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Heat And Flame Protection 

Thermal Protection Laboratory

Employees in hazardous occupations such as military personnel, firefighters, welders, molten metal workers, astronauts, race-car drivers, and those working in an environment conducive to spontaneous combustion, may be required to wear clothing constructed from protective materials. The garments worn should provide adequate protection to assist in the reduction of burn injury resulting from external threats of flame and intense heat. The level of protection provided can be assessed though laboratory testing techniques.

Instrumentation in the Thermal Protection Laboratory analyzes materials and ensemble components and systems for their thermal protection properties when exposed to convective, radiant, full scale fire exposures, and/or combinations of these thermal hazards. Using the following tools, research, testing and evaluation is conducted from fabric swatch to the garment level:

  • Instrumentation for fabric level analysis includes the Thermal Protective Performance (TPP), Radiant Protective Performance (RPP), Stored Energy Tester (SET), and vertical flame tests.
  • PyroMan™ - a fully instrumented, life-sized manikin used to evaluate the performance of thermally protective clothing. Housed in a large fire test chamber, the PyroMan™ system provides safe, controlled, repeatable exposures of flame threats. PyroMan™ is a highly sophisticated instrument used to study garment and body reaction to intense heat and flames. Computerized analysis of manikin sensor response indicates potential tissue burn injury to a wearer, burn area, and severity.
  • T-PACC research and development efforts have created new instrumentation with corresponding standard test procedures. These new devices and methods, PyroHands™ and PyroHead™, expand capabilities for assessment of the protective performance of clothing material composites and ensemble accessories items.

Testing capabilities include:

  • NFPA 1971 - Thermal Protective Performance (TPP)
  • NFPA 2112 - TPP
  • ASTM F 1060 - TPP Hot Surface Contact
  • ASTM F 2700 - TPP
  • ASTM F 2703 - Irradiative TPP
  • ASTM F 1939 - Radiant Protective Performance (RPP)
  • ASTM F 2731 - Transmitted and Stored Energy (SET)
  • ASTM D 6413 - Vertical Flame Test
  • ASTM F 1930 - Full Garment (PyroMan™) Evaluation
  • PyroHands™
  • PyroHead™
  • Thermal Imaging
  • New Instrumentation Under Development