cn CN

cn

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CQ • 3 CO > **«N.n

a

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AJ 0 C <U c « M‘ o 0 e CQ 3 a 4J u u c: V4 00 V U u •H 3 >s fH 3

-«*v CJ 3 u 3 > U CQ 3 «» 4J COU

cn

a CQ JO 3 CQ 3 a

a • -4

b c a jO u c u s u 3 3 u <u O 3 0 m 3 a a 00 s •• 3 3 U

CQ ^<0u CJ 0 CJ 3 u

a

a

a

w •H 30 3 & U.4 3 » CQ a o u 4J V .u 3 NM

V -3 00 cQ

u CQ CQ

a

n

n • cQ 3 3 O. * 3 3 GJ CQ U a rH n 0) VM 3 n U • U o •M GJ C 00 0 JO 0 01 a 3 c

CJ CO

H

U

a 4J o u c 4J •H c CO •H

Ca 0 ^ 3 4J u iJ 3 • • <n 4i^ a 3 3 3 U ^ m 00 00 3 f^3 Q. 43 3 3 w 0 3 3 *«««.» 00 3 C 3 3 3 u 00 U

4J a. o* o C 00 o •• 3 3 3 > 3 3 3 3 u •W a a U 3 3 « *F^ a a 00 3. U u 3 u a 3 iJ 3 3 3 3 3 3 CQ 3 3 * • u a -C -3 > 00 3 O. 00 3. i-» J2 3 u * CN 3 ^ 3 • c •H 3 0 3 3 o o w a 3 CJ oO 3 u fiu H 4J 2S H u CJ CO a Ou o M 3

-o9

qo

15

ested

with

dilution

filter

removed;

with

dilution

filter

results

were

44.9

and

44.6

mg/mln.

lecause

of

poor

contact

between

paper

aitd

cigarette.
wide variation in a number of parameters. Among these were cigarette

paper porosity and absence or presence of a "dilution filter"; wide

variations in tar, nicotine, CO and other smoke constituents produced

when these cigarettes were smoked on a smoking machine; and static

burn rate and peak coal temperatures. In spite of the differences in

burn behavior these cigarettes produced no differences in ignition

time on three fabrics over commercial foam, except for the longer

ignition time (with poor reproducibility) found for Cigarette 76 which

has very low cigarette paper porosity.

To further investigate ignition times of these cigarettes, they

were placed on the velvet fabric for 1, 1-1/2, 2, ... etc. minutes,

instead of the usual one minute- steps. The time at which none of the

three to five cigarette replicates ignited the substrate, and the time

at which all replicates ignited it, is shown in Table 4 (the differences

in those two times tended to be larger in these experimental cigarettes

than in commercial cigarettes for which it varied between 1/2 and 1-

1/2 minutes) . Still, no major differences in ignition time for these

cigarettes, except No. 76, could be established.

These findings suggest that cigarette parameters usually measured

by industry such as burn rate and coal temperature, do not control the

propensity of the cigarettes to ignite furniture substrates. Probably

such parameters as contact area between cigarette and substrate and

heat flux in the contact area affect this propensity.

2.2 Choice of Test Concept

The above investigation was performed to identify cigarettes with

a graduated propensity to ignite upholstered furniture siibstrates, and

16
t- learn more about the interaction of various cigarettes and such

substrates, since most previous work had been performed with only one

cigarette. The next step was to develop a laboratory method which

would correlate with the ranking of the cigarettes.

After considerable experimentation, two factors became apparent:

a meaningful test would have to involve cigarettes lying on

and interacting with a substrate, rather than the measurement

of characteristics of cigarettes burning freely in air. The

latter is the usual approach to cigarette testing for quality

control, smoke chemical constituents analysis, etc.

° the test method should, not be based on commercial "standard

fabrics" or "standard filling materials" such as foam or

batting. UFAC, the California Bureau of Home Furnishings,

CPSC, and NBS have had great difficulties in the procurement

~~ of such "standard" materials in a reproducible form. Upholsteryfabrics, foam, and batting have thus far not been produced

to the close tolerances needed for use in tests of the kind

envisioned here, and the market for such standard materials

would generally be too small to make it worthwhile to introduce

costly production controls only for this purpose. We are

aware that UFAC and the Society of Plastics Industry are

working to provide standard materials, but they are not

available at this time.

The following characteristics of cigarettes were inves-tigated, to

see if they would correlate with the propensity to ignite upholstered

furniture:

17
1. static burning rate of cigarettes

2. temperature of burn cone on the cigarette surface

3. burning- behavior of cigarettes in contact with heat sinks,

e.g., metal gauges of varying thickness

4 . burning behavior of cigarettes placed on chromatography

paper, which showed the most promise.

