Fire Experimental and Analysis of Localised Storage Clothes in Commercial Building

Abstract

Cone Calorimetry, Bomb Calorimetry, Thermal Analysis and FTIR tests of cotton, polyester, polyester/cotton blend textile fabric products displayed in some commercial mega stores were carried out in the project.It was found that, at an external heat flux of 30 kW/m2, cotton has a time to ignition value of 58s which is higher than that of polyester (11s). Interestingly, it was found that the addition of cotton to polyester to form the poly/cot blend was responsible for increasing the time to ignition value of poly/cot blend to reach 123s. However, at a higher heat flux of 50 kW/m2, the addition of cotton to polyester to form the poly/cot blend reduced the time to ignition perhaps due to the higher external heat flux exposure. It was also reported that at a lower heat flux of 30kW/m2, the total heat release of the Polyester/Cotton blend was the lowest compared to that of cotton and polyester alone. This is attributed to the effect of cotton portion in the blend structure. Moreover, the comparison between the Heat of Combustion values measured using the bomb calorimeter for Cotton, Poly/Cot Blend & Polyester textile fabrics was conducted. It was concluded that, cotton has the lowest heat of combustion (16.9281 MJ/Kg) while polyester has the highest value (23.4213 MJ/Kg). Interestingly, poly/cot blend has an intermediate value of the heat of combustion (19.3338 MJ/Kg) as expected. This indicates that the addition of cotton to polyester to form the blend fabric has contributed effectively to reduce the heat of combustion of polyester.In addition, the comparison between the Effective Heat of Combustion for cotton, poly/cot blend and Polyester at different Heat Fluxes using the Cone Calorimeter was conducted. It was shown that, at heat flux of 50 kW/m2, the effective heat of combustion (EHC) of cotton is the lowest (10.66 MJ/Kg) followed by poly/cot blend (10.88 MJ/Kg) and polyester (11.43 MJ/Kg). However, TGA and DTG of cotton, polyester and poly/cot blend textile fabrics were carried out under O2 and N2 environments. It was concluded that the main reason for the mass loss of Cotton, Polyester and Poly/Cott blend sample in the first thermal degradation stage, was due to the dehydration of the material. In the second thermal degradation stage, cotton, polyester and polyester/cotton blend fabrics suffered from major mass losses of > 80 %, 100% and 100% respectively.Besides, the chemical structures of cotton, polyester and poly/cot blend fabrics were examined by ATR-FTIR technique. It was found that each textile fabric under test has its unique FTIR spectrum. On the other hand, the Flame Heights and Flame Temperatures for Cotton, Polyester and Poly/Cot Blend textile fabrics at different thickness with unit areas (1 m2 each) were calculated and discussed according to the Eurocode Standards.Moreover, the assessment of the fire risks and hazard of textile clothing products displayed in M&S and Primark mega commercial stores was conducted. In this detailed assessment a comparison between the critical distance against the calculated length of the flames produced from cotton, polyester and poly/cot blend textile products was discussed.Overall, it is recommended that the interpretation of findings in this project could be used as an effective guide to improve the fire safety of textile products in commercial buildings. In fact, by understanding the flammability properties of different textile products, it is possible to design and manufacture textiles that are less likely to catch and spread fire. It is also possible to design commercial buildings that follow the recommended fire safety code, regulations, and standards.