Development of a Fire-Resistant and Rain-Protective Fabric

摘要

A three-phase program with the ultimate objective of developing a lightweight, flam-resistant, water-repellent, finished fabric is reported. A continuous filament Nomex fabric meeting all the design objectives was selected from 14 conceptual samples. Research included the following: An investigation of fibrous materials, a comparison of yarn blending techniques, fabric design and development of single and double layered prototypes, and physical testing of each sample submitted; Refining constructions and process details and applying a revised finishing procedure on all materials submitted. Commercial scale-up of the first prototypes was also an objective; and the Weaving and finishing of 1,000 square yards of the selected continuous filament Nomex fabric on a commercial production basis. Final evalustion of the filament Nomex fabric revealed that all of the design objectives were realized when converting from small to large-scale production except for providing the desired water resistance protection. (Author)