Original scientific paper

THE CONTEMPORARY CONCEPT IN TESTING FLAME RETARDANT CLOTHING

Daniela Zavec Pavlinić ; Biomed d.o.o. & Zavod BRIS, Ljubljana, Slovenija
Anica Hursa Šajatović ; Tekstilno-tehnološki fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatstka
Igor B. Mekjavić ; Institut Josez Stefan, Ljubljana, Slovenija

Abstract

Level and type of personal protection is in direct correlation to job-specific activities and duties performed at different workplaces. Consequently, norms (EN 369) have been set to govern the manufacture of flame retardant clothing. End users should comply with the norms for certified protective flame retardant clothing but this is not always the case. Available on today’s markets is lower quality of flame retardant clothing, serially manufactured, but of quality not suitable to meet the standards of prototypes approved for procurement by national institutions. In the course of development of flame retardant clothing, most tests are carried out on the textiles used for manufacturing of the clothing, cut and adapted to fit 3D human shape. However, as textiles are two-dimensional, once they are made to fit the 3D body shape by cutting and sewing the parts together, the characteristics of all used materials change. The properties of the clothing and the textiles from which it is made additionally change by wear and maintenance. To determine with a degree of certainty that protective clothing in effect has the required characteristics, i.e. that it protects from heat and flame, it is recommended that testing be carried out using a test dummy.
The paper presents testing of different types of protective clothing suitable for use in different workplaces. Four types of heat and flame retardant clothing have been tested: a single-layer suit worn by men fighting forest fires (manufactured by Odjeća d.o.o. Croatia), a single-layer suit (overall type) suitable for work on aircraft carriers, a single-layer suit for work in boiler rooms (British Royal Navy) and multi-layer suit worn for protection while fighting fires in buildings (Lenzing, Austria). The testing procedures focused on the external layers of the clothing of varying cuts and structures, and on the degree of protection from heat and flame. The analyses include evaluation of the seriousness of burns sustained and the estimated probability of survival for users exposed to heat and flame. The paper compares the degrees of protection provided by different clothing items in accordance with their purpose.

Keywords

flame retardant clothing; clothing for protection from heat and fire; dummy; explosive fire; burns

Hrčak ID:

104715

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/104715

Publication date:

2.7.2013.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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