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

• Published in: Journal of fire sciences 1995-11, Vol.13 (6), p.445-471
• Main Authors: Lewis, Leslie S., Morton, Michael J., Norman, Vello, Ihrig, Arthur M., Rhyne, A.L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Building technical equipments; Buildings; Buildings. Public works; Exact sciences and technology; Fire behavior of materials and structures; Fire protection; Fires; Smoking
• ISSN: 0734-9041; 1530-8049
• DOI: 10.1177/073490419501300603

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