NBS

PUBLICATIONS

NBSIR 79-1596

Studies of Flammability Test

Procedures for Curtains and

Drapes

A11103

Donna E. Hopkins and John F. Krasny

Center for Fire Research

National Engineering Laboratory

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, DC 20234

March 1979

Final Report

Prepared for: U.S. Coast Guard

Washington, DC 20590

100

.056

79-1596

C.2

Rallonel Birttt MAY t

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1373

NBSIR 79-1596

STUDIES OF FLAMMABILITY TEST

PROCEDURES FOR CURTAINS AND

DRAPES

Donna E. Hopkins and John F. Krasny

Center for Fire Research

National Engineering Laboratory

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, DC 20234

March 1979

Final Report

Prepared for: U.S. Coast Guard

Washington, DC 20590

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Juanita M. Kreps, Secretary

Jordan J. Baruch, Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology

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

Page

LIST OF TABLES iv

Abstract 1

1. INTRODUCTION 2

2. TEST METHODS 3

3. VARIATIONS OF TEST METHODS 4

3.1 Variations of the Proposed IMCO Method 4

3.2 Variations of the Proposed ISO Method 6

4. FABRICS 6

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 7 5.1 General Fabric Behavior 7 5.2 Effects of Experimental Conditions 8

5.2.1 IMCO vs ISO Proposed Methods 8

5.2.2 Effect of Variations of the IMCO Method 9

5. 2. 2.1 Tube vs Bunsen Burner 9

5. 2. 2.

2

Edge vs Surface Ignition 9

5. 2. 2. 3 Effect of Flame Height 10

5. 2. 2. 4 Effect of Specimen Suspension 10

5.2.3 Effect of Variations of the Proposed ISO Method . 10

5.2.3.

1

Rleber vs Bunsen Burner 10

5.3 Reproducibility 11

6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..... 11

7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 14

8. REFERENCES 14

iii
LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 1. Summary of test conditions 15

Table 2. Fabrics used in study 17

Table 3. Afterflame time and char length of curtain fabrics ... 18

Table 4. Advantages and disadvantages of proposed IMCO and

ISO methods 19

iv
STUDIES OF FLAMMABILITY TEST PROCEDURES FOR CURTAINS AND DRAPES

Donna E. Hopkins and John F. Krasny

Abstract

The Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative

Organization (IMCO) is in need of a simple, relevant

flammability test method for the curtain and drapery

fabrics used aboard ships. Two methods for measuring

self-extinguishment of fabrics upon removal of the

flame were compared. One was proposed by the United

States’ representative to IMCO, the other was an adaptation of a recently proposed method of the International

Standards Organization (ISO). The effects of variations

of the proposed test methods (changes in the Ignition

flame characteristics, bottom edge or surface ignition,

and in the specimen suspension) were also Investigated.

In general, the relative ranking of the fabrics was not

changed, though the individual afterflame time and char

length results were affected by some of these variables.

The advantages and disadvantages of the two proposed

test methods are discussed and an improved method is

recommended.

Key words: Curtains; drapes; fabrics; fire;

flammability; international; self -ext ingu ishment

;

ships; standards.

1
1. INTRODUCTION

A need for a generally acceptable method for testing the flammability

of curtain and drapery fabrics to be used aboard ships has been recognized

by the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) . The

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) , one of the agencies that could be affected by

such a standard, decided that some background Information and technical

evaluation of the test methods being considered was necessary. With such

information, the USCG will have a basis for a recommendation of a useful

test to IMCO.

Two test methods have been proposed. One was suggested in an IMCO

document (IMCO/FPXX/3 with amendments) . The other was described in a letter from the United Kingdom Fire Research Station dated December 15,

1977. The latter involved a modification of a test recently proposed by

the International Standards Organization (ISO). In this report, these

tests will be referred to as the proposed IMCO and proposed ISO tests.

A comparison of the flammability performance of a number of fabrics

deemed appropriate for use in ships’ curtains was undertaken. The fabrics

were tested according to the two proposed test methods, and variations

thereof. The variations consisted of: three burner designs; variations

of the flame height using one burner; bottom edge and surface ignition;

and variations in the manner in which the specimens were suspended.

