Fire Retardant Fabrics

Purpose: To find which fabric is most flammable. (Which fabric will catch fire fastest)

Materials:

Lighter
safety goggles
Stop Watch
5cm x 5cm piece of Denim
5cm x 5cm piece of Nylon
5cm x 5cm piece of Polyester
5cm x 5cm piece of Cotton
5cm x 5cm piece of Rayon
5cm x 5cm piece of Acrylic

Procedure:

1) Place a piece fabric under flame. Make sure that each time you do this, the flame is placed at an equal distance from the fabric.
2) As soon as fabric is exposed to flame, begin timing with the stop watch
3) Stop timing when fabric ignites.
4) Put out the fire. Try not to destroy the fabric, it can be used for presentation.
5) Record the time it took for the fabric to ignite
6) Repeat steps 1 to 5 three times for each piece of fabric.




Hypothesis: We think that the Polyester will ignite the fastest, because it is very light, and delicate. We think that the Nylon will ignite in the longest time because it is much like a plastic.


Results: In order to control all of the variables, we burned and timed each type fabric three times. Below is a table showing our results in seconds.





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Fabric 1st Time 2nd Time 3rd Time Average
Denim 5.3 sec 4.8 sec 5 sec 5.03 sec
Nylon 4 sec 3.3 sec 4.1 sec 3.8 sec
Polyester 0.5 sec 0.7 sec 0.7 sec 0.63 sec
Cotton 4.6 sec 4.2 sec 5 sec 4.6 sec
Rayon 3.5 sec 3 sec 2.4 sec 2.97 sec
Acrylic 4.7 sec 5 sec 4.1 sec 4.6 sec


Conclusion:

The Polyester ignited the fastest, which is what we hypothesized. The flame was nearly an inch away from the fabric, when it ignited. It burned up in a flash. The majority of the fabric was burned to ashes in a matter of split seconds. The Denim ignited in the longest amount of time. If we were testing which fabric is safest to wear near a flame, it would be Denim. The Polyester is extremely dangerous to wear near a fire.


Research:

Denim: Denim is a heavy cotton twilled fabric, usually colored; coarser weaves are used for overalls, etc.; finer, for drapery and upholstery. The name comes from French town of Nimes (serge de Nimes).

Nylon: Nylon is used for several purposes. Clothing is just one. Nylon was invented in 1938 by a team of researchers, led by organic chemist Wallace H. The production of common nylon (nylon-6,6) begins when the basic hydrocarbons, under pressure and heat, are synthesized into the chemicals adipic acid and hexamethylene diamine. (The production of other nylons may require slightly different acids and amines.) These are mixed to form a substance called nylon salt. This concentrated salt solution is heated in huge kettles, called autoclaves. Here the acid and amine molecules link up alternately to form a nylon superpolymer (long-chain molecule). The molten nylon then pours over a giant casting wheel. A swift spray of cold water turns the molten ribbon of nylon into a hard, translucent sheet, which is then chopped into small flakes called nylon chips.
If the nylon is intended for sheets, rods, bristles, coatings, or molds, it is sent to factories in the form of chips. The chips are melted and turned into final products. Nylon intended for yarn must undergo further treatment. In a process called melt spinning, the chips are melted, and the melt is pumped through a spinneret, a perforated plate with tiny holes equal in number to the filaments, or single threads, desired in the finished yarn. The filaments form as soon as they strike cool air outside the spinneret.

Polyester: Polyester is very similar to Nylon. In fact, when we looked polyester up in an encyclopedia, it said see nylon. Through our experiment we discovered that polyester is much more delicate than Nylon. Nylon fabric is more like a plastic, which is why Nylon clothing is water proof. On the other hand, Polyester is extremely delicate and light. Polyester is usually either transparent, or translucent.

Cotton: Cotton is used in some way, every day of our lives. Cotton is used for both warm and cold clothing. Cotton is made from the cotton plant. The cotton plant is a warm-climate crop. To develop fully, the plant usually needs a growing season of 150 days free from frost. The cotton planting season ranges from February 1 in southern to early June. To get warmth from the sun, the seeds are planted shallowly, from one to two inches deep. Some farmers plant their seed in hills, some in furrows, and others in flat seed beds. Cotton was the leading industry in the USA during the 1800's and early 1900's, and it still is in some counties.

Rayon: Rayon or Chardonnet silk is a vegetable fiber (cellulose). Rayon is produced mechanically from wood pulp. The fabric is fairly light, and delicate. Rayon is used in many types of clothes.

Acrylic: Acrylic is a man made fabric. The process for making Acrylic is extremely complicated, and is made using a formula (e.g. H2O). Acrylic is very heavy, and is much like wool. The sample of Acrylic that we used came from a sweater.



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