Testing Rooms Conditioning Rooms

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Laboratory Laboratory

Figure 3. Environmental Conditions Reported by the Laboratories Participating in the Preliminary Interlaboratory Study of the Mock-
up Ignition Test Method.


[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

(21)

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

27]

[28]

An informal sampling of references to the use of cotton ducks and duck-like fabrics identified
the following: IKEA, 1992 catalog; The Crate and Barrel, 1992 Spring and Summer catalog;
Marlo Furniture Inc., 1992 spring sale literature; Ethan Allen Inc., spring sale event literature;
Metropolitan Home magazine, April, 1992, p. 136; Better Homes and Gardens magazine,
March, 1993, p. 131.

Normaz, V., Lorillard, Inc., presentation to the Technical Advisory Group, Fire Safe Cigarette
Act of 1990, April 16, 1992.

ASTM Method D 737-75, "Standard Test Method for Air Permeability of Textile Fabrics,”
American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA, 1980.

ASTM Method D 3574-91, "Standard Test Methods for Flexible Cellular Materials--Slab,
Bonded, and Molded Urethane Foams," American Society for Testing and Materials,
Philadelphia, PA.

Dowling, V., Division of Building, Construction and Engineering, CSIRO, Australia, personal
communication.

Adiga, K., Pham, M., Noonan, K. and Honeycutt, R., "The Implications of Modest Air Flow
on Cigarette Ignition of Soft Furnishing Mockups,” report submitted to the Technical
Advisory Group on October 15, 1992 by Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation.

Countryman, C., "Some Physical Characteristics of Cigarettes as Fire Brands,” Report
prepared under U. S. Forest Service Contract 43-9AD6-1-617 (1981).

Flack, R., University of Virginia, report to the Technical Advisory Group, January 28, 1993.
Robinson, D., "Aerodynamic Characteristics of the Plume Generated by a Burning Cigarette,”
Paper presented at the International Conference on the Physical and Chemical Processes
Occurring in a Burning Cigarette, sponsored by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., held at Wake
Forest University, April, 1987.

ASTM E 177-90a, "Standard Practice for Use of Terms Precision and Bias in ASTM Test
Methods,” American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA 1990.

ASTM E 691-87, "Standard Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine
the Precision of a Test Method,” American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia,
PA, 1988.

Cox, D.R., and Snell, E.J., Analysis of Binary Data, 2nd edition, London: Chapman and Hall,
1989, section 3.2.

D. A. Williams, "Extra-Binomial Variation in Linear Logistic Models," Applied Statistics, Vol.
31 (1982), No. 2, pp. 144-148.

Finney, D. J., Probit Analysis, 3rd Edition, London, Cambridge University Press, 1971.

113


The smoldering ignition propensity of a fabric is also influenced by its physical characteristics; this is
particularly true when the ignition source is a cigarette. The influence of contact with the mock-up
surface on the cigarette coal was examined to a limited extent in this study. It was apparent that the
heat loss into the fabric can temporarily slow or even completely stop the smoldering process in the
cigarette coal; the magnitude of the disturbance depends on the cigarette design and on the thermal
capacitance of the fabric. The fabric thickness, density, heat capacity and thermal conductivity all play
a role in determining this effective thermal capacitance. Thus, fabric structure needs to be closely
controlled in any standardized material to be used in mock-up testing.

Criteria Used to Identify Suitable Fabrics. Discussions with representatives of the fabric and furniture
industries made it clear that there is no practical way to characterize quantitatively the relative
popularity of the thousands of upholstery fabrics used in the soft furnishings at risk to fire. If sales
records are kept by individual fabric manufacturers or their customers, they are not publicly available.
Therefore, identifying a set of test fabrics representative of the real-world was not a feasible
undertaking and alternative approaches were pursued.

The ideas in the preceding paragraphs were blended with other considerations to arrive at the
following selection requirements for suitable test fabrics:

° susceptibility to ignition from smoldering cigarettes, making the likely candidate fabrics
to be cotton, linen, modacrylic and acrylic;

. differentiation of the ignition propensities of various types of cigarettes;
. capability to provide reproducible test results;
. ready availability now and in the future, with essentially constant cigarette ignitability

in successive batches.

. manufacture such that their chemical and physical properties can be reproduced
(inter- and intra-bolt);

° consistency of surface characteristics, so that surface contact between the cigarette
and fabric surface remains constant along the length of the cigarette tobacco column
and across the length and width of the fabric bolt;

. no preference for smoldering ignition in one orientation (ie., warp or weft yarns),
making fabrics with similar warp and weft yarn construction preferable;

. freedom from finishes (e.g., for flame retardancy, durable-press, or crush resistance),
since (a) perfectly even finish surface characteristics and adhesion are difficult to
obtain in commercially produced fabrics and (b) some finishes’ may promote or
prevent smoldering ignition of the fabric; and

° weight in range representative of fabrics that are commonly used in the commercial
upholstery fabric marketplace (0.17-0.85 kg/m; 5-25 oz/yd?). Fabrics below about
0.34 kg/m? (10 oz/yd) tend to wear rapidly; those above 0.85 kg/m? (25 oz/yd”) are
very difficult to shape to an article of furniture.)

15


Safety:

The substrate filter paper sheets are supplied in boxes of 100 sheets. These boxes shall be
opened and placed in the conditioning room along with the cigarettes. There is no need to
remove the sheets from the box as long as the top of the box is completely opened. The
boxes are positioned to allow air circulation around each box. Each box of filter papers
should be conditioned for a minimum of one week prior to use.

If the laboratory conditioning room cannot meet the required environmental conditions, a
controlled humidity box may be used. Humidity is maintained by the addition of water and
chemicals to a holding tray located inside the box. Air in the box must be circulated by means
of a small fan in one corner. If a relative humidity measurement is required, the RH and
temperature must be measured with a calibrated wet/dry bulb hygrometer. A battery-driven
fan instrument such as a Vista Scientific Corp. psychrometer, or equivalent, has been found
to be suitable. Humidity measurements are made in the morning and evening of each test
day and recorded.

Exhaust systems should be checked daily to insure that they are working. All products of
combustion should be removed from the laboratory work area.

Personnel shall be instructed on general emergency procedures in the laboratory and on
procedures to handle an uncontrolled fire.

Appropriate fire extinguishing equipment shall be provided in each fire test laboratory to
extinguish test specimens and to suppress a small fire which may exceed normal controlled
limits.

An appropriate waste container shall be used in each fire test laboratory for safe disposal of
specimens and test assemblies after being exposed to heat and fire.

Test Procedure:

1.

Turn on the exhaust system designated for removal of test combustion products 30 min prior
to beginning ignition testing.

Do not start test preparations until relative humidity and temperature in the test room are
stabilized within the following respective ranges 55 + 5 % RH and 23 + 3 °C. Record the
relative humidity and temperature in your laboratory log.

Wear clean, plastic or rubber gloves when handling cigarettes and substrates.

Adjust the ignition source, a disposable butane gas lighter, to provide a flame no less than 15
mm in length and no longer than 20 mm.

E-4


Table D-3. (cont.) Cation Content of #10 Cotton Duck

10-61-32-4

10-61-59-3

10-61-86-1
10-61-124-3

10-61-156-2
10-63-31-43
10-63-63-33
10-63-96-33
10-63-123-4
10-63-161-1

D-5


Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990

Under the Cigarette Safety Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-567), the Technical Study Group on Cigarette and Little
Cigar Fire Safety (TSG) found that it is technically feasible and may be commercially feasible to develop
a cigarette that will have a significantly reduced propensity to ignite furniture and mattresses. Further-
more, they found that the overall impact of such a cigarette on other aspects of the United States
society and economy may be minimal.

Recognizing that cigarette-ignited fires continue to be the leading cause of fire deaths in the United
States, the Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-352) was passed by the 101st Congress and signed
into law on August 10, 1990. The Act deemed it appropriate for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission to complete the research recommended by the TSG and provide, by August 10, 1993, an
assessment of the practicality of a cigarette fire safety performance standard.

Three particular tasks were assigned to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Building
and Fire Research Laboratory:

* develop a standard test method to determine cigarette ignition propensity,
= compile performance data for cigarettes using the standard test method, and

* conduct laboratory studies on and computer modeling of ignition physics to develop valid,
user-friendly predictive capabi

Three tasks were assigned to the Consumer Product Safety Commission:

* design and implement a study to collect baseline and follow-up data about the characteristics of
cigarettes, products ignited, and smokers involved in fires,

* develop information on societal costs of cigarette-ignited fires, and

+ in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, develop information on changes
in the toxicity of smoke and resultant health effects from cigarette prototypes.

The Act also established a Technical Advisory Group to advise and work with the two agencies.
This report is one of six describing the research performed and the results obtained. Copies of

these reports may be obtained from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission,
Washington, DC 20207.


Table 33. Percent Ignitions or Full Length Burns on Test Method Substrates

| CIGARETTE |

There is a generally consistent decrease in ignition strength from the top left corner of the matrix to
the lower right corner, especially considering the reproducibility of the data established in the
interlaboratory study. Perhaps the largest single departure from the general pattern in the Table is
for either cigarette 501 or cigarette D tested on the duck #4 substrate. However, these cigarette
ignition propensities are quite comparable to each other. The two duck #4 values are within the
established interlaboratory reproducibility of each other, and both cigarettes yield similar results on
all the other substrates.

As in the TSG studies [3], it is of interest to determine whether reduced ignition propensity
necessarily results in increased yields of undesirable smoke components. The mean values and
standard deviations for the two sets of commercial cigarettes tested here are shown in Table 34. The
entries in Table 34 were compiled from data contained in reference [34]. These data were
generated by the Tobacco Institute Testing Laboratory. The results show that reduced ignition
propensity has been achieved with no significant increase in these three smoke components.

Table 34. Averaged Smoke Component Yields from Commercial Cigarettes (mg per cigarette)

14.4 + 4.2 1.04 + 0.27 13.7 + 2.2
1.7 +48 0.98 + 0.38 12.5 + 6.2

109


Self.
Extinguish-
ments

47
45
42

Non-ignitions

Ignitions

58


10.

11.

The conditioning room and test rooms shall be monitored by a recording hygrothermograph
(Cole-Parmer Model 8368-00 or equivalent). A Vista Scientific Corporation battery-operated
psychrometer or equivalent is used to measure relative humidity in the constant humidity box
and to calibrate the hygrothermograph.

Chemical or canopy hoods are needed for removing combustion products from the test room.
Air flows through these hoods shall be at a level which is necessary to remove cigarette and
substrate combustion products while not being high enough to influence combustion processes
in the test chambers.

Clean plastic or rubber gloves shall be provided for test operators when handling test
substrate materials and cigarettes.

A laboratory balance capable of weighing to 0.001 g with a repeatability of + 0.003 g is
tequired for weighing cigarette specimens.

A butane gas lighter capable of producing a stable luminous flame no longer than 20 mm is
required for igniting test cigarettes.

An appropriate fire-proof waste container shall be used for disposal of the ignition test
materials.

Calibrations:

The following are guidelines for basic calibrations of test equipment used in this standard. Time
intervals stated in this method for calibrations are considered to be minimum. Calibrations of
equipment shall be carried out at any time when equipment or test conditions indicate that evaluation
and recalibration may be necessary.

1.

The ignition test chamber shall be checked before use to insure that the front door seals
properly and that air movement in the test area does not introduce transient air movement
in the test chamber. Door seals are checked visually to insure that they are closed flush
against the chamber’s side wall and the latching device secures the door tightly. All
construction seams shall be inspected to insure that they are air tight and no cracks shall be
visible on any surface of the test chamber. If leaks are detected, measures shall be taken to
insure that these areas are again made air tight.

Stability of air inside of the test chamber shall be determined by mounting a single filter paper
in the substrate assembly holder and placing it together with a lighted cigarette in the test
position within the test chamber. Observe air movement in the chamber to insure that smoke
being emitted by the cigarette is rising vertically and is not showing turbulence within 150 mm
above the lit end of the cigarette. If turbulence is noted: 1) the test chamber shall be
checked for leaks; 2) the test chamber location shall be evaluated for excess air flow in the
laboratory; 3) air flow of the exhaust system shall be evaluated as the source of disturbance.
Air flow in the test chamber shall be maintained to produce a near laminar vertical smoke
stream to a minimum distance of 150 mm above the cigarette.

E-2


Table 24. Mock-Up Ignition Method:
Calculated Repeatability (r) and Reproducibility (R) Limits
for Various Assumed Numbers of Replications (m) and Ignition Propensities (p)

m= 16 m = 32 m = 48 m= 96 m = 9600
R Tr R r R r R r
errata ence te a

0.21 0.11 0.18 0.09 0.17 0.06 0.16 | 0.006

0.29 0.15 0.25 0.12 0.23 0.09 0.22 | 0.009

0.38 0.20 0.33 0.16 0.31 0.11 0.29 | 0.011

or 0.32 0.44 0.23 0.38 0.19 0.36 0.13 0.

ea
we
4
So
=
we

or 0.34 0.47 0.24 0.41 0.20 0.38 0.14 0.36 | 0.014

0.50 } 0.35 0.48 0.25 0.41 0.20 0.39 0.14 0.36 | 0.014

Assumed number of replications per laboratory

Assumed long-run proportion of ignitions for cigarette and substrate combination under test
Repeatability limit = 2.8S,, where S, is calculated from Equation (1)

Reproducibility limit = 2.8Sp, where Sp is calculated as from Equation (1), with p = 0.058.

PORE

Results from the main ILS show that the mock-up ignition test method can effectively differentiate
the ignition propensities of various cigarettes, albeit at a limited degree of resolution. The most
important limiting factor affecting the resolution of the test method is measured by the reproducibility
limits. In Table 24, the repeatability limits (r) summarize the precision of the test method under the
most favorable conditions for obtaining low variation (same lab, same equipment, short time period,
same operators, etc.), whereas the reproducibility limits (R) measure the long-term stability of the test
method.

The repeatability limits calculated in Table 24 represent the theoretical minimum amount of statistical
variability that is inherent in data recorded as binary outcomes (ignitions vs non-ignitions). The
amount by which the reproducibility exceeds the repeatability of this, or any, test method measures
the degree to which unknown or uncontrolled influence factors affect the test results in the long

69


chance aspects of cigarette contact. Thus one or more realistic examples are chosen, an approach
embodied in the use of upholstery mock-ups. A test consists of placing a lit cigarette on some small-
scale configuration of a cushion covered by an upholstery fabric and observing the consequences. If
a smolder zone develops in the fabric and spreads continually away from the cigarette coal, the
cigarette has failed the test. Successful tests such as this incorporate most of the relevant physics and
chemistry, while not necessarily replicating the real world hazard exactly.

The other general orientation which a performance test method could take is to measure some aspect
of the cigarette which has been shown to correlate with its tendency to ignite upholstered furniture.
Such correlating features of the cigarette are not readily discerned. It is certainly useful to have some
insights into the physics of the ignition process in order to pursue this approach. IThrig et al. [4]
examined a large number of upholstery fabrics and a small number of cigarettes. They inferred that
only the total radiative heat output of a cigarette (joules/cig.) was a useful predictor of ignition
propensity. Gann et al. [3] examined a wide variety of experimental cigarettes as part of a detailed
study of the physics of the ignition process, but found no single performance parameter which gave
a strong correlation with ignition propensity. The current study has been more successful in finding
a performance measurement that correlates with ignition propensity, as described below.

4. Validity

The results of a performance test method must be linked to the real world; e.g., for cigarette testing,
there must be a direct correlation between the test method outcome and the real-world propensity
to cause cigarette ignitions. As is often the case, this is a difficult matter here, because the actual
condition (and thus ignition susceptibility) of in-use upholstered furniture cannot be well character-
ized.

For neatly all fire tests, the needed degree of reality is demonstrated by physical similarity between
the test method and the real-world hazard and/or by use of the physical principles that determine fire
initiation and growth. The principal basis for relating mock-up and full-scale behavior of furniture
ignition by cigarettes is reported in reference 3. That study, while necessarily limited in the range
of materials, chair configurations and number of test replicates, nevertheless established that:

° upholstery mock-ups can differentiate among cigarettes, and

° mock-up ignition behavior has shown a statistically-significant correlation with the
behavior of full-scale chairs containing the same fabric and padding in the TSG study
[2].

Evidence is presented in Section II.B that the substrates chosen for the Mock-Up Ignition Test
Method are appropriate to represent actual upholstered furniture. The similarity of the two methods
(with their different performance measures) in rating the performance of both experimental and
commercial cigarettes (Section IV) lends credence to the validity of both.


Table A-2. Reevaluation of Eight of the Thirty-two Experimental Cigarettes

ee =
Number of Ignitions

SPL/PU? Denim/PU |
Unc./flat Crev./cov. Total

CA/CB SPL/PU
Unc./flat Unce,/flat

Now _ Prev. Now }| Prev. | Now |} Prev. Now | Prev. | Now

1 0 0 0 0 1 1

1 0 2 0 12

3 0 0 0

5 2 5 1) 16

T 3 5 5 0 19

5 5 5 0 13

5 5 5 2 19

~ 5 5 5 5 20

P 30 22 27 7 106

Maximum number of ignitions per cigarette is 20, per substrate 40.
CA/CB California test fabric/cotton batting.

SPL/PU 100% cotton Splendor fabric/polyurethane 2045.
Denim/PU 100% cotton Denim fabric/polyurethane 2045.

Une./flat Uncovered cigarette on a flat mockup.

Crev./cov. Covered cigarette in mockup crevice.

a Cigarette with filter with one half of the tobacco column

a

If no real change in ignition propensity occurred, then the numbers of ignitions in the "Previous" and
"Now" columns of Table A-2 should be the same, except for statistical fluctuations.

A-4


Conditioning:

1.

Safety:

Cigarettes and substrate materials are conditioned at 55 + 5% RH and 23 + 3 °C for 24
hours prior to ignition testing. While conditioning, the cigarettes are contained vertically,
with filter up, in clean 250 ml polyethylene or glass beakers with a maximum of 20 cigarettes
per beaker to assure free air access to the specimens.

The substrates, composed of fabric, foam and possibly film materials, are positioned to allow
air to circulate around the sides and top of the material. The substrates shall be placed on
clean, dry surfaces while being conditioned.

If the laboratory conditioning room cannot meet the required environmental conditions, a
controlled humidity box may be used. Humidity is maintained by the addition of water and
chemicals to a holding tray located inside the box. Air in the box must be circulated by means
of a small fan in one corner. If a relative humidity box is required, the RH and temperature
must be measured with a calibrated wet/dry bulb hygrometer. A battery-driven fan instrument
such as a Vista Scientific Corp. psychrometer, or equivalent, has been found to be suitable.
Humidity measurements are made in the morning and evening of test day and recorded.

Exhaust systems should be checked daily to insure that they are working. All products of
combustion should be removed from the laboratory work area.

Personne] shall be instructed on general emergency procedures in the laboratory and on
procedures to handle an uncontrolled fire.

Appropriate fire extinguishment equipment shall be provided in each fire test laboratory to
extinguish test specimens and to suppress a small fire which may exceed normal controlled
limits.

An appropriate waste container shall be used in each fire test laboratory for safe disposal of
specimens and test assemblies after being exposed to heat and fire.

Test Procedure:

1.

2.

Turn on the exhaust system designated for removal of test combustion products 30 min prior
to beginning ignition testing.

Do not start additional test preparations until relative humidity and temperature in the test
room are stabilized within the following respective ranges 55 + 5 % RH and 23 + 3 °C.
Record the relative humidity and temperature in your laboratory log.

Wear clean, plastic or rubber gloves when handling cigarettes and substrates.


In ASTM E 691, the repeatability standard deviation is defined as the best estimate of the within-
laboratory standard deviation of single measurement results. At the present stage of development,
the definition of what constitutes a "single" measurement result for the Mockup Ignition Test Method
has not been specified, except that it is understood that a single measurement result is the proportion
of ignitions in some number (to be specified) of replications of the operation of placing a single type
of lighted cigarette on a single type of mockup. For a cigarette having ignition rate P (a number
between 0 and 1) on a given substrate, the standard deviation of the observed proportion of ignitions
in m replications is equal to [P(J. -P)im)\*, based on standard properties of the binomial distribution.
Some mathematical simplicity will be gained in what follows by initially taking m to be equal to the
total number of replications actually conducted by each laboratory; m = 48 in the case of the mock-
up ignition method. Further calculations using a simple statistical model will then allow comparisons
of repeatability and reproducibility values that could be expected assuming different values of m.

Applying this approach to data for any substrate and cigarette type, the best (quasi-likelihood)
estimate [26] of the repeatability standard deviation, S,, is

where p represents the mean proportion of ignitions across the nine laboratories and m_ has been
set equal to 48. As defined, S, is the best estimate of the pooled within-laboratory standard
deviation, in that it combines information across all laboratories.

Using the convention that a single measurement result is defined as the proportion of ignitions in
m = 48 replications, the number of single measurement results per laboratory is 1 in this study, and
so the reproducibility standard deviation, Sp, as defined in ASTM E 691, is simply the between-
laboratory standard deviation,

where p; represents the proportion of ignitions for laboratory i and i = 1, 2,

The repeatability and reproducibility standard deviations for the main round interlaboratory
evaluation are summarized in Table 23.


Table 8. Potassium Content of West Point Pepperell Cotton Ducks Over a Four Month Period

5400 + 170°
5600 + 80
5800 + 230
6000 + 200
5800 + 270
8200 + 2200
5600 + 50
5700 + 35

Effect of Ion Content Variation on Mock-Up Ignitability. Table 9 shows the results of limited testing
(5 replicates, 3 cigarette types) using ducks #4, #6 and #10 from the analyzed lots described in Table

8. The ignition propensities are comparable despite the noted variations in the potassium ion content
of the fabric. The widest variations in potassium content were not included in this testing.

22


Silage Og 503 Slayer Cg. 501 Slayer Cg 529 layer Oy 50

fo bo BS te
os Bow Bow Bos
Ee Ee a a
Bas Bes Bes Bes
+ - i. gi
geese rr2 ed vee asr2red ser asr24ag “ seers rr2ad . seers r2ar

j
i
i
i
i

layer Oy 503 Layer Cp. 51 Dar Co. 531 Dlyer Co 529 Dlayer Cg 530

fs b: bE bos] BS
en a: an ae oe
Bos: Bas: Bos: Bas Bos.
§ oe oe Ot oad Son

2.0 a
peaasrzed senast2eg senssrrad veessr2e2 peessr2ed

Uuboraay Labontoy sborary Laboriry
SLyers Slayers Oy. 531 Sayers Cy. 629 Layes Oy. 530

|M {MM ‘iil : |
ee a ae ae a
fe § i is i
I: E Ey E Ey

Og Sot
Ubaaty bony Uborimy Lsborinry Laboratory
Figure 15. Comparison of Full Burn Rates for the Interlaboratory Study of the Cigarette Extinction Test Method. The 15 plots in the
figure correspond to the 5 cigarette types tested, by columns, and the 3 test substrates (15, 10, and 3 filter layers), by rows.
In each component plot, the vertical bars represent the proportions of full burns obtained by each of the 9 participating
laboratories.

£6
3]



For these reasons, it was decided to test in only the flat configuration. In addition, a square, flat
brass frame (20 cm outer edge, 2.54 cm wide) was developed for placement on top of the fabric to
assure that it remained in excellent contact with the foam below. The use of the frame is distinctly
more reproducible than anchoring the fabric edges with pins. The frame also guarantees that the
cigarette is placed in the same mockup location from test to test. The hot cigarette coal is placed
in the center of the mockup and the non-ignited tip (filter) of the cigarette is oriented toward one
of the right-angled corners of the frame.

The mockup was enlarged, compared to the mockups used in the TSG study, to 20.3 cm x 20.3 cm
(8" x 8"). This provides an ample-sized mockup for almost any cigarette length and eliminates the
need to determine the warp or weft orientation of the fabric with respect to mockup orientation.
Placing the cigarette on the mockup at a 45° angle assures that the smoldering cigarette tobacco
column will make equal contact with the warp and weft yarns of the fabric.

With this flat configuration, consisting simply of a square of cotton duck held in good contact atop
a square of polyurethane foam (5.1 cm thick), a series of screening tests was performed to determine
the degree of ignition propensity differentiation provided by the various fabrics. Table 16 summarizes
the results.

Table 16. Percent Ignitions on Various Substrates for Selected Cigarettes
Flat Configuration; 4 to 6 Replicates

Cigarette # and Deck #8 | Duck #10, | Duck #12
TSG Ignitions } Ses ee ‘
106 (1/20) 0 0 33 67
114 (420) 9 9 33 o .
113 (6720) 0 0 50 100
108 (7/20) 7 0 50 100
129 (10/20) 25 50 61 100
101 (13/20) 100 100 100 100
120 (20/20) 100 100 100 100

Table 16 shows that these fabric/foam mock-ups do provide varying degrees of differentiation of the
cigarettes. Ducks #6 and #8 were similar to each other. Duck #10 was more readily ignited. Duck
#12 (and the twill fabric in Table 6) provided only minimal differentiation among the weakest igniting
cigarettes. Duck #4, when assessed with a different set of TSG cigarettes (114, 108, 107, 101, 124,
and 125), showed a transition from non-ignition to ignition not greatly different from that of Duck
#6.

29


Sample Weight (wt. %)

-d(W/Wo)/dt (1/sec)

100 == (methadone

90 7

80 1 ‘Warp Bros, Poly Film (roll #1)

70 EL 1 Wa Br. Poly Flim (#2)

————
60 7
Ny atmosphere

50 [  weating rate = 5°cimin

40 7

30 7

20 7

10 7

0 1 arerere revere) 1

100 150 200 250

300 «86350 ©6400

Temperature (°C)

0.0025 r r T r t . 7
+ Warp Bros. Poly Film (roll #1)

0,002 £ = Wexp Bros, Poly Film (roll #2)
N, Atmosphere

0.0015 | Heating rate = 5° C/min.

0.001 |

0.0005 +

—_— sana nttcsS

100 150 200 250

300 350 400 450 500

Temperature (°C)

Figure F-5. TG Data for Two Samples of Polyethylene Film.

F-6


A few cases were noted in which laboratories ran some of the test replications on the wrong mock-up
configuration, compared to what was called-for in the test plan. The result was that the number of
tests actually conducted differed from the intended number (48 replications) by + 2, for some
combinations of cigarette type and mock-up configuration. These cases are reflected in rows of Table
22 for which the total number of Test Results reported (Ignitions + Non-Ignitions + Self-
Extinguishments) sums to 46 or 50, instead of 48. In all cases, the total number of tests performed
by the laboratory was correct.

Raw Data. As noted, the combined computer file contains 6480 lines of data, corresponding to 720
ignition results per laboratory for each of 9 laboratories. The 720 results per laboratory arise from
48 tests of each of 5 cigarettes on each of 3 substrates (720 = 48 x 5 x 3).

The raw data on each line of the computer file represent the same set of thirteen variables described
previously in Table 20. There are two minor changes in the data for these variables compared to
their descriptions in Table 20: the LAB variable has a range from 1 to 9 in the main round, rather
than 1 to 3, as in the preliminary round; and the variable OPERATOR no longer differentiates one
of the operators as "Experienced" and the other as "Inexperienced,” but rather codes the two
operators simply as number "1" and number "2," in no particular order. This change was made
because it was impractical, and seemed unnecessary, to recruit truly inexperienced operators at each
of the nine laboratories for the main round evaluation. Generally, both operators at each lab had
some previous experience in testing ignition propensities of cigarettes or had sufficient acclimation
after the first several days of testing to be regarded as experienced.

A summary of the test results, by LAB, CIG_TYPE and SUBSTRAT is presented in Table 22. Note
that identifying numbers were assigned independently to the laboratories in the preliminary and in the
main rounds of the interlaboratory evaluation so, for example, laboratory number 3 in the preliminary
round is not the same as number 3 in the main round. In Table 22, the ignition results are recorded
in three categories, as given by the variable TST_RSLT. As was done for the preliminary round, the
two types of non-ignitions were combined into a single category for the statistical analyses. Thus, as
before, the test results were analyzed in terms of the derived variable IGN, which simply records the
results as ignition (IGN=Y) or non-ignition (IGN=N).

A graphical display of the data in Table 22 is shown in Figure 4, where, for each cigarette (by
columns) and substrate (by rows) the proportion of ignitions is represented by a vertical bar for each
laboratory. The cigarette types are shown from left to right in order of decreasing ignition propensity,
with cigarette 503 having the most ignitions (in the left-most column of plots) and cigarette 530
having the fewest ignitions (in the right-most column). The three mockup configurations are shown
as rows in the figure, with the least ignitable substrate (duck #4) as the top row and the most
ignitable (duck #10) as the bottom row of the figure. For several cigarette and substrate combina-
tions, all laboratories showed either 100% ignitions (charts near the lower left corner of the figure)
or 0% ignitions (those near the upper right corner). Cases with intermediate ignition percentages
fall near the diagonal (upper left to lower right) in the figure.

54


Table D-3. Cation Content of #10 Cotton Duck

10-57-34-1
10-57-65-2
10-57-91-4
10-57-121-3
10-57-152-3
10-57-182-3
10-57-182-3
10-57-216-3 ”
10-57-243-4
10-58-33-3
10-58-61-2
10-58-61-2
10-59-2-23
10-59-32-4
10-59-61-3
10-59-90-2
10-59-123-1
10-59-149-1
10-59-180-3
10-59-216-1
10-59-241-1

D-4


Table 11. Measured Areal Densities of Fabrics Used In Interlaboratory Study

820 + 17

806 + 25

803 + 14

N2+9

705 + 18

506 + 18

496 +6

Table 12. Measured Air Permeability of Fabrics Used in
Interlaboratory Study and in TSG Study

Duck Namber-Bolt Number
or Fabric Name
(8.89 + 0.15)x10°3 m3/s/m?
(1.75 + 0.03 ft?/min/ft)

(8.74 & 0.91)x10°3 mn3/s/m?

456 (1.72 + 0.18 f3/minift2) 105
(5.54 + 0.25)x10 m?ys/m?

6-67 (1.09 * 0.05 f3/min/t) 46
(5.54 + 0.15)x103 m3js/m?

om (1.09 + 0.03 f3/min/tt2) 28
(10.72 + 0.71)x10°3 msm?

10-58 (2.11 + 0.14 f3/minft2) 66
(11.53 + 0.61)x10° m3/s/m?

10-63 (2.27 + 0.12 f3/minii2) 53

0.12 + 0.04 msm?

Splendor (41477 f3min/ft2) 32.0
(6.81 + 0,30)x107 msm?

Blue Denim (13.4 + 06 f3minift2) 50

0.12 + 0.01 m°s/m? 11.0

(23.2 + 2.5 f3/mint?) “

* Data obtained by United States ‘Testing Company using ASTM D 737-75


Non-Ignitions

Ignltions_

11

10
15
18
13
14
12

Laboratory

Substrate

57


Testing Rooms Conditioning Rooms

6 + Z , : : . 7 : . 6-1 : , 7 : : ; , r r
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 £:)
Laboratory Laboratory
Testing Rooms Conditioning Rooms
4 7 70 4
7 64
Eo: ~P TO & de ek ras ~~ eee
] ob Pith i! _ : a pie tha
le * Zs + ;
«0 04 +
30 24
a4 : : , , 7 = 7 7 r 34 r r + r r , x , 7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 3
Laboratory Laboratory

Figure 16. Environmental Conditions Reported by the Laboratories Participating in the Interlaboratory Study of the Cigarette
Extinction Test Method.


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TITLE AND SUBTITLE (CITE IN FULL)

TEST METHODS FOR QUANTIFYING THE PROPENSITY OF CIGARETTES
TO IGNITE SOFT FURNISHINGS

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Harris, Jr., R. H.; Lawson, J. R.; and Gann, R. G. JHLA/BOULDER _

[LABORATORY AND DIVISION NAMES (FIRST NIST AUTHOR ONLY)

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Research funded under the Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-352) has led to the development of two test methods
for measuring the ignition propensity of cigarettes. The Mock-Up Ignition Test Method uses substrates physically similar
to upholstered furniture and mattresses: a layer of fabric over padding. The measure of cigarette performance is ignition
or non-ignition of the substrate. The Cigarette Extinction Test Method replaces the fabric/padding assembly with multiple
layers of common filter paper. The measure of performance is full-length burning or self-extinguishment of the cigarette.
Routine measurement of the relative ignition propensity of cigarettes is feasible using either of the two methods.
Improved cigarette performance under both methods has been linked with reduced real-world ignition behavior; and it
is reasonable to assume that this, in turn, implies a significant real-world benefit. Both methods have been subjected to
} interlaboratory study. The resulting reproducibilities were comparable to each other and comparable to those in other
fire test methods currently being used to regulate materials which may be involved in unwanted fires. Using the two
methods, some current commercial cigarettes are shown to have reduced ignition propensities relative to the current best-
selling cigarettes.

KEY WORDS (MAXIMUM 9 KEY WORDS; 28 CHARACTERS AND SPACES EACH; ALPHABETICAL ORDER; CAPITALIZE ONLY PROPER NAMES)

Key words: Fire, cigarettes, cigarette test method, ignition, upholstered furniture, statistical analysis

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Introduction

Under PL. 101-352, the Fire-Safe Cigarette Act of 1990, one of the tasks assigned to NIST was to
develop a valid test method for the ignition propensity of cigarettes. In a previous study [A-1], under
the Cigarette Safety Act of 1984, 32 experimental cigarettes that vary systematically in five design
parameters were extensively studied to determine their ignition propensity on soft furnishings. The
evaluation was done with bench-scale mock-ups and on full-scale furniture. Analysis of the test
results indicated an agreement between the bench-scale and full-scale tests. Since these experimental
cigarettes are well characterized, it is desirable to use these cigarettes in the new study. However,
these cigarettes have been stored in freezers since the completion of the first study. To determine
if the cigarettes have changed during storage, a reevaluation was undertaken using fabric and padding
materials retained from the first study.