This report discusses the experimental findings, compares the

advantages and disadvanatges of the two test methods, and makes certain

recommendations as to an Improved procedure.

2
2 . TEST METHODS

Both proposed flammability test methods are small-scale methods for

self-extinguishment^ and do not fully simulate real-life curtain fires.

The proposed IMCO method is based on current standards for flammability

of textiles in use in Germany, Great Britain, and the U.S.A. It is very

similar to DIN 53906, BS 3119, and the NFPA 701 small-scale tests. Use

of char length and afterflame time as pass/fail criteria is proposed.

The proposed ISO method is basically a flame spread rate test which

has been modified for identification of self-extinguishing fabrics.

Again, char length and afterflame time are proposed as pass/fail criteria.

Table 1 summarizes the features of the two test methods. Table 4

summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed methods,

based on the findings of this report. Both test methods test vertical

fabric specimens, but specimen suspension methods differ. The IMCO proposal specifies a metal frame which supports the specimen on its two

vertical edges. The two portions of the frame are clamped on each side

with two clamps (four in all) . The proposed ISO test uses a wider

specimen, attached by six pins mounted on the vertical edges of the pin

frame (12 in all) . The specimen is pushed onto the pins so it is 2 cm (approximately 3/4 in) from the frame, and is held taut. This minimizes

interaction of frame and burning specimen.

The IMCO specimen frame is mounted on a bar inside a cabinet. The

ignition source can be moved from the outside of the closed cabinet so it

contacts the exposed bottom edge of the specimen. The proposed ISO test

The terms "self-extinguishing" or "self-extinguishment" used in this

report indicate cessation of burning of a specimen soon after (within

the "after flame time") removal of the igniting flame, when tested

under the conditions described in this paper. It does not imply that

the fabric would not burn under other conditions of testing or in

real-life fires.

3
does not require a cabinet but specifies location of the test equipment

in a hood, with an air movement of less than 0.2 m/s during the test.

The proposed IMCO Ignition source is a diffusion flame, essentially

a tube through which natural gas is emitted. ISO proposes a small, precision machined burner, which provides a premixed flame. The specified

fuel is propane or butane. Propane was used in the present work. Both

flames are adjusted to 40 mm (approximately 1-3/4 in) length. The diffusion flame is broad and diffuse ("soft"); the ISO flame, relatively

thin and concentrated ("hard"); and the Bunsen burner flame, intermediate.

Both methods call for bottom edge ignition, but the ISO apparatus is

designed to allow both bottom edge and surface ignition.

The time of exposure to the flame depends on the fabric weight in

the proposed IMCO method, with heavier fabrics having longer ignition

times, up to 12 seconds. The ISO method specifies a 5 or 15-second ignition time. The specimen must continue to burn for at least 5 seconds

after the ignition source is removed when a 5-second ignition time is

used. If this does not occur, the ignition time is 15 seconds.

3. VARIATIONS OF TEST METHODS

Variations in the two above test methods were introduced in order

to determine optimum test conditions, in terms of differentiating between

fabrics, reproducibility, ease of operation, and equipment cost.

Table 1 lists the parameters varied for each test method. Not all

fabrics were tested under each of the listed variations.

3.1 Variations of the Proposed IMCO Method

The diffusion burner specified by the IMCO method was compared with

a Bunsen burner, i.e., a similar but premixed flame. The diffusion burner

4
was used with the flames adjusted to 30 and 50 mm, as well as the

specified 40 mm, to establish the sensitivity of fabric behavior to

flame height variations.

IMCO proposes bottom edge ignition, but this may not be the probable

point of ignition in real-life accidents. Surface ignition with the diffusion (tube) burner and the Bunsen burner was attempted at approximately

5 cm (2 in) from the bottom edge of the specimens. The angle of the tube

burner was fixed but that of the Bunsen burner was determined by experimentation. It was difficult to get good flame/specimen contact with the

tube and Bunsen burner flames. However, some modification of the test

procedure or apparatus may be needed to overcome this difficulty, but

this could not be explored in the present study.

