Flame Retardant Screen Using Inherently Fire-Resistant Polymers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing greenhouse screens face challenges in achieving long-term UV resistance, flame retardancy, and low combustibility while maintaining thinness and drapability, with current solutions either being costly, prone to fire spread, or failing to meet stringent fire safety standards like NTA 8825:2010.
Innovation Solution
A drapable screen comprising flexible strips with a Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) of 18-26% and minimal phosphorus, chlorine, fluorine, and sulphur content, made from light- and heat-reflective materials, woven with flame retardant yarns, which reduces the need for halogen and phosphorus-based flame retardants and enhances UV stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If halogen or phosphorus-based flame retardants are added to plastic strips to achieve flame retardancy, then fire safety is improved, but UV stability deteriorates and the material falls apart
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the plastic strips by using specific polymers (polyacrylic acid, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyvinyl fluoride, polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene, or polyvinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) that inherently provide flame retardancy with LOI values of 18-26%, while avoiding halogen and phosphorus-based flame retardants that cause UV degradation. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by achieving fire safety without compromising UV stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates composite material structures by combining specific polymer materials with controlled amounts of fillers and additives that do not compromise UV stability. The composite approach allows achieving flame retardancy through material selection rather than additive incorporation, thus maintaining long-term UV resistance while meeting fire safety requirements.
2Weight of moving object
If the plastic strips are made thinner to achieve low weight and small volume when moved aside, then drapability is improved, but UV stability and fireproof capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the inherent fire resistance parameters of the material by selecting polymers with naturally high LOI values (18-26%). This allows thin strip designs to maintain adequate fireproof capability because the base material itself provides flame retardancy without requiring thick sections or heavy flame retardant additives. The thin strips achieve both low weight and sufficient fire safety through material parameter optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs thin flexible plastic strips that can be woven into screen structures. These thin films achieve the desired drapability and low weight while maintaining fire safety and UV stability through the selection of inherently flame-retardant polymer materials, eliminating the need for thick sections or heavy flame retardant treatments.
3Reliability
If flame retardant textile is used to prevent fire spread, then fire safety is improved, but heat reflection capability is lost and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the approach to fire safety by selecting polymer materials with inherent flame retardancy (LOI 18-26%) rather than using conventional flame retardant textiles. This allows the screen to maintain its heat reflection capability through the use of light-reflective coatings or metallised layers on the plastic strips, while achieving fire safety through the base material properties. This resolves the contradiction by decoupling fire safety from heat reflection functionality.
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 screen effectively meets Class 1 fire propagation requirements and achieves high scores in NTA 8825:2010 tests, with reduced use of scarce and costly flame retardants and UV stabilizers, ensuring long-term UV resistance and fire safety without compromising on weight or volume.
Implementation Method 1
at least some of the strips consist of light- and/or heat-reflective strips
Data Source
AI summary
There is described a flame retardant, drapable screen or cloth for providing shade and/or saving energy, which screen comprises flexible strips having a thickness of at most 100 muiotatauiota formed into a continuous product by weaving, knitting, crocheting or knotting, using a yarn system, - wherein the strips form at least part of the surface area of the product and wherein at least some of the strips consist of light- and/or heat-reflective strips, - wherein at least part of the yarn system consists of flame retardant yarns, characterised in that the material of the strips has a "Limiting Oxygen Index" (LOI) of at least 18%, that it comprises at most 0.15 wt.% phosphorus (P), at most 900 ppm by weight of chlorine, fluorine or bromine, and at most 1.0 wt.% sulphur in total.