Unique blends of fibers that incorporate synthetic cellulosic fibers to render fabrics made with such blends more durable than fabrics made with natural cellulosic fibers such as cotton. While more durable than cotton, the synthetic cellulosic fibers used in the blends are still inexpensive and comfortable to the wearer. Thus, the benefits of cotton (affordability and comfort) are still attained while a drawback of cotton—low durability—is avoided. In one embodiment, the fiber blend includes FR modacrylic fibers and synthetic cellulosic fibers, preferably, but not necessarily non-FR lyocell fibers such as TENCEL™ and TENCEL A100™. Other fibers may be added to the blend, including, but not limited to, additional types of inherently FR fibers, anti-static fibers, anti-microbial fibers, stretch fibers, and/or high tenacity fibers. The fiber blends disclosed herein may be used to form various types of FR fabrics. Desired colors may be imparted in a variety of ways and with a variety of dyes to the fabrics disclosed herein. Fabrics having the fibers blends disclosed herein can be used to construct the entirety of, or various portions of, a variety of protective garments for protecting the wearer against electrical arc flash and flames, including, but not limited to, coveralls, jumpsuits, shirts, jackets, vests, and trousers.

A woven flame-resistant fabric for garments, the warp and fill yarns being made up of at least about 30 wt. % inherently flame-resistant fibers. The fabric is woven from a plurality of warp yarn groups consecutively arranged across the width direction in a recurring pattern, each warp yarn group consisting of a plurality of adjacent consecutively arranged warp yarns. At least one warp yarn in each warp yarn group is woven with the fill yarns in a plain (1/1) weave and at least one warp yarn in each warp yarn group is woven in one or more non-plain weaves each selected from the group consisting of 1/2, 2/1, 2/2, 1/3, and 3/1. Approximately half of the warp yarns in the fabric are woven in a plain (1/1) weave and the remaining warp yarns in the fabric are woven in the one or more non-plain weaves, in an alternating fashion.

A method of fabricating an artifact (15) includes treating natural fibers (110) with a non-halogenated flame retardant agent (120), the fibers (110) also being treated with a smoke suppressant (120). At least one pre-preg is formed (170, 180) from the treated natural fibers and from a resin composition (160) including a smoke suppressant (150) admixed therein (160). An uncured artifact is formed from a core or substrate (12) and the pre-preg, which provides a skin, and is cured (210). A non-fibrous silicate fire resistant material (190, 230) is introduced by: (i) admixing the fire resistant material with the resin composition, and/or (ii) applying the fire resistant material to an outer surface of the pre-preg or an outer surface of the skin of the uncured artifact, and/or (iii) applying the fire resistant material to an outer surface of the skin of the cured artifact. The invention extends to a flame-proofed artifact (15).

The invention addresses the problem of providing a cloth that is excellent not only in flame retardancy and antistatic properties but also in appearance quality and preferably also has protection performance against electric arcs, a method for producing the same, and a textile product. A means for resolution is a cloth including a meta-type wholly aromatic polyamide fiber and an electrically conductive fiber, wherein both the meta-type wholly aromatic polyamide fiber and the electrically conductive fiber are colored.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to flame resistant fabrics formed with inherently flame resistant fibers that provide the requisite thermal and arc protection, that have improved comfort, and that, in some embodiments, are less expensive than other fabrics formed with inherently flame resistant fibers. Improved comfort and lower cost can be achieved by predominantly locating the inherently flame resistant fibers on the front face of the fabric to impart the requisite thermal and arc protection and predominantly locating the more comfortable (and less expensive) fibers on the back face of the fabric positioned next to the wearer. In this way, overall protection of the fabric is maintained while improving comfort. Some embodiments of such fabrics may also achieve NFPA 70E PPE Category 2 protection.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to flame resistant fabrics formed with inherently flame resistant fibers that provide the requisite thermal and arc protection, that have improved comfort, and that, in some embodiments, are less expensive than other fabrics formed with inherently flame resistant fibers. Improved comfort and lower cost can be achieved by predominantly locating the inherently flame resistant fibers on the front face of the fabric to impart the requisite thermal and arc protection and predominantly locating the more comfortable (and less expensive) fibers on the back face of the fabric positioned next to the wearer. In this way, overall protection of the fabric is maintained while improving comfort. Some embodiments of such fabrics may also achieve NFPA 70E PPE Category 2 protection.

A flame resistant fabric includes first yarns including inherently flame resistant fibers and second yarns including wool fibers. The fabric may satisfy one or more performance standards set forth in ASTM F 1506-02, NFPA 2112 and NFPA 70E. The fabric may be a knit or woven fabric, such as a plush or terry knit construction, and one or both sides of the fabric may be napped to form a fleece fabric. The second yarns may include wool and modacrylic fibers, or wool fibers and other inherently flame resistant fibers. The first yarns or second yarns may include sufficient inherently flame resistant fibers such that the fabric has a char length of no more than 4 inches and an afterflame of no more than 2 seconds when tested in accordance with ASTM D6413. The fabric may exhibit a thermal shrinkage of no more than 10% when tested in accordance with NFPA 2112.

The subject matter of the present invention is a process for preparing polyamide granules having heat-resistance properties, and also the use of these granules, in particular in the aid of the manufacture of yarns for airbags or for tyre cords. More specifically, the invention relates to a process for preparing polyamide granules having heat-resistance properties by wet impregnation of the granules with an aqueous solution comprising at least one heat stabilizer.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to flame resistant fabrics formed with inherently flame resistant fibers that provide the requisite thermal and arc protection, that have improved comfort, and that, in some embodiments, are less expensive than other fabrics formed with inherently flame resistant fibers. Improved comfort and lower cost can be achieved by predominantly locating the inherently flame resistant fibers on the front face of the fabric to impart the requisite thermal and arc protection and predominantly locating the more comfortable (and less expensive) fibers on the back face of the fabric positioned next to the wearer. In this way, overall protection of the fabric is maintained while improving comfort. Some embodiments of such fabrics may also achieve NFPA 70E PPE Category 2 protection.

The invention addresses the problem of providing a cloth that is excellent not only in flame retardancy and antistatic properties but also in appearance quality and preferably also has protection performance against electric arcs, a method for producing the same, and a textile product. A means for resolution is a cloth including a meta-type wholly aromatic polyamide fiber and an electrically conductive fiber, wherein both the meta-type wholly aromatic polyamide fiber and the electrically conductive fiber are colored.