The manner in which the specimen was suspended inside the cabinet

was also varied. In the proposed IMCO method, specimens are clamped

between the two vertical edges of a hinged frame. Since draperies are not constrained in this manner, specimens were also tested free-hanging,

supported by wire hooks attached to their top corners. In addition,

they were tested in a common drapery configuration, arranged in folds.

Bottom edge ignition with the tube and Bunsen burner was used on the

free-hanging specimens, but only the tube burner was used on the folded

specimens. As an Intermediate condition between the clamp frame and

free-hanging arrangement, the specimens were also exposed in the IMCO

cabinet in a pin frame patterned after the ISO frame.

When testing in strict conformance with the proposed IMCO method,

ten specimens, five in the warp and five in the filling direction, of

each fabric were tested. In the study of the variations of test methods,

four specimens, two in each direction, were used.

5
3.2 Variations of the Proposed ISO Method

The only variations in the ISO method were burner type and point of

ignition. Either surface or bottom edge ignition was specified in the

original ISO flame spread rate test method, and both were tried in the

present study. The ignition source was also varied. In addition to the

2 specified precision machined, premixed, hard flame burner , a Bunsen

burner was used. The resulting flames differ greatly in terms of hard- ness of the flame, and its size at the base. The Rieber burner was used

with and without a stabilizing disc. Previous reports indicated that

such a disc was needed to obtain a stable flame, but no flame Instability was observed in the present study even without a disc.

Six specimens were tested with the proposed version of the ISO test,

and with each of the above variations, three each in warp and filling.

4. FABRICS

Manufacturers of fabrics who were reported to be suppliers of

ships’ curtains were contacted by phone, and candidate fabrics ordered.

A total of seven fabrics were acquired from various manufacturers or distributors. One of the fabrics clearly was not self-extinguishing and was not used in the tests, while four appeared to be self-extinguishing.

Two fabrics were borderline and were thus useful for the study of variations of test parameters. No uncoated nylon, polyester, or polypropylene

(i.e., thermoplastic) material was included in the present series since

they are not presently used as curtains on ships.

This burner will henceforth be referred to as the "Rieber” burner for

brevity. Dr. Rieber has been active in promoting the use of this type

of ignition source at ISO meetings.

6
Table 2 describes the fabrics. Two of them were finished with flame

retardants (FR) ; one was cotton; and one was wool. There were also two

fiberglass fabrics, varying in weight; one aramid (Nomex ) fabric; and a plastic coated nylon fabric. All fabrics were woven.

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The afterflame time and char length results are listed in table 3.

In general, the average and standard deviations are shown. An asterisk

indicates that some specimens of a fabric burned relatively little,

although other specimens of the same fabric burned considerably more. The range of results is entered in the table (this will be called

"blmodal distribution” throughout this report) . The char length of the

fabrics which were ignited on the surface was considered to be the length

of the blackened area.

5.1 General Fabric Behavior

The aramid fabric, the FR cotton, and the two fiberglass fabrics

were generally self-extinguishing under all test conditions. The afterflame time and char length of the coated nylon fabric and the supposedly

FR treated wool fabrics used in these experiments depended greatly on the

experimental conditions, such as burner type, flame height, ignition

point, and specimen suspension method. These fabrics tended to show

bimodal distribution of the results.

The aramid fabric was also somewhat sensitive to the specimen

suspension method, as well as the ignition parameters. The longest char

length was obtained with the IMCO frame, in which the specimen is held

rigidly. The pin frame and the free-hanging specimens gave considerably

shorter afterflame time and char length values. Surface ignition produced shorter times and chars than edge ignition, and the Bunsen burner

generally produced shorter times and chars than the tube burner

.

7
The FR treated cotton has been shown to be sensitive to ignition

3 time by earlier investigators [1] . With bottom edge ignition for relatively long ignition times, e.g., 10-15 seconds, the flame tended to

flash up the specimen, forming a char. Consequently, during the last

seconds of such exposure, the flame Impinged on a charred area.

The coated nylon fabric generally Ignited with bottom edge ignition.

