Product Design Of Outer Layer Fire-fighter Protective Clothing In Polyimide

With the development of the economic, social industry is improving faster and faster. However, combustible materials are along with it, and fire accidents happen frequently. Firefighters are the most important persons for protecting our lives. So giving them the best equipment is not only because of surviving for our bodies but also for their safety. Clothes for fire-fighters are the most vital equipment.Fire-fighter clothes belong to functional clothing. Polyimide fiber is well known for its thermal performance, so it can be used to produce fire-fighter clothes. Chinese company has managed commercial process of this kind of fiber, and this passage is to use this homemade fiber to design of outer layer fire-fighter productive clothing. Studies and results are followed.(1)Test analysis of strength and extension property, hairiness property, resistance to alkali, and twist contraction condition of FY/FB/FO yarns. FY yarn equips better strength and extension property, but twist contraction condition is harmful for weaving. Piled yarn of this type is much better in twist contraction condition. Although not good at resistance to alkali, it does not need sizing treatment for its better hairiness property. FB yarn is deleted for its low strength and extension. FO yarn has good strength but too many harmful hairiness. Sizing treatment is needed but it does not equip resistance to alkali, so we should eliminate it too. All in all, FY piled yarn is the right one for fabric designing.(2) Based on the industry standards of Fireman’s protective clothing for firefighting, the structures are designed as plain weave, 1/3twill weave、2/2twill weave and 1/2twill weave, and density sum of warp and weft is from 478.9 to 506.3, with no less than 136 in each direction. Both warp and weft densities are designed as 240 and 250. Weave the yarn and get 8 pieces of fabrics. Test analysis of mechanical property, thermal performance and other properties of the 8 pieces of fabrics. The result shows that the polyimide fabric is equipped with excellent thermal properties, good strength and extension properties. However its tearing property does not conform to the standard of no less than 100 N. Accordingly, its color fastness is good but bad in water resistance property.(3) As the analysis of the fabric properties above, polyimide fabrics do not have good tearing property. This project makes a redesign of structure and density. As for structure redesign, the project adds a new one, 2 2basket weave. After weaving and testing, the result shows that the tearing property is much better than the other 8 fabrics. The reason is because when this fabric is being teared, two strings in the outer side are breaking in the same time,which is total different from only one string broken as other 4 structure fabrics. As for density redesign, it finds that there is no difference of tearing properties in density sum of warp and weft from 478.9 to 506.3. Accordingly, if the difference rate of density in warp and weft is low, tearing property in weft side is improved.Fabrics in homemade polyimide are good in thermal performance, mechanical property and so on. It is feasible to use this fiber as outer layer fire-fighter protective clothing.