Statistical Selection of Cigarettes

The original characterization of these cigarettes involved testing on four substrates, which in turn
were composed of combinations of 3 fabrics and two paddings. Due to the limited availability of one
of the fabrics (California standard), it was impossible to repeat the entire experimental series using
all 32 types of cigarettes on all 4 substrates. There was only enough material available to perform
ignition tests for 8 of the 32 cigarettes on all 4 substrates, using 5 replicates for each case.

The selection of 8 cigarettes from the available 32 amounts to choosing exactly a 1/4 fraction of the
available cigarette types. In making the selection, we attempted to achieve two objectives:

(1) to choose cigarettes whose ignition propensities evenly span the entire range of ignition rates
observed in the previous testing, and

(2) to choose cigarettes in a balanced fashion —so that each of the five design factors that define
the cigarette types would be equally represented among the 8 selected cigarettes.

The statistical theory of fractional factorial experimental design [A-2] can be used to satisfy the
second objective. In particular, a 1/4 fraction of the (full) 2° factorial design that defines the 32
cigarettes would consist of 8 cigarettes for which:

4 have Burley tobacco, and 4 have Flue-cured;

4 have Expanded tobacco, and 4 are Not expanded;

4 have paper of Low permeability, and 4 have High permeability;
4 have Citrate, and 4 have No citrate; and

4 are 21 cm in circumference, and 4 are 25 cm.

eo eee

In addition, in a fractional factorial experimental design, a second level of balance would be achieved.
For example, among the 4 cigarettes with high citrate, 2 would be 21 cm in circumference and 2
would be 25 cm; similarly, the 4 low citrate cigarettes would have 2 at 21 cm and 2 at 25 cm
circumference. In an analogous way, each pair of factors would exhibit this kind of balance, with the
result that each level of one factor would be combined with each level of the other factor in an equal
number of cases.

A2


Table 18. Estimated Sensitivity of Mock-Up Test Outcome to Test Variables

A = Not sensitive if carefully controlled; B = Expected to be sensitive; C = uncertain of sensitivity

VARIABLE | A [os
x

enclosure materials

external air flow

fiber content internal air flow

additives mock-up location inbox
impurities x relative humidity cowed
existence and variation in backcoating | X temperature

existence and variation in fiber coating OPERATOR

yarn twist experience level

warp & fill count x glove use in handling mock-ups

air permeability mechanical handling of fabric

weave type handling of cigarette

pile depth x cigarette placement on mock-up

areal density x ID of cigarettes ee ae es ee
Foam ‘TEST PROCEDURE .
air permeability allowed cigarette shelf life |

chemical formulation allowed materials shelf life

age x cigarette conditioning

mock-up conditioning

additives x retrieval of components for test
inorganic content x cigarette ignition procedure
cell size _1 Xx cigarette smolder line
density x draw rate on cigarette
Mockup ignition time and flame location
dimensions x movement to test box _
fabric tension x orientation of cig. during free burn
randomization of materials x ash retention de
# sides covered by fabric x placement of cig on mock-up = | X |
fabric retention method (e., pins) x door closure speed
configuration (crevice, flat...) x definition of ignition

‘TEST ENVIRONMENT number of replicates

enclosure size x

oe
i



Glass Fiber Filter Paper

452mm

Thermocouples

m ea

102 mm .

127 mm

25.4

=
K-S

a

fect tart stat

Figure 9. Drawing of the Cigarette Thermal Transfer Test Assembly.

77



The Mock-Up Ignition Test Method uses three types of simulated upholstery cushions, each with a
different cigarette ignition susceptibility. Each 20 cm x 20 cm assembly (substrate) consists of a top
layer of one of three weights of cotton duck fabric (#4, #6, and #10, in increasing order of ignition
susceptibility); a 5 cm thick piece of a polyurethane foam; and, in the least susceptible substrate, a
thin layer of thermoplastic film in between. Tests are conducted in a plastic enclosure to eliminate
variability due to laboratory air currents. A test begins by placing a lit cigarette on the mock-up. The
performance measure is whether or not the mock-up is ignited (char propagation over 10 mm from
the burning tobacco column). Either self-extinction of the cigarette or the cigarette burning its entire
length without igniting the mock-up assembly are counted as non-ignitions. A complete test scries
consists of 48 replicates of each cigarette on each substrate.

The Cigarette Extinction Test Method replaces the more complex substrate of the Mock-Up Ignition
Test Method with standard cellulosic filter paper. Otherwise, the test procedure is similar. The three
substrates used consist of 3, 10, or 15 layers of the paper. The test determines whether a selected
substrate absorbs enough heat from the cigarette coal to extinguish the cigarette. Performance with
this method was roughly correlated to prior direct measures of cigarette ignition propensity. Here,
increased reproducibility of test materials is gained at the cost of direct simulation of the real-world
fire scenario. Sixteen replicates of each cigarette are performed on each substrate.

Only flat substrates were selected, although many real-world ignitions are expected to occur in
furniture crevices. The TSG studies showed a higher fraction of crevice ignitions for a cigarette of
high ignition propensity, but no consistent difference in ignition susceptibility between the two
configurations for cigarettes of moderate-to-low ignition propensity. Potential variability of contact
between the cigarette coal and the surfaces of the crevice substrates introduces an operator depen-
dence that is undesirable.

All testing is performed without externally-imposed air flow. This is operationally the simplest
approach and is highly relevant. In the real world, the orientation of any flow relative to the cigarette
coal is unknown but probably random. Many ignitions may occur deep in a crevice, and the air flow
there is likely to be very small. While cigarette industry studies showed some cigarettes undergoing
substantial changes in rankings of ignition performance under varying air flows, greater flow
differences between mock-up and chair tests in the TSG studies did not preclude a good correlation
between these two types of tests. The existence of this correlation strongly implies that there will
be a real-world benefit in moving toward cigarettes which perform well in the two test methods
developed here. Should further information on real-world ignitions indicate a significant fraction due
to low ignition propensity cigarettes in external air flow conditions at the ignition location, it may be
appropriate to supplement the results of the current methods with those of tests conducted in the
presence of a comparable flow.

The two test methods were developed using experimental cigarettes manufactured by the cigarette
industry for this purpose. The cigarettes varied widely in performance, from some having ignition
propensities comparable to current commercial cigarettes to others that rarely or never ignited any
of the test substrates in both this and cigarette industry studies.

The two methods were shown to be of useful reproducibility in a nine-laboratory study. The study
involved cigarette industry, state and federal agency, and private testing laboratories, and conformed
to ASTM guidelines. Five of the available experimental cigarettes were tested, based on their
expected ignition performance.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
List of Tables 10.1... cece cece cece eee eee nn tee teen een ee ete t en teteeteeens v
List of Figures... 0.0... cece e cece cence cence een ence nee en een teeeetneenes vii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........... 00 ccc ee cece eee eeeees Vet ee cece ree serr ene ix
L INTRODUCTION ..... 0... ese c cece cence eee eee e nee teen eee enenneee 1

A Perspective on the Current Projects

B. General Considerations Regarding Test Methods

1. Applications ............-...00ee
2. Output .....
3. Figure of Merit .
4. Validity . .
5. Long-Term Utility
IL. TEST METHODS DEVELOPED IN THE PRESENT STUDY .................. 7
A Cigarettes Used in the Present Study ...... 0.0... eee cece cece e ence eeeee
1. Series 100 Experimental Cigarettes ..

2. Series 500 Experimental Cigarettes

B. Mock: Up Ignition Test Method ........ 00... e ccc cece e cece e eee
Previous Use of Mock-ups...............204
Fabric Considerations for a Mock-Up Test Method .
Other Mock-up Materials ..............-.004
Mock-up Configuration
Enclosure Design; Air Flow Considerations .
Test Variables ..

General Description of the Mock-Up Ignition Test Method . . .
Interlaboratory Study of the Mock-Up Method .................04 3

PADVWAYWNE

igarette Extinction Test Method ........ 00. c eee c cece eect e eee e nen ee
. Prior Alternative Methods .

Ci

1

2. Approaches Examined in This Study .
3. Standard Materials
4,
5.
6.

Enclosure Design
General Description of the Test Method .
Interlaboratory Study of the Test Method





Table 17. Effect of Air Flow Disturbance on Cigarette Ignition Propensity
Duck #6, Percent Ignitions

106 (1/20)
130 (4/20)
108 (7/20)
102 (12/20)
121 (14/20)

109 (15/20)
128 (20/20)
506

Adiga et al. [20] used the Series 500 cigarettes and cotton ducks stated to be comparable to those
used here. Their polyurethane foam was 25% lower in density than that used by NIST; but, as noted
above, we have found little effect of such a density difference. They also found a rather minimal
response from cigarettes placed atop duck #6, although cigarettes 530, 505 and 529 did show some
ignitions (10-30 %) at a steady, head-on airflow velocity of approximately 1 cm/s (cigarette
centerline); with no flow these three cigarettes gave no ignitions. The lighter cotton ducks (#8, #10,
#12) showed an increasing response to the same air flow, with the response being greatest for the
lightest duck. In all cases, however, while the absolute number of ignitions went up, the relative
ranking of the tested cigarettes remained similar to that seen with their TSG analogs. This type of
result, an upward shift in number of ignitions with small changes in relative cigarette ignition
propensity rankings, implies that testing with or without an ambient flow would produce little practical
difference. In assessing results of this type one has to bear in mind the degree of reproducibility of
the test and the limits this imposes on the ability to make distinctions in cigarette ranking. The
reproducibility of the mock-up test method developed here is discussed in the context of the
interlaboratory study below.

Adiga et al. [20] also examined the influence of air flow on the ignition behavior of the Series 500
cigarettes with two other fabrics, a blue denim and California Standard velvet. These are nominally

32


Sample Weight (wt. %)

-d(W/Wo)/dt (1/sec)

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20

10

NN, atmosphere

Heating rate = 5°C/min

A 4

- Fabric 6-73-34-5 [K’] = 4440 ppm
© Fabric 6-71-80-2 [K] = 5740 ppm.

Lod re 1 L

100 150 200

0.0015

0.0012

0.0009 +

0.0006

0.0003

0
1

250 300 350 400 450 500
Temperature (°C)

N, Atmosphere

00 150 200

+ Fabric 6-73-34-5 [K} = 4440 ppm
«Fabric 6-71-90-2 [K} = 5740 ppm

Heating rate = 5° C/min.

250 300 350 400 450 500

Temperature (°C)

Figure F-2. TG Behavior of Two Samples of Cotton Duck #6.

F-3


A readily interpretable result from the global analysis pertains to the environmental variables. In the
global model, the logarithm of the odds ratio in favor of ignition (IGN) was modeled as a function
of all the variables (except DATE) in Table 20, together with several interactions. In this fitted
model, the regression coefficients for all four environmental variables had the expected signs (though
none had a statistically significant magnitude): the two temperature coefficients (for TSTTEMP and
CNDTEMP) were positive, implying that increasing temperature increases the odds in favor of
ignition, and the humidity coefficients (for TSTRH and CNDRH) were both negative, implying that
increased humidity decreases the odds in favor of ignition.

Overall, the logistic analyses showed some indications of small, but possibly real, dependencies
between the auxiliary variables and the ignition results. However, they did not reveal any major
problems in the data. These indications are consistent with the general observation there will always
be some means by which the test results could be improved by further refinements to the test method
protocols.

Primary Variables. It is possible, and of some interest, to test whether the three primary explanatory
variables in the data set, namely LAB, CIG_TYPE and SUBSTRAT, show statistically significant
effects on the ignition results. In short, the IGN variables shows statistically significant effects due
to all three of the primary explanatory variables.

For the LAB variable, statistically significant differences between labs were shown for essentially all
cigarette/substrate combinations where the percentage of ignitions was far enough away from both
0% and 100% to allow differences to show. Specifically, significant between-laboratory differences
were identified for cigarette types 503 and 501 on the duck #4 mock-up, for cigarette 529 on the
duck #6 mock-up, and for cigarettes 529 and 530 on the duck #10 mock-up. These individual tests,
for each cigarette and substrate, were combined into an overall test by the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel
procedure with the result that the overall hypothesis that there is no between-laboratory variation
is rejected. The magnitude of the between-lab variability is summarized below through the estimation
of repeatability and reproducibility standard deviations.

The significance test for differences between cigarette types was also carried out using the Cochran-
Mantel-Haenszel procedure. The results showed that all five cigarette types have ignition rates that
are statistically different from each other, with p-values less than 0.001 in each case. Turning to
substrates, the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel procedure also showed significant differences between the
ignition results across all three mock-ups.

Repeatability and Reproducibility. In ASTM standard E-691, "Standard Practice for Conducting an
Interlaboratory Study to Determine the Precision of a Test Method" [25], the summary precision
statement for a test method under evaluation is based on statistical calculations of repeatability and
reproducibility limits for the method. Recall that repeatability refers here to the consistency of test
results from a single laboratory; reproducibility refers to the consistency of results among different
laboratories. The calculation formulas described in ASTM E-691 are appropriate for test methods
that yield measurements on a continuous scale, rather than the categorical "yes/no" outcomes that
characterize the IGN variable of this study, and cigarette ignition testing generally. However, the
repeatability and reproducibility measures can be adapted to categorical data applications, as will be
described.

63


10 T T T T uo
°
Br 4
i ° ° ° ° °
6 4
Fi r e °
ry 7 °°
a
4b 3 64
i °
Ly
© 21 mm
@ 25 mm 4
2b
1 L 1 A 1
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1,00
Failure Fraction on TSG Mockups
Figure 7. Free Burning Rate of Various Cigarettes Suspended in Quiescent Air as a Function

of the Fraction of the TSG Mock-Up Failures.

72


Test Methods for Quantifying the Propensity

as bi

of Cigarettes to Tgnite Soft Furnishings

ie phe
nase. eae tae me
srk ety ena

2

U.S. Department of Commence

TECHNOLOGY ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
Aucust 1993

NIST Sreciat Pusication 851

NUSsT


0.02 4
w 0.015
w 015
z a
=
< a
>
E 4 =
5 0.01
o
1s)
>
Qa
S oe
o
wi 0.005 —
va a
o4
T T T T T T T T T
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014 0.016

REPEATABILITY VARIANCE

Figure 17. Empirical Relation of Reproducibility Variance, Sp’, to Repeatability Variance, S,?, Based on Data in Table 29 from jhe
Interlaboratory Study of the Cigarette Extinction Test Method. The equation of the least squares line shown is Se =

(1.14682


APPENDIX B

MOCK-UP IGNITION TEST METHOD PROCEDURE

Scope:

The purpose of this test procedure is to provide a method for measuring the propensity of cigarettes
to ignite specified types of substrate assemblies.

Apparatus and Equipment:

1. Test chambers of the design shown in Figure B-1 shall be constructed for testing the ciga-
rette/substrate combinations.

2. A vacuum draw apparatus consisting of the following type shall be used for igniting the test
cigarettes: See Figure B-2.

The vacuum draw apparatus is composed of a cigarette holder, particulate filter,
rotameter, trap, pressure gauge, shut-off valve and a vacuum pump. The cigarette
holder (a plastic drying tube) shall have a flexible diaphragm with a hole cut to a size
appropriate for holding a cigarette and making a tight seal around the filter end. The
holder must be mounted in a secure fastener which will hold the cigarette firmly in
a horizontal position for lighting. The particulate filter, composed of a plastic drying
tube 150 mm long and 20 mm in diameter filled with glass wool, shall be adequate to
remove smoke from the combustion gases to prevent contamination of all downstream
assemblies. The filter shall be changed regularly to insure that gas flow is unobstruct-
ed and that contamination is not allowed to pass this point. A rotameter capable of
measuring 1000 ml/min, air, shall be used for adjusting flow through the vacuum draw
system. A 250 ml impinger trap is used in the system to dampen flow variations. A
vacuum gauge capable of measuring to at least 800 mm Hg shall be positioned before
the pump in order to track apparatus operating pressure. The electric pump shall be
capable of producing a vacuum of 500 mm Hg with a flow rate of at least 23 l/min.
A Cole-Parmer Air Cadet pump model 7530-40 or equivalent is found to be suitable.

3. An environmental conditioning room or chamber shall be maintained which provides area
adequate for conditioning cigarettes and test substrate materials. This room shall be capable
of maintaining a relative humidity of 55 + 5 % and a temperature of 23 + 3 °C.

4. A constant humidity box of a size to hold 4 to 6 substrate assemblies and more than one 250
ml beaker of conditioned cigarettes is necessary in test rooms where humidity and
temperature control is difficult. A shallow tray with a 15 mm deep layer of saturated solution
of sodium bisulfate and water has been found to provide the appropriate conditioning
environment. (NOTE: This solution is highly corrosive.)

B-1


APPENDIX F

REPRESENTATIVE THERMOGRAVIMETRIC DATA
FOR TEST METHOD MATERIALS

Samples of all of the test materials were subjected to thermogravimetric analysis in a Mettler TA
2000C Thermoanalyzer. All tests were run with the samples in aluminum oxide crucibles 8.0 mm OD
by 4.5 mm depth. Sample weight in all cases was 2.0 + 0.1 mg. For the cotton ducks this required
four to five pieces of yarn removed from near the location where metal ion concentrations had been
measured; these yarn pieces were laid in an open, cross-wise array on the bottom of the crucible.
The polyethylene film and filter paper samples were in the form of disks on the bottom of the
crucible. The polyurethane foam was in the form of a few small chunks, ca. 1 mm, removed with a
tweezers from well beneath any previously exposed surface of the foam block being sampled. The
heating rate was 5 °C/min. and the atmosphere was 100% nitrogen (< 100 ppm of oxygen). Samples
were run up to 80 °C and held there until dry; they were then heated at the noted rate to 500 °C.

The results are shown in Figures F-1 to F-6. In most cases the original data (weight vs. temperature)
plus a numerically-derived rate of weight loss are both shown. Samples from two sources of each
material are shown. For the polyurethane foam two buns were sampled, as well as two locations
within each bun. For the cotton ducks, the potassium level in the adjacent material is reported. Note
that the only material showing appreciable variability is the polyethylene film.


National Institute of Standards and U.S. Government Printing Office For sale by the Superintendent of

Technology Washington: 1993 Documents

Special Publication 851 U.S. Government Printing Office
Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. Washington, DC 20402-9325
Spec. Pub, 851

166 Pages (Aug. 1993)
CODEN: NSPUE2


Ill. CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF THE TWO TEST
METHODS

A. Mock-Up Ignition Test Method

The mock-up method developed here broadly meets the criteria described in Section I for an
acceptable test method. It is a performance-based method that employs a cigarette/substrate
combination bearing a strong (although not perfect) similarity to the real-world fire safety hazard.
The relation between the test results and real upholstered chair ignition behavior is traceable through
the use of cigarettes calibrated in the TSG study. The test output is quantitative and provides
differentiation among cigarettes of varied ignition propensity. Through choice and control of
materials it should provide a stable standard of performance for the foreseeable future.

As is generally the case with fire tests, this method has potential limitations that are a consequence
of incomplete knowledge of the real-world scenarios. First, in the apparatus, the ambient atmosphere
is perturbed only by the cigarette plume. This case is believed to be a highly relevant analog for real-
world accidental ignitions occurring in a chair crevice. As noted previously, if further information on
real-world ignitions indicates a significant fraction occurring in external air flow conditions at the
ignition location, it may be appropriate to supplement the results of the current method with those
obtained in the presence of a comparable flow. This would require a method development process
comparable to that described in this report. A second limitation is the small number of upholstery
substrates used to relate mock-up behavior to real-world chairs [3]. It is presumed that this
correlation is representative of the aggregate furniture market. The existence of this correlation
virtually assures that there will be some real-world benefit in moving toward cigarettes which perform
well in this test method. Should sufficient evidence emerge in the future that a large fraction of the
furniture at risk does not follow the correlation that was demonstrated in the TSG study, it may be
appropriate to replace one or more of the Mock-Up Ignition Test Method substrates.

The interlaboratory study demonstrated the level of lab-to-lab reproducibility one can expect of this
method. Table 24 above shows that this level cannot be made substantially greater with a very large
number of replicates; conversely, this level does get significantly less desirable if the number of
replicates is reduced substantially below 48. The achievable lab-to-lab reproducibility is an
appropriate measure of how finely a test method can differentiate among test subjects for regulatory
purposes. It is apparent, then, that the mock-up method cannot make fine distinctions in ignition
propensity among cigarette designs. With 48 replicates on a given mock-up, the proportion of
ignitions obtained by two separate laboratories can be expected to differ by up to about 0.4. This
Places a limit on the degree of resolution possible for regulatory use of the method. Finer distinctions
than this could be made only within a single laboratory, presumably for product development
purposes, In that case, a number of replicates greater than 48 would appreciably improve the
differentiation; see Table 24.

Three mock-ups were included in the interlaboratory study and all were found to differ significantly
in ease of ignition. The results in Figure 4 above show the response of this set of mock-ups to a
broad spectrum of experimental cigarette designs, though all are of a conventional construction.
Given the limitation above on the resolution of the test in differentiating ignition propensity, it is
apparent that cigarettes of high ignition propensity gave effectively the same response on two out of
three of the mock-ups. A cigarette of low ignition propensity also gave effectively the same response

99


Metal Ion Content Over Time. Since cotton ducks are made from raw cotton, their content of alkali
metal and alkaline earth ions is potentially variable with soil, fertilization and growth conditions.
Blending of raw cotton from various regions (of Texas) and crop years tends to counteract this
variability. Recognizing the potential problems here, NIST sought to develop information on the
extent of variability of cation content in cotton ducks. This process was greatly simplified by
determinations that:

. the alkali metal ions are comparable in smolder promotion tendency and much more
potent than the alkaline earth cations [16] and

. potassium ions are present in dominant concentrations in the cotton ducks and the
relative fractions of the other metal ions varied little (Table 7).

The premise adopted was that the potassium ion concentration is the determining chemical factor in
ignition susceptibility of these fabrics. The malate anion is equally important in setting the general
level of activity of the potassium. Since this is the dominant anion in cotton [13] it is expected to
correlate with the potassium level, barring any major genetic modifications to future cotton strains.

NIST then worked with West Point Pepperell (WPP) to examine the long-term reproducibility of the
potassium ion content of the ducks. WPP staff utilized the NIST sample extraction technique
(Appendix D) and atomic absorption spectroscopy to analyze samples from their mill for potassium
ion content over a period of 4 months. (A reorganization of the company prevented a longer analysis
period.) The results are shown in Table 8. Each duck was sampled in three locations during one day
of each month reported; the standard deviations shown are for these three measurements. There is
only one case (Duck #6 in June, 1992) of highly variable results. Otherwise the spatial variability
on a given day is + 6% or less. The long-term variation tends to be greater but, except for the one
case of Duck #6 (June, 1992), the variation is not very large. Duck #8 shows the greatest variation,
a 23% increase from 4700 to 5800 ppm, from April to May, 1992.



350 T T T T au
e
300 - 4
 250f 4
| ° °
3
el 200- e 4
H e
i 150 e ° 4
:
HY °
100 F 4
00 e e
e
e e
SOF 4
° nm 1 L 1 1
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1,00
Failure Fraction on TSG Mockups

Figure 11. Estimated Energy Transferred to a Substrate from a Smoldering Cigarette Burning
in the Thermal Transfer Apparatus as a Function of the Fraction of TSG Mock-Up
Failures.

719


Glass Beads

20mm f

Nichrome gauze

Ar

425 mm diameter Funnel
Nichrome gauze support for glass beads
250 mi Flask

Figure 8. Schematic Representation of the Test Assembly for the Glass Bead/Rod Substrate Tests.

74


Tn its final report [2], the TSG concluded that:

"It is technically feasible and may be commercially feasible to develop cigarettes that will have
a significantly reduced propensity to ignite upholstered furniture or mattresses."

However, in assessing the commercial feasibility, the TSG membership also noted that:

"A valid and reliable test method is needed to measure the reduced ignition propensity of
improved cigarettes."

".. the current mockup method is usable for research measurements of the relative ignition
propensity of cigarettes. However, because of the lot-to-lot variability of the fabrics and
paddings used, this method should not be used as the standard test method."

“None of the several alternative candidate test methods for measuring the cigarette ignition
propensity of soft furnishings was usable in its current state of development."

These statements reaffirm what has been found for many products: desired performance must be
measurable. This quality allows a specifier to declare what is expected of the product, the
manufacturer to produce a desired commodity, and the vendor to demonstrate compliance with the
specifier’s demands. A standardized performance measurement or test method makes this possible.
It then becomes the role of society to determine the level of performance it desires and how much
it is willing to pay. It is noteworthy that several state legislatures have delayed mandating less fire-
prone cigarettes for lack of a quantitative test method.

Recognizing this as a key link to reducing fire losses, the Congress enacted the Fire Safe Cigarette
Act of 1990 (PL. 101-352), noting that:

"It is appropriate for the Congress to require by law the completion of the research described
in the final report of the Technical Study Group on Cigarette and Little Cigar Fire Safety and
an assessment of the practicability of developing a performance standard to reduce cigarette
ignition propensity, and

it is appropriate for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to utilize its expertise to
complete the recommendations for further work and report to Congress in a timely fashion."

Accordingly, the Act directed that the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Center for
Fire Research [now the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL)], at the request of the
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC):

"(1) develop a standard test method to determine cigarette ignition propensity,

(2) compile performance data for cigarettes using the standard test method developed under
paragraph (1), and

(3) conduct laboratory studies on and computer modeling of ignition physics to develop valid,
user-friendly predictive capability.”


Table 20. Variables in Analysis of Preliminary Interlaboratory Study

Variable Name
TST_RSLT

Test Result, coded as: I=Ignition, N=Non-Ignition,
S=Self-Extinguishment

LAB Laboratory Number (1-3)

CIG_TYPE Cigarette Type (Coded as 1-5, representing Series 501,
503, 529, 530, 531, respectively)

SUBSTRAT _Fabric/Film/Foam Substrate Identifier
1 = Number 4 Cotton Duck
2 = Number 6 Cotton Duck
3 = Number 10 Cotton Duck

Auxiliary Categorical Variables:
CHAMBER Test Chamber Number (1-4)

TST_BLK _ Test Block (Week of testing, or equivalent group of five
test days = 1, 2 or 3)

OPERATOR Operator (E=Experienced, I=Inexperienced)
AMPM _ Time of Day (A=AM, P=PM)
DATE Date of test (MMDDYY)
Auxiliary Continuous Variables:
TSTTEMP Test Room Temperature
TSTRH _ Test Room Relative Humidity
CNDTEMP Conditioning Room Temperature
CNDRH

Conditioning Room Relative Humidity

Except for DATE, all of the variables in Table 20 were studied in the statistical analyses. The DATE
variable was used primarily in the process of checking the data files.

In reporting the test results (TST_RSLT), the laboratories made a distinction between two distinct
types of non-ignition outcomes, as follows. For a cigarette which extinguished before the entire
tobacco column was burned, the outcome was coded as S, for Self-Extinguishment. Alternatively,
when the tobacco column burned all the way to the end without igniting the fabric substrate, it was
coded as N, for Non-Ignition.

The test results for the preliminary round are summarized by LAB, CIG_TYPE, and SUBSTRAT
in Table 21. The distinction shown there between Self-Extinguishment and Non-Ignition was not
used formally in the statistical analysis of the results. Instead, a simpler presentation and analysis
were obtained by combining the two types of non-ignition. Thus, a derived variable, named "IGN,"
was defined as follows:


. 1 week test period

Each laboratory received 25 boxes of filter paper, four plastic filter paper supports and brass hold-
down rings, 100 coded cigarettes, plus instructional manuals and lab workbooks for each operator.
Each laboratory already had in their possession test chamber enclosures, cigarette lighters, cigarette
holders, etc. from the mock-up ignition interlaboratory test program. Similar procedures were
followed to ensure timely arrival of test data to NIST via the FAXing of daily summary sheets. At
the end of the one-week test program, workbooks and data disks were returned to NIST. These were
reviewed for consistency between the workbooks, disk data files, and daily summary sheets.
Discrepancies were noted and resolved to ensure an accurate set of data files from each laboratory.

b. Analysis of Results

Raw Data. As was done for the previous interlaboratory studies, the data for the cigarette extinction
test method were organized into a single computer file for analysis. For this study, the resulting
computer file contained 2160 lines of data, corresponding to 240 ignition results per laboratory for
each of 9 laboratories. The 240 results per laboratory arise from 16 tests of each of 5 cigarettes on
each of 3 substrates.

As was the case for the main ILS of the Mock-Up Ignition Method, there were a few cases in the
ILS of the Cigarette Extinction Method where laboratories ran some test replications on the wrong
mock-up configurations. This resulted in some cases where the number of results reported for a
given cigarette type and mock-up configuration differ, again by + 2, from the desired number of 16
replications.

The raw data on each line of the computer file represent essentially the same set of thirteen variables
described in Table 20, with the familiar changes that (a) the LAB variable ranges from 1 to 9, and
(b) the OPERATOR variable codes the two operators as number "1" and number "2." These
differences were discussed in more detail in Section II.B.8.c. Another difference from Table 20 is
that the TST_BLK variable was not used because this study was done in a single week of testing.

A summary of the test results, by LAB, CIG_TYPE and SUBSTRAT is presented in Table 28. The
identifying numbers for the laboratories are the same as those used in Table 22. The test results for
the extinction method were reported in two categories, full-length burns and self-extinguishments.


Table 23. Observed Repeatability and Reproducibility Standard Deviations
for Mock-Up Ignition Method
Main Interlaboratory Study; m=48 Replications per Laboratory

oe Average Repeat- Reproduc-

Substrate | Proportion of | ability S.D. | ibility S.D.
a Ignitions ne S,. Sp :

1 0.110 0.045 0.102. -

2 1.000 0 o

3 1.000 0 0

1 0.532 0.072 0.145 7

2 1.000 0 0

3 1.000 0 0 ;

; oon a

2 0.076 0.038 0.074

3 0.303 0.066 0.117

1 0.000 0 0 7

2 0.002 0.007 0.007

3 0.025 i 0.023 0.043

1 0.000 0 0

2 0.949 0.032 ; 0.042

3 L 0.979 0.021 _t 0.021

As previously mentioned, the repeatability standard deviation is a function of the average proportion
of ignitions, p, for each cigarette type. In Table 23, it is apparent that the reproducibility standard
deviation also depends on p to some extent. In order to provide a succinct summary of the data, it
of interest to combine the estimates of repeatability and reproducibility across the substrates and
cigarette types in this study.

ASTM Standard E 691 [25], in section 21.3, Variation of Precision Statistics with Property Level, gives
the following general guidance in formulating precision statements for test methods where the repeat-
ability and reproducibility depend on the level of the property being measured.

"Quite often the values of S, and Sp will be found to vary with the values of the

property level, x [corresponding to our pj... The manner in which the statistics vary
with the property level should be shown in presenting the precision information in the

65


3. Other Mock-Up Materials

‘Two other expendable materials are used in the mock-up method. The principal one is a
polyurethane foam which is used to mimic the typical cushioning material in upholstered furniture.
A second material is a polyethylene film used between the fabric and foam in one mock-up
configuration for reasons explained below.

Polyurethane Foam. The polyurethane flexible foam used in these test method development studies
had the same formulation as that used in the TSG study. The foam is based on a polyether polyol
and TDI; the manufacturer's (Vitafoam, Inc., High Point N.C.) designation is 2048.° It has an indent
flexural rating of approximately 21.8 kg (48 Ibs) and a nominal density of 32 kg/m? (2.0 Ib/ft*). The
nominal air permeability (ASTM D3574 [18]) is 2.0 x 10° mys (4.25 {t?/min). The foam is
representative of foam products used in the residential furniture market.

The sensitivity of the cigarette ignition process to foam properties was examined by substituting
another common upholstered furniture foam. This foam had a similar TDI/polyether formulation,
but a nominal density of 24 kg/m? (1.5 Ib/ft?) and a nominal air permeability of 2.4 x 10° m/s (5.0
ft?/min). Flat mockups were made with duck #8 and the two foams. TSG cigarettes nos. 108 (7/20
TSG ignitions), 129 (10/20 TSG ignitions), 102 and 116 (both 12/20 TSG ignitions) were tested on
the mockups using six replicates per cigarette/mock-up condition. See Table 13.

Table 13. Sensitivity of Ignition Susceptibility to Foam Properties
(Percent Ignitions in Six Replicates)

Since the foam density variation in this experiment is substantially larger than would occur within any
well-specified foam batch (+ 5%) and since the effect here was small, it was concluded that the role
of foam property variations (within nominally similar formulations) is minimal. It should be sufficient
to specify the general formulation and nominal density.

From consulting with experts on polyurethane foams, it was determined that the greatest (+ 5%)
variation in foam density occurs vertically in a bun. The air permeability varies similarly; see Table
14. In the interlaboratory testing described below, the foam samples were varied randomly from top

3 The foam was obtained from TEDCO, 2335 W. Franklin Street, Baltimore MD 21223;
telephone no. (410) 945-6158. TEDCO identifies this foam as style #2045.