The flame tended to travel up the center of the specimens, and produced

large amounts of acrid smoke. With surface ignition, there was no visible

flame on the fabric, only blackening of limited specimen areas, and some melting

.

The fiberglass fabrics did not ignite, but sometimes they glowed

after flame removal. The area exposed to the flame became silvery on

the lighter weight fiberglass fabric, probably due to loss of the pigment. With edge ignition, the areas exposed to the flames tended to

become brittle.

The wool fabric was reportedly RF treated but performed marginally

in our tests. There were generally bimodal distributions of the results

under any one condition, indicating, perhaps, uneven fabric properties

or treatment. Other wool fabrics may be more effectively treated.

5.2 Effects of Experimental Conditions

5.2.1 IMCO vs ISO Proposed Methods

The afterflame times measured by the proposed IMCO and ISO methods

were similar, but the ISO char length tended to be longer. Most important, the relative ranking of the fabrics was very similar. Thus, the

Numbers in brackets refer to the literature references listed at the

end of this report.

8
afterflame time and char length values obtained for the coated nylon and

reportedly RF treated wool fabrics were considerably longer in both the

proposed IMCO and ISO tests than for any of the other fabrics. The

differences between the other four fabrics were small, often within the

experimental error. Nevertheless, the fabrics ranked in almost the same order in both tests.

5.2.2 Effect of Variations of the IMCO Method

5. 2. 2.1 Tube vs Bunsen Burner

The proposed IMCO method specifies a diffusion tube burner, but

Bunsen burners, which produce premixed flames, may be more readily available. The two burners were compared with the specimens in clamp frames

and on pin frames, with bottom edge and surface ignition. The Bunsen

burner gave generally similar or slightly lower results. Fabric rankings

were not affected by burner choice.

5. 2. 2.

2

Edge vs Surface Ignition

Ignition on a raw, unhemmed bottom edge of a vertically suspended

specimen may be considered a "worst case" condition for most fabrics.

In real-life, curtains and other textile items such as apparel usually

have hemmed edges. The weight added by the hem generally makes ignition

more difficult. The probability of surface ignition is probably larger

than that of edge ignition in real-life exposure to small Ignition sources On the other hand, there are some fabrics (some acetate, nylon, and polyester fabrics) which burn primarily downward and sideward rather than

upward. For these fabrics, bottom edge ignition is not a "worst case" con dition, and they are not appropriately evaluated by bottom edge ignition.

According to our brief survey, they are not used in ships’ curtains, and

such fabrics were not Included in the present study.

9
For the fabrics included in the present study, surface ignition

generally gave lower results than bottom edge ignition, and the char

on them extended primarily upward.

5. 2. 2. 3 Effect of Flame Height

Varying the height of the flame produced by the tube burner (30,

40, and 50 mm) had no major effect on the majority of the fabrics. For

the aramld fabric, however, the longest afterflame time and char length

averages and standard deviations were observed at the 40 mm flame height.

5. 2. 2. 4 Effect of Specimen Suspension

Some industry representatives have reported that suspending specimens

in relatively narrow, rigid frames is unrealistic, and puts some materials

at a disadvantage [2]. Indeed, the less rigid suspension on the ISO pin

frame, as compared to the IMCO clamp frame, improved the results for the

aramld fabric but had little effect otherwise. Allowing a specimen to

hang freely, by suspending it only at the top corners, reduced the afterflame time and char length results for the coated nylon fabric, and the

char length results for the aramld fabric. These fabrics have a tendency

to shrink and shrivel when heated under no or little constraint, and this

increases their self-extinguishing propensity. On the other hand, arranging free-hanging specimens of the aramid, FR cotton, coated nylon and one fiberglass fabric in folds (a configuration often found in real-life

situations, and considered in the NFPA 701 test as an option), tended

to increase the char length over that of the free-hanging, flat specimens.

