Predicting flash fire protection of clothing from laboratory tests using second‐degree burn to rate performance

Abstract

Abstract Laboratory tests have been developed that evaluate realistically the protective performance of clothing materials and garments. Test conditions are chosen to stress the high temperature resistance of materials in the same manner as in an industrial flash fire exposure. A second degree burn in human tissue is used as the criteria to ate performance of materials. Test results have been correlated between the small‐scale lab swatch test and a full‐scale instrumented manikin garment test, and these results related to industrial experience. The TPP lab test has been found useful in evaluating the performance of candidate materials as replacement for existing materials with known acceptable protective performance. It can be used to specify the level of protection needed in a garment when the intensity of the exposure hazard is known. Also, the test is especially useful for developing new materials and selecting candidates for additional field testing.