WO2006097620A1

WO2006097620A1 - Fire protection fabric

Info

Publication number: WO2006097620A1
Application number: PCT/FR2006/000559
Authority: WO
Inventors: Laurent Thiriot
Original assignee: Kermel
Priority date: 2005-03-16
Filing date: 2006-03-14
Publication date: 2006-09-21
Also published as: EP1859088B1; JP4885941B2; EP1859088A1; ES2346688T3; DE602006014662D1; FR2883134A1; AU2006224461B2; AU2006224461A1; CA2600255C; FR2883134B1; NZ560449A; US20080153374A1; JP2008533321A; ATE469999T1; CA2600255A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a protective fabric of surface mass less than 300 g/m2 designed to form the outer layer of a fire protection garment, for example a garment for fireman. It consists of warp yarns and weft yarns belonging to at least two types of fire-resistant yarns, namely a first meta-aramide type of yarns (K), a second high modulus para-aramide type of yarns (P) having along their length color shade variations, and optionally, warp-wise, a third para-aramide type of yarns having no color shade variations but sensitive to ultraviolet rays. It comprises 15 to 50 % of yarns of the second and optionally of the third type. Its weave, preferably double warp face, is determined such that, on the outside of the fabric, the warp yarns of the second and optionally of the third type are almost totally concealed.

Description

FABRIC FOR PROTECTION AGAINST FIRE

The present invention relates to the field of fire protection. It relates more particularly to a protective fabric for forming the outer layer of a fire protection garment, for example a firefighter's clothing.

The safety of men is a paramount criterion in the technical evolution of our society. In the field of fire, it is particularly sought that those who intervene in the fight against fires are protected as much as possible to avoid or at least limit serious accidents. Thus textile producers have developed specific fire protection materials, namely thermostable or thermoreactive fibers, fabrics made from said fibers and clothing made from these fabrics.

With regard to the fibers commonly used in the manufacture of protective clothing against fire, known fibers known aramids, whether para-aramids or meta-aramids, for example, the Kermel fiber which belongs to the chemical family of imide polyamides, for example Nomex® fiber which is a polymetaphenilene isophthalamide. The fibers sold under the names Kevlar®, Twaron® and Technora® are also known.

It should be emphasized that a firefighter's clothing must, in addition to its fire properties, meet the same aesthetic requirements as any other garment, in particular having an acceptable or at least reproducible external visual appearance of a garment. to the other.

However, there are on the market materials that would be particularly interesting for the production of outer fabrics for fire protection garments, with regard to their mechanical strength and their thermal resistance, but which present a major risk of defect of a point aesthetic view. For example, these are type wires para-aramid high modulus that exhibit a variation of hue on their length. Without wishing to provide a scientific explanation for this phenomenon, it is possible to think that these variations are due to the treatments that occur during the manufacture of such threads. Therefore, for the production of a protective fabric intended to form the outer layer of a fire protection garment, use is made of para-aramid type yarns that do not have such a defect, for example the yarns marketed under the names Kevlar®, Twaron® and Technora®. However, these wires have another disadvantage which lies in the fact that they are sensitive to ultraviolet, and that, when dyed, they have poor color fastness to light. This is why these para-aramid yarns are more and more often used in fabrics of the double fabric type, so that said yarns are arranged on the inner face of the outer layer of the garment. that is, the face that is not directly exposed to light and ultraviolet light. This implementation has a major drawback which consists in having to increase the surface density of the fabric if a relatively high proportion of para-aramid-type yarns is chosen, for example fabrics making at least 300 g / m ² if the we want on the order of 50% of son of para-aramid type. On the other hand, if it is desired to maintain a more conventional mass per unit area, for example 220 g / m ² , the proportion of para-aramid-type yarns, for example 10% of para-aramid yarns, must be significantly reduced.

The object of the present invention is to provide a protective fabric capable of forming the outer layer of a protective clothing against fire, which overcomes the disadvantages mentioned above.