The details are discussed below.

2.2.1 Burning Rate of Cigarettes in Air

Table 2 shows that the burning rate of cigarettes suspended

freely in air related to cigarette ignition propensity with one notaUsle

exception; cigarette C, which burned relatively fast, ignited fewer

fabrics, and frequently had longer ignition times than cigarettes A

and B, which had a somewhat lower burning rate. This may have been

due to a combination of factors: perhaps the burn cone of this cigarette moved so rapidly that there was insufficient time to ignite some

of the substrates. Cigarette C also had a low packing density so that

may have been not enough fuel in the burn cone to cause ignition of

some substrates. On the other hand, cigarette 76 of the experimental

cigarette series (Table 4) had a lower burning rate than the others,

and longer ignition times.

Commercial cigarettes E and F. (Table 2) tended to self-extinguish

in air, but ignited some fabric/foam substrates. This indicates that

burning rate in air could not be used to differentiate between cigarettes on the lower end of the cigarette ignition propensity scale.

18
Furthermore, it was established that the cigarette diameter, and

thus the area of contact with a surface, has at least a modest effect

on the ignition propensity. An oval cigarette took about 1 minute

longer to ignite a certain fabric/foam system when its narrow side was

in contact with the fabric than when it was placed on its wide side.

Cigarettes D, E, and F have small diameters and relatively low ignition

propensity; however, they probably differ in other parameters as well.

Based on this combination of findings, it appeared preferable to

develop a test in which the cigarette is in contact with a surface.

2.2.2 Burn Cone Temperature

The peak coal temperature of the bum cone is listed in Table 4

for the experimental cigarettes. It varies greatly over 'the length of

the cigarettes, and correlates poorly with ignition time. A brief

attempt to relate burn cone temperatures of cigarettes A to F also

showed little promise. Attempts to measure the temperature at the

interface of fabric and cigarette demonstrated significant experimental

difficulties — the thermocouple may interfere with fabric-cigarette

contact as the smoldering front passes, and the results show poor

reproducibility.

2.2.3 Contact with Heat Sinks

In another attempt to develop a simple test method, cigarettes

were allowed to burn freely in air until they contacted steel gauges

of varying thickness. Even thin gauges extinguished all cigarettes.

It may be possible to identify graduated heat sinks which would differentiate between the various cigarettes but this approach was not

pursued.

19
2.2.4 Burning Behavior of Cigarettes in Contact

with Chromatography Paper

It appeared that a useful test concept would incorporate use of a reproducible material which would interact with smoldering cigarettes.

A material used in chemical amalysis, an alpha cellulose paper which

is also used for the calibration of the Smoke Density Chamber [36,37]

2 seemed to be promising for the present purpose. This paper is manufactured for use in chromatographic chemical analysis, and has been

found to be reasonably reproducible with respect to smoke production

under certain heat conditions. It was decided to use it as the sxibstrate to be placed under smoldering cigarettes, as described in

Appendix I of this report. The paper smolders along with the cigarette but does not continue smoldering when the cigarette goes out.

In the proposed test, the cigarette is placed on one layer of the

standard paper, suspended by four pegs above a platform. A load cell

connected to the platform is used to record the weight loss of the

cigarette-standard paper system. The rate of weight loss, in mg/min,

is determined.

Table 5 shows some results with standard paper sheets taken from

the same lot and from different lots, obtained by two operators over a period of several months. The reproducibility appears satisfactory,

especially considering that the environmental conditions in the laboratory were not closely controlled, and that the cigarettes were

taken from packs which had been opened for various periods.

2This paper, certified for use in calibration of the smoke density

chamber, is available as Standard Reference Material 1006a from the

Office of Standard Reference Materials, National Bureau of Standards,

Washington, D.C. 20234. See Appendix I.

20
TABLE 5.

WEIGHT LOSS RATE OF CIGARETTE/STANDARD PAPER SYSTEMS:

EFFECTS OF STANDARD PAPER LOT AND SHEET. AND OPERATOR

CIGARETTE - A

WEIGHT LOSS RATE

Cmg/m i n])

STANDARD DE^

Cmg/ m i i LOT 1 OPERATOR 1 52.8 3.6

OPERATOR 2

SHEET A 48.3 3.2

SHEET B 52.6 3.S

LOT 2

OPERATOR 2 52 .

