Refurbishing 'Spray on' Aluminum Enamel on Proximity Clothing

摘要

The Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility studied the effectiveness of refurbishing the aluminum coating on worn aluminized proximity firefighters' clothing. It was thought that, if a spray-on aluminum enamel could restore the surface aluminum coating to an acceptable level of infrared radiant heat reflectance, then the clothing could be worn for an extended period of time, reducing replacement costs. Vacuum-deposited aluminum fabric specimens were cut from worn firefighters' clothing and tested for their thermal transmission at three levels of heat flux. Before heat-testing, each specimen was identified as to its percentage of infrared reflectance at 1100 nanometers and, subjectively, by visually observing the worn aluminized surface. This report describes the laboratory investigation of two spray-on aluminum enamel coatings over worn aluminized fabric to obtain data that would allow a judgment as to their effectiveness, as well as the effectiveness of all spray-on aluminum enamel, to extend the use-life of proximity firefighters' clothing.