SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1976
STP37203S

Estimating Injury from Burning Garments and Development of Concepts for Flammability Tests

Source

Part of the flammability research at Du Pont has been concerned with understanding the way various garments ignite and transfer heat under simulated conditions of use. The objective is to develop basic principles which will aid in the definition of improved products and guide the development of more appropriate test methods. To this end, we have acquired Thermo-Man, a thermally instrumented manikin and heat sensing system which produces detailed estimates of injury from burning garments. The highly sophisticated system and procedure for injury evaluation to give accurate estimates of area burned and burn depth through the human skin is reviewed. Burn injury data are presented which predict injury potential from common apparel, including fabrics from both man-made and natural fibers. Effects of garment type on potential injury and injury-time propagation are also discussed.

Thermo-Man provides a unique basis for development of concepts for more relevant and predictive flammability tests applicable to general apparel fabrics. The essential aspects of burn injury production are fabric ignition and heat transfer. Research at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and Du Pont is aimed at developing a heat transfer concept for possible consideration as part of a general apparel fabric flammability test method.

Author Information

Bercaw, JR
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Inc., Wilmington, Del.
Jordan, KG
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Inc., Wilmington, Del.
Moss, AZ
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Inc., Wilmington, Del.
Price: $25.00
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Details
Developed by Committee: E05
Pages: 55–90
DOI: 10.1520/STP37203S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4687-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0352-8