Flame-resistant fiber blend, yarn, and fabric, and method for making same

Abstract

A fiber blend, a yarn spun from the fiber blend, and a fabric made from the yarn, wherein the fiber blend comprises: (a) about 40 wt.% to about 65 wt.% modacrylic fibers containing antimony, or FR acrylic fibers; (b) about 10 wt.% to about 50 wt.% cotton fibers or FR cotton fibers; (c) up to about 25 wt.% nylon fibers; and (d) greater than about 3 wt.% and less than 10 wt.% para-aramid fibers. The fabric is over 90 percent dyeable and is capable of achieving ASTM F1506 certification with an Arc Thermal Performance Value greater than 8.0 cal/cm². The fabric is woven or knitted, and has a weight of about 4.0 oz./yd.² to about 10.5 oz./yd.². The fabric is suitable for garments worn during activities in which there is potential for exposure to flame and/or electrical arc.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to flame-resistant fabrics woven or knitted from yarns that are made from fiber blends. [0002] Flame-resistant fabrics (also variously referred to as “fire-resistant”, “flame-retardant”, and “fire-retardant” fabrics) are fabrics that, once ignited, tend not to sustain a flame when the source of ignition is removed. A great deal of investigation and research has been directed toward the development and improvement of flame-resistant fabrics for use in various products such as bedding, clothing, and others. Flame-resistant clothing is often worn by workers involved in activities such as industrial manufacturing and processing, fire-fighting, electrical utility work, and other endeavors that entail a significant risk of being exposed to open flame and / or electrical arcs. [0003] Flame-resistant fabrics include both fabrics that are treated to be flame-resistant as well as flame-resistant fabrics made from inherently flame-...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015] A fabric in accordance with one embodiment of the invention has a weight of about 4.0 oz./yd.2 to about 10.5 oz./yd.2, more preferably about 7 oz./yd.2 to about 9.0 oz./yd.2. The fabric can be woven (e.g., a woven twill or plain weave) or knitted. The invention also provides clothing made from the fabric.

[0016] The fabric in accordance with the invention is dyeable to dark or solid shades because the fiber blend is over 90 percent dyeable. More specifically, the modacrylic fibers are dyeable with basic dyes, the cotton fibers are dyeable with fiber-reactive or direct dyes, and the nylon fibers (if present) are dyeable with acid or disperse dyes. Only the para-aramid fibers are not dyeable, and they comprise less than 10 percent of the fiber blend such that they do not interfere with the attainment of solid shades. Additionally, the fiber blend does not include any other fiber types that would require dye procedures and/or processing conditions that would be incompatible with the fiber constituents of the blend. For example, the blend does not include meta-aramid fibers because they require dye bath temperatures greater than 230° F. and the use of a carrier that reacts negatively with moda...

Problems solved by technology

Flame-resistant clothing is often worn by workers involved in activities such as industrial manufacturing and processing, fire-fighting, electrical utility work, and other endeavors that entail a significant risk of being exposed to open flame and/or electrical arcs.

These types of fabrics are susceptible to losing their flame-resistance when laundered repe...