26


Figure 1. Photograph of a test chamber containing a mock-up assembly and a cigarette.

38



CQ Test Procedures

The cigarettes were tested nominally using the two procedures described above. However, it was
expected that many of these packings would be of very high ignition propensity. Therefore, the full
complement of replicates (48 or 16) was performed first for the duck #4 and 15-layer substrates. If
48 ignitions in the Mock-Up Ignition Method were observed, then 8 replicates were performed on
the remaining substrates. (This is more than the minimum of six called for in Section IIA. since it
is based on an earlier estimate of the reproducibility of the test methods.) Also, for certain of the
top fourteen packings (4 through 9 in Table 32), additional tests were run on Duck #6 before the
decision was made to limit the testing to eight replicates. If 16 full-length burns in the Extinction
Method were noted, then no further testing was performed.

One of the packings in the group of six selected as less ignition prone (packing C in Table 32) had
a tendency to self-extinguish during the vertical free-burn period prior to placement on the substrate.
Thus, on duck #6, 13 of the 35 extinguishments occurred during this vertical free-burn. When an
additional 24 replicates were run with this duck using a horizontal cigarette orientation during the
free-burn interval, 12 caused ignition and 12 self-extinguished on the mock-up. This increase in
ignition rate from 27% to 50% is comparable to the repeatability of the method (Table 24) and was
not considered sufficient to revise the test procedure. Note, however, that this cigarette was run only
with a horizontal free-burn for the tests on duck #10 and the three filter paper substrates.

D. Analysis of Data

Table 32 shows that the top 14 best-selling packings behaved in a virtually identical manner, with
packing #7 exhibiting 2 self-extinctions on the duck #4. Both test methods indicate they are strong
igniters; neither method reveals any differentiation among these packings. Reference to the
interlaboratory study results for the Mock-Up Ignition Method (Figure 4) indicates that all of these
cigarettes are stronger igniters than the 2 strongest experimental cigarettes (503 and 501) used in that
study.

The 6 packings chosen as likely to be of lesser ignition propensity did in fact show this tendency to
varying degrees. Both methods reveal the same qualitative picture: a monotonic increase in the
number of ignitions or full-length burns as one moves toward the lighter fabrics or fewer filter layers.
Of particular note is that 4 of these packings (A, C, E, F) showed few or no ignitions in 48 replicates
on the #4 duck. Compared to the Mock-Up Ignition Method, the Extinction Method does not seem
to pick up the reduced ignition propensity of one of these (packing E) and also does not distinguish
as strongly the performance of cigarettes A and D from the 14 best-selling packings. Packing C
shows a persisting tendency toward a lesser ignition propensity, even on Duck #10; the Extinction
Method does not show this on the 10- or 3-layer substrates. These observations are consistent with
those in the interlaboratory study, which indicated that the Mock-Up Method is capable of better
distinction among cigarettes in the upper/middle part of the ignition propensity range.

107


Within the factorial experimental design, the following variables were tracked for possible study:

Operator skill level - experienced or unexperienced
Time of day - morning (AM) or afternoon (PM)

‘Test chamber number - 1, 2, 3 or 4

Mock-up assembly type - 1, 2 or 3

Conditioning room relative humidity and temperature
Test room relative humidity and temperature
Cigarette ignition propensity

General Test Plan. All tests were to be performed in the prescribed randomized order as specified
in the individual operator workbooks, A single cigarette type was tested by both operators on any
given day. Both operators conducted their specified tests simultaneously. Each operator was assigned
a pair of test chambers to be used during the morning hours and then switched to their co-worker’s
test chambers during the afternoon. Mock-up assemblies were tested in the order specified in each
operator’s workbook. The plan resulted in each cigarette/mock-up assembly being tested twice on
each day. Individual test results were to be recorded in the workbooks as each test was completed;
and each operator was required to complete a daily summary sheet containing all the information on
laboratory operations, conditioning room/chamber control and environmental control in the test room.
At the end of each day, operators were requested to transfer their data from the workbook to the
computer disk data file.

Analysis of Results. When the test workbooks and computer disks were received at NIST, each was
carefully reviewed for accuracy. A small percentage of errors of various types was found in the
booklets and computer files. The workbooks showed some missing data and showed some mixed
units, generally in temperature measurements. The computer files exhibited typos, transposed
numbers and mixed units. These irregularities were corrected on the computer files (by reference
to the workbooks) before the data were transferred onto combined laboratory computer files and
submitted to the NIST Statistical Engineering Division for analysis.

The combined data file contained 2160 (= 720 x 3) lines of data, corresponding to 720 ignition tests

per lab for each of 3 labs. Each line of data consisted of the values of 13 variables. The names used
for these variables and a description of the information they represent are summarized in Table 20.

43


Diaphragm/Holder

Cigarette
Filter
Trap Flow Meter
K
Pump Exhaust

Valve

Figure B-2. Schematic of Vacuum Draw Apparatus.

B-8


- The test method should be subjected to a ruggedness test prior to being used in a
major ILS. A ruggedness test is generally a small ILS which uses two or more
laboratories for evaluating and adjusting requirements in the test method to enhance
its function and to identify areas of variability which may need improvement.

. No fewer than three materials, in this case cigarettes, should be used in designing an
ILS, and the materials should represent different levels of property measurement.

. The numbers of tests in an ILS should be of sufficient number to obtain a good
estimate of repeatability.

b. Selection of Cigarettes for Interlaboratory Study

As described above (Section I1.A), the cigarettes for the round robin studies were selected from the
Series 500 set; there were insufficient cigarettes from the Series 100 set for this purpose. Series 500,
like Series 100, includes 32 different cigarette designs (i.e., variants of tobacco type, packing density,
paper citrate content and paper porosity); a smaller subset was chosen for use in the interlaboratory
studies.

The size of the subset to be used in the ILS clearly affects the total testing load to be imposed on
all participating laboratories, and a compromise between cigarette design diversity and test load was
sought. These concerns led to the choice of a three-week test program for the mock-up ignition
method and a one-week plan for the cigarette extinction method. The experimental plans were
designed to use a balanced selection of five different cigarette types for the study.

Eight of the thirty-two cigarettes in the 500 Series were initially selected as candidates to be used in
the ILS. (See Sect. IIA.) These initial cigarette types were chosen to reflect the range of designs
found in this group of experimental cigarettes. Packing parameters used in the selection included
tobacco type, expanded vs. nonexpanded tobacco, wrapping paper porosity, paper citrate content and
cigarette circumference. This initial selection of cigarettes consisted of types identified with the
following numbers: 501, 503, 506, 508, 520, 529, 530 and 531.

The second phase of selection, which picked the five cigarettes to be used in the interlaboratory
study, was based on the range of ignition performance. Tests were conducted to identify the ignition
propensity of the eight cigarettes using the three mock-up assemblies selected for the interlaboratory
study. The results are shown in Table 5 (Section II.A). On the basis of these results, the following
cigarette types were chosen for the interlaboratory study: 501, 503, 529, 530 and 531. Cigarettes 501
and 503 have relatively high ignition propensities; cigarette 531 has an intermediate ignition
propensity and cigarettes 529 and 530, relatively low propensities. The choice of these five cigarettes
provides a range of performance which can be used to evaluate the test procedure appropriately.
This range of ignition propensity covers that from the population of the experimental cigarettes
supplied by the industry for this study. Prior NIST work [3] has shown that the high end of this range
was typical of current commercial cigarettes, while the lower end tends to cause few ignitions on any
of the tested substrates. Table 19 provides a description of each cigarette type used in the
interlaboratory study.

39


0.025 —

0.02 —

0.015 +

0.01

89
REPRODUCIBILITY VARIANCE

0.005 —

0 0.001 0,002 0,003 0.004 0.005 0.006

REPEATABILITY VARIANCE

Figure 6. Empirical Relation of Reproducibility Variance, S, Rs to Repeatability Variance, 5,?, Based on Data in Table 23 from the
Main Interlaboratory Study of the Mock-up Ignition Test Method. The equation of the least squares line shown is S;? =
(3.72)S,2.


Figure 10. Typical Average Temperature-Time Trace for a Cigarette Burning on a Glass Fiber
Filter Paper in the Cigarette Thermal Transfer Test Assembly.

78



the same as two of the fabrics used in the TSG study, except that they were doped with potassium
acetate in this study to enhance their ignitability> The doped California velvet proved to be too
readily ignited by most of the Series 500 cigarettes to provide much information on air flow effects.
The behavior on the blue denim was more complex. There was an increase in ignitions as the
potassium level was increased, even in the no-flow case. At any given level of potassium, the
presence of a steady air flow (ca. 1 cm/s at the cigarette centerline) enhanced the number of ignitions
still further. The most distinctive anomaly in all of this is the observation that three of the cigarettes
[505 (BELC-21), 506 (BELN-21), and 508 (BEHN-21)] showed a relatively stronger response to the
air flow, and this tended to alter their ranking substantially relative to the other cigarettes tested.
These are cigarettes whose TSG analogs exhibited low ignition propensities. Evidently, in the
presence of the particular air flow conditions of this experiment, these cigarettes on this fabric lose
their diminished ignition propensity and tend toward the behavior seen with high ignition propensity
cigarettes. A physical explanation for this is lacking at this time. The extent to which this result
would carry over to the real world is also not known at this time. As noted above, greater flow
differences between mock-up and chair tests in the TSG study did not preclude a good correlation
between the two types of tests.

In view of the information at hand, it has been judged appropriate to select the no-imposed-flow case
as preferable since it clearly is simplest and, on balance, seems quite relevant to the real world. In
the real world, the orientation of any flow relative to the cigarette coal is unknown but is probably
random; it will depend on where and in what orientation the cigarette happens to fall. Many ignitions
may occur down in a crevice-like crack, such as is formed by the seat cushion and the side of the
chair; and the air flow there is likely to be very small (smaller than the values measured by R. Flack
[22]). Thus, even cigarette designs such as those noted above as having lost their low ignition
propensity in some particular sets of circumstances are expected to exhibit low ignition propensity in
many real world conditions. Should more information on the response of cigarettes to real world
conditions be developed in the future, it may be appropriate to supplement the no-imposed-flow test
behavior with other data.

6. Test Variables

In order to optimize the test method specification, a list of parameters was compiled, prior to
finalizing the method, with advice from the Technical Advisory Group, to identify possible sources
of test variability (Table 18). These were classified by source: substrate type, test environment, test
operator and test procedure. Based on the extant data at the time of initial list compilation, each
parameter was assigned by NIST a sensitivity level that indicated its possible impact on the test
outcome. For a standardized test method, it is desirable to have as many variables as possible
determined to be "not sensitive."

5 In the TSG study the California velvet was used over cotton batting in a flat mock-up
configuration. The blue denim was used in a crevice mock-up configuration with a cover
cloth over the cigarette. Neither ignites readily in a simple flat mock-up configuration over
polyurethane foam as used by Adiga et al.

33


For each of the 8 cigarette types, and for each of the 4 substrates shown in Table A-2, we calculated
the difference between the number of ignitions in the current study ("Now"), minus the number of
ignitions in the "Previous" study. If these differences represent only statistical fluctuations, then they
would form a statistical population centered near zero. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test [A-3] was
adopted as a formal statistical test procedure to evaluate whether the observed differences indicate
a change in ignition propensity or only random noise. This is a non-parametric test procedure that
is valid for use with data that do not follow the commonly assumed Gaussian distribution. Validity
for non-Gaussian data was an important consideration because the difference data from this
experiment clearly exhibit a non-Gaussian pattern of variation.

The results of the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test are that the observed differences in numbers of
ignitions show a statistically significant tendency (p = 0.04) toward increased ignitions after the
storage period. Inspection of Table A-2 shows that the increased ignitions come almost exclusively
from the denim substrate, which suggests the possibility that the statistically significant difference is
due entirely to the denim substrate. This is consistent with the observation of Rogers and Hayes [A-
4] that unless denim is stored free of finishing materials in the dark and in a temperature controlled
environment, it will deteriorate with time.

To evaluate the hypothesis of no change in ignition propensity for the non-denim substrates, the
Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was recomputed using only the other three substrates (CA/CB, SPL/PU,
and SPL/PU-half cigarette). In this case, the differences in ignition numbers were not significantly
different from zero (p = 0.47). That is, the data for the three non-denim substrates are wholly
consistent with the hypothesis of no change in ignition propensities of the experimental cigarettes,
compared with the previous study.

It was noted that cigarette number 129 showed noticeable increases in the number of ignitions for
both of the conditions involving the SPL/PU substrate. This suggests the possibility of a real change
in ignition propensity for this particular combination of cigarette and substrate. In pursuing this
observation, it is pertinent to note that cigarette 129 showed a relatively small increase in ignitions
on the denim substrate both in comparison to its increase for the two SPL/PU substrates and also
in comparison to the increases for other cigarettes on the denim substrate. Thus any physical
explanation of a change in ignition propensity for cigarette 129 would seem to call for a unique
cigarette-substrate interaction on SPL/PU. The reevaluation experiment was designed as an overall
test for possible changes in the experimental cigarettes. It was not designed to generate sufficient
data to evaluate unique effects for each cigarette and substrate combination. As it happens, the
largest single observed difference (2 ignitions in the previous study versus 5 ignitions now) is not
significant at the standard 5% level of significance (p = 0.08). Here, the significance calculation was
obtained using Fisher’s Exact Test for a 2x2 contingency table [A-5]. Based on all these consider-
ations, it does not seem profitable to pursue further the observed increase in ignitions for cigarette
129 on SPL/PU.

Summary

Overall, we interpret the results of this study as showing that the ignition propensities of the
experimental cigarettes have not changed during storage but that the denim substrate has changed
in ignitability.


materials. This may be a more stringent requirement than necessary but, without further study, there
is no justification for looser controls on the materials.

For the Mock-Up Ignition Test Method, the most critical material is the fabric. Acceptable fabrics
must be 100% raw cotton ducks which meet the physical requirements of reference 128 Open-end
spinning should also be specified to ensure similarity to the fabrics used in the interlaboratory studies.
Since reference 12 does not explicitly specify such details as yarn count and yarn plies and the
influence of these structural parameters on cigarette ignitability has not been extensively explored,
the values listed in Table 6 should be adhered to. Where the limits on other properties are narrower
for the cotton ducks actually used in this study, those narrower limits must apply. Thus the
acceptable areal density and air permeability ranges are those given in Tables 11 and 12. Reference
12 contains no specification on metal ion content of the fabrics. The data in Table 7 for duck #6
suggest that potassium ion levels in the range from 4400 to 6000 ppm are acceptable. Comparison
of the potassium levels in the various ducks in Tables 7 and 8 suggests that all of the ducks can
generally be held in this range for an extended production period, though conclusions about multi-
year variability obviously cannot be made on the basis of the present study. Sodium is potentially as
catalytic to smoldering ignition as is potassium; thus it should (and probably naturally will) be held
to the negligible levels seen in Table 7. Calcium and magnesium cations are weak smolder promoters;
Table 7 suggests an acceptable range of both is 500 to 750 ppm. Cotton ducks should be stored in
the dark at room temperature or below and at a humidity low enough to preclude any microbial
action. Under these circumstances, shelf life should be at least one year.

As noted previously, the Mock-Up Method using duck #4 in combination with a polymer film as an
added heat sink is sensitive to the properties of that film. Table 15 lists the properties of the Warp
Brothers Poly-Film used in the main ILS. In reviewing the results shown in Figures 2 and 4, a film
like this is preferred. The areal density is believed to be the most critical property here (along with
the heat capacity of the film, which has not been measured but should be fixed by the composition).
An areal density change from 0.015 to 0.012 g/cm? (Poly-America fi film) caused a substantial change
in the ignition proportions of cigarettes 501 and 503. Cigarette 501, in particular, decreased from an
ignition proportion range of 0.7-1.0 to 0-0.3 when the higher areal Sensity film was used. This
sensitivity suggests that the areal density should be held at 0.015 g/cm? + 5 percent.

The polyurethane foam in the Mock-Up Method probably serves more of a physical role (part
insulator, part heat sink, part oxygen inflow inhibitor) than a chemical role (source or sink of
chemical energy). The foam does not smolder during the fabric ignition process or soon thereafter.
In this study, substitution of another foam with a 25% lower density and a 17% greater air
permeability had no great effect on the ignition proportions seen. Thus there should be no
difficulties introduced by allowing the typical + 5% within-batch variations in foam density and the
level of air permeability variations seen in Table 14. Reference 9 indicates that there is a weak
correlation between the number of urea bonds in the foam formulation and ignitability. The number
of urea bonds is proportional to the water level in the foam formulation which is unknown for the
foams in this study. The study reported in reference 9 also indicated that ignitability is an order of
magnitude more sensitive to foam air permeability than to urea bond levels. Since these two foam
properties are somewhat related (water is added as a foam blowing agent), the preceding restriction

8 Reference 12 accepts recycled cotton as raw material. That is undesirable here because of

the possibility of chemical contamination which could affect ignitability by cigarettes.

103


VII.
(1)

2]

B)

[4]

BD]

(7)

(8]

1]

[10]

[1]

[12]

[13]

[14]

REFERENCES

Miller, A.L., "U.S. Smoking Material Fire Problem Through 1990: The Role of Lighted
‘Tobacco Products in Fire," National Fire Protection Association, Quincy MA, 1993.

“Toward a Less Fire-Prone Cigarette," Final Report to the Congress, Technical Study Group
on Cigarette and Little Cigar Fire Safety, Cigarette Safety Act of 1984, available from the
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 1987.

Gann, R.G., Harris, Jr., R.H., Krasny, J.E, Levine, R.S., Mitler, H.E., and Oblemiller, TJ.,
"The Effect of Cigarette Characteristics on the Ignition of Soft Furnishings,” NBS Technical
Note 1241, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD, 1987.

Thrig, A., Rhyne, A., Norman, V. and Spears, A., "Factors Involved in the Ignition of
Cellulosic Upholstery Fabrics by Cigarettes," J. Fire Sciences 4, 237 (1986).

California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation, Technical Bulletin 117.
"Requirements, Test Procedure and Apparatus for Testing the Flame Retardance of Resilient
Filling Materials Used in Upholstered Furniture.”

Harris, Jr., R-H., Navarro, M., Gann, R.G., and Eberhardt, K.R., "Reevaluation of
Experimental Cigarettes used in the Cigarette Safety Act of 1984," NIST Report of Test FR
3984, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 1991.

Babrauskas, V. and Krasny, J., "Fire Behavior of Upholstered Furniture,” National Bureau of
Standards Monograph 173, 1985.

"Cigarette Ignition Resistance of Components of Upholstered Furniture," NFPA 260-1989,
National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA, published annually.

Thrig, A., Rhyne, A. and Spears, A., “Influence of Flexible Polyurethane Foams on Upholstery
Fabric-Foam Mock-ups Ignitions by Cigarettes", J. Fire Sciences 5, Nov/Dec, 1987, p. 392.

Rhyne, A. and Spears A., "Sensitivity of a Cigarette Ignitability Index to Hypothetical Shifts
in the Distribution of Upholstery Furniture Fabrics", J. Fire Sciences 8, Jan/Feb, 1989, p. 3.

McCarter, R., "Smoldering Combustion of Cotton and Rayon," J. Consumer Prod. Flamm. 4,
1977, p. 346.

CCC-C-419G, December 15, 1989 "Federal Specification - Cloth, Duck, Unbleached, Plied-
Yarns, Army & Numbered,” available from U.S. Army Natick Research, Development and
Engineering Center, Natick, MA 01760-5014.

Donaldson, D., USDA Southern Regional Research Laboratory, personal communication.

Mauersberger, H., ed., Mathews Textile Fibers, Sixth Edition, J. Wiley & Sons, New York,
(1954), p.225.

112


There are many ways that this kind of fully balanced fractional factorial selection could be made from
the 32 cigarette types available. It was initially hoped that one or more of these fractional factorial
selections would yield a set of 8 cigarettes that would also satisfy the first objective of uniformly
spanning the ignition rates that had been obtained in the previous experiment. Ultimately we found
that it was not possible to achieve both of the stated objectives exactly, and so a compromise set of
8 cigarettes was found that was imperfectly, but nearly, balanced and which does exhibit quite uniform
coverage of the ignition rates. It was felt that for the purposes of this reevaluation experiment, the
need to use cigarettes that uniformly represent the full range of previously observed ignition rates
was more important than achieving a perfectly balanced fractional factorial arrangement.

Table A-1 displays the extent to which balance in the above sense was achieved in the final
compromise set of cigarettes chosen.

Table A-1. Selection of Cigarettes for Reevaluation Study: Balance on Cigarette Design Factors
and Coverage of Levels of Previous Numbers of Ignitions

Previous
Cigarette Packing Paper

Number |] ‘Type | Density | Permeability | H#t#te | Circumference

ia

Bimini (win iwminiw
ziz|uajziajm|oim
Mitimicjreimicie
zZzlalalalionizizizt

120

lance

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wn
eo Bs)
wu
Zam
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rc
ae
az

Results and Conclusions

The eight statistically-selected cigarettes were tested for their ignition propensity on the same
substrates and in the same manner as the previous study. In addition to the storage factor, two other
differences were a change in the canopy hood used and the technician who performed the tests.

The results of the testing are shown in Table A-2 below.


Scope:

APPENDIX E
CIGARETTE EXTINCTION TEST METHOD PROCEDURE

The purpose of this test procedure is to provide a method for measuring the propensity of cigarettes
to ignite specified types of substrate assemblies.

Apparatus and Equipment:

1.

Test chambers of the design shown in Figure B-1 shall be constructed for testing the ciga-
Tette/substrate combinations.

A support holder for the substrate-cigarette assembly shall be constructed; see Figure E-1.

A vacuum draw apparatus consisting of the following type shall be used for igniting the test
cigarettes: See Figure B-2 of Appendix B.

The vacuum draw apparatus is composed of a cigarette holder, particulate filter, rotameter,
trap, pressure gauge, shut-off valve, and a vacuum pump. The cigarette holder (a plastic
drying tube) shall have a flexible diaphragm with a hole cut to a size appropriate for holding
a cigarette and making a tight seal around the filter end. The holder must be mounted in a
secure fastener which will hold the cigarette firmly in a horizontal position for lighting. The
particulate filter, composed of a plastic drying tube 150 mm long and 20 mm in diameter filled
with glass wool, shall be adequate to remove smoke from the combustion gases to prevent
contamination of all down stream assemblies. The filter shall be changed regularly to insure
that gas flow is unobstructed and that contamination is not allowed to pass this point. A
rotameter capable of measuring 1000 ml/min, air, shall be used for adjusting flow through the
vacuum draw system. A 250 ml impinger trap is used in the system to dampen flow variations.
A vacuum gauge capable of measuring to at least 800 mm Hg shall be positioned before the
pump in order to track apparatus operating pressure. The electric pump shall be capable of
producing a vacuum of 500 mm Hg with a flow rate of at least 23 I/min. A Cole-Parmer Air
Cadet pump model 7530-40 or equivalent is found to be suitable.

An environmental conditioning room or chamber shall be maintained which provides an area
adequate for conditioning cigarettes and test substrate materials. This room shall be capable
of maintaining a relative humidity of 55 + 5% and a temperature of 23 + 3 °C.

A constant humidity box of a size to hold two to three boxes of filter paper and more than
one 250 ml beaker of conditioned cigarettes is necessary in the test room if humidity and
temperature control are difficult.


If the relative humidity and temperature in the test room cannot be maintained at the
specified test conditions, the filter papers shall be placed into plastic bags and sealed in the
conditioning room. They may then be transported to the test room. Test cigarettes may also
be transported to the test room in sealed plastic bags.

If the relative humidity and temperature in the test room cannot be maintained at the
specified test conditions, the filter papers shall be placed in the above mentioned humidity
box prior to testing.

Immediately before selection and ignition of a cigarette for testing, a substrate assembly is
removed from its conditioned environment and placed inside the test chamber at the
geometric center of its bottom. The brass ring is placed onto the filter paper substrate. Do
not use filter papers that will not lay flat in the holder assembly.

Without delay, remove a cigarette from the humidity box. Weigh the cigarette and record the
results. Discard the specimen if its weight is more than two standard deviations of the mean
obtained from weighing 50 randomly selected cigarettes of the same design and similarly
conditioned. If the cigarette weight is within specifications, a mark is made on the cigarette’s
Paper seam 15 mm from the tobacco end. The mark is made with a #2 or softer graphite
pencil. The cigarette filter is inserted into the vacuum draw apparatus rubber diaphragm and
held in a horizontal position. Start the vacuum draw apparatus, and make sure the center of
the rotameter’s indicator ball is within + 50 ml/min of 1000 ml/min. Immediately ignite the
cigarette with a preadjusted butane lighter.

The ignition flame is held to the tobacco end of the cigarette for three seconds to achieve
uniform ignition. The lit cigarette is then removed from the diaphragm, held vertically, coal
up, under a 600 ml beaker and moved to the test chamber. With the chimney on the test
chamber covered, the door is opened, and the lit cigarette is placed vertically, filter down, into
a holder located on the center of the substrate assembly. Simultaneously, the door is closed
gently and the chimney cover removed. Smoke from the cigarette should pass directly out
of the chamber stack. If the cigarette should self-extinguish while in the cigarette holder and
before removal to be placed onto the test substrate, terminate the test and identify the results
as a self-extinguishment. When the cigarette has burned to the 15 mm mark, simultaneously,
cover the chimney and carefully open the chamber door. With care, the cigarette is removed
from the holder, and the holder is placed in the front corner of the test chamber. The
cigarette, with the ash still attached is gently placed onto the top of the substrate assembly
so that the filter end of the cigarette is placed between the appropriately sized cigarette anti-
roll fingers; see Figure E-2. The cigarette paper seam shall be turned up. Do not drop the
cigarette onto the substrate and do not press the coal onto the substrate. Without delay,
simultaneously remove the chimney cover and gently close the door. A stopwatch is started.
If the ash falls off during any part of the transport or positioning process, immediately
extinguish the cigarette and begin with paragraph 7 in this section.

E-5


2

Test Methods

of Cigarettes

“of,

%
fares of ©

for

to

Quantifying the Propensity

lenite Soft Furnishings

Thomas J. Ohlemiller #

Kay M. Villa 2-¢

Emil Braun @
Keith R. Eberhardt 5
Richard H. Harris, Jr. 2
J. Randall Lawson ®

and Richard G. Gann ®

@ Building and Fire Research Laboratory

© Computing and Applied Mathematics Laboratory
Natlonal Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899

¢ Current Affiliation: American Textile

Manufacturers Institute

U.S. Department of Commerce
Ronald H. Brown, Secretary

Technology Administration

Mary L. Good, Under Secretary for Technology
Natlonal Institute of Standards and Technology

Arati Prabakhar, Director

NIST Special Publication 851

August 1993


APPENDIX D

METAL ION CONTENT OF FABRICS:
TEST METHOD AND RESULTS

The test method for alkali metal and alkaline earth ions in the cotton duck fabrics consisted of an
acid extraction process followed by analysis of the resultant solution by ion chromatography.
Extraction:

1 100 ml of 4.6 mM HNO, poured into 125 ml plastic bottles.

2. 2.5 x 2.5 cm fabric samples immersed.

3. Overnight extraction with agitation at ambient temperature.
4. 5.0 or 10.0 ml aliquot diluted to 50 ml in at least 18.3 megohm-cm water for ion
chromatography analysis,
Analysis

1. Method C-207 from the following source:
Heckenburg, A., Alden, P,, Wildman, B., Krol, J., Romano, J. Jackson, P., Jandik, P.
and Jones, W., Waters Innovative Methods for Ion Analysis, Millipore Corporation,
Manual #22340, 1989
2. Conditions:
Instrument: Waters ILC-1 Ion/Liquid Chromatograph.
Eluent: 0.1 mM EDTA/3.0 mM HNO3.
Column: IC-Pak C M/D.
Flow rate: 1.0 ml/min.
Injection: 100 pL.
Standard: 1.0 ppm of Na*, Kt, Mg*?, and Ca*?.
Detection: Conductivity.

The results for samples from the three cotton ducks used in this study are shown in the following
tables.

D-1


Table 29. Observed Repeatability and Reproducibility Standard Deviations
for Cigarette Extinction Method Interlaboratory Study
m=16 Replications per Laboratory

Average |
Proportion of Repes
Full Length

“Burns

ability S.D. | ibility S.D.
S, : : Sg
= moa |



ments.

Self
‘Extinguish-

Non-Ignitions

29
15

27
14

12

Ignitions

56


were shipped to each of the laboratories. The chamber kits provided enough materials to construct
five complete test chambers, although only four were needed for the study. Each laboratory
assembled their own chambers using directions supplied with the kits.

Test Materials: Cigarettes. Before shipping test cigarettes to the laboratories, NIST took a random
sample of cigarettes from each lot and weighed them to determine the acceptable weight range for
cigarettes to be tested. The test weight range was plus or minus two standard deviations from the
mean value of the sample. A weight range table was prepared and sent to each laboratory with the
cigarettes. The participants were instructed to use only cigarettes that fell within the weight ranges
specified in the table. All cigarettes that exhibited weights outside of the specified ranges were to
be discarded.

Cigarettes were randomly selected from each lot for each laboratory and packaged for shipping.
Approximately 200 cigarettes of each test type were shipped to the laboratories by two-day delivery.
This quantity provided enough cigarettes to allow for losses resulting from specimens that were out
of the acceptable weight range or were damaged and for retests if materials were discarded from
aborted tests.

‘Test Materials: Mock-Ups. The three mock-up assemblies described earlier in the text were used:
duck #4 with a layer of polyethylene film placed between the fabric and polyurethane foam, duck #6
placed directly atop the polyurethane foam, and duck #10 placed directly atop the polyurethane
foam. The experimental plan required each substrate to be tested with each cigarette type 48 times
(24 times by each operator). Approximately 280 sets of fabric and foam for each type of mock-up
were randomly selected for each laboratory and shipped to them for testing. This provided approxi-
mately forty extra mock-up assemblies for each type used in the study. The excess assemblies allowed
the laboratories to replace damaged materials or rerun aborted tests.

Laboratory Visits. During the month of August, 1992, the ILS coordinator visited each of the
participating laboratories. These visits included a review of laboratory arrangements for testing, an
air flow calibration check for each test chamber, a standard relative humidity calibration for each
laboratory, and a review of the test program protocol and test method. The visit also provided
opportunities for discussing any last minute questions which the participants had before beginning
the test program. The preliminary test program began during the last week of August; and all
laboratories had completed the test program by the end of September, 1992.

Nature of the Preliminary Test Round. This preliminary test program was carried out using the
mock-up ignition method described above. The interlaboratory test plan was developed with
assistance from the NIST Statistical Engineering Division, using ASTM E691-87 [25] as a guide. The
factorial design used had the following structure:

Laboratories

Operators per laboratory

Cigarette types

Number of substrates

Number of test chambers

Replicates per cigarette per mock-up
Weeks of testing

Total cigarette tests per laboratory

Rw ®Favunw

42



‘Test Results

: Self-
Extinguishments

Full-Length :

Burns

16
16
16
16
16
16
15
16
16
14
16
15
13
16
16
15
16
15
10
13
14
15
15
14
16
15
15

Laboratory

‘Substrate

(No. of
Layers)

10

15

Cigarette
‘Type

531

91


Air permeability of the fabric was not one of the chosen criteria for three reasons: (1) this parameter
was found to be relatively minor in the statistical model of Ihrig et al. [4]; (2) there is reason to
believe that the oxygen coming through the fabric is a minor contributor to the oxygen needs of the
cigarette coal; see Appendix C; (3) the primary means of oxygen permeation through the fabric is be-
lieved to be diffusive, whereas air permeability measurements are based on air flow resistance.

The levels of cations in the fabric were also not included in the criteria. The original intention was
to control this level by doping to a cation level which assured sustained smolder propagation; the
cotton ducks that were ultimately used have such a cation level in their as-received state (see below).

‘To survey for appropriate fabric criteria and potential fabrics for use in a cigarette test method, NIST
consulted with:

. research and test labs (California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal
Insulation, Department of Defense - Natick Textile Research Labs, Consumer
Product Safety Commission),

. textile and furniture trade associations (American Textile Manufacturers Institute,

American Furniture Manufacturers Association),

. textile mills (Glen Raven Mills, Mt. Vernon Mills, Graniteville Mills, J.B. Martin, and
West Point Pepperell, Inc.),

. a textile distributor (Douglas, Inc.),

° NIST test method development staff, and

° a company which supplies standardized fabrics (Test Fabrics, Inc.).

Each of these parties has experience with either developing flammability test methods/standards or
standardized fabrics or producing, using or distributing commercial fabrics. Each party was asked to
list criteria important to developing a standardized fabric for test method use, describe problems
associated with the production of standardized fabrics, and suggest possible fabric types for use in the
test method anticipated here.

Cross-referencing the suggested practices and fabric types against the needed fabric characteristics
noted above led NIST to the selection of cotton ducks as the candidate fabrics. These have a simple
physical structure (plain weave) subject to control of weave details and air permeability, a long history
of manufacture, conformance to a military specification [12], and at least limited usage as
upholstery fabrics. They present a smooth surface to the cigarette coal, minimizing variations in heat
transfer from the coal to the fabric. They are also made from a single component, raw cotton.
Having no pile such as that in the fabric used for testing by the State of California ("California
velvet"), they require no added finish to achieve a uniform physical appearance. These fabrics were
thus judged to be excellent candidates for use in a mock-up method.

