Flammability Reduction Group

Staff Spotlight

Welcome Dr. Andre Thompson! Andre recently joined the Flammability Reduction Group in the Engineering Laboratory at NIST as an NRC post-doc.  Over the next 2 years, Andre will conduct research on innovative technologies for lightweight, engineered fire safe products used on the exterior and in the structure of buildings located in Wildland Urban Interface communities.  Andre’s research will include evaluating and developing compliance enabling chemistries and conducting bench-scale and full-scale fire performance testing.  Prior to joining us, Andre was at the College of Engineering (Materials Science and Engineering Department) at the University of Michigan, where he received a PhD for conducting research on the effects of temary additives on the evolution of structure formation in aqueous poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide )-poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymer micelles.

Highlight

June 29, 2018

The Flammability Reduction Group recently completed a two-week-long series of full-scale furniture fire experiments in the National Fire Research Laboratory (NFRL). These tests focused on quantifying the ability of barrier fabrics to reduce the flammability of residential upholstered furniture (RUF) - specifically, how barrier fabrics can reduce fire size (heat release rate, HRR) and delay fire growth (i.e. increase time to peak HRR). In the United States, RUF Fires are the single largest cause of civilian deaths in home fires (>600 deaths and >1,100 injuries per year).

Test Results
As seen in Video 1 the presence of a barrier fabric can significantly delay fire growth and reduce peak fire size (HRR). The two barrier fabrics used in this video are inexpensive and commercially available. Barrier 4 (center) is a fiberglass fabric. Barrier 1 (right) is a rayon, cotton, and hydrated-silica fiber blend that is currently used to protect mattresses such that they can meet the requirements of 16 CFR Part 1633, the Federal Standard for the Flammability (open flame) of mattress sets.