3.7

CIGARETTE - C

LOT 1 OPERATOR 1 41 .3 2.9

OPERATOR 2

SHEET A 39.3 3. 1 SHEET B 36.4 2.7

LOT 2

OPERATOR 2 38.4 2.9

CIGARETTE - 76

LOT 1 OPERATOR 2 37.7 2.9

LOT 2

OPERATOR 2 34.5 3.7

CIGARETTE - 77

LOT 1 OPERATOR 2 55.4 6.9

LOT 2

OPERATOR 2 54.

9.6

IH
The weight loss time plots for the cigarettes tested were

essentially linear. This is of interest because it agrees with the

finding that ignition times for the furniture substrates did not vary

with cigarette length, i.e., the ignition propensity also appears

reasonably constant over the length of the cigarettes. Any change in

the weight loss rate would be readily apparent. The time at which the

cigarettes self-extinguish can also easily be determined from the

plots. These factors could thus be taken into consideration in ranking

cigarettes by this method.

Table 2 and Table 4 compare the weight loss rates (mg/min of

cigarette/paper system) with the behavior of the cigarettes on upholstered

furniture substrates. Weight loss rate correlates with ignition time,

or number of fabrics which ignited in Table 2. Considering that

control of ambient conditions was poor, that the foams used for testing

the commercial and the experimental cigarettes were different (which

may affect ignition times somewhat) and that the experimental cigarettes

showed considerable variability, the weight loss rate method seems

promising for prediction of cigarette propensity to ignite furniture

substrates

The dilution filters of cigarettes 89 and 90 (Table 4) had a larger diameter than the cigarettes and apparently reduced contact

between the cigarette and the standard paper. With the filters in

place, the weight loss rate was about 5 mg/min lower than when the

filters were removed before testing. The effect of filter removal on

ignition of the fabrics was not clear cut. One could assume that the

fabrics have rougher surfaces than the paper, and that the presence of

22
protruding filters becomes less important on the fabric. The test

method shown in Appendix 1 suggests removal of protruding filters, and

selection of cigarettes with as close as possible to cylindrical shape

for tests.

The choice of weight loss rate of the system consisting of one

sheet of standard paper and a cigarette was preceded by considerable

experimentation with multiple sheet layers. Up to four sheets were

tried; for some cigarettes, this resulted in considerably larger weight

loss than with single sheets. In fact, it was originally planned to

rank cigarettes simply by the mnnber of sheets which would show signs

of charring, so that no recording equipment would be needed. However,

multiple sheets tend to curl in contact with the burning cigarettes, so that contact between the sheets becomes poorly controlled. Attempts to

overcome this by stapling or glueing at the edges were made but were

found to be time consuming without ranking the cigarettes in exactly

the same order as the fabric burn experiments. All things considered,

the single sheet method appeared preferable.

2.3 Cigarette Ignition of Wildland Material

A brief attempt was made to confirm the relative propensity to

ignite furniture substrates found for Cigarettes A to D with wildland

materials, such as dried grass and pine needles. Qualitatively, it

was easy to see that Cigarettes C and D caused a lower smoldering rate

and smaller smoldering areas before self-extinguishment than Cigarette A.

However, systematic experimentation to obtain quantitative results

required more rime for exploration of experimental conditions than was

23
available. It was found that wildland materials must be packed fairly

tightly to obtain smoldering and/or flcuning ignition, especially with

the relatively high relative humidity in our laboratories. Considerable

airflow was needed to obtain ignition. Other workers have defined some

of the conditions for such experimentation but their results probably

would not fully apply to present day cigarettes [29,30].

2.4 Background for Choices of Test Conditions

and Areas of Additional Work

This section describes the background for choices of a number of

test conditions in the attached test method. For some of these, only

brief or no investigation of the effect of varying the conditions was

conducted.

Laboratory conditions: laboratories of cigarette manufacturers

are usually held at 24®C and 60% r.h. and these are the conditions

specified in the attached test method. Twenty-four hour conditioning

also is usual in cigarette testing.

Air flow; the test method specifies a 3.3 m/min air flow because

it would minimize interference with the load recording mechanism and is

considered easily attainable in most laboratory hoods. Air velocity

and direction relative to the b\irn direction of the cigarette affect

both cigarette ignition propensity for wildland materials [30,31] and

cigarette burning rate [38]The test method specifies draft direction

along the burn direction, which according to the literature, results in

the highest bum rate.

24
Cigarettes have double- layer paper seams. The test method specifies

that this seam be on top of the test cigarette. The effect of the secun location on the test results has not been investigated.

Although originally intended for an unrelated purpose (chemical

analysis) , the standcird paper used in this test was calibrated for

producing a certain behavior under closely controlled conditions of

radiative heating [36,37]. In our view, this paper is more appropriate

for the present purpose than less closely controlled materials such as

foams or fabrics, even though they would have closer resemblance to

upholstery materials. Development of a calibration method to assure

controlled smoldering of the paper would be desirable, but was not possible within the framework of the present project.

