Cigarette ignition of soft furnishings - a literature review with commentary

Abstract

Literature pertinent to the ignition by smoldering cigarettes of upholstered furniture and mattresses (soft furnishings) was searched through early 1986. This included literature on the smoldering behavior of cigarettes in air; their behavior on a variety of substrates simulating soft furnishings; mechanism of smoldering in substrates; relative cigarette ignition resistance of substrates; and relative propensity of commercial cigarette packings to ignite substrates. According to the reviewed literature, the smoldering behavior of cigarettes on substrates differs from that of cigarettes burning in air: on substrates, cigarette temperatures tend to be lower, and burning rates slower. These differences seem to be larger for substrates which ignite than for those which self-extinguish after the cigarette burns out. The characteristics of soft furnishings which insure resistance to cigarette ignition have been established, but those of cigarettes with low propensity to ignite furnishings have not. No mathematical model has been reported for the interaction of cigarette and substrate, but some empirical data do exist.

Do open flame ignition resistance treatments for cellulosic and cellulosic blend fabrics also reduce cigarette ignitions?

“…that caused by a cigarette) on the other hand involves direct oxidation of the polymer and/or chars and other non-volatile decomposition products. The general smouldering behavior of cotton fabric was approximately described by Krasny [19] and Ohlemiller [20]. Gases and chars can be produced by two different paths (oxidation and pyrolysis [in the absence of air]) and may differ in their chemical nature.…”

“…furniture test) can affect the results of smoulder ignition tests [38]. The smouldering behavior of cigarettes on substrates is different from that of cigarettes burning in air [19]. The type of cigarette and the burning rate of the cigarette can also have an effect [39,40].…”

“…Krasny [19] in his review for the National Bureau of Standards (now National Institute of Standards and Technology) as part of the Cigarette Safety Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-567) found 'that some materials which have good cigarette ignition resistance do not necessarily have good small flame ignition resistance and vice versa'; 'that cigarettes induce smouldering in medium to heavy weight cellulosic fabrics, with consequent heat transfer to the padding, but in contact with a small flame cellulosic fabrics char and until the char breaks, protect the padding'; and that thermoplastic fabrics tend to resist cigarette ignition but shrink, curl and melt upon contact with open flame and can expose the padding.…”

A Study of Smoldering Conditions in Upholstery Fabrics Using Thermal Imaging

“…Identifying a critical ignition temperature in this kind of experiment is fraught with difficulties. Inherent problems in defining the critical ignition temperature of cellulosic material have been discussed [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] . In phenomenological terms, the fabric ( or particles in the fabric) reaches a critical ignition temperature when there is a irreversible shift in the heat balance between the heat generation rate due to oxidative reaction and the surface heat losses due to convection and radiation, the former being highly dependent on test configuration.…”

Cigarettes with Low Propensity to Ignite Soft Furnishings

“…The results of the work are described in detail in eight technical reports and a final report to Congress [2,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Three of these reports were of research performed by the Center for Fire Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly the National Bureau of Standards).…”