Effect of Yarn, Fabric Construction and Colour in Respect of Red Reflectance and Pigmentation on the Thermal Properties and Limiting Oxygen Index of Flame Retardant Polypropylene Fabrics

Polypropylene fibres are widely used in manufacturing upholstery fabrics for domestic and office furniture, automotive and floor coverings. Flammability is becoming an increasing issue of priority for all sectors of the textile industry due to public safety awareness and stringent legislation controlling the use of products in different sectors There are several standard test methods developed in different countries across the world for testing their fire performance, each test having different criteria to meet .The behaviour of polypropylene -containing fabrics that are considered to be manufactured from the same raw material, construction and manufacturing process show variations in their burning behaviour especially when subjected to an external heat flux in addition to a small igniting flame.This paper attempts to correlate fibre, yarn and fabric variables including area density, air permeability, yarn/fabric colour, the effect of colouring pigment on fibre thermal degradation with final fabric flammability performance