Although it was not a significant problem in our experiments

better reproducibility could perhaps be obtained by placing the paper

in a frame (large enough not to act as a heat sink) instead of letting

it rest on four pegs, the present arrangement. This may minimize amy

bending or curling of the paper in the area of the burn cone.

The candidate test method was developed based on the behavior of

presently available, commercial cigarettes. It is difficult to foresee

potential future developments which could produce cigarettes which give

anomalonus results with the present test method, compared to their

tendency to ignite upholstered f\irniture substrates. Many of the same

phenomena occur in both the test and in the actual furniture ignition

scenario, but there is no guarantee that the results of the two must

correlate. There are at least two cases where they conceivably will

not.

25
One involves cigarettes which make little contact with substrates

because of spacers or use of intumescent materials on the paper (as

covered by several patents) . Such cigarettes could have low propensity

to ignite substrates but could still show a significant weight loss

rate in the proposed test. If this becomes a problem, the appended test

method could be changed to require that unusually low charring of the

standard paper, as judged visually, be reported, so that the above

situation would be recognized. For such cases, a comparison of the

cigarette/ standard paper system weight loss and the weight loss of the

paper may be preferable for characterization of the ignition propensity.

As stated before, more specific recommendations for evaluating such

cigarettes cannot be made since none were available for experimentation.

A second possibility is that some cigarettes produced now or in

the future may self-extinguish soon after being placed on the standard

paper, and that their ignition propensity could not be measured with

the present arrangement. Such cigarettes may still differ in their

propensity to ignite furniture substrates. A need for extending the

sensitivity range of the test method would thus arise. If such cigarettes

appear, the test could be changed to extend into lower ranges of ignition

propensity by using a crevice or trough arrangement, with two strips of

the standard paper at right angles. Cigarettes would presxmably continue

to burn in such crevices even if they self-extinguish on the horizontal

paper strip used now. Since the cigarettes used in the present work

presented no major problems of self-extinguishment , the crevice arrangement was not investigated in depth.

26
In the course of this work several factors could only be investigated

to a limited extent. The most important of these are;

1. The Range of Substrates. It would be desirable to check the

cigarette rankings with a wider range of fabrics and filling materials

since there are thousands of fabric and filling combinations which

previous work [14-26] has shown to be susceptible to cigarette ignition.

Similarly, the ranking of cigarettes may be affected by furniture

configurations, such as crevices between cushions and sides or backs

forming various angles, concave cushion surfaces, etc.

2. The Wide Variety of Cigarettes. Only about one sixth of the

about 180 available U.S. commercial cigarettes and a few foreign cigarettes, were investigated. Extension of this test population may be

desirable, both in terms of their ranking on fabric/filling material

siibstrates and weight loss rate. Work with additional cigarettes from

the Smoking and Health Program may help in understanding the mechanism

of cigarette ignition of various substrates, since these cigarettes are

systematically varied in selected parameters, and many physical aind

chemical measurements have already been performed on these cigarettes.

Similar information is not generally available for commercial cigarettes.

3 . Further Exploration of the Candidate Test Method. Why did the

weight loss rate of the cigarette/standard paper system rank the cigarettes in the order of their propensity to ignite furniture substrates

wnile the weight loss of the paper alone did not? One possible reason

may be the fact that the paper sheet smolders only where it is in contact

27
with the heat source, and thus there is only a limited amount of material

which can lose weight, regardless of the burning intensity of the cigarette. (Using a thicker material would overcome this difficulty, but no

well standardized source of thick, pure alpha cellulose was found; use of

multiple layers of the standard paper presented experimental difficulties,

as discussed earlier) . This may make the method somewhat insensitive for

cigarettes with relatively high heat flux. In such cases, the weight loss

of the cigarette/ standard paper system, which includes the weight loss of

the cigarette (which in turn can be assumed to be related to heat flux)

appears preferable. However, this point bears further investigation.

3. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Most previous work on the ignitability of upholstered fxirniture

was performed with one kind of cigarette. The present report describes

experimentation with commercial and experimental cigarettes having a substantial of range of burning behavior, and their interaction with a number of upholstered furniture fabric/filling material substrates. A

draft candidate test method for the measurement of the propensity of

cigarettes to cause smoldering ignition of upholstered furniture is

attached as Appendix I.