5.2.3 Effect of Variations of the Proposed ISO Method

5. 2.3.1 Rieber vs Bunsen Burner

The ISO method specifies the Rieber burner which produces a small,

hard flame. This flame was compared with that of a Bunsen burner. Both

10
flames are premixed. When bottom edge ignition was used, the Bunsen

burner results were similar to, or in some cases lower than, the Rieber

burner results. Too few fabrics ignited on the surface in the ISO procedure to make a similar comparison for surface ignition. The use of

the stabilizing disk for the Rieber burner did not affect the results.

5.3 Reproducibility

One of the reasons for varying the experimental conditions in this

study was the expectation that conditions which would produce the best

reproducibility could be identified. However, the results do not indicate that the variations investigated affected the reproducibility (as

expressed by the standard deviation) in a major, systematic manner.

6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The proposed IMCO and ISO methods rated the fabrics in approximately

the same rank order. Both methods appear equally capable of identifying

fabrics which self-extinguish after removal of the ignition flame. Both

methods have certain advantages and disadvantages and these are described

in some detail in table 4.

In addition to the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods

listed in table 4, they have the following features in common:

* Both methods specify ignition at an unhemmed bottom edge of the

specimen which is a "worst case" situation for most but not all fabric

types

.

® Neither method characterizes the behavior of curtain and drapery

fabrics in a conflagration, i.e., whether the fabrics ignite when preheated and then are exposed to an ignition source. NFPA 701 addresses

itself to this condition by requiring preheating of the specimens.

11
• Neither method addresses itself to the problem of release of

smoke and toxic products when the fabrics are heated.

• Neither proposed method addresses itself to the hazard presented

by fabrics which burn primarily sideward and downward rather than upward

(e.g., some acetate, nylon, polyester, and other thermoplastic fabrics).

Such fabrics are not properly evaluated by use of bottom edge ignition

and char length criteria. Nor do such fabrics always produce flaming

melt drip which would disqualify them under the IMCO proposal. It may,

however, be possible to write a general provision against melting materials if this is considered desirable. This would cover the above named

fabric types, which due to the fact that they melt and the molten material

moves downward, do not burn primarily upward.

Based on these findings, we recommend that any future standard for

the flammability of curtains and drapery fabrics used on ships contain

the following provisions:

• Use of the IMCO cabinet, or cabinets of similar dimensions which

are now in use in Germany, Great Britain, or in the U.S. NFPA 701 test.

This is important to prevent operator exposure to toxic fumes.

• Use of the ISO pin frame, shortened to fit into the IMCO cabinet.

This would overcome the objections to use of relatively narrow, clamp

frames which seem to Increase the char length of some materials, e.g.,

aramid fabrics.

® Use of the tube or a Bunsen burner. These are cheaper and

simpler than the ISO Rieber burner, which appears to give roughly the same results. In addition, experience has shown that hard flames like

those of the Rieber burner tend to burn holes into many thermoplastic

fabrics without igniting them; the same fabrics may ignite with soft

flames

.

12
® In order to obtain a "worst case" ignition time condition, the

following procedure is suggested: expose two specimens each in the warp

and two each in the filling direction to 3, 9, and 15-second ignition

(a total of 12 specimens) . Test an additional three specimens in the

direction and at the Ignition time which produced the longest char length.

The results of these five specimens would be used to pass or fail the

fabric

.

• In addition to bottom edge ignition, also expose two specimens

cut in the warp and two specimens cut in the filling direction to a 15-second ignition on the surface of the fabric, 5 cm (2 in) from the

bottom edge and in the center of the specimen. Determine afterflame

time and char length in the direction of the longest diameter of the

charred area, as well as occurrence of flaming melt drip. These determinations should help in the evaluation of materials which burn primarily

sideward and downward rather than upward, as well as of materials which

may cause secondary ignition because of flaming melt drip.

There appears to be no published method for determining char

length of specimens which have been subjected to surface ignition. In

the present work, the length of the blackened area was measured but this

would not be rigorous enough for a standard. However, several possibilities similar to those used presently for specimens subjected to

bottom edge ignition come to mind—one would be determining the longest

diameter of the charred area visually and making a cut in the direction

of this diameter from one fabric edge. Then the weights could be applied

and the char length determined in the usual manner. A brief laboratory

study would determine whether this procedure (or a few variants of it) are practical and reproducible. Char length of thermoplastic materials

would be defined as the maximum diameter of the hole formed in the

specimen

.