It is a protective fabric, having a basis weight of less than 300 g / m ² , preferably between 180 and 260 g / m ² which consists of at least two types of fire-resistant yarns, namely a first type of meta-aramid type yarns, a second type of high modulus para-aramid type yarn having variations in their hue and possibly, in chain, a third type of para- aramid type son not having these variations of hue, but sensitive to ultraviolet; this fabric comprises from 15 to 50% of son of the second type and possibly the third type and its armor is determined so that, on the outer face of the fabric, the warp son of the second and possibly the third type are almost completely masked.

Thus, according to the particular arrangement of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a conventional mass-protection fabric which has a large proportion of para-aramid yarns, in particular high-modulus yarns that are not sensitive to ultraviolet rays. despite the variation of color inherent in this type of wire, has an acceptable aesthetic appearance.

Indeed, the applicant has found that the variation of color along the length is not unacceptable when the frame is apparent on the outer layer, contrary to what has been observed with respect to the chain.

This can be explained when it is considered that the warp yarns are taken, during warping, on bobbins of different batches of manufacture, so that the juxtaposition of the warp threads taken from these reels and having different colors can generate a scratch along the entire length of the room, which is a crippling defect.

Moreover, even if all the coiling creel coils are from the same batch, the variation in hue will result in a different visual appearance between the beginning and the end of the piece, which will have repercussions on the garments made with the said yarn. piece: the same garment may have variations in appearance if the cut panels for the confection are taken in remote areas of the same room or two clothes will have different visual aspects depending on whether the panels used for their manufacture come from the beginning or from the end of the room. On the other hand, in the context of the weft, the contrast of colors concerns only the width of the fabric, generally between 1.50 m and 1.60 m since it is the same weft thread that crosses the warp threads all the way across. Optionally it is also possible, with a weft mixer, to use several coils in turn to form the picks and thus reduce the effect of the color variation of the weft son by a statistical mixture.

Moreover, with regard to the para-aramid yarns, which do not exhibit hue variations but are more sensitive to ultraviolet, they are only used in a chain and the fact that they are almost completely masked avoids the problem of degradation due to the action of light and ultraviolet light.

In an alternative embodiment, the son of the second and possibly the third type represent from 30 to 50% of the warp son and the son of the second type from 30 to 50% of the weft son.

In an alternative embodiment, the son of the first and second type are of the order of 12 to 16 tex X 2.

In an alternative embodiment, the subject fabric has a basic armor having in chain the following arrangement: a wire of the first type, a wire of the second type and two son of the first type and in weft an alternation of son of the first and of the second type. In this embodiment, it has been possible to produce a protective fabric having a basis weight of the order of 220 gr / m ² and having a final proportion of 66.3% of meta-aramid fibers, of 33% of para-aramid fibers, high color variation module along its length and 0.7% of anti-static fibers. It should be noted that in the case of yarns of the first type, the meta-aramid fibers are generally mixed with a small percentage of antistatic fibers, in particular Belltron® type fibers or other fibers, load-dissipating or conductive fibers.

The present invention will be better understood on reading the description of exemplary embodiments of a protective fabric having a basis weight of less than 300 g / m ² intended to form the layer outer of a firefighter's clothing, illustrated by Figures 1 and 2 showing two basic armor for said double-sided warp armor type fabric.

In the first example, the yarns of the first type are 14.3 tex X 2 meta-aramid meta-aramid threads (more commonly called Nm 70/2) composed of 99% meta-aramid fibers known under the name Kermel®. and 1% of anti-static fibers.

The yarns of the second type are para-aramid type titration yarns

14.3 tex X 2, high modulus, showing color variations along their length. This is for example son known as Rusar

®. It may also be son known under the name Armos ®,

SVM® or AuTx-HT ®. These are continuous filament yarns.

As indicated on the figurel in this first example, the warping pattern is 3 son of meta-aramid type (K for KERMEL ®) for a para-aramid type wire (P for para-aramid).

As for the screening pattern, it is of a meta-aramid yarn (K) for a para-aramid yarn (P).

The texture of the fabric is 52 X 22 threads / cm. Its weight per unit area is of the order of 220 gr / m ² , with a final proportion of 66.3% of meta-aramid fibers, 33% of para-aramid fibers and 0.7% of anti-static fibers.