Upholstered furniture fabrics vary widely in their propensity to

be ignited by lighted cigarettes. The lighter weight cellulosic fabrics

(cotton, rayon, linen) and the medium to heavy weight thermoplastic

28
fabrics (nylon, olefin, polyester) rank relatively low in this propensity. Medium to heavy weight cellulosic fabrics are relatively

cigarette ignition prone. The material under the fabric, the filling

material, also- greatly affects the cigarette ignitability of upholstered

furniture, as do construction features.

A group of fabric/filling material substrates varying in cigarette

ignitability was exposed to about 30 U.S. and foreign commercial cigarettes. The majority of the cigarettes behaved similarly, and ignited

all fabrics. Several others ignited only a few of the fabrics. With

the most ignition prone fabric, the ignition time was the same for all

cigarettes. On the less ignition prone fabrics, the ignition times

varied for the various cigarettes identified as having lower ignition

propensity. Thus, a ranking of cigairettes according to ignition time

and number of the fabric/ filling material substrates ignited was possible. This ranking did not seem to correlate with such parameters

often used to characterize cigairette burning phenomena, such as bum

rate and burn cone temperature measured on cigarettes burning in air.

This type of classification was developed to rank cigarettes

according to their propensity to ignite furniture substrates. It does

not, however, permit more than a rough, qualitative estimate of the

relative ignition hazard of the six cigarettes in terms of possible

furnittire ' fires in American homes. One can say with some assurance

that, if all cigarettes performed like D, there would be "fewer” fires

than if all performed like A or B. It is not possible to quantify

"fewer"; this would require knowledge of the cigarette ignitability of

upholstered furniture presently in American homes. Such information is

29
not available, nor will it be easily obtainable for furniture built in

the future, since fabric and filling material change with fashion,

relative price, etc. The recent trend has been to more ignitionresistant materials, such as thermo-plastic fabrics and upgraded filling

materials. In addition, a svibstantial portion of furniture is being

built to UFAC requirements.

A test method was developed which takes into account the behavior

of cigarettes when they burn on a substrate (Appendix I) . A burning

cigarette is placed on a strip of a standard alpha cellulose paper used

in chromatographic analysis. The weight loss rate of the cigarette/standard

paper system is determined. This correlates with the rankings of the

cigarettes on fabric/filling material substrates.

The choices of test parcuneters are explained. In some cases, they

were based on results of a laboratory investigation; in others, on the

best available knowledge. Areas in which further investigation would

be desirable are outlined. The most importcuit such area is testing of

a greater number of commercial and experimental cigarettes by the test

method and comparison of the results to ignitability rankings obtained

from placing the cigarettes on a wider variety of upholstered furniture

sxibstrates

Ignition times will vary with cigarette and substrate and may be

as short as 1 minute. Self-extinguishing time for a cigarette will

depend pn the substrate on which it rests. Self-extinguishment time

alone will not define the propensity of a cigarette to ignite upholstered

furniture

30
4 . REFERENCES

[1] Schaenman, P.S., and Tovey, H., Upholstered Furniture Fires: The

Magnitude of the Problem. Testimony for the Consumer Product Safety

Commission, December 20, 1978.

[2] Clarke, F.B., III, and Ottoson, J., Fire Death Scenario and Fire

Safety Planning, Fire Journal, Vol. 70, No. 3, 20-22, 117, 118

(May 1976)

[3] Eighth Annual Flammable Fabrics Report, U.S. Consumer Products Safety

Commission, Washington, D.C. (Dec. 1980)

[4] Code of Federal Regulations, Title 16, Part 1632, Standard for the

Flammability of Mattresses (and Mattress Pads), FF 4-72.

[5] Upholstered Furniture Action Council, How to Comply with the UFAC

Voluntary Action Program, UFAC, Box 2436, High Point, N.C. 27261

(Feb. 12, 1979).

[6] UFAC Voluntary Action Program, Semi-Annual Report to the Consumer

Products Safety Commission, Upholstered Furniture Action Council,

High Point, N.C. 27261 (Jan. 1981) .

[7] Cigarette Safety Act. S 51 (Jan.. 6, 1981); H.R, 18,54 (Feb. 17, 1981).

[8] Method of Test for the Combustion Resistance of Mattresses: Cigaretire

Test. Canadian Govesmment Specification Board, Ottawa, Ont. No. 27.7

(1977)

[9] Behavior of Mattresses in Fire: Cigarette Test. Bulletin Official

des Services des Prix, Annexe a la Recommendation No. Dl-78 Direction

General de la Concurrence et de la Confirmation, Paris, France

(Dec. 21, 1978).

[10] Part 1633 — Proposed Standard for the Flcunmability (Cigarette

Ignition Resistance) of Upholstered Furniture (PFF 6-81). U.S.