Flaming melt drip can probably be best identified by placing a readily ignitable material, e.g., absorbent cotton used for medicinal

purposes, on the bottom of the cabinet and observing secondary ignition.

13
This appears more rigorous than relying on visual determination of

flames on the molten material, which is somewhat affected by the lighting

conditions in the laboratory.

The other provisions of the proposed IMCO method were not

investigated during this study but appear acceptable.

7 . ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The sponsorship of the U.S. Coast Guard of this work is gratefully

acknowledged. Thanks are also due to Dr. Alex Robertson of the Center

for Fire Research for his many helpful suggestions.

8 . REFERENCES

[1] McCarter, R. J., Textile Chemist and Colorist, Vol. 4, 21-23

(April 1974).

[2] Anderson, J. J., Textile Chemist and Colorist, Vol. 5, 27-33

(October 1973)

.

14
Table

1.

Summary

of

test

conditions

•pH

CNI

CS)

aoC

•pHN

•pH rH

•pH

cd

4-1 CO3o

rC

4-)

X 3 >-4 •H 3 3 T3 IS 3 HP 3 •—' 4-1 3 X T3

CO 3 •H •H 3

QJ 3 pQ eei 0 3

!-i

g

O 3 3 •pH V4 U p3

CO o CU 4H o p (X 4J O vO 0 3 •pH pH m CO •pH 3 3 A O }-i 1-4 3 X 3 O 3 X 4-t 3 3 •H 3 € 0 3

Q) > a 0 3 €

B *H o 3 o 3 3 33

O •H

O

U 3 o O

2: pH Ph 3 Ph Ph PP •<f 3 33

•H 33 3 P4 3 bO 3 O 3 3 3 1—1 CM 3 P4 M 3 X 3 P4 33 HP M M 3 3 3

CO 'wP P4

O 3 3 •H •H HP

bO 3 bO 3 0 3 g 3 3 P4 3 W 3 3 4-1 g 0 •pH o •pH 3 4H U 3 3 bO O bO bO 4H Du g

!-i 0 3 3 •pI

g

4-1

m 4-1 3 3 P4 3 m pH 33 0k 3 CM }-i H3 3 H2 33 3 3 o 3 C4 4-1 1 CU 1 pH P4 A 3 g to

•pH 0 3 3- 3 o 3 3 3 g

HP 3 3 3 3 3 4-1 4-t H3 3 0* 3 vO pH •pH U P4 3 3 3 o o O O PM Pm pM H PQ fO

P4 3 3 3 3 3 3 CM 3 3 3

4J

N 3 T3

O T3O

O 3 •pH 3 3 •pH 3 •H 3 •pH 0 C/3 CD 3 3 4-1 3 4J 3 3 o 3 O 3 O 3

P4 P4 3 3 CM •pH CM •pH CM •pH 3 3 3 3 O P4 O Ml O Ml Pu 3 0 0 P4 3 U Ml 3 Ml 3 o •pH •pH Pu > 3 Pu > 3 Pu >

pH

OU pH 3 0 o 3 3 3 Ml 3 3 CM CM 3 3 pH w CD CD Pm PC Pm

15

Ignition

Point

Proposed

Bottom

edge

Bottom

edge

Variations

Surface

(tube

and

Bunsen

Surface
Table

1.

Summary

of

test

conditions

(continued) o

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CU CO CO TU OJa G m cO •iH O 4J O .G CO x:

CU 4J 'G 4J (U

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CCJ CO

CU

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01E O •H W

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m 14~lm cn

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T i 1—1 I—1 1—I

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CC

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4-) 0)

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•H C/0 CJ c s V3 o CNl 00 00 o

bO

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M

rH I—

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>> v3 00 o

CT • • • • • CO LO CTv ON 00 CM

ight oz/

f-H 1—1

(U s

CM C3 <r 'O’ CO

T3 e a^ rH LT| ON CO cn 3 I—i

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4-1 bO MC

•H

'T3 3

<U

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CO 'H > > > > > 3 4-4 3 3 3 3 iH 3 O CU 3 3 3 iH 3

