Flame Resistant Fabric With Intermingled Yarns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flame-resistant fabrics used in protective garments for workers exposed to extreme heat and fire are stiff and inflexible, restricting movement and increasing exertion due to their thick, heavy construction.
Innovation Solution
Development of a flame-resistant fabric with intermingled yarns comprising multiple plies of staple fibers and continuous multifilaments, where at least one ply contains flame-resistant fibers, providing both thermal barrier protection and optional stretchiness through a process that combines spun yarns and filament yarns via air entanglement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If thick, heavy fabric construction is used to provide maximum thermal and flame resistance protection, then flame resistance protection is improved, but freedom of movement is restricted and worker exertion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite yarns combining different fiber types (e.g., aramid, modacrylic, polyester) with distinct properties within the same yarn structure. This allows the fabric to simultaneously achieve high flame resistance from FR fibers and flexibility/stretch from elastic fibers like spandex, resolving the contradiction between protection and movement freedom
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different fiber compositions to different yarns and fabric regions. Some yarns contain high proportions of flame-resistant fibers for maximum protection areas, while other yarns incorporate more elastic fibers for regions requiring greater flexibility. This localized differentiation allows the garment to provide both protection and movement freedom where needed
2Reliability
If multiple layers of flame resistant fabric are assembled to form protective garments, then flame resistance protection is improved, but fabric stiffness and inflexibility increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite yarns containing both flame-resistant fibers and elastic fibers within each yarn strand. This integration of contrasting material properties at the yarn level allows the fabric to maintain flexibility and drape even in multi-layer constructions, preventing the cumulative stiffness that would otherwise result from layering
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the chemical and physical parameters of the yarns by incorporating elastic fibers with specific elastane content (e.g., 5-20% spandex). This parameter change fundamentally alters the fabric's mechanical properties, enabling it to stretch and recover while maintaining flame resistance, thereby reducing stiffness even when multiple layers are assembled
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The intermingled yarn fabric offers improved flexibility and movement freedom while maintaining high flame resistance, allowing workers to perform tasks more efficiently without the risk of burns from heat and fire.
Implementation Method 1
a process that combines spun yarns and filament yarns via air entanglement
Data Source
AI summary
A flame resistant fabric containing a plurality of warp elements comprising flame resistant (FR) yarns extending in a warp direction and a plurality of filling elements comprising FR yarns extending in the fill direction transverse to the warp direction in interwoven relation to the warp elements. At least a portion of the FR yarns in the fill and/or warp direction comprise intermingled FR yarns. The intermingled FR yarns contain at least 2 plies, at least one of the plies contain staple fibers or continuous multifilaments and at least one of the plies contain FR fibers. The plies are intermingled together with a portion of the staple fibers or continuous multifilaments of the first ply entangled with the second ply.