• Fire Science and Engineering
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2014

Despite advancements in the development of synthetic fibers and materials that provide better insulation, fire burn injuries remain a significant issue. To ensure adequate protection, clothing and equipment must be selected on the basis of performance. There are different standards like ISO standards applicable to each of the various types of clothing used by fire fighters. But, in most cases, the tests are performed in the conditions of high heat flux exposure, the clothing material can be destroyed easily. Thus the effective way to investigate the protective performance for the low (radiant) heat flux conditions should be needed. Therefore improved RPP (Radiant Protective Performance) test method based on the onset of pain burn injury was suggested. Experiments were performed to verify the proposed method with current protective clothing for fire fighters and the transient heat transfer characteristics were identified, also. Moreover, several protective performance indices were acquired from experimental results to analyze their relations.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
• /
• v.40 no.5
• /
• pp.15-24
• /
• 2002

The following research conclusions were made, relative to the experiments of the textiles of fire fighters Protective Clothing. 1. When the body protection efficiency such as the thickness, the strength and heat resistance are considered, Nomex(N) is tuned out the best outer shelf, Gore-tex(KG) the best moisture barrier, and Wool-felt(WC) the best thermal barrier. 2. In the hygienic and sanitary efficiency also, N is turned out the best outer shelf, KG the best moisture barrier, and WC the best thermal barrier in its degree of water resistance, water vapour permeability, and air permeability. 3. In the washing and maintenance efficiency, too. N is turned out the best outer shell, KG the best moisture barrier, and WC the best thermal barrier, being considered the material's rate of contraction, the changing rate of frame resistance, water resistance, and water vapour permeability. 4. When considered the frame resistance against the reflection tape and reflection efficiency, O is the best material for it marks the highest score in the frame resistance and reflective effect.

• Fire Science and Engineering
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.97-103
• /
• 2014

To ensure adequate protection from the risk of burns, fire fighter's turnout has a composite of more than three components and air gaps between layers of materials. During the flame exposure, radiation and convection heat transfer occurs in the air gap, thus the air gap acts as a thermal resistance with non-linear characteristics. Therefore, in this study, the experiments were performed to identify the effect of various air gap width (0~7 mm) on the thermal protective performance of fire fighter's clothing. The temperatures on each layer and RPP (Radiant Protective Performance, the most effective index representing the thermal protective performance) were measured with various incident radiant heat fluxes. The temperature at the rear surface of the garment decreased and RPP increased with increasing air gap width because the thermal resistance increased. Especially, it could be found that RPP value and air gap width has almost linear relation for the constant incident heat flux conditions. Thus relatively simple RPP predictive equation was suggested for various incident heat flux and air gap conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korea Institute of Fire Science and Engineering Conference
• /
• 2013.04a
• /
• pp.78-79
• /
• 2013

소방보호복은 화재진압현장에서 소방관들을 화상 위험으로부터 보호하기 위해 가장 많이 착용하는 장비이다. 소방보호복의 열보호 특성을 정확히 파악하고 있어야 소방관들의 화재진압작업시 위험요소를 적절히 판단하여 화상 사고 등을 예방할 수 있다. 따라서 본 연구는 복사열 노출에 따른 소방보호복의 열보호 성능을 정확히 측정 및 분석하기 위해 실험 장비를 제작하고 실험을 수행하였다. 소방 보호복의 구성 재료 각각에 대해 복사열 노출을 시켜 시간에 따른 피복 전후면의 온도차와 통과 열유속을 측정하여 소방 보호복의 열보호 성능 특성을 살펴보았다.

• Fire Science and Engineering
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.16-22
• /
• 2016

Fire fighters rely on fire fighter protective clothing (FFPC) to provide adequate protection in the various hazardous environments. To enhance its protection performance, the FFPC material must be thick and thus it is difficult to achieve weight reduction. One of the methods of overcoming this problem, the addition of phase change material (PCM) to FFPC, is a new technology. In previous studies, the researches was mostly related to the temperature characteristics of the fibers incorporating PCM, but little information is available about its effect on burn injuries. Thus, in this study, the inhibitory effects of adding PCM to FFPC on second degree burns were investigated through numerical calculations. Thermal analyses of biological tissues and FFPC with embedded PCM exposed to several fire conditions causing severe tissue damage were studied by using a finite difference method based on the Pennes bio-heat equation. FFPC with embedded PCM was found to provide significantly greater protection than conventional fire fighting clothing, because the heat of absorption due to the phase change within the material is used to limit the heat conduction of the material.