The physical properties of the 100% cotton fabrics examined in this study are summarized in Table
6; only a subset of these was ultimately utilized in the test method (Duck #4, #6 and #10). All were
manufactured by West Point Pepperell Mills of West Point, Georgia (now known as Wellington Sears

16


The same eight cigarette types were also tested to ascertain that they would demonstrate a range of
ignition performance and to gauge how useful the TSG data would be in estimating their
performance. The cotton duck/polyurethane foam mock-ups were the same as those described below
for use in the Mock-Up Ignition Test Method, and 24 replicates were performed on each. The new
and old ignition data are shown in Table 5. Clearly, the cigarette/substrate combinations do show a
range of ignition propensities suitable for intra- and interlaboratory evaluation of the methods being
developed. There is a general similarity of the two data sets, although they do not correlate exactly.
It was not determined whether the differences were due to variations in the cigarettes, materials,
apparatus, or laboratory conditions. It should be noted that variations between the two limited data
sets are essentially within the reproducibility of the Mock-Up Ignition Test Method assessed in this
report (see below).

Table 4. Cigarette Industry Comparison of Series 100 and 500 Cigarette Weights

_—
Cigarette Identity ‘Weight (mg) Std. Dev. (mg) “|
101 873 5
501 840 3
103 882 10
503 841 0
106 613 5
| 506 615 3
108 612 5
508 612 6
120 1131 6
520 1104 1
129 846 5
529 853 3
130 362 4
| 530 849 2
131 936 1
531 855 4

12


Except for the fact that cigarettes 503 and 501 gave identical results (100% full-length burns for all
labs and all substrates) the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel procedure showed that the cigarettes differ
from each other: 501 and 503 having higher full-length burn proportions than 531, which is higher
than 529, which is higher than 530. Similarly, the observed differences in full-length burn proportions
between the three substrates are all statistically significant according to the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel
procedure.

Repeatability and Reproducibility. The summary shown in Tables 29 and 30 follows the same
methodology described previously for Tables 23 and 24. The only difference in detail is that, in the
interlaboratory study for the Cigarette Extinction Method, the number of replications per lab was
m=16, compared to m=48 in the Mock-Up Ignition Method. Therefore, in Table 29, the
repeatability standard deviation is calculated as S, = [p(1 ~p)/6)*.

The model for extra-binomial variation used previously for the Mock-Up Ignition Method ILS was
also applied to these data. The observed relation between the reproducibility variance, Sx’, and the
repeatability variance, 57, for the Cigarette Extinction Method ILS is shown graphically in Figure 17.
The slope of the least squares line in the Figure is 1.146. Setting this value equal to the
heterogeneity factor, [1 + p(16—1)], and solving for g, yields the estimate p=0.0097. The resulting
summary of repeatability and reproducibility limits is shown in Table 30.

Because the estimate of the correlation parameter, g, was somewhat smaller for the Cigarette
Extinction Method, where p=0.0097, compared to the Mock-Up Ignition Method, where y=0.058,
the values of the reproducibility limits (R) are somewhat smaller for the Cigarette Extinction Method,
Table 30, compared to the Mock-Up Ignition Method, Table 24. In contrast, the repeatability limits
(r) are exactly the same in Tables 24 and 30 because both use the same formula for S,, as given by
Equation (1) of Section II.B.8&e.

95


Sample Weight (wt. %)

-d(W/Wo)/dt (1/sec)

100 ’ T T T mow
90 5 7
go 7 Fabric 10-63-161-1 [K*] = 4070 7
70 * Fabric 10-58-12-1-2 [K*} 4210 ppm.

60 7

Nz atmosphere

50 7 Heating rate = 5°C/min
40 7
30 7
20 [ ————
10 F 7
0 L 1 L 1 1 bosiat

100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Temperature (°C)
0.0015 r : T r T T r
+ Fabric 10-63-161-1 [K*] = 4070 ppm
0.0012 © Fabric 10-58-12-1-2 [K"] = 4210 ppm
N, Atmosphere
0.0009 [ Heating rate = 5° C/min. ‘
:
0.0006 : 4
:
i
0.0003 8
o= 7
100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500

Temperature (°C)

Figure F-3. TG Behavior of Two Samples of Cotton Duck #10.

F-4


Sample Weight (wt. %)

-d(W/Wo)/dt (1/sec)

100

70 7

Whatman Fiter Pepor Bx. #1
+ Whatman Fiter Paper Bx. #2

40 7

10 7

Nz atmosphere

Heating rate = 5°C/min

100

0.002

150 200 250

300

350

Temperature (°C)

400 450 #8 500

0.0012

0.0008

0.0004 |

+ Whatman Flter Papor Bx. #1
0.0016 = Whatman Filter Paper Bx. #2
N, Atmosphere

Heating rate = 5° C/min.

eee,

eseereres
eeeucees®

[

150 200 250

300

350

Temperature (°C)

400 450 500

Figure F-6. TG Data for Two Samples of Whatman Filter Paper.

F-7


U.S. Department of Commerce
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300


standard deviation). Appendix D contains the cation content for all the individual samples tested.
The most variable fabric is duck #6, with potassium levels ranging from about 4400 ppm to 5700 ppm
in the bolts used in the main interlaboratory study (described below in Sect. B.8). This is a substantial
range (ca. 30% referred to the smaller number), but it did not result in any extraordinary variability
in the interlaboratory results obtained with this duck. The implication thus is that variations in metal
cation content comparable to those seen in Table 7 (which in turn are comparable to those seen over
the four-month period shown in Table 8) are not detrimental to the reproducibility of the mock-up
test method discussed below.

The potassium levels in Tables 7 and 8 may seem high compared to many (not all) of the 33
commercial fabrics analyzed in the work of Ihrig [4]. However, this misses the role of the anion in
shifting the catalytic effectiveness of the cation. Unfortunately, anion measurements were not made
in reference 4. Thus, the relation of those results to the present levels, in terms of ignitability
enhancement, is unknown.

For the best long-term reproducibility it is preferable that the potassium ion levels not be in a domain
where the ignition behavior is sensitive to small changes in potassium level. The above results
indicate that the potassium levels in the cotton ducks are indeed well above the sensitive region. The
sensitive region for potassium acetate, noted in cigarette industry studies, was ca. 2000 ppm.

Physical Variability of Cotton Duck Fabrics. Areal density is believed to be the most important
physical property affecting ignition susceptibility of the cotton ducks. The variability of this property
along the length of the fabric bolts used in the interlaboratory studies described below is indicated
in Table 11. The standard deviations and coefficients of variation are based on five samples from
along the length of each bolt.

Air permeability measurements performed in accord with ASTM Method D 737-75 [17] were
made on samples from several of the same bolts by the United States Testing Company. Five samples
from each bolt were measured; the results (+ the standard deviation) are shown in Table 12. The
test method, apparatus, and pressure drop were fundamentally the same as that used to set the
nominal air permeability specifications in Table 6. This small degree of physical variability in the
cotton ducks was further reinforcement of the appropriateness of these fabrics for use in the
interlaboratory study.

Also shown in Table 12 are the measured air permeability values for the three principal fabrics used
in the TSG study [3]. The large variability of the Splendor fabric is the result of one particular
sample; a coefficient of variation closer to that of California Velvet typified the other three samples
measured here. It is of interest to note that the TSG fabrics have permeabilities that are ten to
twenty times higher than the cotton ducks used here. This will not preclude similar types of ignition
behavior from being exhibited by the two groups of fabrics, as will be seen below.

24


using mock-ups are reasonable indicators of full-scale performance [2]. The work to date provides
modest guidance in relating performance under these new methods to real-world performance.

There are data to "calibrate" the methods at the high end of the ignition propensity scale. The
current commercial cigarettes are associated with the fire losses of today. The commercial cigarette
data in Section IV of this report and the data on older commercial cigarettes in reference 3 establish
typical performance for these cigarettes. In the two new test methods, this is seen as a large number
of ignitions on the #4 cotton duck or full-length burning on the 15-layer paper substrate. This
establishes the test results for the high ignition propensity end of the scale.

Both the current work and cigarette industry studies [20] demonstrate the performance of cigarettes
that never or rarely ignited a variety of substrates. The correlation of mock-up results with chair tests
in reference 3 indicates that such results can be expected to be indicative of real-world performance
of such substrates. In the two new test methods, this behavior is observed as few ignitions on the
#10 cotton duck or few full-length burns on 3 layers of filter paper. This indicator of test results for
the low ignition propensity end of the scale is less quantitative than the high end indicator mentioned
earlier.

In between these extremes, one would like to be able to predict a reduced number of fires as fewer
ignitions are measured in the laboratory. The full-scale tests in reference 3 support this. At least
for coarse changes in test performance, real-world savings seem highly likely. When considering
smaller increments in test performance, however, one must keep in mind the accuracy limits of the
methods as discussed above.

105


8

10.

The burning cigarette and substrate are observed. The smoke plume near the cigarette
should remain undisturbed; if not, note your observations on the test sheet. A time record
is kept from when the cigarette is placed onto the substrate assembly until either:

(1) self extinguishment (the coal goes out before the tobacco column is consumed),

(2) non-ignition (the tobacco column burns to the end without causing the substrate
to smolder),

(3) borderline ignition (ignition appears, but a char does not propagate more than
10 mm, then goes out, while the tobacco column burns to completion), or

(4) ignition (the substrate starts to smolder, and the char propagates away from the
burning tobacco column by at least 10 mm).

The first three of these observations are considered to be non-ignitions. The fourth is the
only outcome that is considered to be an ignition.

It may be helpful to darken the room intermittently to observe if ignition is occurring.
Record ignition time on the test sheet. After recording the ignition time, observe the
substrate for 2 to 3 minutes to insure that smoldering has begun. Observations are also made
to document the area of fabric char expansion to at least a 10 mm point from where ignition
occurred.

Smoldering substrates are extinguished with water from a squirt bottle or by prodding the
smoldering area with a candle. The time at which extinguishment occurs is recorded. It
should be noted that candles are generally used when specimens are to be retained for further
study. If candles are used for extinguishing, be sure that all combustion processes have
stopped before storing the test assembly. All substrates used in testing are stored in metal
containers until they are disposed of in a safe and acceptable manner as determined by the
testing facility.

After a test is completed, leave the test chamber door open to allow air to circulate

throughout its volume. After the chamber has been cleared, preparations may begin for
additional testing.

B-6


Duck 4 Og. 503 Ouck4 Og. 529 Ouk4 Cy 530
fe ir he
ber Bo Bor
Be te a
fon Bea En
Laboratory Laboriory Usbortory
Duk6 Cg 508 Duk6 Cg 59 Duck6 Cg 530
o.8 fos oe
" fs fs
Bor 0.7 ber
0.5: Ln ie
E Fe
ve a_i a
Duk 0 Cg. 503 Duck 10 Gig. 529 Duck Og. 530
“ E: [:
co tS SS
“ 1 z 3 oe a 2 3 oe a 2 3
Laboratory Usborary Laboratory

Figure 2. Comparison of Ignition Rates for the Preliminary Interlaboratory Study of the Mock-up Ignition Test Method. The 15 plots
in the figure correspond to the 5 cigarette types tested, by columns, and the 3 test substrates, by rows. In each component
plot, the vertical bars represent the proportions of ignitions obtained by each of the 3 participating laboratories.


ducks in their ignition behavior. If further data become available indicating that such fabrics are a
significant fraction of the real-world population, it would be an option to supplement the results of
cigarette testing using this method with results based on other carefully-chosen fabrics.

B. Cigarette Extinction Test Method

An analog to most of the discussion in the preceding section applies to this method as well. The
potential limitation on the imposition of an external air flow manifests itself in both methods. Since
the filter paper is a surrogate material, the pertinent consideration is the degree of differentiation
of cigarette ignition propensity. This is reflected in the numbers of layers selected for the test
substrates. For instance, were there an interest in better discrimination among cigarettes of high
ignition propensity than is shown in Figure 15, one might be inclined to select 20 or 25 layers to
replace the 15 in the first substrate. However, limited data indicate that this increase has no effect
on the burning behavior of cigarettes in this test series. Thus, this method is less appropriate than
the mock-up method for distinguishing initial progress from current market cigarettes toward those
of lower ignition propensity.

The limit on the degree of resolution for this method is similar to that using mock-ups. Table 30
shows that the level of lab-to-lab reproducibility is about 0.4 for 16 replicate tests, Only modest
improvement is achievable for a reasonably larger number of tests. It is apparent that the Cigarette
Extinction Test also cannot make fine distinctions in ignition propensity among cigarette designs.
Again, this places a limit on the degree of resolution possible for regulatory use of the method. As
above, finer distinctions could be made within a single laboratory by using a number of replicates
greater than 16.

It is also possible to calculate how one might use fewer tests on a substrate, having measured 100%
ignitions on a substrate of higher thermal capacitance. For example, after 16 full-length burns in 16
tests on the 15-layer substrate, a 95% lower confidence bound on the long-run full-length burn
probability is (1—0.95)!© = 0.83. In other words, one can be 95% confident that the full-length
burn probability within the same laboratory is greater than about 0.83. With that result, it may be
sufficient for some purposes to know that the full-length burn probability on the 10-layer and 3-layer
substrates would be about 0.6 or higher, since the degree of interlaboratory resolution is about 0.4,
as noted above. If so, then only about n=6 runs would be required, because (1-0.95)!" = 0.61.
That is, if 6 runs were conducted resulting in 6 full-length burns, then the 95% lower confidence
bound for the full-length burn probability would be 0.61. It is, of course, possible that in the 6 tests,
one or more self-extinguishments might occur. It would then be appropriate to run a full set of 16
replications for each of the three substrates. Note that the savings in resources with this method is
somewhat smaller than with the mock-up method.

Cc Allowable Material Variability

The lab-to-lab reproducibility seen in each ILS for the two test methods (Figures 4 and 14) is a result
of the variability of the test operators, the laboratory environment, the substrate materials, and the
products being tested. Measuring variations in the cigarettes is part of the purpose of testing.
Therefore, in order to assure that the test reproducibility is maintained at the observed level, the
substrate material variability limits existent in the present study must be applied to all future

102


precision statement of the test method. The statistician should recommend the most
appropriate relationship to present, using Practice E 177 as a guide.”

ASTM E 177 [24], in section 28.5.4, recommends summarizing the relationship of the method
precision to the property level "by a simple formula, or by a plot." For repeatability, the definition
above specifies S, as a simple function of the property level, p. This relationship can be extended to
accommodate the reproducibility standard deviation by use of a simple statistical model for what is
variously called "extra binomial variation” [27] or “over dispersion" [26] or simply "heterogeneity"
[28].

In this model, the between-laboratory variance, or Teproducibility variance S,’, is related to the
within-laboratory variance, or repeatability variance S,*, as follows:

5g = POP g(t)

= 57f1+p(m-1)]

The quantity [1 + g(—1)] in the above expression is called the "heterogeneity factor" in Finney’s
classic text on probit analysis (28]. The parameter ¢ in the heterogeneity factor plays the role of a
correlation coefficient among replications performed within the same laboratory.

This model suggests that Sq? should vary roughly as a constant multiple of S,?._ Figure 6 shows this
approximate relationship for the data in Table 23, along with a least squares straight line through the

origin given by
5S = (3.72)S,2.
Figure 6 shows that the simple statistical model gives a satisfactory summary of the relationship of

S,’ to S, and, therefore, to p. Identifying the slope of the least squares line in the Figure, 3.72, with
the heterogeneity factor, [1 + p(48—1)], yields the estimated value p = 0.058.

In terms of this model, then, the repeatability and reproducibility standard deviations can be
approximated for any case of interest by using the formulas


In anticipation of the fabric ignitability behavior discussed below, it is worth pointing out here that
the ease of ignition of the cotton ducks in Table 6 is the opposite of what one might expect from
previous literature results. The review of previous work [7] notes that cigarette ignition resistance
decreases with increasing fabric weight. As will be seen below, the observable behavior of the fabrics
in Table 6 is opposite to this trend; the heavy ducks ignite less readily than the lighter ducks. A
plausible explanation of this is as follows.

The observed behavior in both situations (previous literature and here) is not the ignition event itself,
which occurs close in to the cigarette coal, but rather the sustained smolder spread away from the
cigarette coal (if and only if this spread can occur). The previous literature, with the possible
exception of one experimental cigarette used in reference 4, is all based on commercial cigarettes
which qualify as strong local ignition sources. The coal combustion for these cigarettes is sufficiently
robust to overcome the heat losses to essentially the whole spectrum of fabric weights used in uphol-
stered furniture; that is, they provide a sufficient heat flux to the fabric to ignite it locally in
essentially all cases. However, among the commercial fabrics on which the previous literature is
based, the heavier fabrics have a lesser surface-to-volume ratio, which yields a lesser heat loss rate
and a greater tendency to propagate smoldering once it is locally initiated. Thus, given a strong
igniter such as a commercial cigarette, a population of varying fabrics (having diverse levels of areal
density, metal cation content and weave structure) will show a tendency for the observable part of
the cigarette ignition process to be enhanced by increased fabric weight. The areal density or fabric
weight effect will be most pronounced for those fabrics whose other parameters (metal cation content
or weave structure) tend to be marginal in sustaining smolder propagation.

Here, however, the focus is shifted more specifically to whether local smoldering ignition of the fabric
occurs. The cigarettes used are not necessarily strong igniters, but the cotton duck fabrics will
smolder readily if ignited. Many of the experimental cigarettes used here are so disturbed by the heat
loss they experience when in contact with the fabric that they go out. Others survive, but the coal
is weakened in the area of contact with the fabric. Thus, in this case the transient heat sink effects
of the fabrics are paramount. Heavier fabrics are greater heat sinks and therefore more ignition
resistant.

Additives as a Possible Means of Smoldering Ignitability Control. Because commercial fabrics can

show significant lot-to-lot variability in chemical and physical parameters, a substantial effort was
made in the present study to develop a set of controlled fabrics. The cotton ducks in Table 6 were
the basis for this development. As noted above, the cotton ducks have the necessary physical
property control. As a means to render them completely specifiable with regard to cigarette ignition
propensity, controlled doping with alkali metal and alkaline earth salts was investigated.

Appropriate salts must provide unambiguous self-sustained smolder propagation in the fabric when
present above some minimum level. Above this minimum, they must also yield a differential
ignitability response in the fabric when exposed to experimental cigarettes having differing ignition
propensities (as judged by their behavior in the TSG study, reference 3). In practice, this last
requirement probably translates into an ignition temperature which is in just the right range for some
(not all) cigarettes to be able to induce in a fabric and which decreases continually with increased salt
concentration. At the beginning of this study the identity of a suitable metal salt was unknown; and,
as noted above, the important role of the anion was not known either. A variety of salts suggested
by the limited literature in this field was examined:

18


Figure 14. Photograph of a Test Chamber Containing a Mock-Up Assembly and a Cigarette.

84


The repeatability (a measure of variability within a laboratory) decreases as the square root of the
number of replicates. Thus, for production quality assurance testing, a fine degree of resolution is
possible. By contrast, the reproducibility (a measure of variability between laboratories) approaches
a non-zero limit for a large number of replicates. Typically, for both of these test methods, the
ASTM reproducibility limit of the percentage of ignitions or the percentage of cigarettes burning
their full lengths on a given substrate was ca. 40 percent. This value defines the limit of resolution
for use in any future regulations.

The study showed that the lab-to-lab variability of results was comparable to that for other fire test
methods currently being used to regulate materials which may be involved in unwanted fires. The
results were generally insensitive to the date and time of day of testing, the particular test enclosure
used, and the operator skill level. All labs conformed sufficiently to the temperature and humidity
criteria for the conditioning and test rooms that this was not an important factor in the results. The
three substrates in each method were all statistically distinct from each other, as were the five

cigarette types.

Since the results show that the methods can effectively differentiate the ignition propensities of
various cigarettes with acceptable precision, specifications for the test materials were developed. All
four types of materials were deemed likely to be available, with long-term consistency, in the foresee-
able future. For the fabrics, the areal density and potassium ion content were determined to be the
major parameters affecting ignition susceptibility. Analysis of within-lot samples, lot-to-lot samples,
and samples from two manufacturers showed that the normal production variations were within the
acceptable limits demonstrated in the interlaboratory study. There is a long history of a large demand
for cotton duck fabrics for both commercial use and military procurement. The polyurethane foam
is representative of foam products used in the residential furniture market. Experiments showed that
the effect of expected foam property variations (within nominally similar formulations) is minimal.
Differences between brands of purportedly the same polyethylene film resulted in a significant change
in test method results. However, specification of the areal density should ensure use of a proper
material. The filter paper is a long-time, high-purity standard material for numerous chemical
methods. Variations in the areal density, thickness and thermal conductivity are minimal. It was
estimated that "fresh" substrate materials did not age substantially over about 6 months or longer.

There are data to "calibrate" the methods at the high and low ends of the ignition propensity scale.
The commercial cigarette data in the TSG studies establish an indication of performance for the
cigarettes associated with then-current fire losses. In the two new test methods, this performance is
seen as a large number of ignitions on the #4 cotton duck or full-length burning on the 15-layer
paper substrate. This establishes the test results for the high ignition propensity end of the scale.
The TSG work, the current research, and cigarette industry studies demonstrate that there are
experimental cigarettes that never or rarely ignited a variety of substrates. In the two new test
methods, this behavior is observed as few ignitions on the #10 cotton duck or few full-length burns
on 3 layers of filter paper. In between these extremes, one would like to expect a reduced number
of fires as fewer ignitions are measured in the laboratory. The TSG correlation of mock-up results
with chair tests indicates that such results can be expected to be indicative of performance for
significant portions of the real-world furniture population, at least for coarse changes in test
performance. If considering small increments, however, one must keep in mind the accuracy limits
of the methods as discussed above.

xi


= |PC-p)
s, = |p)

Q)

Sa | ee Pn +e(m-1)] ,

where p is the assumed ignition rate, m is the assumed number of replications per test result, and p
is the parameter for the heterogeneity factor, as estimated from relevant data (p = 0.058 for the
Mock-Up Ignition Test Method ILS.)

In Table 24, these formulas are used to calculate “repeatability limits," defined as 2.8xS,, and
"reproducibility limits,” defined as 2.8xS,, for the mock-up ignition method. The factor "2.8" in the
definition of the repeatability and reproducibility limits is recommended in ASTM E 691 as a means
to generate approximate 95% probability limits for the possible difference between two measurement
results (i.e., proportions based on m replications) obtained within the same laboratory (repeatability
limit = 2.8xS,) or in different laboratories (reproducibility limit = 2.8xS,). For example, from Table
24 the reproducibility limit calculated as 0.39 for m = 48 runs means that, if the proportion of
ignitions is obtained for m = 48 runs on the same cigarette/mock-up combination in each of two
laboratories, then one might expect that the difference between the two proportions will be less than
about 0.39 if the average cigarette ignition rate is near p = 0.5.

In interpreting the values in Table 24, the reader should bear in mind the statements in ASTM E 691
[25] that repeatability and reproducibility limits “should be considered as useful general guides,” but
"not exact mathematical quantities which are applicable to all circumstances and uses."

Table 24 allows one to compare the repeatability and reproducibility limits corresponding to several
values of m, the assumed number of replications per "single measurement result.” It is clear from the
table, and from the formulas, that S, is more strongly affected by increasing the number of
replications than is Sp. This fact is highlighted in Table 24 by inclusion of the case where m = 9600
runs is assumed. In general, the repeatability decreases as the square root of m whereas the
reproducibility approaches a non-zero limit for large m, which reflects the between-lab component
of variability. This behavior shows the limitation to how much the reproducibility precision can be
improved by increasing the number of replications within each laboratory.

67


Cigarette free-burn rate. In order to characterize baseline cigarette performance and revisit the
possible use of a no-substrate test method, the burning rates of certain of the experimental cigarettes
were determined under what is called "free-burn" conditions. Cigarettes were allowed to smolder
while suspended horizontally in a quiescent atmosphere. All cigarettes tested in this configuration
smoldered their entire length. In Figure 7, the burning rates of 16 of the TSG experimental
cigarettes are plotted as a function of the ignition fractions of these cigarettes on the TSG mock-up
substrates. The average burn rate for all cigarettes was 5.9 + 1.9 mm/min. The scatter clearly
exceeds the slope of a least squares line through the data. Therefore the free burn rate of a cigarette
cannot be used by itself as a predictor of ignition propensity.

Non-Reactive Substrates. Non-reactive substrates are those that do not generate or absorb heat
chemically when heated by a cigarette. An example of such a substrate from previous work is a glass
plate. Aside from the heated glass plate previously reported, research efforts were directed at
investigating three types of non-reactive substrates. These were: a bed of glass beads, a set of glass
tods, and a non-woven glass fiber paper system.

Glass Beads. Figure 8 shows a schematic representation of a test setup that was used for the
evaluation of glass beads as a suitable substrate for a secondary test method. The test setup
consisted of a Pyrex funnel with a 125 mm diameter opening. A wire screen was suspended
in the funnel such that a space of 25 mm existed between the screen and the lip of the
funnel. This space was filled with glass beads, either 6 mm or 2 mm in diameter. Initial tests
were conducted in a quiescent atmosphere. Subsequent tests were conducted with an
imposed air flow through the glass beads, which served to disperse the flow evenly. This flow
was perpendicular to the direction of cigarette smoldering. An attempt was made to find an
air flow necessary to force a cigarette to smolder its entire length.

Preliminary tests were conducted on a selected subset of the TSG cigarettes at three air flows,
as listed in Table 25. The air speeds through the bed of glass beads (calculated from the
measured volumetric flow and the bed cross-section) were very small: 0, 0.44, 0.89 cm/min.
Table 25 shows that for cigarettes 106 and 129, the number that burned their entire length
increased somewhat in going from 0 cm/min to 0.44 cm/min. However, the same two
cigarettes, when tested at 0.89 cm/min, showed a decrease in the number of cigarettes burning
their entire length. Cigarettes 106, 129, and 130 were retested at the intermediate airflow
tate of 0.44 cm/min. The retests showed somewhat erratic results, as can be seen in Table
26.

It became clear as more replicate tests were performed that cigarette performance depended
a great deal on the contact characteristics of the cigarette/glass bead interface and that a
reliable and reproducible contact profile could not be assured with the glass bead system.
Thus this approach was not pursued further.

3


10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

LIST OF FIGURES

Photograph of a Test Chamber Containing a Mock-Up Assembly and a Cigarette ..... 38

Comparison of Ignition Rates for the Preliminary Interlaboratory Study of the
Mock-up Ignition Test Method

Environmental Conditions Reported by the Laboratories Participating in the
Preliminary Interlaboratory Study of the Mock-up Ignition Test Method ............ 49

Comparison of Ignition Rates for the Main Interlaboratory Study of the
Mock-up Ignition Test Method . 2.0.0... cece cece eee eee eee eee eens 60

Environmental Conditions Reported by the Laboratories Participating in the
Main Interlaboratory Study of the Mock-up Ignition Test Method ...............- 62

Plot Showing Empirical Relation of Reproducibility Variance to Repeatability
Variance for the Mock-Up Ignition Test Method ............0 000 eee eee eee eee 68

Free Burning Rate of Various Cigarettes Suspended in Quiescent Air as a Function
of the Fraction of the TSG Mock-Up Failures

Schematic Representation of the Test Assembly for the Glass Bead/Rod Substrate Tests 74
Drawing of the Cigarette Thermal Transfer Test Assembly ...........02 0000 eevee 77

Typical Average Temperature-Time Trace for a Cigarette Burning on a Glass Fiber
Filter Paper in the Cigarette Thermal Transfer Test Assembly ...........-.0-00005 78

Estimated Energy Transferred to a Substrate from a Smoldering Cigarette Burning
in the Thermal Transfer Apparatus as a Function of the Fraction of TSG

Mock-Up Failures 2.0... 0... cc ccc cece eee ec eee treet eee eee tee tee tenes 79
Smoldering Rates of Three Experimental Cigarettes as a Function of the Number of

Filter Papers Making up the Substrate Assembly ......... 0.0: e cece eee eee nee 81
Number of Filter Papers Causing Extinguishment of the Cigarette as a Function of the
TSG Failure Fraction 2.0... 0... c ccc eeeeet eee cnet ene 82
Photograph of a Test Chamber Containing a Mock-Up Assembly and a Cigarette ..... 84

Comparison of Full Burn Rates for the Interlaboratory Study of the Cigarette
Extinction Test Method «2.1.0... cece eee cece recente eee e tee e eet n eee 93

vii


Table 31. 95% Lower Confidence Bounds
for the Long-Run Ignition Probability
Assuming that n Tests Result in n Ignitions

n= Nomber of Runs

Informal reports of in-progress cigarette industry studies imply that some upholstery fabrics will
respond to contact with a lit cigarette in a substantially different manner from that seen with the
cotton ducks used in this method. Even if this is verified, the possible results of employing the Mock-
Up Ignition Test Method developed here are as follows:

Some cigarette designs will produce fewer ignitions (than the current market
cigarettes) both in the test and when in contact with furniture containing fabrics which
behave like the cotton ducks used here. The test method in this case is a true
indicator of less fire-prone cigarettes.

Some cigarette designs will produce fewer ignitions in the test, but will not produce
a reduced number of ignitions when in contact with furniture containing fabrics which
is dissimilar in response to cotton ducks. It seems implausible that such designs would
show greater real-world ignition propensity than do current commercial cigarettes.

Still other cigarette designs will produce a number of ignitions, both in the test
method and when in contact with furniture containing fabrics which behave like the
cotton ducks used here, comparable to current commercial cigarettes. For these, the
test method is again a true indicator of expected fire performance.

Some designs will produce a number of ignitions in this test that are comparable to
current commercial cigarettes, but will produce a reduced number of ignitions when
in contact with furniture containing fabrics which is dissimilar in response to cotton
ducks. These designs would not likely be pursued; but, if they were, they would
unobtrusively reduce fire losses.

The result of the second and fourth occurrences is an uncertainty in the degree to which real-world
fire losses are reduced.

At present there are insufficient data available to estimate what fraction of real-world furniture might
contain fabrics differing substantially (i.e., beyond the reproducibility of the test method) from cotton

101


Propensity cigarettes showed that the alpha cellulose paper would not smolder, and the cigarettes
would all self-extinguish. This resulted in no recorded weight loss and, therefore, no discrimination
between cigarettes.

By 1985, Norman [33] had investigated several methods for assessing cigarette ignition propensity.
He used four experimental cigarettes and measured:

° the heat transfer rate to a receiver below the cigarette coal and the total heat release
of a cigarette smoldering in air,

. the weight loss rate of various cigarette/substrate systems, and
. the imprint of a cigarette smoldering on a block of polyurethane foam.

While Norman could not correlate free-burn heat transfer data for cigarettes burning in air to ignition
propensity and the weight loss rate was dependent on specific characteristics of the substrate, the
foam imprint method appeared to hold some promise. Gann et al. [3] further pursued this latter
method. Rather than measure the volume of the imprint, they measured the weight loss of the foam
block after removal of the charred remains of the cigarette. They also recorded weight loss vs. time
of the cigarette/foam system during the cigarette smoldering process. They found only a weak
correlation between weight loss and cigarette ignition propensity as measured by the number of
ignitions on a selected group of fabric/foam substrates.

Gann et al. [3] also investigated the possibility of using a heated glass plate to characterize cigarette
ignition propensity. By adjusting the temperature of the glass plate, they found that cigarettes could
be made to smolder their entire length. Commercially available cigarettes smoldered their entire
length at ambient conditions. Low and moderate ignition propensity cigarettes would smolder their
entire length only when the temperature of the glass plate was raised to between 86 and 97°C. As
with the case of the alpha cellulose paper, they noted that "No difference between the low and
moderate cigarettes was evident."

2. Approaches Examined in This Study

It has been previously shown [3] that cigarettes with a wide range of ignition propensities are
possible. Thus, a useful test method needs to be able to discriminate over this wide potential. Mock-
up-based test methods accomplish this by using a range of substrate assemblies. The alternative
methods investigated in this study accomplish this by either changing surrogate substrate characteris-
tics or by measuring a critical cigarette property. The search for an acceptable indirect test method
involved the use of various non-reactive and reactive substrates.

The Series 100 cigarettes were used in these experiments. Recall that they were effectively calibrated
as to ignition propensity on both mock-ups and full-scale chairs in the TSG study. Thus they can
serve here to calibrate candidate alternative test methods. The properties of these cigarettes and
their ignition performance seen in the TSG study are listed in Section II.A.1.

71


Table 30. Cigarette Extinction Method:
Calculated Repeatability (r) and Reproducibility (R) Limits
for Various Assumed Numbers of Replications (m) and Full-Length Burn Proportions (p)

=o imine
m= 16 m = 32 m= 48

r R r R r R

0.05
or 0.15 | 0.16 0.11 0.12 0.09 0.11
0.95

0.10
or 0.21 | 0.22 0.15 0.17 0.12 0.15
0.90

0.20
or 0.28 | 0.30 0.20 0.23 0.16 0.20
0.80

0.30
or 0.32 | 0.34 0.23 0.26 0.19 0.22
0.70

0.40
or 0.34 | 0.37 0.24 0.28 0.20 0.24
0.60

0.50 | 0.35 | 0.37 0.25 0.28 0.20 0.24

Assumed number of replications per laboratory
Assumed long-run proportion of full-length burns for cigarette and substrate combination under test
Repeatability limit = 2.8S,, where S, is calculated as in Table 24.

