Playing with Fire: Fabrics in Flames

Overview

Objectives/Goals I did this project to see which fabrics are safe or unsafe and why by measuring how fast they burned in relation to their physical properties. Methods/Materials Materials: 1. Different types of fabrics; 2. Burner; 3. Thermometer; 4. Micrometer; 5. Balance scale; 6. Stopwatch; 7. Graduaded cylinder; 8. Goggles; 9. Gloves; 10. Kiln shelf. Procedure: 1. Take all flammables out of the burning area; 2. Check temperature (55˚F-60˚F); 3. Fill the burner with fluid until it is full; 4. Test burner; 5. Place the fabric sample on the burning stand; 6. Set the burner so it releases the right amount of gas to make a controlled flame; 7. Ignite the fire and start the timer; 8. Once the fabric catches on fire, stop the timer and throw the fabric into a bucket of water; 9. Record data; 10. Repeat steps 5-9 eleven more times; 11. Take average of 12 data points (or less if something goes wrong with some measurements # 10 is typical); 12. Repeat steps 3-10 burning each type of fabric. Results Bleached Harem Cloth burned the fastest, silk didn#t burn. Thickness, volume, and mass determined the ignition times. Weave density and fiber density didn't determine ignition time. Conclusions/Discussion My hypothesis was correct. If I were to do this again, I would use more samples and pay more attention to the possibility of fire retardants.

Competition history

• CSEF 2009 Materials Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1513

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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