Comparison of the Propensity of Cigarettes to Ignite Upholstered Furniture Fabrics and Cotton Ducks (500-Fabric Study)

摘要

The present study in investigates the validity of a test method for smoldering cigarette ignition propensity of upholstery fabrics based on using 'cotton duck' fabrics, and proposed by NIST. A comparison was made between the ignition propensity of cigarettes as assessed by (1) a set of 500 upholstery fabrics (chosen at random among typical upholstery fabrics) and (2) a test method proposed by NIST (NIST 851), and based on 'cotton duck' fabrics. The set of 500 fabrics can be assumed to be a representative cross-section of the upholstery fabrics available in the early 1990s, while the 'cotton duck' fabrics are not typical upholstery fabrics, and it was unclear whether they would behave similarity or differently from upholstery fabrics.