Reproducibility limit = 2.8S,, where Sp is calculated as in Table 24, with p = 0.0097

anys



T T T T T T
20- eo eeeee +
g
2 1st e 4
3
s
Oe
5 iol e J
=
3
g e
: Sr eo .3@ 4
e
OF 4
J. J. AL i 4 L.
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 08 1.0
Failure Fraction on TSG Mockups

Figure 13. Number of Filter Papers Causing Extinguishment of the Cigarette as a Function of
the TSG Failure Fraction.

82


In Figure 3, the distributions of the environmental variables are represented by box plots. Box plots
are constructed so that the rectangular boxes contain the range covered by the central 50% of the
data, with a line drawn in the interior of the box to represent the median of the data. The "whiskers"
(vertical lines) attached to the central 50% boxes extend to the upper and lower limits of all the data,
except that values far away from the central portion are identified as "outliers" and are plotted
separately with "+" symbols. (The statistical software used to produce these box plots identifies an
outlier as any data value whose distance from the median exceeds 1.5 times the length of the box.)

Also indicated in Figure 3, by the space between the horizontal dashed lines, are the target ranges
for the environmental variables stated in the instructions for conducting the testing. Comparing the
locations of the box plots with the dashed lines shows how successful, or not, the labs were in
maintaining the environmental conditions within the target ranges. For example, the plot in the
upper left-hand corner of the figure shows clearly that temperature in the testing room of Lab 1 was
always a bit higher than the target range. The same plot shows that, while the temperature varied
more widely in Lab 2 than in Lab 1, the temperature in Lab 2 was inside the target temperature
range approximately two-thirds of the time.

For all three labs, the humidity in the conditioning rooms tended to stay just above 55%, which was
the upper limit of the target range. As mentioned in Section I1.B.8.¢e below, this fact influenced the
decision to change the target range for humidity in the main interlaboratory study.

A statistical analysis was undertaken to ascertain whether a significant portion of the variation in the
ignition results could be attributed to variation in the four environmental variables: TSTTEMP,
TSTRH, CNDTEMP, and CNDRH. The statistical al procedure used was logistic regression analysis,
implemented by the CATMOD procedure in SAS®.° This analysis proceeded by first fitting a full
model in which IGN was modeled as a function of the variables LAB, CIG_TYPE and SUBSTRAT,
plus the four continuous environmental variables. This model was compared with a reduced model
in which the environmental variables were omitted. The overall result of this analysis was that none
of the environmental variables showed a statistically significant effect on ignitions, based on the
criterion that the significance probability, or "p-value," was greater than 0.05.

By contrast, the other three variables, LAB, CIG_TYPE and SUBSTRAT were all statistically
significant well below the 0.05 significance level. This result was not unexpected. The five cigarettes
were selected for testing to represent a range of ignition behaviors. Similarly, the three substrates
were designed to elicit a range of ignition responses. The finding of significant variation between
labs, while not particularly desired, is nonetheless a common occurrence in interlaboratory studies of
test methods of all kinds. General experience with interlaboratory studies at NIST has been that a
statistically significant difference between laboratories can be detected more often than not.

The statistical analysis also investigated whether the ignition results were significantly affected by the
four categorical variables: CHAMBER, TST_BLK, OPERATOR, and AMPM. Both logistic
regression and the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test procedure were used for this purpose, again
implemented by the CATMOD procedure in SAS®. The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel procedure was
implemented in a way which tests for a significant association between ignition results (IGN) and each

6 SAS@ statistical software, Version 6. SAS® is a registered trademark of SAS Institute Inc.,
SAS Circle, Box 8000, Cary, NC 27512-8000.

50


Table 21. Summary of Test Results for Preliminary Interlaboratory Study

Self-Extinguishments

48
45

48
45

35

27

Non-Ignitions



in the ignition properties of the cigarettes. However, there were some increases in ignition for
cigarettes 101, 103, 129, and 130, with most being on the denim substrate. In the original evaluation,
these four cigarettes tended to self-extinguish on the denim mockup, whereas in the reevaluation,
mock-up ignitions tended to occur. The initial suggestion was that the change was due to
deterioration of the denim fabric. However, Lorillard performed measurements of smolder proclivity
using their published method [4], as well as weight, density and air permeability on the denim fabric,
and determined that those properties had not changed with storage.

This result prompted a closer investigation of the two sets of ignition experiments. Three main
differences were noted in the test methods:

° The original lab was not available for use in the reevaluation, so another test lab was
used. The canopy hood in this lab had a slightly lower draw. This was not thought
to be a serious problem because the smoke was being carried from the test chambers
in a manner similar to the original study.

. A technician with no previous experience in ignition testing conducted the reevalua-
tion tests. As a check, re-tests of cigarettes 101, 103, and 130 on the denim substrate
were performed by the same operator who had performed the original TSG evalua-
tion. The same tendency for more ignitions was noted.

. The original evaluation of the denim mockup was done in August, when the relative
humidity in the test lab was 50 to 60 percent. The reevaluation was done in January
and February, when the relative humidity was 30 to 40 percent. Other data indicate
that a decrease this large can increase the number of ignitions. This suggests that the
differences seen with certain cigarettes (101, 130) might be caused by this parameter.
This particular substrate would be expected to be more sensitive to ambient humidity
than the others in the TSG study since it virtually surrounds the cigarette with
cellulosic materials--two cushions which form a crevice plus a cover fabric.


° the cigarette burns its entire length without igniting the mock-up assembly, or
° ignition of the mock-up assembly.

An ignition is defined as a char zone propagating away from the burning tobacco column by at least
10 mm. The stopwatch is stopped upon observing any of the three final test conditions described
above. If the mock-up ignites, it and the cigarette are carefully extinguished. The test results are
recorded.

8. Interlaboratory Study of Mock-Up Method
a. Preliminary Considerations

All test methods have some random variation that cannot be controlled easily. Tests performed on
materials considered to be identical under presumed identical test conditions do not, in general,
produce identical test results. This random behavior is generally attributed to the operator,
equipment used, calibration of the equipment and environmental changes. Controllable variability
is kept to a minimum by a good written test procedure.

Standardized techniques have been developed for the evaluation of test method variability and
precision. Precision, as defined by ASTM, is a concept related to closeness of agreement among test
results obtained under prescribed like conditions from a measurement process being evaluated
[24]. The approach used to evaluate the precision of a test procedure is an interlaboratory study
(ILS), referred to also as a round robin. The guide used for planning the interlaboratory studies
reported in this report was ASTM E691, Standard Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study
to Determine the Precision of a Test Method [25].

Results from an interlaboratory study generally provide information on repeatability, ie., a measure
of variability within a laboratory, and reproducibility, i.e., a measure of variability between laboratories.
In addition, interlaboratory studies are often used in the process of test method development since
a properly designed experimental plan can help to identify areas of variability which may require
additional control. In the work reported here, interlaboratory studies were used for improving the
test procedures as well as for evaluating precision and reproducibility.

In planning the interlaboratory test programs reported here many factors were considered. Certain
of these were viewed as vitally important. Each of these key requirements was taken from ASTM
E691:

. A properly designed ILS will be as simple as possible in order to obtain estimates of
within- and between-laboratory variability that are free of unnecessary interferences.

° The design should include at least six laboratories.

. Laboratories participating in an ILS must be qualified to conduct the test procedure.

37


(duck no., bolt no., length and width position of sample on the bolt). Test laboratories were
instructed to randomize the samples for any given fabric type.

The polyethylene film samples were randomized in the same manner as the fabrics.

Eleven subsections of polyurethane foam were selected at random from the production lot. The
individual samples from the foam subsection were identified with two symbols. The foam pieces were
then randomly distributed throughout a large, clean room. A number of NIST staff members were
asked to randomly select five pieces of foam from the room and place the foam into cardboard boxes.
This was then repeated in turn for each foam subsection. At the end of this process, each box
contained 55 pieces, 5 pieces from each of the 11 subsections. The test laboratories were instructed
to take one box of foam for a given day’s testing and to randomize those foam pieces prior to
testing.

d. Preliminary Interlaboratory Study

A preliminary interlaboratory study was conducted for evaluation and further refinement of the mock-
up ignition method. This study was not designed to validate the new procedure but rather was
designed as a screening round to evaluate the effectiveness of the written test protocol and to further
study the test method on a multi-laboratory basis. This preliminary round also met the need for a
ruggedness test prior to conducting a complete ILS. Three laboratories participated in the
preliminary study: Consumer Product Safety Commission, Engineering Laboratory; National Institute
of Standards and Technology, Building and Fire Research Laboratory; and Philip Morris USA,
Research Laboratory.

In June, 1992, a memo was sent to each participating laboratory providing basic information about
the planned study. This memo included a draft of the test method and identified areas where the
laboratories might have to make modifications to their test facilities needed for successfully
conducting the study. Emphasis was placed on the need for tight control over environmental
conditions in the specimen conditioning room/chamber and in the test room. The requirements called
for the conditioning room/chamber to be maintained at 50 + 5% relative humidity (RH) and 23 +
3 °C and the test room to be maintained at 55 + 10% RH and 23 + 3 °C.

‘Test Operator Training. Each laboratory sent two test operators to NIST for training in July, 1992.
One trainee was to be experienced with cigarette ignition testing and the other was to possess only
general laboratory skills with no fire test experience. This difference in operator skills would be one
of the variables in the ILS. During this training session operators also received detailed instructions
on how to report test results. All test operators received a test workbook which contained a copy
of the test procedure, a daily weather information form, a test procedure checklist, a fifteen day
experimental plan and a daily experimental plan specific to each operator. This book also contained
a sample, filled-in worksheet as a guide for the operators and a set of blank individual test worksheets
for reporting all tests. In addition, each laboratory received a computer disk containing a program
for entering their daily test results. The computer data were used as a backup for the workbooks and
also facilitated preparation of a computer-readable data base for use in the data analysis.

‘Test Chambers _and Accessories. Test chamber kits with square brass frames for holding the
fabric/film flat on the foam substrate and cigarette holders were prepared at NIST. Several weeks
before testing was to begin, the test chamber kits with all accessories and two butane cigarette lighters

41


term. Data from the nine laboratories in the ILS show that the ratio of repeatability to
reproducibility limits is R/r = Sp/S, = V3.72 = 1.9 for the mock-up ignition method. See Figure 6.

This ratio is comparable to the R/r ratio for other fire test methods currently being used to regulate
materials which may be involved in unwanted fires. For example, ASTM E648 (Standard Method
for Critical Radiant Flux of Floor Covering Systems) has an R/r ratio of 1.1 to 1.6 [29]; ASTM
E662 (Standard Test Method for Specific Optical Density of Smoke Generated by Solid Materials)
has R/r ranging from 1.2 to 4.0 [30]; and ASTM E1354 (Standard Test Method for Heat and
Visible Smoke Release for Materials and Products Using an Oxygen Consumption Calorimeter) has
Ri/r = 18 for ignition delay time [31].

Cc Cigarette Extinction Test Method

As previously mentioned, an ignition propensity test method need not directly simulate the upholstery
material ignition process. Many flammability tests are imperfect representations of the hazard under
consideration. This is because full simulation of the fire of concern is often not possible at bench
scale, is too costly, or is otherwise impractical. Thus, a cigarette ignition propensity test method could
measure, ¢.g., heat release rate, were it shown to correlate with real-world ignition performance. Such
a method can be useful in practice, at least over the range of cigarette designs for which it has been
calibrated; and it may also be more convenient to apply.

As can be inferred from the discussion in Section IIB, the substrate requirements for a cigarette
ignition propensity test method may be more readily met on a long-term basis if upholstery materials
are avoided. This prompted the pursuit of alternative methods in this study. This section of the
report describes the work performed in developing such a test method for the measure of cigarette

ignition propensity.

1 Prior Alternative Methods

The search for a method for the evaluation of cigarette ignition propensity that is free of upholstery
materials has been ongoing intermittently for over ten years. In 1981, Krasny et al. [32] reported
a series of experiments that ultimately led to the development of a test method that employed alpha
cellulose paper as a surrogate substrate. As possible indicators of cigarette ignition potential, they
compared four measures of cigarette behavior to mock-up test results obtained for the same cigarettes
on a variety of upholstered furniture substrates. These measures were:

static burning rate of the cigarettes,

surface temperature of the cigarette burn cone,

burning behavior of the cigarettes in contact with heat sinks, and
burning behavior of the cigarettes on alpha cellulose paper.

They concluded that weight loss rate from the cigarette/paper system was a good measure of cigarette
ignition propensity, while there were shortcomings with the other three measures. Thirty
commercially available cigarettes were evaluated by this test method. Reasonable agreement was
found between cigarette propensity to ignite upholstered furniture substrates and weight loss rate of
the cigarette/paper system. Subsequent work that was part of the TSG study [3, 3] with low ignition

70


where Mcp is the mass of oxygen entering the coal by diffusion from the sides; Agp is the cigarette
surface area through which this oxygen enters (1/4 of the periphery and an 8 mm length yields an
area of 1.0 cm?); p is the gas density in the boundary layer; D is the diffusivity of oxygen in the
boundary layer; AY is the oxygen mass fraction change across the boundary layer; Ax is the boundary
layer thickness. Using a mean boundary layer temperature of 150 °C, one makes the following
estimate of mgp:

p  (1.0)(7.9x1074)(0.41)(0.2/0.28) = 2.3x10% g O,/sec

The oxygen entering the front of the coal is more difficult to estimate from Baker’s profiles; here it
is taken to be comparable to the rate above but modified by the lesser area for diffusion from that
direction (0.5 cm?, the cross-sectional area of the cigarette). This means that the above value is
multiplied by 1.5 to get an estimate of the total oxygen inflow from the ambient air above the fabric
plane (designated mrp):

Mapp ~ 3.4x10% g O,/ sec

It should be noted that this number is comparable to the estimate above of the total oxygen demand
of the coal.

Consider next the issue of oxygen supply to the coal from below the fabric plane. There is essentially
no pressure force to cause air to flow upward from the cells of the polyurethane foam, through the
fabric and into the cigarette coal. The air within the foam cells is being heated from above; only the
finite spatial extent of the heated zone in the lateral (fabric plane) direction implies the application
of a weak buoyancy force acting over the very short height of the thermal layer in the foam. This
is opposed by the flow resistance of the foam and the fabric. Diffusion of oxygen is less inhibited in
the foam because its very open cell structure poses little blockage. Thus oxygen diffusion out of the
foam is the main process of interest here. We have no information on the diffusion of oxygen
through the less porous structure of a fabric so it will not be included here; the result will be an
overestimate of the supply of oxygen able to diffuse out of the foam and to the cigarette coal.

The relaxation time of the diffusion process in the foam is short compared to the time required for
the coal to move a distance equal to its own length. This means that the oxygen profiles in the foam
will be little affected by the fact that the cigarette coal is trying to move slowly over the top of the
fabric. Then these profiles can be accurately estimated using the solution to a simple transient
problem: diffusion into a sink of finite radius from a semi-infinite medium. This problem is treated
in reference C-4; the solution for the spherically-symmetric oxygen concentration profiles as a
function of distance from the sink (the cigarette coal) and time (here, time since the coal made
contact with the substrate) is as follows:

(C-C) _ (r-a)
Gc) Cc 2) ef 2 20)”

Here C is the mass concentration of oxygen at radius r at time t; Cy is the initial concentration of
oxygen in the foam (essentially same as ambient); C, is the concentration maintained from time zero

C2


Adjust the ignition source, a disposable butane gas lighter, to provide a flame no less than 15
mm in length and no longer than 20 mm.

If the testing room is separated from the conditioning room, individual substrate assemblies
shall be placed into plastic bags and sealed in the conditioning room. They may then be
transported to the test room. Test cigarettes may also be transported to the test room in
sealed plastic bags.

If the relative humidity and temperature in the test room cannot be maintained at the
specified test conditions, the substrates shall be placed in the above mentioned humidity box
prior to testing.

Immediately before selection and ignition of a cigarette for testing, a substrate assembly is
removed from its conditioned environment and placed inside the test chamber at the geomet-
ric center of its bottom. The square brass frame is placed onto the substrate to maintain
fabric flatness. Make sure that the fabric is flat against the foam surface by lightly smoothing
with a gloved finger. Do not use fabrics that will not lay flat against the foam.

Without delay, remove a cigarette from the humidity box. Weigh the cigarette and record the
results. Discard the specimen if its weight is more than two standard deviations of the mean
obtained from weighing 50 random selected cigarettes of the same design and similarly
conditioned. If the cigarette weight is within specifications, a mark is made on the cigarette’s
paper seam 15 mm from the tobacco end. The mark is made with a #2 or softer graphite
pencil. The cigarette filter is inserted into the vacuum draw apparatus rubber diaphragm and
held in a horizontal position. Start the vacuum draw apparatus, and make sure the center of
the rotameter’s indicator ball is within + 50 ml/min of 1000 ml/min. Immediately ignite the
cigarette with a preadjusted butane lighter.

The ignition flame is held to the tobacco end of the cigarette for three seconds to achieve
uniform ignition. The lit cigarette is then removed from the diaphragm, held vertically, coal
up, under a 600 ml beaker and moved to the test chamber. With the chimney on the test
chamber covered, the door is opened, and the lit cigarette is placed vertically, filter down, into
a holder located on the center of the substrate assembly. Simultaneously, the door is closed
gently and the chimney cover removed. Smoke from the cigarette should pass directly out
of the chamber stack. If the cigarette should self-extinguish while in the cigarette holder and
before removal to be placed onto the test substrate, terminate the test and identify the results
as a self-extinguishment. When the cigarette has burned to the 15 mm mark, simultaneously
cover the chimney and carefully open the chamber door. With care, the cigarette is removed
from the holder, and the holder is placed in a front corner of the test chamber. The
cigarette, with ash still attached, is gently placed onto the top of the substrate assembly so
that the coal is located at the geometric center of the surface and the cigarette angled 45°
to the fabric warp (ie., diagonally). See Figure B-3. The cigarette paper seam shall be
turned up. Do not drop the cigarette onto the substrate, and do not press the coal onto the
substrate. Without delay, simultaneously remove the chimney cover, and gently close the
door. A stopwatch is started. If the ash falls off during any part of the transport or
positioning process, immediately extinguish the cigarette and begin with paragraph 7 in this
section.

B-5


This publication describes the research performed and the results obtained in responding to the first
two tasks. NIST has developed two test methods with sound links to the real-world fire scenarios of
concern. These methods were shown to be of useful reproducibility in a nine-laboratory evaluation.
The methods were then used to evaluate a sampling of the most popular current commercial
cigarettes, as well as some whose physical properties suggest they might show reduced ignition
propensity. The completion of the third task is described in a companion report.

B. General Considerations Regarding Test Methods

There are several ways of describing test methods and the features that are necessary for their use
in professional fire safety practice. The following sections describe these in the context of the current
program.

1 Applications

The test methods developed here are intended to fulfill two potential roles. The first role is to serve
as a practical basis for a possible performance standard. As stated earlier, a regulation presupposes
the existence of a practical test method. It is not feasible to make cigarette ignition propensity assess-
ments on a recurring basis by testing each cigarette type on all soft furnishings in the commercial mar-
ketplace because:

. The upholstered furniture market is extremely diverse and not well-defined in terms
of the materials used and their market shares.

. Usage may cause soft furnishings to respond differently to contact with lighted
cigarettes, perhaps as a consequence of such factors as fabric wear, the use of
cleaning fluids, or alkali metal accumulation.

. The resources needed for such an approach would be prohibitive.

A second role for an ignition propensity test method is to assist the cigarette industry in meeting the
goals of any such regulation. This has two potential applications:

. Guidance in product development, in which the test results are used to indicate
progress toward more desirable ignition behavior; and

° Quality assurance on the production line, in which sample cigarettes taken at intervals
are checked to ensure they meet the regulatory requirement.

2. Output

The output of a test method can be continuous, discrete, or pass/fail. In this order, the methods
produce a decreasing amount of information to the regulator, product developer, and performance
monitor. An example of the first is automobile gas mileage testing, where any value of miles per
gallon may result from the dynamometer test measurements. The regulator then selects a value from
the continuum as the acceptable product characterization. In test methods with discrete output, only

3


L-@

40.00 om f-——o4en —o]
—_ => 1.90 cmfe—
'
34.93 om ‘SIDE | ‘T aon BACK 94.33 om
; Nae
oe Te =| 16.51 om k
‘TERIAL 0.64 om PLEXIGLAS. ossem —7l | t
PLEXIGLAS TUBE
}-—_—_— 04m __,| 17.78.em
}-— 2040» —o|
BOTTOM
90.48 cm "AND 3.81 om,
TOP e-aeren—a| y
oy 2.54em
FRONT 34.93 om
f -”
SF asee
—|
0.64 em HI tooo |
TOP HAS 15.24 om DIA. HOLE FOR | |
16.51 om O.D. PLEXIGLAS TUBE t t
‘TO BE CEMENTED TO TOP > 3 > = £
°
5.08 om r
° ° ° ° °
ince Door To ver en oaeam 7

Figure B-1. Schematic of Test Chamber Components.


IGN =Y if TST_RSLT =I (ignition)
=N if TST_RSLT = N orS (non-ignition).

A graphical summary of the test results for the preliminary interlaboratory study, based on the derived
variable, IGN, is shown in Figure 2. In this figure, the height of each vertical bar represents the
proportion of test runs resulting in ignition (IGN=Y) obtained by the corresponding laboratory for
the substrate and cigarette indicated. The 15 bar charts are arranged in a pattern with three rows,
corresponding to the three substrates (mock-up configurations) used in testing, and five columns
corresponding to the five cigarette types tested. The order in which the cigarettes are shown is based
on the total number of ignitions for each cigarette type, with cigarettes having the highest ignition
propensity on the left and those having the lowest ignition propensity on the right. (Cigarettes 503
and 501 actually had the same number of ignitions in the preliminary interlaboratory study. Cigarette
503 is shown first in Figure 2 based on the fact that 503 had the most ignitions in the main interlabo-
ratory study described below. Except for the tie between cigarettes 503 and 501 in the preliminary
round, the ordering of the cigarettes based on total number of ignitions was the same in the two
rounds of interlaboratory tests of the mockup ignition test method.)

It should be observed from the summary shown in Figure 2 and Table 21 that the lab-to-lab variation
in the proportion of ignitions is not excessive in comparison with the amount of variation that is
commonly found in fire testing. (See below in discussion of main interlaboratory study.) In fact, the
largest deviation of any single lab value from the mean proportion of ignitions was about 0.15, which
occurred for cigarette 529 on substrate 3 (duck #10). Thus, based on this simple criterion, the
mockup ignition test method showed promise of utility.

The participating laboratories were instructed to control the test environment so as to maintain the

temperature and humidity variables within defined limits. The data showing the actual range of these
variables in the preliminary round are summarized graphically in Figure 3.

45


Ill. | CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF THE TWO TEST METHODS .. 99
A. Mock-Up Ignition Test Method ....... 0... ccc cece cece cece cece ences 9
B. Cigarette Extinction Test Method ......... 60. e cece ee ec cece eee ences 102
Cc. Allowable Material Variability ©... 06.0... ccc cece ence eee 102
D. Standardization of Test Methods ............ 0... c cece cece eee eee eee 104
E. Effectiveness of the Methods ............. 0. ces cece eee eee eee nee 104
Iv. TESTING OF COMMERCIAL CIGARETTES ............. 0. cece eee ee ene 106
A Introduction ................ Pee nett cece eee e teen eee e ett eeeees 106
B. Rationale for Commercial Cigarette Choices ............0 000 c ee ee ee eee 106
Cc Test Procedures 2.1.0.0... cece cece cece cence een eee eeenes 107
D. Data and Analysis ..... 2.06... e cece eee eect ene e neces 107
Vv. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............000 2c cence eee 110
VI. © ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......... 0.0.0. c cece cece eee cence ee enes 111
VIL REFERENCES ...... 0.0... cece ccc cece eee eee nen nee e ee eeee 112
APPENDIX A: Reevaluation of Experimental Cigarettes Used in the
Cigarette Safety Act of 1984 2.2.0... 6. cece eee eee eee eee Al
APPENDIX B: Mock-Up Ignition Test Method Procedure ............0000 eee B-1
APPENDIX C: Estimate of Oxygen Supply Paths to a Cigarette Coal
atop a Flat Upholstery Substrate... 2.2... 2. oe eee C1
APPENDIX D: Metal Ion Content of Fabrics: Test Method and Results ........... D-1
APPENDIX E: Cigarette Extinction Test Method Procedure ..........--.---0005 E1
APPENDIX F: Representative Thermogravimetric Data for
Test Method Materials ........ 0... c cece eee eee e eee eee Fl


PU FOAM B-2 TOP (Bun #2)
PU FOAM B-2 MID (Bun #2)

0.002 : : T
+ PU FOAM - TOP
* PU FOAM - MID
0.0016 | 4
> ——
o Ny
s s*Cimin
= 0.0012
2
o
=
= o.0008 i
¥ i ,
0.0004
° 1
100 «150 200280 «300380 400—s«450S«500
Temperature (°C)
PU FOAM M-2 TOP (Bun #3)
PU FOAM M-2 MID (Bun #3)
0,002 . 1 7 r r r
PU FOAM - TOP
0.0018 * PU FOAM - MID ]
3 %
3 scimin
= 0.0012 4
g
2
Fa
= 0.0008 4
2
0.0004
0 A ni 1 |
100 150-200 280 300 380 4004505100

Temperature (°C)

Figure F-4. Derivative TG Data: Two Polyurethane Foam Samples from Top and Bottom of
Original Bun.

F-5


7

Figure 5.

Testing Rooms Conditioning Rooms

2 4 4
a! : fai
Sanaa ee He ieee toleien (ecient Sale § es ce ree ae se Trapt tact ten |

eC Se
4 T T T T T r T T T % T Tr T T T T T T T

1 2 3 4 5 8 7 8 ] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 a

Laboratory Laboratory
Testing Rooms Conditioning Rooms

74 704
64 y bed
srry rs eee eee es Za a Toe mm woe f--- TORT
=] i 4d g= : : | | :
9 fo - na enn  -- - 4--- F----- 5 80 3 --~---------------~---F--- ete aaieien iene
; iF |
0 5 * i i 04
«64 + t 3S +
04 : 20 +
24 T T T T T T T T T J 2 4 T T T T T T T 7 T

1 2 3 4 § 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 3

Laboratory Laboratory

Environmental Conditions Reported by the Laboratories Participating in the Main Interlaboratory Study of the Mock-up
Ignition Test Method.


Company)'. Since all are made from raw cotton (Texas, short staple) it is expected that their
chemical composition is nominally similar. (The metal cation content was checked separately, as
noted below.) The cotton was card cleaned using mechanical agitation only. No lubricants,
surfactants or sizing were added to the cotton during the cleaning, carding, roving, spinning or the
weaving processes. The yarns were made using open-end spinning frame technology. The fabrics are
known as "greige" goods because they have no finishes or dyes.

Table 6. Specified Nominal Properties of Fabrics

FABRIC YARN COUNT
| DESIGNATION (PER INCH)
| aaa
] Duck No. 4 0.83 kg/m? 31x24 5.1 = 10.2 x 10° m3is/m?
| Style $/01400240 | (24.5 ozlyd?) (1-2 ft3/minift”)
Duck No. 6 0.72 kg/m? 36 x 26 3x3 5.1 = 10.2 x 10? m3/s/m?
Style $/01600230 | (21.2 ozfyd”) (1 - 2 #3 /minft?)
Duck No. 8 0.61 kg/m? 34x27 3x3 5.1 - 10.2 x 103 msm?
(18 ozyd2) (1 - 2 ft/min sft?)
Duck No. 10 0.50 kg/m? 40 x 28 2x2 10.2 - 20.4 x 103 m3ysfm?
Style 01102020 | (14.7 ozfyd?) (2-4 f3/min/ft)
| Duck No. 12 0.39 kg/m? 46 x 35 2x2 20.4 - 30.6 x 103 m3/s/m?
(11.5 oziyd?) (4-6 fC /min/ft?)
Twill 0.52 kg/m? 40 x 28 2x2 10.2 - 20.4 x 103 m?/s/m?
ozlyd?) (2-4 8 /minjt?)
_ foe

* Measured by Federal Method 5450 (contained in Federal Test Method Standard 191A, July 1978)

The chief differences in these fabrics should reside in their physical properties, since chemically they
are raw cotton with comparable metal ion contents (see below). It is likely that the most important
difference is the areal density, which varies by a factor of two. The potential heat sink effect to a
cigarette coal thus varies by this same factor among these fabrics. The air permeabilities vary by a
factor of three but, as will be seen, the mock-up configuration which was used is flat, and its
ignitability should be relatively less sensitive to this parameter since more of the cigarette coal’s
periphery is exposed to ambient air. (Fabric permeability ranked fourth in order of importance as
a controlling variable in the ignition of a flat mock-up in reference [4]. Fabric weight and total sodi-
um/potassium ion content were the two dominant parameters.)

1 The fabrics can be purchased from Wellington Sears Company, 3202 34" Street, Valley, AL
36854; telephone no. (205) 768-1222.

Certain products or manufacturers are identified in this report in order to provide sufficient
definition of procedures, equipment, and materials. In no case does such identification imply
endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology nor is the item identified
necessarily the most appropriate for the purpose.

17


09

Duk 4 Cg 503 Duck 4 Cig, 50 Duck 4 Cg. 531 Duck 4 Cig, 529 Duck4 Cy 50
fe : ts fe fe
ber or en bor be
Bs Bie Bis Bt a
ot on for fon on

Usberatery

ii

Duk 6 Duck 6 ig 529 Ok 6
Le se La Le

ber go> be ger

Lae in ae Le
oa] oa oa oa

Laborary Laboratory Laboraiory
Og sot Oy 59

Duck 10 Duk 10 Cg S31 Duck 10
oo bee be
ne an in
on fon on

cboratry Laboratory Laboriry
Figure 4. Comparison of Ignition Rates for the Main ineriaborator Study of the Mock-up Ignition Test Method.


Table D-1. Cation Content of #4 Cotton Duck

_ Cation Content (ppm)
Sample ID Nat kt Mg*?
4-46-10-1 <10 4608 612
4-46-40-2 <10 4688 ; 622
4-46-72-2 <20 4429 586
4-48-10-5 <10 4273 580
4-48-44-1 <10 4201 577
4-48-78-3 <10 4254 588
4-50-1-1 <20 4475 574
4-50-30-1 <10 4372 554
4-50-75-1 <10 4535 579
4-50-112-5 <20 4525 561
4-52-1-3 <10 4600 579
4-52-36-5 <20 | 4646 579
4-52-68-2 <0. 4457 S71
4-52-72-3 <10 4372 515
4-52-106-2 <10 4654 587
4-54- 1-2 <20 4587 555
4-54-13 “TO <10 4477 550 ~~
4-54-31-2 35 4463 562
4-54-66-3 21 4544 563
4-54-77-3 22 4569 560
4-56-35-6 <20 4527 565 565 _.
4-56-66-1 <10 ~ 4447 566 583 ~
4-56-90-3 <10 4550 566 545
4-56-121-5 _< 10 4514 559 563

D-2


Participants and Procedures. Nine laboratories participated in the main interlaboratory study. This
group included industry, state and federal government laboratories and an independent testing
laboratory. The list of participants follows:

American Tobacco Company, Research Laboratory

Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company, Research Laboratory
Bureau of Home Furnishings, State of California

Consumer Product Safety Commission, Engineering Laboratory
Diversified Testing Company

Lorillard, Research Laboratory

National Institute of Standards and Technology,

Building and Fire Research Laboratory

. Philip Morris USA, Research Laboratory

. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Research Laboratory

[Note that this listing does not correspond to the identification numbers, 1 through 9, which appear
later in the report. Those numbers were assigned randomly for anonymous presentation of the
results.]

As stated above, several changes were made to the test procedure based on experiences gained from
the preliminary ILS. The preliminary study also indicated how the recording and reporting of data
could be streamlined, and these changes were made in the main study. Each tester in the program
received a booklet containing copies of the test procedure and other ILS guidelines. They also
received three separate workbooks for recording data, one for each week of the three-week test
program. Each laboratory received three computer disks for putting the test results into computer-
readable form. The following instructions were given on new procedures for recording and submitting
data to NIST for analysis: Test operators were directed to record all data in their workbooks as they
prepared and completed each test. At the end of each day they were to enter their data into the
computer, which would then print out a daily summary for each operator. These summary sheets
were to be FAXed to NIST at the end of each day. At the end of each week, the weekly workbooks
and the weekly computer disks were to be mailed to NIST by two-day delivery. This method of
acquiring data helped to reduce the time needed for assembling the test data and preparing it for
analysis.

Purpose and Methods of Analyzing Results, Information provided in the daily FAX report from the
laboratories was used by NIST to evaluate laboratory progress. It also provided information necessary
for preparing data files for each laboratory. As the ILS progressed, not all of the laboratories
consistently submitted the daily FAX reports. Some labs would accumulate several days of testing
before FAXing the reports to NIST. As the test results were submitted to NIST, they were organized
into appropriate data files used for review of accuracy and for analysis. These files were compared
to the data recorded in the test workbooks, and corrections were made as needed. Again with this
ILS, there were missing data in the workbooks and incorrect units reported. The computer files again
showed typos, transposed numbers and mixed units. There were 6,480 test results returned from the
main ILS. Of these data, approximately five percent contained errors of the types discussed above.
One operator in each of two laboratories failed to enter all the ignition data in the lab workbooks;
however, all data were entered into the computer files. Less than 0.3 percent of the ignition data
were missing from the workbooks.

