Characterization of Flame Retardant Military Fabrics and Industrial Textile Fibers by Simultaneous DSC-TGA, and Pyrolysis GC-MS

摘要

In this paper, a group of flame retardant (FR) fabrics, woven with different types of polymeric fibers to achieve fire protection as well as various other military requirements, are examined with simultaneous DSC-TGA (Differential Scanning Calorimetry-Thermal Gravimetric Analysis), and pyrolysis GC-MS (Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry). Simultaneous DSC-TGA enables us to study the thermal behaviors of these textiles/fibers beyond their decomposition temperature. Pyrolysis provides a means to break up the polymers into smaller, volatile fragments, which can subsequently be analyzed by the GC-MS. Individual industrial textile fibers which constitute the woven fabrics are also examined separately as well as the woven textiles. Relevant testing parameters are necessary to relate experimental measurements to real-world military situations for protective clothing and fabric shelters. Results from these combined thermal and chemical analyses will be discussed for several FR fiber/fabric systems. The ultimate goal of this work is to develop additional characterization methods to study flammability and thermal stability of FR polymeric fibers and textiles to support the transition of new FR polymers under development for clothing and individual equipment.