1990 Volume 41 Issue 12 Pages 1179-1185
The primary hazards associated with fires where bedding or upholstered furnitures would be first ignited are burning cigarettes. Therefore, the heat propagating behaviors in fiber assemblies from burning cigarettes were observed in the self-sustained smoldering processes under various conditions.
The results are summarized as follows :
(1) The heat from a burning cigarette propagates in fiber assemblies with the highest rate horizontally and with the lowest rate downward.
(2) The temperature is higher when fiber assemblies are exposed to the air than when covered, especially in the upward direction, while the heat accumulation is more when covered, showing the largest accumulation in the upward direction.
(3) The maximum temperature and heat accumulation observed in the upward and horizontal heat propagation enhance with increase in density and thickness of stuffed fiber assemblies, but the downward propagation shows slightly decrease when the thickness is 4 cm or more.
(4) The moisture content of fiber does not give any significant effect on the temperature and heat accumulation.
(5) The maxium temperature, heat accumulation and weight loss after the combustion of cotton fiber assemblies are considerably decreased by b lending polyester fibers.
