Yarn Combines Two Flame-Retardant Materials
Federal-Mogul has developed a polyethylene terephthalate yarn that can be used to delay to spread of fire within public transport infrastructure or within buildings and other stationary applications. The new yarn has been created to meet the halogen-free flame-retardant regulations and the 'no flaming drip' requirement, known as the UL 1441 VW-1 flame test. The company is now developing commercialisation plans to enable the volume manufacture of fabrics made from the new material.
Fire in an enclosed space, such as an aircraft or a railroad car, is very dangerous as occupants can die from smoke inhalation even before there is any danger from the flames. Flame-retardant materials are used to delay the spread of fire, but unlike Federal-Mogul's polyethylene terephthalate yarn, these typically contain halogenated substances that emit thick black smoke and toxic gases.
Polyethylene terephthalate yarn meets many of the processing and functional requirements for textiles used in interior vehicle trim and in wiring harness insulation that have applications in vehicles for land, water and air. International regulations pertaining to flame-retardant properties, however, include a requirement that 'no flaming drips' are released when the material burns. The company's new polyethylene terephthalate yarn meets this requirement as well.
The new yarn combines two melamine-based flame-retardant materials; as the materials decompose, they absorb heat, cooling the adjacent burning material and forming a char that prevents the formation of burning drips. Constituents of the new material also vaporise, reducing the surface temperature by diluting the oxygen that would otherwise feed the fire. The extrusion of the material into a continuous monofilament thread is made possible by a combination of proprietary additives and highly engineered compounding and extrusion processes.
Fire in an enclosed space, such as an aircraft or a railroad car, is very dangerous as occupants can die from smoke inhalation even before there is any danger from the flames. Flame-retardant materials are used to delay the spread of fire, but unlike Federal-Mogul's polyethylene terephthalate yarn, these typically contain halogenated substances that emit thick black smoke and toxic gases.
Polyethylene terephthalate yarn meets many of the processing and functional requirements for textiles used in interior vehicle trim and in wiring harness insulation that have applications in vehicles for land, water and air. International regulations pertaining to flame-retardant properties, however, include a requirement that 'no flaming drips' are released when the material burns. The company's new polyethylene terephthalate yarn meets this requirement as well.
The new yarn combines two melamine-based flame-retardant materials; as the materials decompose, they absorb heat, cooling the adjacent burning material and forming a char that prevents the formation of burning drips. Constituents of the new material also vaporise, reducing the surface temperature by diluting the oxygen that would otherwise feed the fire. The extrusion of the material into a continuous monofilament thread is made possible by a combination of proprietary additives and highly engineered compounding and extrusion processes.
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