53


Table 2. Ignition Propensity of Series 100 Experimental Cigarettes [3]

10


to bottom of the bun. As will be seen, the impact on the inter- and intra-lab variability was at an
acceptable level. This means that the density and permeability range typical of current foam
manufacturing practice are an acceptably small source of scatter in mock-up ignition behavior.

Table 14. Measured Air Permeability of Polyurethane Foam By ASTM D 3574
(Average of 3 to 4 samples at each location.)

Foam Bun ~~ Location Air Permeability
A Middle (1.83 + .02)x103 ms
(3.89 + .04 ft?/min)
A Top (2.00 + .03)x103 m3/s
(4.24 + .06 f3/min)
B Middle (1.80 + .01)x10 mys
(3.82 + .03 ft?/min)
B Top (2.01 + .02)x103 mys
(4.26 + .03 ft?/min)

Polyethylene Film. In one of the mock-up configurations ultimately included in the test method
described below, a polyethylene film was placed between the fabric and foam as an additional heat
sink to make the mock-up more ignition resistant. Inadvertently, different films were used in the

preliminary and the main interlaboratory studies described below. Table 15 lists the properties of the
two films.

Table 15. Properties of Polyethylene Films Used in Conjunction with Duck #4

: , ‘Warp Bros, Inc.
(Preliminary RR) (Main RR)

| Thickness (mm) 0.15 + .007 0.13 + .005
|| Density (g/cm?) 0.79 1.15
Areal Density (g/cm?) 0.012 0.015

Melting Points (°C)° 115,122

| itanceaes —Ses
* ‘Two distinct peaks for crystalline regions were found for each polymer film.

As will be seen below in comparing the preliminary and main interlaboratory results, these property
differences (most likely the areal density difference) were sufficient to yield differing ignition
propensity measurements on two cigarettes in the interlaboratory studies. The film to be used in the

27


i als
0
ifs
Lo LN
0.75,
Dimensions (inches) Mater ial: PMMA —,

Figure E-1. Details of the Filter Paper Holder Support Structure.

E-7



Self-Extinguishments

‘Non-Ignitions

47


Table 5. Comparison of Ignition Propensities for Series 100 and 500 Cigarettes

Series 100 Cigarettes Series 500 Cigarettes
TSG Cig. No. Number of 4% Ignitions TAG Cig. No. Number of % Ignitions
Ignitions Ignitions

L. su
1720 5 506 972 13
4720 20 530 or 0
108 7720 35 508 2arn2 33
129 10/20 50 529 12/72 17
101 13/20 65 501 70/12 97
131 15/20 15 531 41f2 65
103 17/720 8s 503 72 99
120 20/20 100 520 72N2 100

_

B. Mock-Up Ignition Test Method

This section begins with a brief review of the past use of upholstered furniture mock-ups. It
continues with a detailed discussion of the individual factors considered in the final design of this test
method, which uses mock-ups to measure ignition propensity of cigarettes. The method itself is
delineated in Appendix B.

1. Previous Use of Mock-Ups

As noted above, an upholstery mock-up is a reproduction of the upholstered furniture ignition
problem. This has led to the widespread use of mock-ups in conjunction with the assessment of the
vulnerability of upholstery materials to cigarette ignition. Much of this work is reviewed in reference
[7]. Essentially all of the early work in this area was focused on the assessment of the cigarette
ignitability of upholstery materials with a particular emphasis on fabrics. One standard test method
for upholstered furniture ignition, NFPA 260, for example, uses a single cigarette type and a single
type of polyurethane foam to test fabrics and divide them into classes dependent on the extent of
smolder spread away from the cigarette coal [8].

More recently, the cigarette type has been varied to discern the extent to which its parameters affect
mock-up ignition. Thrig et al. [4], tested four cigarettes on mock-ups constructed from 33 commercial
cellulosic upholstery fabrics of varied weight and construction; the underlying cushioning material was
either cotton batting or a single polyurethane foam. The mock-up configurations included flat, 90°
crevice and 20° crevice (a crevice configuration involves two separate foam-covered cushions brought
together at the angle indicated). The principal cigarette variables were circumference and tobacco
packing density. From a statistical analysis of their results, the authors concluded that the fabric
variables (alkali metal ion content, weight and density) dominated the behavior of the ignition
process; only the total radiative heat output of the cigarette had a significant impact of the likelihood

13


expected to be smaller than that above, which is already only about 1/4 of the oxygen supply available
from above the fabric plane. The implication is that changes in fabric diffusion resistance with
changes in fabric structure or weight can be expected to be secondary in their impact on the behavior
of the cigarette coal.

Ignition of the fabric itself, below the cigarette coal, probably relies significantly on the above oxygen

flux, at least until the reaction zone can spread outward slightly to the point of getting more oxygen

from above the fabric plane. Variations in fabric diffusion resistance would not affect this

appreciably; the above estimate does not depend on fabric diffusion resistance.

REFERENCES

[C-1] Gann, R., Harris, R., Krasny, J., Levine, R., Mitler, H. and Ohlemiller, T, "The Effect of
Cigarette Characteristics on the Ignition of Soft Furnishings," NBS Technical Note 1241, U.S.
National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg MD, 1987.

[C-2] Baker, R., Beitr z. Tabakforsch. Int'l, 11, 1982, p .181.

[C-3] Muramatsu, M., Umemura, S., and Okada, T., Nippon Kagaku Kaishi, 10, 1978, p.1441.

[C-4] Crank, J., The Mathematics of Diffusion, Oxford at Clarendon Press, London, (1956) p. 98.

C4


Reactive Substrates. Reactive substrates undergo significant chemical change when heated by a
cigarette coal. In the present study, the need was to identify reactive substrates that had advantages
over the foam/fabric assemblies. Thus, these materials had to be:

easily obtained now and in the future;
well-characterized;

highly uniform, both within a sample and batch-to-batch;
smooth-surfaced; and

available in large quantities.

eoeee

After screening tests were conducted on several substrate materials (e.g., lens paper, different grades
of filter paper, bond paper, etc.), Whatman #2 filter paper emerged as the choice. The idea for
using an alpha cellulose substrate had originated with Krasny in 1981 [32]. He used multiple layers
of alpha-cellulose to support the cigarette. Since the smoldering promotor ion concentration is very
small in these papers, any charring of the substrate is limited to the cigarette/substrate contact area.
When the cigarette extinguishes, the substrate will not continue to smolder.

Here, it was initially assumed that the smoldering rate of a cigarette in contact with the substrate
could be used as an indicator of ignition propensity. That is, the heat loss to the pyrolyzing paper
would slow the burning rate of a cigarette; and at some magnitude of heat loss, the cigarette would
self-extinguish. Since a single sheet of the paper is thermally-thin (small temperature gradient
through its depth), more layers would extract more heat. Preliminary experiments were aimed at
developing a relationship between cigarette burn rate and substrate thickness as defined by the
number of filter layers in the substrate assembly. It was expected that as the number of filter paper
layers increased, the burning rate would decrease. As was true for all the work performed in this
program, tests were conducted in a enclosure system comparable to that used in the mock-up testing
program described in the TSG report [3].

Figure 12 shows the smoldering rates of three TSG cigarettes as a function of the number of filter
papers in the substrate assembly. There is a general downward trend in the data for a given cigarette.
The changes, however, are not sufficient to discriminate even among cigarettes of distinctly differing
ignition propensities, such as cigarette 106 with a TSG rating of 5% ignitions and cigarette 112 with
a TSG rating of 100% ignitions.

However, it was noted that, as the number of filter paper layers was increased, specific cigarettes
would not burn their entire length. Therefore, further work was directed at whether there was a
relationship between the maximum number of filter papers in a substrate assembly that just allows
a cigarette to burn its entire length and its ignition propensity as defined by the TSG ignition
probabilities. A simple apparatus consisting of layers of filter paper on a metal ring was used to test
the hypothesis. The preliminary data (3-5 replicates) in Figure 13 show that such a relationship does
exist. The correlation covers a wide dynamic range: TSG ignition probabilities from 5% to 100% and
1 to 20 layers of filter paper.”

7 Note that there is nothing to be gained by going to an indefinitely greater number of sheets.

The heat from the cigarette can penetrate only so far in the time available. It is estimated
that 25-30 sheets constitute a thermally thick medium.

80


Based on the various experimental results described above and careful, detailed specification of the
test procedure, NIST subsequently moved several of the variables in the "B" and "C" columns to the
"A" column. These included:

° additives and impurities of the materials and their physical properties;
. fabric tension, retention method, and configuration; and
. mockup location in the box.

Others were assigned as variables to be assessed during the interlaboratory study:

. the operator variables,
. materials conditioning, and
. relative humidity and temperature in both the conditioning and test rooms.

The series of items under "cigarette ignition procedure" was resolved based upon data from NIST and
the cigarette industry. These studies combined to establish a procedure that had minimal impact on

ignition propensity:
. ignition by a gas lighter with a fixed flame size,

° a cigarette pre-burn, in the vertical orientation, to a length of 15 mm subsequent to
ignition and prior to cigarette placement on the substrate,

° transport in a vertical orientation of the cigarette to the test chamber, so as not to
dislodge the ash.

Since no significant changes in ignition propensity had been observed during the course of this study,
it was presumed that “fresh” substrate materials did not age substantially over a year.

Table 18 is instructive in that it indicates the large number of variables which must be considered and
controlled in order to assure a reproducible test outcome. Most are handled in a prescriptive manner
by restrictions on materials and by a very explicit test procedure.


Table 25. Large Glass Bead Non-Reactive Substrate Test Results
for Selected Cigarettes and Air Speeds

390 + 345

Table 26. Re-test of Selected Cigarettes on Large Glass Bead Substrate;
Air Speed = 0.44 cm/min

540 + 100
3/5 740 + 25
o/s 145 + 130

Glass Rods. The bed of glass beads was replaced by a pair of parallel glass rods, which were
positioned on the supporting screen described above. The cigarette was placed on the rods
parallel to their length, and the rods were spaced to ensure minimal contact between the
cigarette and the glass rods. Air flowed upward past the smoldering cigarette as in the
previous experiments. All the test cigarettes self-extinguished. This avenue of research was
not pursued any further, although several test variables could have been adjusted that might
have improved the discrimination capabilities of the test setup. These include: varying the
temperature of the imposed airflow, replacing the glass rods with other materials, and altering
the temperature of the supporting rods.

75


were completed by the middle of October, 1992. Most laboratories began testing the practice
cigarette materials shortly after the coordinator visit was completed. Upon receiving the reports by
FAX on the practice round, NIST reviewed the data; and laboratories were given permission to start
the main round. All laboratories completed their assigned test work and submitted their data to
NIST by the middle of December, 1992.

Impact of Preliminary Round: Environmental Conditions. In the preliminary study, the conditioning
room and test room environments had different specifications. Conditioning room/chamber relative
humidity was to be controlled at 50 + 5 %. The test room was to be controlled at a level of 55 +
10% RH. This difference in environmental conditions appeared to create some confusion within the
participating laboratories. Therefore, discussions with the laboratories and a review of test results
brought about agreement on a change to the required conditions. When the test procedure was
rewritten for the main ILS, it included a single new environmental requirement for both conditioning
room and test rooms: 55 + 5% RH. This modification of the procedure also allowed the cigarette
company labs to operate under conditions normal to their needs, and it also allowed laboratories
using test procedures requiring relative humidities of 50% to maintain their normal laboratory
conditions.

Impact of Preliminary Round: Selecting Cigarette Test Weights. In the preliminary ILS, NIST
sampled and weighed each test cigarette lot to establish the range of cigarette weights to be tested.
In the main study, this process was transferred to each laboratory. The laboratories were shipped
approximately 200 cigarettes of each type and were instructed to follow this same procedure in
determining the proper weights of cigarettes to be tested from each lot.

Impact of Preliminary Round: Cigarette Self-Extinction. In the preliminary ILS, it was found that
certain types of cigarettes had burning characteristics that resulted in self-extinction shortly after they
were ignited. Such a cigarette would often go out before being laid onto the mock-up assembly;
hence it was discarded and the test was re-run. Even if one of these cigarettes burned long enough
to be placed onto the mock-up, it would soon self-extinguish. It became apparent that this portion
of the test procedure could be modified to indicate a self-extinction at any point after a cigarette was
properly ignited. During the main ILS, it was specified that if a cigarette should self-extinguish at
any point after being properly ignited, even if it had not been placed onto the mock-up, the test was
complete. Data from such cases were recorded as self-extinctions.

52


Non-Woven Glass Fiber Paper. In all cases, cigarettes burned their entire length when placed
on a single sheet of non-woven glass fiber filter paper (with the paper suspended horizontally
in air). The effective thermal inertia of this glass fiber filter paper was sufficiently low that
it extracted heat from the burning cigarette less effectively than did the glass beads. While
it was expected that multiple layers of this filter paper would reduce the likelihood of a
cigarette burning its entire length, no such effect was observed. Instead, cigarettes such as
106 would continue burning even when supported on 10 layers of glass fiber filter paper.

This result suggested that it might be possible to use this type of filter paper to measure the
heat transfer from a smoldering cigarette to a substrate material. An apparatus (Figure 9)
was designed and constructed that consisted of a PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) box with
outside dimensions of 90 mm by 125 mm by 25 mm. A sheet of the glass fiber filter paper
served as a cover. Three thermocouples were placed along a long diagonal of the box in an
air gap approximately 12.7 mm deep between the box cover paper and the interior base of
the box. The thermocouples were wired in parallel to monitor the average temperature of
the three sensors.

Figure 10 shows a typical plot of the results from a single test. The graph shows the
temperature-time history resulting from a complete cigarette burn. Several attempts were
made to summarize and interpret the results of a single test. The best correlation to cigarette
ignition propensity was an estimated heat transfer to the air gap. This involved computing
a number proportional to an approximate measure of the heat content of the air in the gap,
as follows:

Q! = Ty X ty (°C - min)

where
T= Peak temperature (°C)
Tpk = Time of peak temperature (min)

Figure 11 summarizes the results for 16 different cigarettes, plotting the estimated heat
content as a function of percentage mock-up ignitions from the TSG study [3]. While the
data suggest that a correlation exists, the method requires further investigation and refine-
ment. It was found that results could be dramatically affected by the specific location of the
cigarette on the glass fiber filter relative to the thermocouples. Also, in order to yield repeat-
able results, the holder assembly needed to be cooled to ambient conditions between tests
(this could take 20 to 30 minutes). Additional work along these lines was not pursued
because of the success of the reactive substrate method described below.

76


VI. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful assistance of numerous persons who helped make this
study possible. The Consumer Product Safety Commission funded this program. Throughout this
study, there were many helpful interactions with CPSC staff, especially Bea Harwood, James Hoebel,
and Roy Deppa, who also served as technical monitor for the NIST work.

Michael Smith and Hartley Abraham performed the majority of the cigarette testing with assistance
from Jack Lee, Russell Loy, Arnold Liu and Ronald McCombs. Henry Wheelock designed and
fabricated much of the test apparatus. John Shields provided extensive help in efforts to prepare
doped fabrics and in characterization of the ignition process. Robin Breese assisted in thermal
analyses and plotting the data. Dick Zile, Lauren DeLauter, Gary Roadarmel and Roy McLane
helped with the randomizing of the materials samples. John Krasny provided helpful discussions
throughout the study.

Lisa Oakley, of the NIST Statistical Engineering Division, assisted with statistical computing and
preparation of statistical graphics for this report; Dr. Raghu Kacker, also of the NIST Statistical
Engineering Division, participated, along with Magdalena Navarro, in designing the interlaboratory
studies and the NIST experimental work that preceded them; and Dr. Terry Kissinger of the
Consumer Product Safety Commission provided helpful suggestions on the statistical analyses.

Various people in industry provided useful information in specific areas. Dr. Alexander Spears of
Lorillard coordinated the cigarette industry manufacture of the Series 500 experimental cigarettes and
also the transferring of the commercial cigarettes from the Tobacco Institute Testing Laboratory to
NIST. Wayne Smith of West Point Pepperell was especially helpful in providing data on the
potassium content of cotton ducks. Hardy Poole of the American Textile Manufacturers Institute
provided alternative cotton ducks for assessment. Paul Weinle, Hugh Talley, and Bill Jones, Mike
McDonnell, Joe Guerriera and many others who provided property information on materials are
gratefully acknowledged.

Finally, the authors wish to thank the members of the Technical Advisory Group under the Fire Safe

Cigarette Act of 1990 for helpful comments on this text and to the staffs of the nine laboratories that
participated in the interlaboratory study.

111


[29]

B90]

B1]

B2]

B3]

B4]

ASTM Method E 648-91, "Standard Method for Critical Radiant Flux of Floor-Covering
Systems," American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA.

E 662-83, "Standard Test Method for Specific Optical Density of Smoke Generated by Solid
Materials," American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA.

E 1354-90, “Standard Test Method for Heat and Visible Smoke Release for Materials and
Products Using an Oxygen Consumption Calorimeter," American Society for Testing and
Materials, Philadelphia, PA.

Krasny, J., Allen, P, Maldonado, A. and Juarez, N., “Development of a Candidate Test
Method for the Measurement of the Propensity of Cigarettes to Cause Smoldering Ignition
of Upholstered Furniture and Mattresses,” National Bureau of Standards, NBSIR 81-2363,
1981.

Norman, V., "Some Considerations Concerning the Heat Output of Cigarettes,” Presentation
to the Technical Study Group, March, 1985.

“Tar, Nicotine, and Carbon Monoxide of the Smoke of 534 Varieties of Domestic Cigarettes,"
Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC, 1992.

114


Table 7. Cation Content of Fabrics Used in the Preliminary
and Main Interlaboratory Studies

| Duck Number- {Cation} (ppm + one Standard Deviation)

Bolt Number Nat cos Kt Mg*? Cat?
4-46° <20 45754133 607419 691426
4-48" <10 4243437 582+6 68345

4-50 <15 4477475 567+12 607+56
4-52 <20 45464125 566429 575444
4-54 <25 4528+55 558+5 569+21
4-56 <20 4510444 56443 564 16

6-65 <20 5667+185 653+13 74813
6-67 <35 5900+ 107 656+ 12 727425
6-69 <45 4573257 573+19 57537
6-71 <30 5742102 633+19 690+37
6-73 <15 44394143 57814 650411
10-57 <50 4445488 60749 108+16
10-58 <60 4214471 580+10 691+17
10-59" <20 4422494 605+14
10-61 <60 42244111 590+12
4069+ 162

* Used in preliminary interlaboratory study; otherwise used in main interlaboratory study

21


The burning cigarette and substrate are observed. The smoke plume near the cigarette
should remain undisturbed; if not, note your observations on the test sheet. A time record
is kept from when the cigarette is placed onto the substrate assembly until either:

(1) self-extinguishment (the coal goes out before the tobacco column is consumed),
(2) total burn (the tobacco column burns to the end).

It may be helpful to darken the room intermittently or use a dark background behind the test
chamber to observe if the cigarette continues to burn. Record the time that the cigarette
stops burning on the test sheet. After recording the time, observe the substrate assembly for
1 to 2 minutes to insure that smoldering has stopped. Measurements are made to document
the length of unburned cigarette for those not burning to the filter. Record this measure-
ment to the nearest mm.

After a test is completed, leave the test chamber door open to allow air to circulate

throughout the chamber volume. After the chamber has been cleared, preparations may
begin for additional testing.

E-6


TEST METHODS FOR QUANTIFYING
THE PROPENSITY OF CIGARETTES
TO IGNITE SOFT FURNISHINGS

Thomas J. Ohlemiller*, Kay M. Villa*», Emil Braun?, Keith R. Eberhardt’,
Richard H. Harris, Jr.2, J. Randall Lawson’, and Richard G. Gann?

* Building and Fire Research Laboratory
© Computing and Applied Mathematics Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

> Current Affiliation: American Textile Manufacturers Institute

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Cigarette ignition of soft furnishings (upholstered furniture and mattresses) continues to be the
leading cause of fire deaths in the United States. In 1990, the nation experienced 1220 lost lives,
3358 serious civilian injuries, and $400 million in direct property loss from 44,000 cigarette-initiated
fires in structures. This publication describes the research performed and the results obtained in
responding to two tasks under the Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990 (PL. 101-352):

"(1) develop a standard test method to determine cigarette ignition propensity, and

(2) compile performance data for cigarettes using the standard test method developed under
paragraph (1)"

as part of an assessment of the practicability of developing a performance standard to reduce cigarette
ignition propensity. This research builds on previous studies directed by the Technical Study Group
(TSG) under the Cigarette Safety Act of 1984 (PL. 98-567) and related work performed by the
cigarette industry.

The principal content of the report is documentation of the selection, development and final form
of two test methods for cigarette ignition propensity. They are intended to fulfill two potential roles:
(a) the basis for a possible performance standard, and (b) assistance to the cigarette industry in
meeting the goals of any such regulation and in quality assurance testing. Both methods have valid
links (comparable to many current fire test methods) to many real-world fire scenarios of concern.
Both incorporate most of the relevant physics and chemistry of such ignitions, while replicating the
real-world hazard to differing extents. They are both performance tests, as contrasted with product
design specifications. Both tests offer the use of a graded measure of performance, where acceptable
levels can be set by the regulator. The research and this report do not address specific regulatory
criteria.


Test Frame

Substrate Assembly

Cigarette

Figure B-3, Location of Cigarette on Mock-Up Method Substrate Assembly.

B-9



Table D-2. Cation Content of #6 Cotton Duck

Sample ID
6-65-4-1
6-65-30-2
6-65-60-3
6-65-90-6

. 6-65-121-5
6-67-1-43
6-67-32-2
6-67-60-5
6-67-90-4

6-67-121-2
6-69-36-4
6-69-61-1
6-69-95-6
6-69-120-3
6-71-26-62
6-71-64-4
6-71-90-2
6-71-131-1
6-73-34-5
6-73-60-4
6-73-91-6



The vacuum draw apparatus for igniting cigarettes shall be calibrated each week before the
beginning of testing. A soap film bubble flowmeter shall be connected to the inlet of the
vacuum apparatus at the cigarette attachment point. The vacuum pump is started and
adjusted to provide an air flow of 1000 + 50 mi/min. This flow and range of variation shall
be noted and recorded in the laboratory’s calibration records for the vacuum system’s
Totameter.

The humidity and temperature sensors used to record environmental conditions in the
conditioning room/chamber and test room shall be checked for accuracy each week. This
shall be accomplished by comparing their readings with a calibrated psychrometer and
thermometer. A record of calibration adjustments shall be kept for each hygrothermograph
used in the conditioning and test rooms.

The laboratory balance shall be calibrated each week. The calibration is checked by leveling
the balance and weighing a calibrated 1.00 g mass. If the balance is found not to be within
specifications, make adjustments as needed to bring the device into compliance. Record the
results in your laboratory’s calibration files.

Test Specimens and Substrates:

Cigarette test specimens and the test substrates are sensitive to contamination. At all times when
these materials are handled, clean plastic or rubber gloves shall be worn.

1.

Cigarette test specimens shall be protected from physical or environmental damage while in
storage. It is important that the specimens not be crushed or deformed in any manner.
Measures shall be taken to insure that specimens are not contaminated by foreign materials
while in storage, and they shall be protected from degradation by insects. If the specimens
are to be stored for more than one week, they shall be placed in a freezer reserved for the
sole protection of the cigarette specimens.

Substrate materials consist of 150 mm diameter circles of Whatman #2 filter paper.
Substrates are formed by placing multiple layers of filter paper into the holder assembly. The
filter paper should be placed in the holder assembly with the brass ring on top of the
specified number of filter papers to ensure good contact between the layers.

Conditioning:

Cigarettes and substrate materials are conditioned at 55S + 5 % RH and 23 + 3 °C for at
least 24 hours prior to ignition testing. While conditioning, the cigarettes are contained
vertically, with filter up, in clean 250 ml polyethylene or glass beakers with a maximum of 20
cigarettes per beaker to assure free air access to the specimens.


1. General Description of Mock-Up Ignition Test Method

This test method depends on seven components which are considered to be critical:

. a test operator skilled in basic laboratory techniques,

° an environmental room/chamber for preconditioning the cigarettes and mock-up
assemblies,

. an environmentally-controlled test room,

° a cigarette lighting apparatus,

° a test chamber,

° a furniture mock-up assembly, and

. the cigarette to be tested.

A photograph of a test chamber containing a mock-up assembly and a cigarette is shown in Figure
1. The test procedure is fully described in Appendix B. The following gives a brief description of
the test method.

This test procedure begins with the operator preparing the mock-up assemblies in a conditioned
environment. Clean, gloved hands are used at all times during the test procedure when handling
mock-ups and cigarettes (to preclude salt contamination). The mock-ups and cigarettes are
conditioned for at least 24 hours at 55 + 5 % relative humidity (RH) and 23 + 3 °C. After
conditioning, the test materials may be moved from the conditioning room/chamber to the test room
in sealed plastic bags just prior to testing. The test room is conditioned to the same relative humidity
and temperature levels as the conditioning room. (Note the test room conditioning was specified
somewhat differently in the preliminary interlaboratory study). The vacuum draw ignition apparatus
is calibrated to a flow of 1000 cc/min. The mock-up assembly is placed into the test chamber’s center
and a cigarette test specimen is selected and weighed. If the cigarette weight falls within the required
test range for that lot of specimens, a pencil mark is placed on the seam side, 15 mm from the tip.
The vacuum draw apparatus is started and the cigarette is placed into the apparatus holder. A
butane gas cigarette lighter with a pre-set, 15 mm high flame is ignited and held to the end of the
cigarette for three seconds. The lit cigarette is carefully removed from the ignition apparatus and is
moved to the test chamber where it is placed into a cigarette holder located on the center of the
mock-up assembly. The chamber door is closed, and the cigarette is allowed to burn down to the 15
mm mark. At this point, the cigarette and holder are removed from the mock-up. The cigarette
holder is placed into the test chamber’s corner and the cigarette is carefully placed diagonally across
the mock-up assembly with the ash located at the center of the mock-up. A stopwatch is started to
measure the burning time of the cigarette. If the ash falls off at any point in this process, another
cigarette is selected; and the process starts again as above. The cigarette is allowed to burn until one
of the following occurs:

° self-extinction of the cigarette,

36


16.

17.

F-5.

F-6.

Environmental Conditions Reported by the Laboratories Participating in the
Interlaboratory Study of the Cigarette Extinction Test Method

Plot Showing Empirical Relation of Reproducibility Variance to Repeatability

Variance for the Cigarette Extinction Test Method ............0 00 cece eee eee 98
Schematic of Test Chamber Components ......... 66sec cee cee cece eee B-7
Schematic of Vacuum Draw Apparatus ...... 20... 6 cece eee eee eee eet eee B-8
Location of Cigarette on Mock-Up Mcthod Substrate Assembly ............-.60- B-9
Details of the Filter Paper Holder Support Structure .. 2.2.6.0... 6 eee eee ee eee E-7
Brass Holddown Ring and Cigarette Motion Restrainers ...........0 000 eee eee E-8
TG Behavior of Two Samples of Cotton Duck #4 2.0... 0... e cece eee eee eee F-2
TG Behavior of Two Samples of Cotton Duck #6 21.2.0... 00: c cece eee eens F3
TG Behavior of Two Samples of Cotton Duck #10 2.2.2.6... 0c cece eee eee eee F-4
Derivative TG Data: Two Polyurethane Foam Samples from Top and Bottom of

Original Bun 2... 6. eee ee eee eens F-5
TG Data for Two Samples of Polyethylene Film ........... 6000s eee eee eens F6
TG Data for Two Samples of Whatman Filter Paper... .. 50-0... 0 eee eee eee F-7

viii


It was also desirable to have at least one mock-up which would be resistant to all but the most
ignition prone cigarettes (e.g., TSG rankings of 15/20 through 20/20). It is well known that polyester
battings used in upholstered furniture act as a heat sink and absorb the energy from a smoldering
cigarette. This suggested the use of a similar concept, the use of a thin, high density heat sink
material in better thermal contact with the fabric than is the case with low density batting. This was
incorporated into a mock-up consisting of the heaviest fabric, duck #4, and a thin thermoplastic film
to serve the role of added heat sink. The Poly-America film listed in Table 15 served this role.
Generally, cigarettes with a TSG test result of 16/20 ignitions and above are required to ignite this
substrate though there was at least one anomaly (cigarette 102, with a TSG rating of 12/20 gave six
ignitions in six replicates). The Warp Brothers PE film used in the main round robin proved even
more ignition resistant.

5. Enclosure Design; Air Flow Considerations

The reason for enclosing the mock-up during a test is to isolate it from random, uncontrolled air
currents which could lead to non-reproducible ignition behavior. A very simple open-top enclosure
was utilized in the previous study [3]. This was reasonably effective, but it did not completely prevent
eddies induced by the laboratory ventilation system from causing occasional visible disturbances of
the smoke plume issuing from a cigarette on top of a mock-up. The flow disturbances were measured
at up to 8 cm/s. The data from those mock-up tests correlated well with those from full-scale tests
in which the air flow disturbances were similarly random (in time and orientation) but of somewhat
greater magnitude (12-13 cm/s) [3].

The mock-up enclosure used in the present study is a modification of that designed by the cigarette
industry for their own round robin testing. Figure B-1 in Appendix B shows a schematic of the
enclosure and the associated smoke exhaust hood. The flow in the neighborhood of the cigarette is
sufficiently low that the smoke plume rises totally undisturbed (visually) up into the chimney. Since
the cigarette plume must act as a weak pump carrying some air out of the box, some replacement air
must flow down the outer portions of the chimney, but its velocity is too low to measure. The oxygen
level at the height of a burning cigarette drops no more than 0.1 to 0.2 % (below normal ambient
levels) when a cigarette burns its full length in this box.

The cigarette industry has expressed concern about the role of ambient air flow and its potential
ability to modify the ignition propensity of cigarettes. Changes of greatest concern would manifest
themselves as alterations in the rank ordering of the cigarettes’ ignition propensities at different air
velocities. Of lesser concern is the potential for all ignition propensities to increase uniformly.
Assessment of any changes in ignition propensities must consider the reproducibilities of both the
study that generates such information and of the cigarette ignition test methods themselves. The
former has not been addressed; the latter is discussed below in light of the interlaboratory study
results. For the present, it is important to note that shifts in relative ignition propensity must be
substantial (£e., 35% or more) to be judged significant. Cigarette industry staff have made several
presentations of their studies of the air flow effects on ignition propensity. The most thorough and
meaningful of these, in light of the above caveat, is discussed here.

In reference [20], Adiga et al. report on the effects of steady, low velocity flows impinging on
cigarettes in the same direction as that in which the coal is moving. (This head-on flow impingement
is the worst case with regard to impingement angle [21]. The steady, uni-directional nature of

30


Vv. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The research funded under the Cigarette Safety Act of 1984 (P.L.98-567) and the Fire Safe Cigarette
Act of 1990 (PL. 101-352) has led to the development of two test methods for measuring the ignition
propensity of cigarettes.

° The Mock-Up Ignition Test Method uses substrates physically similar to upholstered
furniture and mattresses: a layer of fabric over padding. The measure of cigarette
performance is ignition or non-ignition of the substrate.

. The Cigarette Extinction Test Method replaces the fabric/padding assembly with
multiple layers of common filter paper. The measure of performance is full-length
burning or self-extinguishment of the cigarette.

The 14 best-selling commercial cigarette packings and six other commercial packings were examined
using the two methods. Both methods showed reduced ignition propensities for five of the six
specialty cigarettes relative to the best sellers.

For a product standard at present, there is a preference for using the Mock-Up Ignition Test Method
because it is capable of better discrimination among cigarettes of high/moderate ignition propensity.
However, routine measurement of the relative ignition propensity of cigarettes is feasible using either
of the two methods.

Improved cigarette performance under both methods has been linked with reduced ignition behavior
in full-scale chairs constructed using fabrics that differ substantially from the materials in the test
methods. It is reasonable to assume that this implies an analogous benefit of reduced ignitability is
to be found in the real world population of upholstered furniture. However, the precise incremental
life and property savings that would accrue from the use of the test methods described here in
conjunction with a particular test criterion has not been established.

Both methods have been subjected to interlaboratory study. The resulting reproducibilities were
comparable to each other and comparable or superior to most currently-used standard fire tests.