In this exemplary embodiment, in each unitary pattern (4 × 4) having the armor illustrated, the high modulus para-aramid type warp yarns are alternately visible in front and back in a ratio of 1 to 3. In practice, with this kind of weave, it turns out that the meta-aramid (K) warp yarn that is the furthest left of the weave pattern will tend to go over the para-aramid chain (P) so that said warp is actually almost completely masked on the face of the fabric. It should be noted that if, for the warp, it is preferable to use twisted yarns at two ends because of better wearability, it is possible for the frame to use single wires. For example, for 14.3 tex x 2 titration yarns in the warp, single yarns of 29.4 tex are used as weft.

The second example differs from the first by the basic armor, of the double-sided warp armor type, which is illustrated in FIG. 2, in which the warping pattern is also of three meta-aramid type yarns for a warp yarn. para-aramid type and the screening pattern is also of a meta-aramid type wire for a para-aramid type wire.

In this second example, in each unitary pattern (4 × 6) the para-aramid type warp yarns are alternately visible in the face-up and in the reverse side in a ratio of 1 to 2, but as in the first example the thread the leftmost meta-aramid chain (K) of the weave pattern tends to pass over the immediately adjacent para-aramid warp (P), so that on the face of the fabric, the para-aramid warp yarn is almost completely hidden.

In these two examples, all the para-aramid warp and weft threads can be of the second type, but all the para-aramid warp threads of the third type can also be used.

Thus, for the para-aramid (P) warp yarn it should be possible to use more conventional Kevlar® Twaron ® yarns or

Technora ® since they are almost completely masked, they should not be directly under the effect of ultraviolet and light. This variant has a financial advantage since these more conventional son are less expensive than the aforementioned para-aramid type son having color variations along their length. However, it may have a disadvantage in terms of the mechanical strength of the fabric because of a lower strength of the more conventional yarns which, for the finer yarns desirable, are on the market, yarns of fibers while the aforementioned son Lengthwise variations in hue are multi-filament yarns (continuous filaments) of greater strength.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and illustrated as non-exhaustive examples. In particular, it is possible to envisage other armor, for example an armor in which the warping pattern is four son of the first type for a wire of the second type and the dithering pattern of a wire of the first type for a wire of the second type, for better density and better masking son of the second type chain, while remaining in the desired surface masses and with a proportion of the order of 30% of the son of the second type.

Claims

Protective fabric having a basis weight of less than 300 g / m ² intended to form the outer layer of a fire protection garment, for example a firefighter's clothing, characterized in that it consists of threads warp and weft yarns belonging to at least two types of fire-resistant yarns, namely a first type of meta-aramid yarn, a second type of high-modulus para-aramid yarn having variations along their length dyeing, and optionally, chain, a third type of son para-aramid type having no color variations but sensitive to ultraviolet, in that it comprises from 15 to 50% son of the second and possibly third type and in that the armor of said fabric is of the double-chain type and is determined so that, on the outer face of the fabric, the warp son of the second and possibly the third type are almost completely masked.

2. The fabric of claim 1 characterized in that all warp and weft son para-aramid are of the second type.

3. Fabric according to claim 1 characterized in that all para-aramid warp son are of the third type.

4. Fabric according to one of claims 1 to 3 characterized in that the son of the second type and possibly the third type represent from 30 to 50% of the warp son and son of the second type from 30 to 50% of the son of frame.

5. Fabric according to one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the son of the first and second type are of the order of 24 to 32 tex in one or two ends.

6. Fabric according to one of claims 1 to 5 characterized by a base armor, having a three-thread warping pattern of the first type for a thread of the second type, and a screening pattern of a wire of the first type for a wire of the second type.

The fabric of claim 6 of the order of 220 g / m ² and having a final proportion of 66.3% meta-aramid, 33% para-aramid and 0.7% anti-cellulite fibers. static.

8. Fabric according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by a base armor, having a four-wire warping pattern of the first type for a wire of the second type and a screening pattern of a wire of the first type for a second type wire.