Consumer Products Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. (1981)

[11] The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association

First Generation Voluntary Upholstered Furniture Flammability Standard

for Business and Institutional Markets, BIFMA, 2335 Bvirton S.E.,

Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506 (May 22, 1978).

[12] Fire Testa for Furniture, Part 1. Method of Test for the Ignitability

by Smokers' Materials of Upholstered Composites for Seating, BS 5852:

Part 1. British Standards Institution, London WlA 2BS, England

(1979) .

[13] State of California, Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Home

Furnishings, Flammability Information Package, Bureau of Home

F\irnishings , North Highlands, Ca. 95660 (January 1980) .

31
[14] Damant, G.H., and Yoiong, M.A., Smoldering Characteristics of Fabrics

Used as Upholstered Furniture Coverings, J. Consxamer Product

Flcunmability , Vol. 4, 660-113 (March 1977)

[15] Damant, G.H. , Home Furnishings Fire Retardant Requirements: The

California Experience. J. Consumer Product Flammability", Vol. 6,

95 - 1-3 (June 1979)

[16] Williams, S.S. and Damant, G.H., Rate of Weight Loss as an Aid to

Evaluate the Smoldering Propensity of Upholstered Furniture,

Laboratory Report No. SP-81-1, Bureau of Home Furnishings, Department of Consumer Affairs, State of California, North Highlands, Ca.

95660 (Feb. 1981)

[17] Damant, G.H. , A Bibliography of Published Information on Furniture

Flammability, J". Consumer Products Flammability, Vol. 5, 245-249

(Dec. 1978) 7, 127-129 (June 1980).

[18] Baitinger, W.F., and Haynes, P.L., Furniture Flammability; Fabric

Opportunities, Textile Research J. , Vol. 50, 201-204 (March 1980).

[19] Olsen, N.F., and Bollinger, J.R., Filtered and Non-Filtered Cigarette

Ignition of Cotton Upholstery Fabrics, Textile Research J., Vol. 50,

310-315 (May 1980)

[20] Tesoro, G.C., and Toong, T.Y., Smoldering in Cotton Upholstery

Fabrics and Fabric/Cushioning Assemblies, Final Report to Cotton

Inc., Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute

of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. (Feb. 1981)

[21] Donaldson, D.J., and Harper, R.J. , Jr., Controlled Add-on to Reduce

Upholstery Ignition, Textile Research J., Vol. 50, 205-208 (March

1980)

[22] Upholstered Furniture Flammability Briefing Package: Reference 14:

Fairall, P., and Madison, R. , Analysis of Upholstered Furniture Test

Prograun; Reference 15: Pressler, C., and Oakley, M., Upholstered

Furniture Test Methods and Data Summary; Reference 41: Fairall, P.,

Relationship of Small Scale Testing to Full Scale Furniture

Performance, U.S. Consxamer Products Safety Commission, Washington,

D.C. (June 1981)

[23] Briefing Paper on Upholstered Furniture Flammability Standard, Tab C,

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207

(November 1979)

[24] Braun, E., Krasny, J., Peacock, R. , Smith, G., and Stolte, A.,

Cigarette Ignition of Upholstered Chairs, Report for the U.S.

Consumer Product Safety Commission, Center- for Fire Research,

National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C. (June 1981)

[25] Morin, C.J., Final Report of the UFAC-NBS Research Associate Program,

in preparation.

[26] Loftus, J.J., Back-Up Report for the Proposed Standard for the

Flammability (Cigarette Ignition) of Upholstered Furniture, NBSIR

78-1438, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C. (June 1976).

32
C27] McCarter, R.J., Smoldering Combustion of Cotton and Rayon, J. Consumer

Product Flcunmability , Vol. 4, 346-358 (Dec. 1977).

[28] Potential Flammability Hazards of Upholstered Furniture, A.D. Little,

Inc., Cambridge, Mass. (August 1974).

[29] Sale, P.D.', and Hoffheins, F.M., Cigarettes and Cigars, Fire Hazard

Tests, Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association; Vol. 21,

No. 3, 237-246 (Jan. 1928)

[30] Hoffheins, F.M., Fire Hazard Tests with Cigarettes, Quarterly of the

National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 27, No. 2, 132-140 (Oct.

1933) .

[31] Blackmarr, W.H., Moisture Content Influences Ignitability . USDA

Forest Service Research Note SE - 173, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Asheville, N.C. (May 1972)

[32] Yockers, J.R., and Segal, L. Cigarette Fire Mechanisms, Quarterly of

the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 49, No. 3, 213-22

(January 1956)

[33] Blankenbaker , S. , Cigarettes and Electric Heating Elements as Ignition

Sources, Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Meeting, Information

Council on Fabric Flammability, Atlanta, Ga., Dec. 1979.