110


Table 1. Description of Series 100 Experimental Cigarettes

_Packlng Description :
Experimental “Tobecco® Packing ‘Paper Paper Cream.
Designation Blend denelty Porosity ‘Additive (mm)
101 BNLC-21 Burley Non-Fxpanded Low Citrate a
102 BNLN-21 Burley Non-Expanded No Citrate a
103 BNHC-21 Burley Non-Expanded High Citrate | a
104 BNHN-21 Burley Non-Expanded High No Citrate _ a4
105 BELC-21 Burley Expanded Low Citrate a
106 BELN-21 Burley Expanded Low No Citrate a
107 BEHC-21 Burley Expanded High Citrate a
108 BEHN-21 Burley Expanded High No Citrate a
109 FNLC-21 Flue-Cured Non-Fxpanded Low Citrate a
110 FNLN-21 Flue-Cured Non-Expanded Low No Citrate a
111 FNHC-21 Flue-Cured Non-Expanded High Citrate 2 |
112 FNHN-21 Flue-Cured Non-Expanded High No Citrate a
113 FELC-21 Flue-Cured Expanded Low Citrate 2
114 FELN-21 Flue-Cured Expanded Low No Citrate a
11$ FEHC-21 Flue-Cured Expanded High Citrate a |
116 FEHN-21 Flue-Cured Expanded High No Citrate a
117 BNLC-25 Burley Non-Expanded Low Citrate 2B
118 BNLN-25 Burley Non-Fxpanded Low No Citrate r]
119 BNHC-25 Burley Non-Fxpanded High Citrate pad
120 BNHN-25 Burley Non-Expanded High No Citrate 25
121 BELC-25 Burley Expanded Low Citrate 2s
122 BELN-25 Burley Expanded Low No Citrate 3
123 BEHC-25 Burley Expanded High Citrate 23
124 BEHN-25 Burley Expanded High No Citrate 2s
125 FNLC-25 Flue-Cured Non-Expanded Low Citrate 25
126 FNLN-25 Flue-Cured Non-Expanded Low No Citrate 2B
127 FNHC-25 Flue-Cured Non-Expanded Low Citrate 3
128 FNHN-25 Plue-Cured Non-Expanded High No Citrate 25
129 FELC-25 Flue-Cured Expanded Low Citrate Bs
130 FELN-25 Flue-Cured Expanded Low No Citrate 2
131 FEHC-25 Flue-Cured Expanded High Citrate 2s
132 FEHN-25 Flue-Cured Expanded High No Citrate 25



a fixed number of results are possible. An example might be marksman ratings, which are based on
the number of "hits" from a selected number of shots fired. Another example is tire traction ratings
which place all results in a small number of categories. In each of these two examples, one obtains
qualitative information about the performance of the product, relative to both the scale for evaluation
and to other products. By contrast, a pass/fail test only provides an indicator of acceptability. For
example, if you cannot read the eye chart correctly, you won’t qualify for a driving license.

It is possible for a single type of test apparatus to be used in multiple modes. Consider the
upholstered furniture mock-up experiments performed under the TSG program [3]. One could
perform 10 ignition tests for a given cigarette on each of 3 mock-up constructions. A possible
continuous output could be the mean time for ignition to occur, taking into account those tests that
did not result in ignition. A discrete measure could be the number of tests that led to ignition. A
pass/fail use might dictate that no cigarette burn longer than 1 minute on the mock-up.

As can be seen from the above examples, all of these types of methods are acceptable in everyday
usage. However, it is preferable but not mandatory for product regulation that a test method provide
a graded measure of performance. In this context it then becomes important to quantify the level
of precision warranted by the measurements. This includes both the degree to which a single tester
will reproduce the same result in multiple tests (repeatability) and the range of results that would be
obtained when different testers perform the procedure (reproducibility). This will be discussed
further in a later section.

3. Figure of Merit

‘Test methods may also be grouped by what it is that they measure. A design or property test measures
a physical or chemical feature of the product. Thus, utilizing such a test method one might
(improperly) extrapolate the results of the TSG study [2] and require that all cigarettes should be
fabricated of tobacco below a prescribed packing density, be of less than a prescribed circumference,
and be fabricated using paper of air permeability below a prescribed value. Alternatively, an index
could be prescribed combining these factors. This kind of test presumes that the other descriptors
of the product do not affect the desired performance. The result of a prescriptive regulation based
on a property test is a (partial) description of the product.

By contrast, a performance test simulates the conditions of the (undesirable) outcome of the product’s
use. The TSG furniture mock-up testing is a convenient example. A regulation based on this kind
of test would not directly dictate the physical nature of the cigarette. However, it might impose
subtle limitations. For example, a 5 cm x 5 cm mock-up surface could not support a 15 cm long
cigarette while exposing the fabric to the coal. Very long cigarettes would thus be discriminated
against by the method, possibly restricting their introduction into the marketplace.

The degree to which a performance test replicates the potential hazard leads to further consider-
ations. Ideally, the test should mimic the actual cigarette-initiated fire conditions as closely as
possible. Since the critical elements of these conditions are simply the cigarette and its immediate
environs, this would seem to be readily achievable. One need only abstract the region of the
upholstered chair, sofa or mattress that influences the ignition process and incorporate it in the test,
effectively achieving a full-scale simulation of the real-world hazard, In practice, these environs are
not unchanging; they may vary appreciably with furniture design and materials, as well as with the

4


10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19,

LIST OF TABLES

Page
Description of Series 100 Experimental Cigarettes 2.2.0... 0.0.00 cece cece ee eee 9
Ignition Propensity of Series 100 Experimental Cigarettes .............02.0002005 10
NIST Comparison of Series 100 and 500 Cigarette Weights ...............2.-04- 11
Cigarette Industry Comparison of Series 100 and 500 Cigarette Weights ............ 12
Comparison of Ignition Propensities for Series 100 and 500 Cigarettes ............. 13
Specified Nominal Properties of Fabrics ....... 0... cece eee e eee e eee eee eeee 17
Cation Content of Fabrics Used in the Preliminary
and Main Interlaboratory Studies ........ 0.0 cece eee eee cence een eee eeee 21

Potassium Content of West Point Pepperell Cotton Ducks Over a Four Month Period . 22

Sensitivity of Ignition Susceptibility to K* Content in Fabrics .............-...-4- 23
Ignition Susceptibility of Different #8 Cotton Duck Fabric Samples .............-- 23
Measured Areal Densities of Fabrics Used In Interlaboratory Study .............-. 25
Measured Air Permeability of Fabrics Used in

Interlaboratory Study and in TSG Study ....... 0... ccc c cece eee eee teen eee 25
Sensitivity of Ignition Susceptibility to Foam Properties ... 2.2... 0.0 eee eee eee eee 26
Measured Air Permeability of Polyurethane Foam By ASTM D 3574 .............+ 27
Properties of Polyethylene Films Used in Conjunction with Duck #4 .............5 27
Percent Ignitions on Various Substrates for Selected Cigarettes ...........0000005 29
Effect of Air Flow Disturbance on Cigarette Ignition Propensity ...............-- 32
Estimated Sensitivity of Mock-up Test Outcome to Test Variables .............++4- 35
Description of Interlaboratory Study Cigarettes 2.2.0.0... eee e eee eee eee eens 40
Variables in Analysis of Preliminary Interlaboratory Study ............--:e serene 44


10.

The conditioning room and test rooms shall be monitored by a recording hygrothermograph
(Cole-Parmer Model 8368-00 or equivalent). A Vista Scientific Corporation, battery operated
psychrometer or equivalent is used to measure relative humidity in the constant humidity box
and to calibrate the hygrothermograph.

Chemical or canopy hoods are needed for removing combustion products from the test room.
Air flows through these hoods shall be at a level which is necessary to remove cigarette and
substrate combustion products while not being high enough to influence combustion processes
in the test chambers.

Clean plastic or rubber gloves shall be provided for test operators when handling test
substrate materials and cigarettes.

A laboratory balance capable of weighing to 0.001 g with a repeatability of + 0.003 g is
required for weighing cigarette specimens.

A butane gas lighter capable of producing a stable luminous flame no longer than 20 mm is
required for igniting test cigarettes.

Water spray bottles or 25 mm diameter wax candles may be used for extinguishing smoldering
substrate assemblies. Appropriate fire-proof waste containers shall be used for disposal of
the ignition test materials.

Calibrations:

The following are guidelines for basic calibrations of test equipment used in this standard. Time
intervals stated in this method for calibrations are considered to be the minimum. Calibrations of
equipment shall be carried out at any time when equipment or test conditions indicate that evaluation
and recalibration may be necessary.

1,

The ignition test chambers shall be checked before use to insure that the front door seals
properly and that air movement in the test area does not introduce transient air movement
in the test chambers. Door seals are checked visually to insure that they are closed flush
against the chamber’s side wall and the latching device secures the door tightly. All
construction seams shall be inspected to insure that they are air tight and no cracks shall be
visible on any surface of the test chamber. If leaks are detected, measures shall be taken to
insure that these areas are again made air tight.

Stability of air inside of test chamber shall be determined by making a substrate mock-up and
placing it and a lighted cigarette on it in the test position. Observe air movement in the
chamber to insure that smoke being emitted by the cigarette is rising vertically and is not
showing turbulence within 150 mm above the lit end of the cigarette. If turbulence is noted:
1) the test chamber shall be checked for leaks, 2) the test chamber location shall be evaluated
for excess air flow in the laboratory, and 3) air flow rate of the exhaust system shall be
evaluated as the source of disturbance. Air flow in the test chamber shall be maintained to

B-2


on two (different) mock-ups. This does not mean that one mock-up can be omitted from the entire
test set, because the duplication of response occurs on differing mock-up pairs with differing
cigarettes. It does, however, suggest the possibility of the need for fewer replicates on at least one
mock-up, and possibly on two, for some cigarettes.

Figure 4 shows that the duck #4 mock-up is, for the set of cigarettes examined, consistently harder
to ignite than the other two mock-ups; and, in turn, the duck #6 mock-up is harder to ignite than
the duck #10 mock-up. If a cigarette were tested first on the duck #4 mock-up and gave all ignitions
in 48 replicates, it should be possible to do fewer replicates on the other two mock-ups to verify that
there were no unexpected reversals in ignition behavior. This could provide significant labor savings
on what is otherwise a rather labor-intensive test protocol,

Performing fewer than 48 tests will result in some loss of information, and a corresponding increase
in statistical uncertainty regarding the long-run ignition rate that would be observed for those mock-
ups. The (within-lab) statistical uncertainty, for any number of replications, can be quantified by use
of confidence bounds on the ignition probabilities for a given cigarette on a given mock-up, as
follows.

If a cigarette is tested on, e.g., the duck #4 mock-up, and all 48 replications result in ignitions, then
a 95% lower confidence bound on the long-run ignition probability is (1—0.95)!8 = 0.94. Speaking
loosely, one can be 95% confident that the ignition probability (in the same laboratory) is greater
than about 0.94. With that result, it may be sufficient for some purposes to know that the ignition
probability on the duck #6 and duck #10 mock-ups would be about 0.6 or higher, since the degree
of interlaboratory resolution is about 0.4, as noted above. If so, then only n=6 runs would be
requited, because (1—0.95)' = 0.61. That is, if 6 runs were conducted resulting in 6 ignitions, then
the 95% lower confidence bound for the ignition probability would be 0.61. There can be, of course,
no guarantee that 6 runs on a more ignitable mock-up would necessarily result in 6 ignitions. If one
or more non-ignitions did occur, it would be appropriate to run a full set of 48 replications for each
of the three mock-ups.

Table 31 shows the relationship between the number of runs and the corresponding lower confidence
bounds in the case of 100% ignitions. The table is useful for comparison and to help decide whether
the increased uncertainty due to running fewer than 48 replications is acceptable for a particular

purpose.

These same arguments can be made for any cigarette and mock-up combination where a 100%
response, either ignitions or non-ignitions, is obtained. It is the choice of the regulator whether this
trade-off is implemented in any adopted test method.

100


3 g
ii i
i = i) a Rl ele ele ele oe} ofc} oo} of olo
i elele ce] sis} e) sis =| 2 s[ s/s) 9/sle,s
q ” vay ajala wil wla aiwef{ wmf ol nl ola
2
i - “ “
3
g
34 a

59


of ignition. They also found that fabrics gave a graded ignition response (i.e., other than 0% or 100%
ignitions) only over a rather narrow range of properties.

In a subsequent study, Ihrig et al. [9] studied separately the impact of varying the characteristics
of the polyurethane foam. Here only two cigarettes and three fabrics were used, and all results were
for the 90° or 20° crevice mock-up configurations. The principal foam variable influencing mock-up
ignitability was found to be air permeability. It is probable that the sensitivity to this parameter is
greater in the crevice configurations used than it is in a flat mock-up. Once again, the sensitivity of
the ignition behavior of the system was inferred to be greater for a mock-up variable (foam air
permeability) than for the cigarette variable examined (radiative heat output per cigarette).

The potential impact of cigarette modifications on the ignition of upholstered furniture mock-ups may
be underestimated in these studies in that the cigarette designs were not varied as much as those in
the TSG study [3]. However, these studies do illustrate the point that the ignition or non-ignition
of a mock-up is dependent on both the cigarette design and the mock-up materials, Rhyne and
Spears [10] applied this point to actual furniture using the model developed in Ref. 9 and various
assumptions about the distributions of fabric and foam materials in the real world.

As will be seen below, variation in the properties of the fabric used in the mock-up provides a useful
means of discrimination among cigarette ignition propensities.

2. Fabric Considerations for a Mock-Up Test Method

The previous work revealed some of the advantages, sensitivities and limitations of mock-up testing
for research purposes. However, the present program is the first extensive effort to pursue a
standard test method for cigarette ignition propensity. Thus, comparatively little attention has been
given in previous work to the issue of the long-term reproducibility of the ignition behavior such
mock-ups produce.

The principal focus in this study of mock-up systems capable of long-term reproducibility has been
the consistency of the fabric. It is the fabric which most closely interacts with the cigarette and whose
ignition (when the substrate is a polyurethane foam) sets the stage for all subsequent behavior of the
mock-up. Both chemical and physical features of a fabric influence its smolder propensity.

It has long been known that the principal chemical feature affecting the smoldering ignition
propensity of a cellulosic fabric is its content of alkali metal and alkaline earth cations [11].
Sodium and potassium ions are particularly prevalent in such fabrics [4]. Potassium ions, in particular,
are present naturally in cotton; sodium ions appear to be commonly used in fabric dying processes.
Both are also introduced from perspiration and soiling [3]. These metal ions are present in the fabric
in the form of organic and/or inorganic salts. It has not been generally appreciated in the past that
the anion associated with the metal cation has a substantial influence on the effectiveness of the
metal in catalyzing fabric smoldering. Thus, in reference [4] the total sodium and potassium ion
content in 33 fabrics was reported along with fabric ignition temperatures and yarn "smolder
proclivity" (total time an individual yarn from a fabric smoldered); the correlation between these two
measures of smolder propensity and the total metal ion content showed a lot of scatter, possibly
because the metal ions were present in a variety of salts.

14


onward at the surface of the oxygen sink (here C, =0); a is the radius of the oxygen sink (taken here
as 0.35 cm, comparable to the radius of the cigarette); erfc indicates that the error function
complement is to be evaluated for the quantity in the brackets.

The oxygen flux of interest is that into the sink (coal) at r = a. This is given by the following:
a.
Mapp = 20D a

Here the derivative is found from the equation above to yield the following:

1
(xD?

Myzp = 2naD(C, - eo + ]

Using a value of oxygen diffusivity of 0.15 cm/s in the much cooler and slightly obstructed space
filled by the foam, one finds that this reduces to:

146)
Pa

Mypp = 3.15x10-°[2.86 +

This can then be used to calculate the diffusion flux from the foam space to the coal as a function
of time after placement of the cigarette on the substrate. See Table C-1 below.

Table C-1. Calculated Mass Flux of Oxygen from Foam to Coal

Mprp (g O,/sec)

Since this starts as an infinite diffusive flux at time zero, it is apparent that in only a few seconds it
settles down to a nearly constant, low oxygen supply rate. Recall that this does not account for the
diffusive resistance of the fabric for which we have no estimate. The actual flux to the coal is thus

C-3


For a product standard, there is a preference at present for using the Mock-Up Ignition Test Method,
because it is capable of better distinction among cigarettes of high ignition propensity. However,
routine measurement of the relative ignition propensity of cigarettes is feasible using either of the
two methods. The mock-up ignition method requires about 3 staff days to perform the 144 tests; the
cigarette extinction method, with its simpler substrates and 48 tests, about 1 staff day. A rationale
has been developed to reduce the number of tests for cigarettes of expected very high or very low
ignition propensity.

It is common practice, upon development of a fire test method for professional use, to proceed with
its adoption as a voluntary consensus standard in either the ASTM or the National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA). This report contains sufficient documentation of the two test methods and
interlaboratory evaluations of each. Thus, all necessary materials for initiating the standardization
process are now available.

‘Twenty current commercial cigarettes were tested using the two methods. Fourteen of these were
the best-selling packings, comprising nearly 40 percent of total sales in 1990. These cigarettes did not
vary widely in their physical characteristics. They showed consistent ignitions on all substrates using
the Mock-Up Ignition Method and consistently burned their full length on all substrates tested in the
Cigarette Extinction Method.

Also tested were six other packings, each having one or two physical parameters (¢.g., low
circumference, paper porosity, tobacco density) which deviate from the best-sellers in a direction
which prior research would suggest as likely to lower ignition propensity. All six of these packings
showed reduced ignition propensity in the Mock-Up Ignition Test Method. Four of these packings
rarely ignited the most difficult-to-ignite substrate; the other two ignited it in 40-70% of the tests.
Three of the four packings showed reduced ignition propensity on the middle substrate as well.
While the Cigarette Extinction Test Method is less sensitive to changes in ignition propensity, three
of the packings showed markedly fewer full-length burns. All these differentiations are outside the
variability of the test methods. The average values of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide yields for
these six packings were no larger than the averages for the 14 best-selling cigarettes.

xii


APPENDIX C

ESTIMATE OF OXYGEN SUPPLY PATHS TO CIGARETTE COAL
ATOP A FLAT UPHOLSTERY SUBSTRATE

The physical system considered here is a lighted cigarette smoldering atop a flat mock-up consisting
of a fabric over a polyurethane foam. The issue of concern is the relative importance of oxygen
supply to the cigarette coal via two paths: (1) from ambient air above the fabric plane and (2) from
ambient air contained within the polyurethane foam below the fabric plane. If the coal receives an
appreciable portion of its oxygen supply from below the fabric plane then the ability of oxygen to
penetrate the fabric will be important to the behavior of that coal.

This system is three-dimensional and time-dependent; this precludes any exact approach to assessment
of the oxygen supply pathways of interest. It will be necessary to make estimates based on the
information available.

The total oxygen demand of the smoldering coal is easily calculated from its mass burning rate and
the overall stoichiometry of the smolder process. The mass burning rate of the TSG cigarettes in free
burn varied in the range 5.7 - 15.5x10TM g/s [C-1]. A cigarette studied by Baker [C-2] appears to fall
close to the middle of this range (taken here as 10x10 g/s), using the smolder velocity he reports
and an estimated packing density of 0.3 g/cm?. The TSG study showed that the smolder velocity of
a cigarette placed on a horizontal substrate of the type considered here will slow down about 20-25%.
Thus the oxygen demand is slowed proportionately. For Baker’s cigarette we thus estimate the mass
burning rate on the substrate to be approximately 7.5 - 8.0x10~ g/s. The stoichiometry of free burn
cigarettes has been measured by Muramatsu for a variety of tobacco blends; the results fall in the
range 1.4 - 19x10 moles of oxygen per gram of tobacco consumed [C-3]; this converts to a range
of 0.45 - 0.61 grams oxygen/ gram of tobacco. Then the oxygen demand for the coal smoldering on
the substrate is estimated to be in the range 3.4 - 4.9x104 grams of oxygen/second.

Baker measured the oxygen concentration profiles around his cigarette coal in free burn [C-2]. These
profiles can be used to estimate the amount of oxygen diffusing from the air above the fabric plane
to the coal. These profiles will be changed by the proximity of the substrate; to a first approximation
all oxygen which Baker’s profiles would show reaching the coal from below (in free burn) is blocked
by the presence of the substrate. In addition, the profiles are such that the gradient of oxygen above
the coal is substantially less than elsewhere because of the rising smoke plume. Thus, the significant
diffusive routes through the oxygen boundary layer on the coal are from the sides and from the front.
Inspection of the oxygen profiles presented in reference F-2 suggests that an average oxygen diffusion
length on the sides of the coal is 2.8 mm for a distance from 4 mm behind the paper burn line to 4
mm beyond it. Then the mass of oxygen diffusing through these boundary layer profiles is calculated
as follows.

Msp = AgypD(AY>y/Ax)

C1


potassium chloride,

potassium acetate,

calcium acetate,

sodium bicarbonate,

mixtures of sodium borate with boric acid,
potassium acetate with boric acid, and
potassium acetate with diammonium phosphate.

re

All of these potential additives eventually were rejected because none could produce cigarette
differentiation when present in the cotton ducks at levels sufficient to assure evenly propagating, self-
sustained smolder. Furthermore, a problem with locally nonuniform deposition of the salts in the
cotton ducks compounded the difficulty of the search and was not completely solved. Laundering
and acid-washing of the fabrics prior to salt treatment proved insufficient to assure uniform
penetration by the aqueous salt solutions. Commercial scrubbing followed by doping with commercial
padding equipment probably could have resolved these difficulties, which may have been caused by
natural waxes in the cotton.

Interestingly, the salts naturally present in raw cotton show no evidence in their smolder behavior of
local non-uniformity problems, and tests showed that the unaltered fabrics in Table 6 could provide
cigarette differentiation. Consultation with personnel at the USDA Southern Regional Laboratory [13]
together with information from a standard reference text [14] indicated that the dominant salt in
taw cotton is potassium malate. This salt is not commercially available. Limited studies with small
quantities produced in our laboratory indicated that it could yield cigarette differentiation behavior
similar to that seen with the cotton ducks in their "as-received" states. The non-availability of this
salt, coupled with the lack of commercially scrubbed fabrics as hosts (even in small-scale laboratory
studies) led to the termination of this approach to test fabric production.

Since the cotton ducks possessed all the desired properties of a controlled fabric for a mock-up based
test method, including the desired cigarette differentiation in their as-received state, further
development was pursued with these as-received cotton ducks as the fabrics of choice. Given this,
it was necessary to assure that they could continue to meet the necessary criteria as to availability and
invariant ignitability.

Continued Availability of Cotton Duck Fabrics. The simple plain or basket weave construction and
desirable properties (high abrasion resistance, strong tear and tensile strengths) of cotton ducks make
them highly sought-after products. For example, the U.S. Department of Defense has developed a
number of specifications for cotton ducks which results in highly standardized fabrics. The military
uses large quantities of these fabrics in products such as upholstery (camp seating slings), backpacks,
tenting, sandbags, and medical stretchers. Commercially, cotton ducks are commonly used as an
upholstery fabric in director’s chair canvas slings. They have also been used in upholstered furniture,
but this use is driven by home fashion trends. Currently they are featured as upholstery fabrics in a
number of mail order and furniture periodicals [15].

As a result, these fabrics are produced in bountiful supply by textile companies throughout the world.
In fact, cotton duck fabrics have been produced continuously for more than 200 years. There are
approximately 34 million m? of cotton ducks (greater than 50% cotton content) sold annually in the
United States. This information provides a high degree of assurance that cotton ducks will be readily
available and produced in a consistent and standardized manner.

19




Self- :
Extinguishments

4 Slololofoloisciajolojolofoloi oi oli cl ol clos; ojfojiojoje
iz
; so
|
F
Be SiSlelel eles eS eles ej clei wi wejwojejoloj oi ej ei x ole; ci ole
God 1 Read ead oad Bed Bon Deed hacd nd end ad ad Pec ad and ont oad ad nd ad ad oad nnd ed ed ad do
2
i SENPE MY STEM OLE] OPAL REN mi timp olml aol apei Ni mi ti Mi ci msi orn
2
Ese
| ge fe) Ss 2
3
BoA
8





10 T T T T

Number in () are TSG
failure fractions

Cig 106 (0.05)

Cig 101 (0.65)

Burn Rate (mm/min)

|

Cig 112 (1.00)
——e

ar 4
Note: Cig 106 only burn 1/2
1/3 of total length
0 1 1 1 1
0 2 4 6 8 10

Number of Filter Paper Layers

Figure 12. Smoldering Rates of Three Experimental Cigarettes as a Function of the Number of
Filter Papers Making up the Substrate Assembly.

81


TEST METHODS FOR QUANTIFYING THE PROPENSITY
OF CIGARETTES TO IGNITE SOFT FURNISHINGS

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

ABSTRACT

Research funded under the Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-352) has led to the
development of two test methods for measuring the ignition propensity of cigarettes. The
Mock-Up Ignition Test Method uses substrates physically similar to upholstered furniture
and mattresses: a layer of fabric over padding. The measure of cigarette performance is
ignition or non-ignition of the substrate. The Cigarette Extinction Test Method replaces
the fabric/padding assembly with multiple layers of common filter paper. The measure of
performance is full-length burning or self-extinguishment of the cigarette. Routine
measurement of the relative ignition propensity of cigarettes is feasible using either of the
two methods. Improved cigarette performance under both methods has been linked with
reduced real-world ignition behavior; and it is reasonable to assume that this, in turn,
implies a significant real-world benefit. Both methods have been subjected to
interlaboratory study. The resulting reproducibilities were comparable to each other and
comparable to those in other fire test methods currently being used to regulate materials
which may be involved in unwanted fires. Using the two methods, some current commer-
cial cigarettes are shown to have reduced ignition propensities relative to the current best-
selling cigarettes.

Key words: Fire, cigarettes, cigarette test method, ignition, upholstered furniture, statistical
analysis

IL INTRODUCTION
A. Perspective on the Current Projects

Cigarette ignition of soft furnishings (upholstered furniture and mattresses) continues to be the
leading cause of fire deaths in the United States.[1] In 1990, the nation experienced 1220 lost
lives, 3358 serious civilian injuries, and $400 million in direct property loss from 44,000 cigarette-
initiated fires in structures. These figures continue a slow downward trend (except in property loss,
which is increasing) with cause(s) suggested but not established.

As a means to accelerate reducing these losses, the Cigarette Safety Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-567)
created a Technical Study Group on Cigarette and Little Cigar Fire Safety (hereafter, TSG) and
directed it to:

“undertake such studies and other activities as it considers necessary and appropriate to
determine the technical and commercial feasibility, economic impact, and other consequences
of developing cigarettes and little cigars that will have a minimum propensity to ignite
upholstered furniture or mattresses."


Table 28. Summary of Test Results for Interlaboratory Study of Cigarette Extinction Method

Test Results.

Full-Length

Extingulshments

16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
1

Burns

Laboratory

Substrate

Layers)

(No. of

10

15

6
16
16
16



A graphical display of the data in Table 28 is shown in Figure 15, where, for each cigarette (by
columns) and substrate (by rows) the proportion of full-length burns is represented by a vertical bar
for each laboratory. The cigarette types are shown from left to right in order of decreasing ignition
propensity, as determined by the results of the main interlaboratory study of the Mock-Up Ignition
Test method (see Figure 4). A comparison of Figure 15 with Figure 4 shows that, except for
cigarettes 501 and 503 which are tied in Figure 15, the relative positioning of the cigarettes was the
same in both the studies. The three mock-up configurations are shown as rows in the figure, with
the greatest heat-sink substrate (15 layers of filter paper) as the top row and the least heat-sink
substrate (3 layers of filter paper) as the bottom row of the figure. The stronger the heat sink ability
of the substrate, the more difficult it is for a cigarette to burn its full length on that substrate.

Auxiliary Variables. A few statistical procedures were run to check for any interesting or large effects
on the test results associated with the available auxiliary variables. No statistically significant effects
were found associated with the temperature and humidity variables over the ranges occurring in these
tests. For comparison with the previous interlaboratory studies, box plots showing the ranges of the
temperatures and humidities during testing are given in Figure 16.

The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was used to check for significant effects on ignition results due
to the discrete variables. No significant effect was found due to OPERATOR; however, the tests on
AMPM and CHAMBER did achieve statistical significance. For the AMPM variable, lab 7 showed
a significant effect. Detailed study of the data for lab 7 revealed that the significant difference that
was picked-up by the overall Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test procedure was entirely due to the results
for cigarette 529 on the 3-layer substrate. In that case, there were 7 ignitions and 1 self-extinguish-
ment in the AM and just the opposite, 1 ignition and 7 self-extinguishments, in the PM. Using
Fisher’s Exact Test for the resulting 2x2 contingency table yields a significance probability of 0.01.
No other aspect of the data for this case looks unusual, so the decision was made to accept the data
as-is. It is relevant to note that, since a large number of significance tests were conducted on this
data set, one would expect a few cases to show statistical significance simply due to the expected
amount of random variation in the data.

For CHAMBER, the statistically significant effect flagged by the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was
for lab 3 only. Within the data for lab 3, the significance was caused by the results for the 16 tests
of cigarette 529 on the 15-layer substrate. The significance probability for this case was 0.01 by
Fisher’s Exact Test. Again, nothing else unusual was found regarding the data in question, and the
existing data were used in the repeatability and reproducibility summary without modification.

Primary Variables. Statistical tests were carried out to examine whether these interlaboratory study
data reveal differences between the labs, cigarette types and substrates. For labs, there is a
statistically significant difference only for cigarette 529 on the 10-layer substrate. The fact that only
one case showed a difference for the Cigarette Extinction Method is at least partly due to the fact
that only 16 replications were done per laboratory, rather than the 48 in the main ILS of the Mock-
Up Ignition Method. With fewer data, fewer significant differences are likely to be found, even if
the long-run differences are about the same.


Table 32. Results of Commercial Cigarette Testing

Mock-Up Ipnition Test Method Cigarette Extinction Test Method _
| Duck #10 yer 10 Layers

a/5At
35/1/12
WZ}
| 227s |

Table 33 provides a further check of consistency between the two methods, and thus further
affirmation that the measured cigarette performance is consistent across diverse substrates. Here,
the ignition strengths of the five cigarettes from the interlaboratory study and five of the second
group of commercial cigarettes are tabulated. [The fourteen best-selling commercial packings showed
nominally 100% ignitions on all six substrates and thus the data are not informative.] Cigarette C
is omitted because the testing was performed using two different pre-burn procedures. The rows are
in order of decreasing average of the six values in the row; the columns are arranged similarly. The
averages from the interlaboratory study are for 432 replicates (9 labs x 48 each) for the cotton duck
substrates and 144 replicates (9 x 16) for the filter paper substrates. The number of replicates for
the commercial cigarettes are far fewer and shown in Table 32.

9 Results for the Mock-Up Ignition Method are shown in the sequence: Ignitions/Non-

Ignitions/Self-Extinctions.
10 Results for the Cigarette Extinction Method are shown in the order: Full Burn/Partial Burn.

108


Table 22. Summary of Test Results for Main Interlaboratory Study, Mock-Up Ignition Method

501

Test Results

Substrate Laboratory Non-Ignitions

1 6
2 5 _B
3 1 47 .
4 3 45

1 5 1 aT
6 3 45 mee
7 6 42
8 16
9 i
1 48
2 48
3 48
4 48

2 5 | 48
6 48
7 LL 48
8 46
9 48
1 48
2 48
3 48
4 48

3 5 48
6 48
7 48
8 48

ae #

55


Auxiliary Variables. A statistical analysis was undertaken to detect possible dependence of the
ignition results, through the variable IGN, on the eight auxiliary variables described in Table 20. It
was not the purpose of this analysis to develop a detailed understanding of such dependencies from
the interlaboratory study data — a designed experiment in a single laboratory would be better for that
purpose. Rather, the purpose of the analysis of the auxiliary variables was to reveal features of the
data that might point to any major problems with the execution or performance of the method in
different laboratories.

The ranges of environmental conditions experienced by the laboratories are shown in Figure 5, using
box plots to represent the range of data from each laboratory. Details of the interpretation of box
plots are described later in this Section. The figure shows that most labs had at least a few
temperature and/or humidity readings outside the target limits. Except for the temperatures in lab
8, the labs generally had most of their readings within the prescribed limits, or very nearly so.

Various statistical techniques were applied to investigate whether the ignition results were strongly
influenced by the four environmental variables or by the discrete auxiliary variables, CHAMBER,
TST_BLK, OPERATOR and AMPM. The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was again used for the
discrete variables. Conclusions from this test procedure showed no significant relation of IGN with
CHAMBER or TST_BLK (i.e., "week", but did indicate the existence of possible effects due to both
OPERATOR and AMPM.

In the case of OPERATOR, a statistically significant difference between the two operators was shown
only for lab 4. In lab 4, the two operators obtained the same number of ignitions for 9 of the 15
cigarette/substrate combinations, but in each of the remaining six cases, the number of ignitions
obtained by Operator 1 was always greater than the number obtained by Operator 2. The difference
between the two operators was not large: Operator 1 obtained a total of just 12 more ignitions than
Operator 2, out of 360 tests by each operator. It was mainly the consistency of the difference across
the six cases that led to the attainment of statistical significance. In this study no attempt has been
made to determine whether this observed difference can be traced to any differences in test
procedure used by these two operators.

The variable AMPM, which indicates whether a test was run before or after noon, also showed a
statistically significant, but small, effect. Overall, there was a slightly higher percentage of ignitions
in the PM (47.4%) compared to the AM (45.7%). The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel procedure, which
identified this effect, is sensitive to both the size of the AM-PM difference and the consistency of
its direction, while controlling for the LAB, CIG_TYPE and SUBSTRAT variables. While no
satisfactory physical explanation was found for this overall effect, the following illustrates the kind
of minor ambiguities that remain in the data. In a sub-analysis using data from lab 6 only, the
increased ignition rate in the PM was also associated with an increase (of about 1 °C) in the average
temperature of the test room (TSTTEMP). It is not possible with the information at hand, however,
to establish a causal link between the two increases.

An attempt was made to perform a global analysis of the effects of all the study variables through the
use of a detailed logistic regression model. This model-fitting exercise was not completely successful
because of the large number of cells in the data matrix where the percentage of ignitions was either
0% or 100%. This feature of the data leads to a requirement of "infinite" parameter values in the
model, with the additional result that the significance probabilities computed by the statistical
software are not reliable, and therefore may not be worth pursuing.