CO 3 5 IS IS > •H &

CJ 3

4J rH 3 3 3 4-1 3

J-l CO •H iH •H •H •H •H 3 3 'H 3 3 3 cd 3

CO

O & fH 1^ rH 1—1

ptH CJ Pu

H Plh P-i Pm PM

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cu :? I—1

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33

Pm PP

4-1 3 3 4-1 CU 3

4J

O 3 3 3 3 o 3 3 O O 3 3 o +J o 3 1—1 I—!

rH

"3 4-1 •H o 00 bO o

}-l •H

O 4-1 1—1 ^4 f-i o

OJ E a 3 >> 3 3 5 3 3 3 Xi X>

•H Od i-H •H •H pP

pi4 < P-i Pl4 Pm Pm

Fabric Weight T—i CM

m

m nO

4Jc

rt T3n

<u

>-i

(1) •H

PIH

II

fn

17
Each

entry

in

table

indicates

average/standard

deviation,

unless

otherwise

indicated.

18

*Range;

char

length

of

254

is

maximum

possible

for

the

IMCO

method,

char

length

of

560

mm

is

maximum

possible

for

the

ISO

method.

Abbreviations:

BEbottom

edge;

CFClamp

frame;

Pin.

Fr,-

Pin

frame;

Freeh, -

Free

hanging:

FRFire

retardant.
Table

4.

Advantages

and

disadvantages

of

proposed

IMCO

and

ISO

methods

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eliminating

fabrics

burning

melt

drip,

on

basis

of

burning

melt

drip

which

may
Table

4.

Advantages

and

disadvantages

of

proposed

IMCO

and

ISO

methods

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20
NBS-114A (REV. 9-78)

U.S. DEPT. OF COMM. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

SHEET

1. PUBLICATION OR REPORT NO. NBSIR 79-1596

3. Acc«$siQit

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Studies of Flammability Test Procedures for Curtains and

Drapes

5. Publication Date March 1979

11

7. AUTHOR(S)

Donna E. Hopkins and John F. Krasny

8. Performing Organ. Report No.

9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

WASHINGTON, DC 20234

, O'*-':

,

11. Contract/Grant No.

12. SPONSORING ORGANIZATION NAME AND COMPLETE ADDRESS fSrreer, city. State, ZIP)

U.S. Coast Guard

Washington, D.C. 20590

13. Type of Report & Period Covered

Final

15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

1_J Document describes a computer program; SF-185, FIPS Software Summary, is attached.

16. ABSTRACT (A 200^word or teas factual summary of moat significant information^ If document includes a significant bibliography or

literature survey, mention it here.)

The Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) is in need of a simple, relevant flammability test method for the curtain and drapery fabrics

used aboard ships. Two methods for measuring self-extinguishment of fabrics

upon removal of the flame were compared. One was proposed by the United States'

representative to IMCO, the other was an adaptation of a recently proposed method

of the International Standards Organization (ISO). The effects of variations of

the proposed test methods (changes in the ignition flame characteristics, bottom

edge or surface ignition, and in the specimen suspension) were also investigated.

In general, the relative ranking of the fabrics was not changed, though the individual afterflame time and char length results were affected by some of these

variables. The advantages and disadvantages of the two proposed test methods are discussed and an improved method is recommended.

17. KEY WORDS (six to twelve entries; alphabetical order; capitalize only the first letter of the first key word unless a proper name;

separated by semicolons)

Curtains; drapes; fabrics; fire; flammability; international;

self-extinguishment; ships; standards.

18. AVAILABILITY Unlimited

I I For Official Distribution. Do Not Release to NTIS

I 1 Order From Sup. of Doc., U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC

20402, SD Stock No. SN003-003-

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

19. SECURITY CLASS

(THIS REPORT)

UNCLASSIFIED

20. SECURITY CLASS

(THIS PAGE)

UNCLASSIFIED

21. NO. OF

PRINTED PAGES

22. Price

USCOMM-DC
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