[34] Loftus, J.J., Center for Fire Research, National Bureau of Standards;

personal communication.

[35] Gori, G.G., Editor, Report No. 3, Toward Less Hazardous Cigarettes,

The Third Set of Experimental Cigarettes, DHEW Publication No. (NIH)

77-1280, U.S. Government Printing Office Stock No. 017-042-00127-7

(1977).

[36] Test Method for Determining the Specific Optical Density of Smoke

Generated by Solid Materials. ASTM Standard E 662-79.

[37] Standard Test Method for Measuring the Smoke Generated by Solid

Materials, NFPA 258-1976.

[38] Eichman, D.A.

Cigarette Burning Rates, The Fire and Arson Investigator, Vol. 30, No. 3, 10-19 ( January-March 1980).

33
APPENDIX I TENTATIVE METHOD FOR MEASUREMENT OF THE PROPENSITY OF CIGARETTES

TO IGNITE UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE AND MATTRESSES

1. Scope

This test method is intended to measure the propensity of commercial

cigarettes to ignite upholstered furniture and mattresses when lighted

and dropped on them.

2 . Definitions

Ignition; continued smoldering, as indicated by smoke and heat

development, of an upholstered furniture or mattress substrate after a cigarette has been placed on it. The smoldering may or may not lead

to flaming ignition.

Burning time: the time between the placement of the cigarette on

the standard paper and the extinguishment of the cigarette, as indicated

by the recorder trace.

3 . Summary of Method

Burning cigarettes are placed on horizontal strips of a standard,

alpha cellulose paper and the weight loss rate of the cigarette/paper

system is measured.

34
4 . Apparatus

The apparatus consists of a holder for strips of a standard

paper, which is attached to a load measuring device (Figure 1) . A

recorder plots the weight change as the cigarette smolders on top of

the standard paper.

4.1 Holder; a piece of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or similar

material, 5 x 10 cm, 2.5 mm thick, suspended horizontally over a load

cell. On top of the PMMA sheet, at each corner, is a 6 mm high, 6 mm

diameter PMMA rod.

4.2 Load measuring device: a load cell with at least a 10 g useable

range. The load cell is connected to a compatible strip chart recorder.

The load cell-recorder system shall be capable of indicating weight

changes of 1 mg/min.

4.3 Standard paper: a paper used in chromatographic measurements,

described in Attachment 1 to the method, cut into 150 x 50 mm strips.

4.4 Hood; a hood with a horizontal draft of 3.3 + 0.3 m/min at the

face of the loading platform shall be used.

5 . Conditioning

Opened packages of cigarettes (from which the test specimens

shall be taken) and standard paper strips shall be conditioned at 24

+ 2®C and 60 + 2% r.h. for at least 24 hours.

35
6 . Procedure

6.1 Cigarette selection: sample one cigarette from the package, and

inspect it visually. Reject broken or otherwise deformed cigarettes.

If filter has larger diameter than the body of cigarette, remove it.

6.2 Place a strip of standard paper on the four rods of the load

platform so that its longer direction is aligned with the movement of

the air in the hood.

6.3 Start recorder, and place lighted cigarette, with approximately

4 mm -Of tip burned and the cigarette paper seam on top, on the standard

paper strip, so that the direction of burning is the same as the

direction of air flow.

6.4 Stop recorder when there is no further weight loss.

6.5 If a test cigarette extinguishes before burning its whole length

the test must be repeated with a fresh cigarette on a new strip of

standard paper. If five successive cigarettes self-extinguish before

burning their whole length, calculate weight loss rate on basis of the

incompletely burned cigarette, and note burning times.

6.6 For each of five cigarettes, calculate weight loss rate. If

weight loss rate varies over length of cigarette, other than within 1

minute before extinguishment, note all weight loss rates extending

over two minutes or more, and the time during which they prevailed.

36
^ mm

K lOO ^f<\ ^

TOP VEW

OSARETTE

6»Wf)

X,Stntt)^

JHt

OROMATOGRAPHY

PAPER

PPMA PLATE

SDE VIEW

SCALE 1*:1*

FIGURE 1.

