Calorimetric study of flammable fabrics. I. Instrumentation and measurements

Abstract

A calorimeter has been designed, calibrated, and tested to measure the total amount of heat released and the rate of heat released from the combustion of fabrics in air. Calibration of the calorimeter gave a reproducibility of ±3% for total heat measurements and ±5% on rate measurements. Consideration of systematic errors gives an expected accuracy of ±7% for total heat and ±10% for combustion rate measurements. Measurements on cotton show that 90% of the standard heat of combustion is released when cotton is burned in air. The rate of heat release for cotton is independent of fabric weight. The constancy of rate of heat release as determined calorimetrically confirmed the result implied by the 45° test measurements on flame spread rate. The rate and amount of heat release of other commercial fabrics and blends were also measured.