61


5. Long-Term Utility

While the previous study revealed a set of mock-up material combinations capable of differentiating
among cigarettes, it did not provide the necessary assurance of long-term test method reproducibility.
The upholstery materials used there and, in fact, upholstery materials in general are not subject to
any kind of quality control which bears on their ignitability by cigarettes. On the contrary, there have
been indications that even a fabric such as California Standard cotton velvet [5], long used to assess
the cigarette ignition resistance of flexible cushioning materials, has been inconsistent in its behavior
[3]. One of the significant concerns of the present study has been to assess the factors which need
to be controlled to assure long term consistency in mock-up response to cigarettes. The result of this
work is a "Mock-Up Ignition Test Method" in which the substrates consist of cotton duck fabrics and
a polyurethane foam. The details of the work which led to this method are presented in Section IIB.

‘To reduce further the dependence on substrate materials whose properties may be hard to assure on
a long-term basis, a substantial effort has also been invested in developing a second test method. This
"Cigarette Extinction Test Method" uses standard cellulosic filter paper as the sole material in contact
with the tested cigarette. This method determines whether a selected number of layers of filter paper
absorbs enough heat from the cigarette coal to extinguish the cigarette. Reproducibility of test
materials is gained at the cost of evident physical similarity to the real-world fire scenario. Thus, a
correlation with upholstery ignition measurements, as in Section IV, is necessary to establish the
method’s validity. A detailed description of this method is given in Section II.C.


-d(W/Wo)/dt (1/sec)

Sample Weight (wt. %)
a
o
1

10 ——=_——

+ Fabtic 4-50-75-1 [K*] = 4480 ppm
no t = Fabric 4-56-90-3 [K‘] = 4510 ppm

60
Ny atmosphere

Heating rate = 5°Cimin

40 7
30 F
20 F
10 F 7
0 1 1 n L 1 L 1
100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Temperature (°C)
0.0015 : 1 7 7 + 1 J
+ Fabre 4-50-75-1 [K*} = 4480 ppm
= Fabre 4.56-90-9 [kK = 4510 ppm
0.0012 — 1
I;
2
3
Np Atmosphere :
0.0008 F treating rate = 5° C/min. : q
i
:
‘
0.0006 :
7
’
H
0.0003 j
t)
100 «150 = 200 250 «300850 400 450 500

Temperature (°C)

Figure F-1.

F-2

TG Behavior of Two Samples of Cotton Duck #4.


Substrate

(No. of
Layers)

Test Results

Full-Length
Burns

Self-
Extinguishments

7

9

8

11

9

8

10

oO

_
we

wicmlaianlalainio

wewlolrafaiufalwfr[elofoafutlalfusalwinipfofolralafupapwlrute

NK loOololTolo ol opPoO Me lofreflololjo}ric



2. Series 500 Experimental Cigarettes

The remaining supply of several of the TSG cigarettes was insufficient for use throughout the present
study, especially in the round robins. This led NIST to request from the cigarette industry a new lot
of experimental cigarettes. Since the Series 100 cigarettes had shown a near-continuum of ignition
propensities, the new Series 500 cigarettes were to be comparable in the five properties described
earlier. Approximately 10,000 of each were supplied by the industry and placed in freezers until
conditioned for test usage.

Since the need for the current project was specimens with a breadth of ignition propensities, it was
not necessary to assume, nor was it assumed, that the counterpart cigarettes would be identical.
Only a modest effort was made to characterize the new samples. A random selection of eight
cigarette types to be used in the test method development was conditioned at 55 + 5 % RH. Forty
of each were weighed and the mean and standard deviation were determined. These weights and
standard deviations for both series are shown in Table 3. Table 4 shows the weight and standard
deviations provided by the cigarette industry for the Series 100 and 500 cigarettes. It should be noted
that there are some significant differences in (a) cigarette weights between the two series in each
table, (b) the weights in the two tables, and (c) the standard deviations in the two tables. The
sources of these differences are not known.

Table 3. NIST Comparison of Series 100 and 500 Cigarette Weights

Cigarette Identity ‘Weight (mg) Std. Dev. (mg)
101 831 14
501 826 19
103 835 36
503 824 17

640 9
592 17
565 40
588 15
1090 42
1065 27
836 47
845 32
841 7
842 30
959 22
844 22

il


Table 19. Description of Interlaboratory Study Cigarettes

501 BNLC-21 Burley Non-Expanded Low Citrate 21
503 BNHC-21 Burley Non-Expanded High Citrate 21

529 FELC-25 Flue-Cured Expanded Low Citrate 25
530 FELN-25 Flue-Cured Expanded Low None 25
531 FEHC-25 Flue-Cured Expanded High Citrate 25

c Logging and Randomizing Mock-Up Materials

Logging of Samples. Several systems were implemented to track mock-up materials from product
lots. Log books were maintained for the receipt and identification of all materials. Similarly, records
were kept on all materials sent to the individual laboratories participating in the interlaboratory study.

Fabric bolts were prepared in runs of approximately 64 linear meters (70 linear yards), and the bolts
were numbered sequentially. Each bolt was given an identification number. When a bolt was
selected for cutting, the fabric was laid out and marked into 20.3 cm x 20.3 cm (8" x 8") samples.
Every sample was identified with a duck number, a bolt number and two additional numbers which
indicated the length and width position of the sample in the individual bolt. All numbers identifying
a test sample were entered into a permanent log book. The fabrics were handled by gloved personnel
and maintained in closed plastic bags prior to mock-up preparation. At approximately 10 meter
intervals, a sample was randomly selected from across the width of the goods for ion chromatography
analysis.

The polyethylene film samples were tracked, prepared and identified in the same manner as was used
for the fabrics. At approximately every 3 linear meters (10 linear ft), a sample was taken for product
analysis testing.

The polyurethane foam order consisted of three buns from a sequential production lot. NIST sent
an observer to the production plant to verify how the foam was formed, cured, cut and packaged.
The lots were marked to indicate the orientation of the foam as it was received off the production
run. The packages were disassembled at NIST, and individual foam samples from two of the buns
were identified by length and width from the section of the production lot. Every foam piece was
logged into a permanent record book. The foam was maintained in closed cardboard boxes.

Randomization of Samples. Fabric samples were randomized according to the following procedure.
First, the total number of a cotton duck fabric samples (e.g., duck #4) needed for testing throughout
nine laboratories was determined. That number was apportioned, for nearly even distribution, from
the number of possible samples obtainable from each bolt of that duck. The appropriate number of
samples from a given bolt, was taken randomly and then distributed randomly among the nine
laboratories. Laboratory sample logs were prepared by NIST to track samples being sent to the labs

40


Substrate Description. The test method concept originally involved determination of the actual
number of filter paper layers necessary to just allow the cigarette to burn its complete length. To
reduce the testing burden on the participating laboratories as well as to reduce the amount of filter
paper used in each cigarette evaluation, the interlaboratory evaluation was performed with three
specific numbers of layers. This also enabled using a statistical design comparable to the one used
for the mock-up ignition test method. The substrates comprised 3, 10, and 15 layers of Whatman #2
filter paper. In practice, the original concept may have application as well.

4. Enclosure Design

This test method simply replaces the fabric/foam substrate with an alternative substrate assembly.
Since it has been demonstrated that the enclosure used in the mock-up ignition test method
adequately protects the cigarette-substrate system from laboratory induced air flows, that enclosure
was also employed in the cigarette extinction test method.

5. General Description of the Test Method

Appendix E gives a detailed description of the cigarette extinction test method. In brief, the test
method measures whether a type of cigarette continues smoldering after being placed on substrate
assemblies that have different thermal absorptivities. The appropriate number of layers of Whatman
#2 filter paper are mounted on the support structure described above and placed in the enclosure.
The cigarettes and substrate assemblies are conditioned at a relative humidity of 55 + 5% and a
temperature of 23 + 3 °C. Cigarettes are ignited and pre-burned to a 15 mm mark as described for
the Mock-Up Ignition Test Method. The principal determination is whether the cigarette burns its
full length or not.

6. Interlaboratory Study of the Test Method
a. Participants and Procedures

The nine laboratories participating in this phase of the interlaboratory study were the same as
previously listed for the main ILS. See the list of participants in Section II.B.8.e. The general test
protocol for this phase of the ignition propensity study followed that outlined for the ILS of the
mock-up extinction method. The only major differences were that (a) a different method was being
studied and (b) fewer replicates were performed. The latter was proposed since the substrate
variability, thought to be a potential factor in the precision in the mock-up method, was minimal here.
The reduced test plan used only that portion of the plan specified for each laboratory in the first
week of testing during the main ILS. The following outlines key parameters pertaining to each
laboratory in this study:

5 cigarettes

3 filter paper substrates (3, 10 and 15 sheets thick)
16 replicates per cigarette per substrate

2 operators

4 test chambers


Table 9. Sensitivity of Ignition Susceptibility to K+ Content in Fabrics; 5 Replicates

Percent Ignition for Cigarette
| #529

Limited testing was also done on a #8 duck from another manufacturer, obtained through the
American Textile Manufacturers Institute (ATMI). Analysis showed this fabric to contain = 100 ppm
of sodium, 3500-5100 ppm of potassium, 450 ppm of calcium, and 320 ppm of magnesium. This was
compared to WPP duck #8, which Table 8 shows to contain 4700 to 5800 ppm of potassium. The
other, less critical metals were not greatly different from those in the WPP duck (Table 7). Six TSG
cigarettes of differing ignition propensity again showed comparable ignition propensities on the two
ducks (Table 10). (Comparable, as used in this context, means that any differences in ignition
propensity were below the typical levels of scatter seen in these tests; this issue is discussed more
thoroughly in the context of the round robin studies below.)

Table 10. Ignition Susceptibility of Different #8 Cotton Duck Fabric Samples

Cigarette Number

The cation content of all fabrics used in the interlaboratory testing described below was monitored
along the length of the fabric bolts used by the method described in Appendix D. Depending on the
bolt length, anywhere from 3 to 10 samples were taken along the length of a given bolt and analyzed
for sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium content. A summary of this cation content is shown
in Table 7. The numbers are the average of the samples taken on each bolt of fabric (+ one

23




produce a near laminar vertical smoke stream to a minimum distance of 150 mm above the
cigarette.

The vacuum draw apparatus for igniting cigarettes shall be calibrated each week before the
beginning of testing. A soap film, bubble flow meter shall be connected to the inlet of the
vacuum apparatus at the cigarette attachment point. The vacuum pump is started and
adjusted to provide an air flow of 1000 + 50 ml/min. This flow and range of variation shall
be noted and recorded in the laboratory’s calibration records for the vacuum system’s
rotameter.

The humidity and temperature sensors used to record environmental conditions in the
conditioning room/chamber and test room shall be checked for accuracy each week. This
shall be accomplished by comparing their results with a calibrated psychrometer and
thermometer. A record of calibration adjustments shall be kept for each hygrothermograph
used in the conditioning and test rooms.

The laboratory balance shall be calibrated each week. The calibration is checked by leveling
the balance and weighing a calibrated 1.00 g mass. If the balance is found not to be within
specifications, make adjustments as needed to bring the device into compliance. Record the
results in your laboratory’s calibration files.

Test Specimens and Substrates:

Cigarette test specimens and the test substrates are sensitive to contamination. At all times when
these materials are handled, clean plastic or rubber gloves shall be worn.

1.

Cigarette test specimens shall be protected from physical or environmental damage while in
storage. It is important that the specimens not be crushed or deformed in any manner.
Measures shall be taken to insure that the specimens are not contaminated by foreign
materials while in storage and they shall be protected from degradation by insects. If the
specimens are to be stored for more than one week, they shall be placed in a freezer reserved
for the sole protection of the cigarette specimens.

Suitable constituent materials for the mock-ups are only those specified in the main body of
this report. Bulk materials must be cut to size and then randomized in such a manner as to
ensure that samples from any part of the material batch are equally likely to be incorporated
in any given mock-up assembly.

Substrate materials consist of 200 x 200 mm (8 x 8 in) cotton duck fabric swatches and 200
x 200 x 50 mm (8 x 8 x 2 in) polyurethane foam cushions. The substrates are formed by
squarely laying the cotton duck fabric flat on top of the foam cushion. Substrate construction
may vary by placing various membranes or films, of equal dimensions as the fabric (except
thickness), squarely between the cotton duck and foam cushion. All wrinkles shall be
smoothed to produce a level test assembly with good contact between the layers.


Il. TEST METHODS DEVELOPED IN THE PRESENT STUDY
A. Cigarettes Used in the Present Study
1 Series 100 Experimental Cigarettes

Series 100 refers to the series of cigarettes whose ignition propensities were measured in the previous
study [3] (referred to throughout this report as the TSG study). They thus enable connecting the test
methods developed in this study with the prior results. The 32 cigarettes were manufactured by the
cigarette industry with then-current hardware at slower speeds. They varied systematically in five
parameters at two levels, reported to be at the extremes of that equipment, with all other properties
stated by the manufacturers to be identical, but not specified. The variable parameters and their
values were:

° tobacco blend (Burley or flue-cured),
. tobacco expansion (nonexpanded, 60 cuts/inch; or expanded, 30 cuts/inch),
. cigarette circumference (nominally 21 or 25 mm),

. cigarette paper permeability (nominally 10 or 75 CORESTA units), and

° cigarette paper treatment (untreated or treated with approximately 0.8% sodium
potassium citrate),

It should be noted that these experimental cigarettes may differ substantially from current commercial
practice in having limiting values of some design parameters and in having no specification at all for
other potentially pertinent parameters such as humectant or flavoring additive levels.

Table 1 gives the experimental cigarette designations with respect to the five parameters and the
assigned cigarette numbers. Detailed information on the cigarettes can be found in the tables and
appendices of Section 2 of reference 3, 3. Table 2 gives the ignition behavior of the TSG cigarettes
summed over the four mock-up configurations used there.

The Series 100 cigarettes have been kept in cold storage (approximately -18 °C) since the end of the
TSG study in 1987. Because approximately 4 years had elapsed between the two studies, changes in
the cigarettes were possible. NIST thus undertook a reevaluation of the ignition propensity of the
cigarettes on the same fabrics and padding materials used in the original TSG study. These had been
stored in a nominally climate-controlled room ( ~ 21 °C, 30-60 % R.H.) since the end of the TSG
study. There was not enough of the original batch of the California Standard cotton velvet to allow
reevaluation of all 32 Series 100 cigarettes, so a subset of eight was chosen representing (a) ignition
propensities that evenly spanned the entire range of ignition rates and (b) a distribution of values of
each of the five design factors listed above. Those chosen were numbers 101, 103, 106, 108, 120, 129,
130, and 131.

Details of the results of the reevaluation can be found in [6], which has been included as Appendix
Ato this report. For three of the substrates, the data are consistent with the hypothesis of no change


categorical variable while controlling for the effects of LAB, CIG_TYPE and SUBSTRAT. For
example, when applied to the OPERATOR variable, these procedures test whether the difference
in ignition results between the experienced and inexperienced operators was greater than would be
expected due to random variation. As was the case for the environmental variables, these tests were
all nonsignificant, using a significance level criterion of 0.05.

Results from the preliminary ILS showed that the test procedure could be successfully replicated in
more than one laboratory. The results from the three laboratories also indicated that the test
procedure could be expected to be acceptably repeatable within a laboratory and reproducible
between laboratories. The findings from this study pointed the way to the main ILS.

e Main Interlaboratory Study

The main interlaboratory study was similar to the preliminary version, but a number of changes were
made based on findings from the earlier study. The same factorial experimental design was used,
expanded to include nine laboratories.

With this test round, as before, each new laboratory was shipped test chamber kits which they
assembled. With this shipment they also received the square brass frames and cigarette holders for
each chamber. An operator training program was held in September, 1992 for all participating
laboratories. Again, each laboratory was asked to provide an operator experienced with cigarette fire
testing and an inexperienced tester. During the training session, each operator acquired hands-on
experience with the mock-up ignition method and the cigarette extinction method. Both test methods
were included in the training because an ILS for the cigarette extinction method was planned to
follow the ILS for the mock-up ignition method.

Based on the satisfactory performance of the test cigarettes and mock-up assemblies in the
preliminary round, cach was retained for the main ILS. Each of the participating laboratories was
shipped approximately 200 cigarettes of each type, as used in the preliminary study. The three sets
of mock-up test materials that duplicated those used in the preliminary study were also shipped to
each laboratory. However, the original lot of polyethylene film had been depleted. Additional
polyethylene film was ordered from the retail supplier, and they inadvertently substituted a nominally
similar material, which was included in the shipments to the nine laboratories, The film difference
was discussed in Section II.B.3.

An additional 125 cigarettes with a separate designation ("F") were sent to the labs with the other
cigarette lots and an extra box of fabric and foam substrate materials was shipped to each laboratory.
These additional cigarettes and mock-up materials were provided to give the test operators an
opportunity to practice running the test before beginning the main study. The practice tests would
only be run after a visit by the interlaboratory study coordinator. Test operators were instructed to
use cigarette "F" and the extra box of fabric and foam materials to run twelve practice tests. After
completing the practice tests with cigarette "K" each lab would report their results to NIST by FAX.

As was done with the preliminary ILS, the interlaboratory coordinator visited each laboratory to
review laboratory environmental conditions and control, check test chamber functioning and provide
a relative humidity calibration for the lab. Also the coordinator met with laboratory management and
test operators to review the test protocol and to answer last minute questions. All laboratory visits

31


Acknowledgements

The authors thank Rajauhn Lee for performing the cigarette ignition tests for this project.

References

[A-1] Gann, R.G., Harris, R.H., Krasny, J.F, Levine, R.S., Mitler, H-E., and Ohlemiller, TJ., "The
Effect of Cigarette Characteristics on the Ignition of Soft Furnishings," NBS Technical Note
1241, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 1988.

[A-2] Box, G.E.P, Hunter, W.G., and Hunter, J. S., Statistics for Experimenters, John Wiley and
Sons, New York, 1978, Chapter 12.

[A-3] Snedecor, G.W. and Cochran, W.G., Statistical Methods, 7th ed., The lowa State University
Press, Ames, Iowa, 1980, pp. 141-143.

[A-4] Rogers, R-E. and Hays, M., "Effect of Storage on Fabrics," Textile Research, pp. 22-35, April
1943.

[A-5]  Placket, R.L., The Analysis of Categorical Data, 2nd ed., Macmillan, New York, 1981, Section
6.3.


on foam density variations should suffice, provided the foam is a polyether/TDI formulation typical
of current technology. The foam also should contain no inorganic fillers. Polyurethane foams show
substantial color changes when exposed to typical room lighting. The possibility of significant
alterations via this mechanism or via slow aging should be precluded by storage under an opaque
covering at room temperature for no more than six months before use.

The filter paper is the only critical material used in the Cigarette Extinction Test Method. The paper
used here is Whatman No. 2 filter paper, a staple for qualitative analysis. The nominal ash content
specification is 0.06%. Here again the critical property is the areal density, since the principal
function of the paper is to serve as a heat sink. It is likely that the thermal conductivity also plays
a role here, especially in the substrates with the greatest number of paper sheets. This should be
proportional to the density of the paper. The data in Section II.C.3 are for the filter papers used in
the present study. The areal density and thickness determine the paper density as well. The
variability of these properties shown there is acceptable.

Appendix F includes thermogravimetric data on all of the materials used in both test methods. These
data are included as general guidance in assessing the suitability of candidate new batches of material.
Any new batch of a given material should behave in substantially the same manner as the example
in Appendix F for that type.

It is possible that a performance specification could be developed for mock-up materials based on
a standardized, non-cigarette ignition source, such as a small black body or a carbon dioxide laser.
This might obviate the need for all of the prescriptive limitations on materials given above. Other
work in this program has shown that the smoldering ignition process is sensitive to such variables as
the size of the spot on a mock-up surface which is heated. Thus any such performance test would
require careful study of the sensitivity of the output (e.g., ignition delay time for a range of peak
incident heat fluxes) to test variables. Since the materials specifications above appeared to be
sufficient, this alternative approach has not been pursued to completion.

D. Standardization of Test Methods

It is common practice, upon development of a fire test method for professional use, to proceed with
its adoption as a voluntary consensus standard in either ASTM or the National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA). Because these processes generally take several years, this is not possible under
the Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990, which expires September 10, 1993. This report contains
sufficient documentation of the two test methods and interlaboratory evaluations of each so that the
methods could be submitted to ASTM or NFPA for formal approval. The relevance to fire safety
is contained here and in reference 3. Thus, all necessary materials for initiating the standardization
process are now available.

E Effectiveness of the Methods
It will be the role of the regulator to determine which (if any) future cigarettes are tested, by whom,

how frequently, and to what requirements. The last of these is likely to be based, in part, on the
additional degree of life safety desired. The findings of the TSG demonstrated that measurements

104


IV. TESTING OF COMMERCIAL CIGARETTES
A. Introduction
Having completed the development of standardized testing procedures, NIST has evaluated a sample

of current commercial cigarette types, its second obligation under the Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990.
The results of this performance testing:

. demonstrate the utility of the method for routine testing of production cigarettes,

° provide baseline data for comparison with commercial cigarettes of the future, and

. present examples of the recommended reporting format for the ignition propensity
data.

B. Rationale for Commercial Cigarette Choices

The cigarettes were chosen with two objectives in mind: (a) to incorporate packings which comprise
a significant portion of the consumer market, and (b) to include several packings judged likely to yield
a lower ignition propensity compared to the best sellers. After reviewing available physical
characteristic data, fourteen packings in the former category were tested and six in the latter.

Consumer market data were obtained from the February 10, 1992 Maxwell Consumer Report. This
includes complete sales data only through 1990, and it is the 1990 data which were used. The
Maxwell Report data indicate that the fourteen packings chosen comprised 38% of the market in
1990.

These best selling brands do not vary widely in physical parameters such as packing density, paper
permeability or tobacco rod circumference. Thus a second, smaller group of cigarettes was identified
which do show more substantial deviations in their physical parameters. The particular emphasis was
on cigarettes having two physical parameters which deviate in a direction which the TSG study [3]
would suggest as likely to lower ignition propensity, e.g., lower paper porosity, circumference, tobacco
density. [Since the data on which these decisions were based were identified as confidential and
proprietary by the cigarette industry, they are not tabulated in this report.] The six selected packings
comprised less than one percent of the market in 1990.

Samples of these cigarettes were obtained courtesy of the Tobacco Institute Testing Laboratory
(TITL), Rockville, Maryland. This laboratory is responsible for the official tar and nicotine ratings
of all commercial cigarettes. It contracts to have packs of cigarettes purchased from around the
country once each year, in the first quarter of the calendar year. The cigarettes tested in this study
were from surplus packs purchased in the first quarter of 1992; typically the quantity obtained was
80-100 packs of each type. The cigarettes were in opened packs which had been sealed in plastic
bags after TITLs sampling and stored at room temperature. They were also stored at NIST in this
manner until removed for conditioning.

106


21.

23.

24,

26.

27.

&

30.

31.

32.

33.

34,

Acl.

A-2.

C-1.

D-2.

D-3.

Summary of Test Results for Preliminary Interlaboratory Study ...............000- 46
Summary of Test Results for Main Interlaboratory Study, Mock-Up Ignition Method .. 55

Observed Repeatability and Reproducibility Standard Deviations for Mock-Up

Ignition Method, Main Interlaboratory Study ......... 0-0. e cece eee eee ee eee 65
Mock-Up Ignition Method: Calculated Repeatability and Reproducibility Limits for
Various Assumed Numbers of Replications and Ignition Propensities .............. 69
Large Glass Bead Non-Reactive Substrate Test Results for Selected Cigarettes

and Air Speeds... 0... cette ence eee een e eee eteees 75
Re-test of Selected Cigarettes on Large Glass Bead Substrate ..............-0.00. 75
Variability of Filter Paper Areal Density and Thickness ...........-..0000e0000 83

Summary of Test Results for Interlaboratory Study of Cigarette Extinction Method ... 87

Observed Repeatability and Reproducibility Standard Deviations for Cigarette

Extinction Method Interlaboratory Study ........ 0.6 cece cece cece eee eee ee 96
Cigarette Extinction Method: Calculated Repeatability and Reproducibility Limits for

Various Assumed Numbers of Replications and Full-Length Burn Proportions ....... 97
95% Lower Confidence Bounds for the Long-Run Ignition Probability ............ 101
Results of Commercial Cigarette Testing... 2.2... 0... cece cece ee eee eee eee 108
Percent Ignitions or Full Length Burns on Test Method Substrates ............... 109
Averaged Smoke Component Yields from Commercial Cigarettes ...............- 109
Selection of Cigarettes for Reevaluation Study .............0 00 eee e eee enone A3
Reevaluation of Eight of the Thirty-Two Experimental Cigarettes ..............-+ A-4
Calculated Mass Flux of Oxygen From Foam to Coal ........ 000s eee e eee eeee C3
Cation Content of #4 Cotton Duck ......... 0. cece eect eee ete eee eee D-2
Cation Content of #6 Cotton Duck 2.2.0.0... cee cece cece tet ence eee D-3
Cation Content of #10 Cotton Duck ......... ccc cece cece cece eect eee D-4


Further testing showed that some cigarettes had a tendency to roll across the surface of the filter
paper during a test. This altered the estimate of cigarette ignition propensity. A modified substrate
holder assembly was developed. The holder assembly held folded filter paper such that each side of
the filter paper stack was set at an angle of 20° from the horizontal. This helped ensure that
cigarettes would not roll across the paper surface.

Because of the costs involved in manufacturing the 20° holder assembly and the tendency for filter
paper separation to occur at the crevice joint, restraints were developed instead for the flat holder
assembly. The final system is shown in Figure 14. It is composed of a brass hoid-down ring with two
sets of small metal rods to prevent a cigarette from rolling (yet without applying excessive pressure
on the cigarette) and a plastic filter paper support structure. Each set of metal rods are spaced for
a small range of cigarette diameters. As additional cigarette diameters are encountered, appropriately
spaced metal rods can be added.

3. Standard Materials

Paper Substrate. The cigarette extinction test method uses multiple layers of Whatman #2 filter
paper as the substrate material. It is a well-characterized material, having a well-defined porosity and
filtration speed and a smooth surface finish. A single sheet has an areal density of 9.8 x 10 kg/m2,
with low variability (Table 27). It is made from a single material (alpha-cellulose) and should be
obtainable indefinitely into the future. It is also readily available in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Because of the lengths of currently manufactured cigarettes, it was felt that the standard 150 mm
diameter size would be sufficient for cigarette ignition propensity measurements. The precut material
reduces handling damage that might occur if each technician had to cut the paper to size.

The data in Table 27 were obtained by averaging six samples taken at random from six different boxes
of Whatman #2 filter paper.

Table 27. Variability of Filter Paper Areal Density and Thickness

(10.02 + .18)x10 0.195 + .004

A
B (9:74  .10)x102 0.182 + .003
c (9.80 * .13)x102 0.181 +005
D (9.58 + .13)x10? 0184+ .005
E (9.71 + 18)x107 0.183 + .004

(9.68 +
ee

32)x107 0.187 + .005
5. as

ae 0.185 005



test method is specified similar to the one manufactured by Warp Brothers, Inc. under the trade name
Poly-Film; it was obtained from Read Plastics, Rockville, MD 20852. The reason for this preference
emerges from the interlaboratory studies described below.

4. Mock-Up Configuration

Several issues were considered in deciding how the mock-up assemblies were to be configured. These
affect the degree of replication of the real-world situation, ease of fabrication, and reproducibility of
test results.

The first issue concerns fabric/foam contact. Wrapping the fabric around the foam (totally or
partially), as done in earlier studies, makes it difficult for the test operator to obtain reproducible,
even and constant tension of the fabric over the foam. The resulting variation in surface contact
between the fabric and foam changes the local thermal capacitance of the mock-up, which in turn
affects its susceptibility to ignition. This is especially important for the cotton ducks, which are
extremely flat and maintain very good surface contact with the foam in a flat configuration, but for
which side wrapping of the fabric around the foam would produce a significant surface contact
problem.

A second issue concerns whether the mock-up should mimic a crevice or a flat area of upholstered
furniture. The greatest realism would doubtless come in some degree of crevice configuration.
However, the crevice design introduces reproducibility problems. Accurate placement of the two
cushions to form the crevice is important so that the intersection line is even and repeatable. This
difficulty is compounded by the sensitivity of a cigarette’s ignition propensity to its placement relative
to both surfaces. Tests at CSIRO in Australia have indicated that the outcome of a crevice test
(ignition or nonignition) can be heavily influenced by how firmly the operator places the cigarette in
the crevice [19]. This introduces a potentially strong operator dependence that is undesirable.

Third is the desired degree of ignition susceptibility of the particular mock-up to the heat produced
by the cigarette. In the TSG full-scale furniture tests [3, 3}, the commercial cigarette, a strong igniter,
generally showed a higher fraction of ignitions in the crevice configuration. Apparently the cigarette
coal generated enough heat to overcome the high thermal capacity of two fabric surfaces and the
restricted oxygen flow to the combustion zone. The four experimental cigarettes, with lower bench-
scale ignition propensities and presumably lower heat transferred, showed no consistent trend
between crevice and flat configurations. Various crevice substrates in the full-scale chairs produced
higher, similar or lower fractions of ignitions than the flat systems comprised of the same fabric and
padding. These results suggest that the flat configuration might better differentiate among cigarettes
of high ignition propensity than the crevice; on the other hand, Thrig et al. [4], using four cigarettes
on thirty fabrics, found the crevice to discriminate among their cigarettes while a flat mock-up did
not. For the cotton ducks used in this study, limited experiments were performed to see if a crevice
mock-up would aid in discriminating among the high ignition propensity cigarettes. The crevice
mock-up was found to be more ignitable and thus not helpful in seeking the desired discrimination.
For cigarettes of lower ignition propensity, there is no clear advantage of either configuration.

A fourth consideration is the surface size of the mock-up. This should be large enough to
accommodate any reasonable length cigarette, while being small for ease of maintaining uniformity
of contact between the fabric and the lower layer(s) of the substrate.

28


39

_ L- 2.5
0.32
0.28
0.25
oo >
0.129
Dimensions (inches) Material: Brass w/Steel Pins (1/16")

Figure E-2. Brass Holddown Ring and Cigarette Motion Restrainers.

E-8



APPENDIX A

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Report of Test
FR 3984

May 1991

“Reevaluation of Experimental Cigarettes used in
the Cigarette Safety Act of 1984”

Richard H. Harris, Jr, Magdalena Navarro, Richard G. Gann
Building and Fire Research Laboratory

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD 20899
Keith R. Eberhardt
Computing and Applied Mathematics Laboratory

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD 20899
Submitted to:

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Washington DC 20207

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the flow can also be expected to yield a greater impact on the cigarette coal than does a randomly
fluctuating flow that includes some flow reversals.) The peak flow velocity used there (5 cm/s on
their "breeze tunnel” centerline) gave a flow velocity on the cigarette centerline of approximately 1
cm/sec (4 mm from the wall surface). This is about the same as the average buoyancy-induced
velocity level reported by R. Flack (in a study for the cigarette industry) in the crevice region (4 mm
from surface) of a chair previously heated by a ca. 37 °C heater simulating a person [22]. These
real chair results also showed substantial flow fluctuations, including some flow reversals. While these
are very low velocities, they are comparable in magnitude to those measured very near the top of a
cigarette coal during natural smolder when mounted horizontally in free space [23]. Presumably
the presence of a horizontal surface below the cigarette coal lowers the local plume velocity even
more and renders it susceptible to alteration by small ambient velocities.

The impact of a flow disturbance on the cigarette coal is most likely to be one of increasing the coal
temperature somewhat since oxygen transport to the coal will be enhanced. Heat losses will also be
somewhat enhanced, but this effect should be smaller since the radiant component is not directly
affected. The magnitude of any change in the coal temperature is not readily estimated, however,
even from an ignition model because the mass transfer processes in the critical region of contact
between coal and fabric are very complex. The impact on the fabric ignition process itself (ie., the
runaway acceleration of fabric char oxidation reactions) may not be negligible. This runaway is
somewhat retarded by oxygen depletion below the coal [3], and air flow could affect this.

The overall consequences of very low ambient velocities such as were noted above are ambiguous at
present. The impact of disturbing the air in the NIST enclosure was examined experimentally. A
small fan of the type used to vent electronics cabinets was mounted in one corner of the enclosure
at mid-height. The fan speed was controlled with a variable transformer and its RPM was set with
precise repeatability using a stroboscope. The fan blew upward so as to effect throughout the
enclosure volume a large, recirculating eddy-like flow which passed over the cigarette atop a mock-up
with the flow generally impinging head-on. The flow velocity fluctuated from 4 to 13 cm/s (uni-
directional), blowing the smoke plume over at an angle that varied from 30° to 90° off vertical.
Even though some smoke accumulated in the enclosure in these circumstances, the oxygen level at
the height of the cigarette did not drop more than 0.2% below ambient except when mock-up ignition
was well along. Table 17 shows there was no significant effect of this flow.

When the fan RPM was doubled, yielding flow velocities that fluctuated in the range from 10 to 25
cm/s, cigarettes 108 and 508 did respond with a significant increase in the number of mock-up
ignitions. Cigarettes 106, 130, 506, 508 and 529 did not; the other cigarettes all yielded essentially
100% ignitions under all conditions.

4 These flow velocities must be regarded as approximate since they were at the low end of the
capability of the anemometer used. The plume behavior was very clearly altered over its full
height, however.

31