37
S. Depanment of Commerce

Philip M. KluIznicW

Secretary

Naooaal Bunaa of Standards Enacn Ambler. Oirenor

^altnnal ^««au of ^tanrtanis

Olerliftcalc

Standard Reference Material 1006 a

Smoke Density Chamber Standard

Non-flaming Exposure Condition

This Standard Reference Material is recommended for checking the operation of smoke density chambers under nonflaming exposure conditions. However, it does not obviate the need for following the prescribed calibration and

standardization techniques outlined in the test procedure. Due to gradual aging of cellulose-base papers, there may be some change in the certified value with time. Therefore, the smoke density measurements are determined periodically

and changes made accordingly in the certified value. This value is certified for a period of four months from the date of

certification. The certified value for maximum specific optical density is:

Date of Certification:

D„=

Djn (corr.) ”

These mean values are the result of 72 tests on representative samples of a lot of 0.036 inch (0.91 mm) thick cotton-linter

paper (principally o-cellulose). The estimate of precision is the computed standard deviation based on 72 measurements.

Smoke density measurements were made under non-flaming expostuv conditions in accordance with the detailed

procedures outlined in American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard E 662-79, 'Test Method for Determining the Specific Optical Density of Smoke Generated by Solid Materials,’* and in National Fire Protection

Association (NFPA) 258-1976, ‘^Standard Test Method for Meausring the Smoke Generated by Solid Materials.** Note: For this particular test material, a small cross must be cut through the thickness at the center ofthe specimen with a sharp razor blade. Each cut should have a total length of 10 mm and the arms of the cross should extend 5 mm from the

center point (see figure below). Prior to test, the matenai must be dried for 24 hours at 60 ‘’C and then conditioned to equilibrium at 23 + 3 and 50 + S percent relative humidity.

Cross 10 mm x 10 mm must be cut through SRM 1006a.

T

10 mm

:ie.

|<— 10 mm—>1

The original measurements for ceniflcation of this Standard Reference Material were performed by T. G. Lee of the

Center for Fire Research using a commercially available smoke density chamber. Recertification of this material was

per»ormed by J. Randall Lawson of the Center for Fire Research.

•Without correction for window deposit.

T

5 mm

Washington, D.C. 20234

Revised November 1, 1980

(Onginally issued 6-1-79)

38

George A. Uriano, Chief

Office of Standard Reference Materials
: yBS»114A iwtv. a«40)

j U.S. OCPT. OP COMM. 1. PUBLICATION OR 2* Performing Organ. Report NoJ 3. Publication Date 1

-

, BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

REPORT NO. i

1 SHEET (See instructions) NBSIR 81-2363 October 1981

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

DEVELOPMENT OF A CANDIDATE TEST METHOD FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF THE PROPENSITY OF

CIGARETTES TO CAUSE SMOLDERING IGNITION OF UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE AND MATTRESSES

5. AUTHOR(S)

John F. Krasny, Paula J. Allen, Adalberto Maldonado, and Nilsa Juarez

|6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION (If joint or other than NBS, see instructions) 7. Contract/ Grant No. NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 8. Type of Report & Period Covered

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20234 Final Report

9. SPONSORING ORGANIZATION NAME AND COMPLETE ADDRESS (Street. City, Stote, ZIP)

National Bureau of Standards

U.S. Department of Commerce

Washington, D.C. 20234

10. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

I I Document describes a computer profram; SF*I8S, FIPS Software Summary, is attached.

11. ABSTRACT (A 200-word or loss factual summary of most significant information. If document includes a significant

bibliography or literature survey, mention it here)

A candidate test method for the measurement of the propensity of cigarettes to

cause smoldering ignition of upholstered furniture and mattresses was developed.

It consists of placing burning cigarettes on pieces of a standard, alpha cellulose,

chromatographic paper and measuring the weight loss rate of the paper/cigarette

system. The results were compared to the propensity of cigarettes to ignite

upholstered furniture substrates. The agreement was satisfactory. Of the approximately 30 cigarette brands investigated, most had a similar propensity to ignite

the upholstered furniture substrates, but a few ignited fewer substrates, and

exhibited longer times to ignition on those which ignited. Many upholstered

furniture substrates resisted ignition by any cigarette, while others were ignited

even by those commercial cigarettes which ranked lowest in ignition propensity in

these tests. However, a substantial number of upholstered furniture types did

ignite with some cigarettes but not with others. Self-extinguishment time does

not define the propensity of a cigarette to ignite upholstered furniture.

12. KEY WORDS (Six to twelve entries; alphabetical order; capitalize only proper names; and separate key words by semicolons)

Cigarettes; flammability; ignition; mattresses; self-extinguishment; smoldering;

upholstered furniture

13. AVAILABILITY

5Tyl Unlimited

I I For Official Distribution. Do Not Release to NTIS

I I Order From Suoerintendent of Documents. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

20402.

Order From National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield. VA. 22161

14. NO, OF

PRINTED PAGES

42

IS. Price

$6.50

USCOMM.OC 9043.P80
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