Flame retardant fabrics and process to make same

Abstract

A flame retardant fabric wherein a flame retardant composition is applied to the fabric while the fabric is being stretched. Preferably, the fabric is a blend of cotton and a thermoset. Carbon fibers may be included to impart anti-static properties. The present invention includes a method of treating a woven or knitted fabric of cotton blended with a thermoset, or with a thermoplastic, or with both with a flame retardant composition comprising the steps of stretching the fabric up to 12% greater than its un-stretched dimensions and, while so stretched, applying a flame retardant to the fabric and then allowing the fabric to shrink back to its approximate original dimensions. The flame retardant may either be applied to the fabric or the fabric may be immersed in an aqueous bath containing flame retardants.

Claims

1. A method of treating a woven or knitted fabric comprising a cotton blended with at least one fiber selected from the group consisting of thermoset, thermoplastic, and carbon fibers, to impart flame retardant properties to the fabric, the method comprising the steps of: a) stretching the fabric transversely to a width from 5 to 12% greater than its unstretched width resulting in a stretched fabric; b) treating the stretched fabric with a flame retardant by immersing the fabric in its stretched condition in a bath of flame retardant monomer solution, wherein the flame retardant monomer solution comprises water and at least one selected from the group consisting of a phosphorous polymer of tetrakis(hydroxymethyl) phosphonium sulfate (THPS) and tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride (THPC) monomers; c) removing the stretched fabric from the bath of flame retardant monomer solution; d) applying ammonia to the fabric in a controlled ammonia atmosphere chamber to polymerize and cross-link the flame retardant into a cross-linked flame retardant tetrakis(hydroxymethyl) phosphonium (THP) polymer composition while the fabric is in the stretched condition; and e) allowing the stretched fabric to shrink to its pre-stretched dimensions.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the fabric comprises cotton and 10% to 30% meta-aramid fibers, by weight.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the fabric comprises up to 10% by weight para-aramid fibers.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of dyeing the fabric prior to stretching the fabric.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the flame retardant monomer solution comprises a concentration of 25% to 40% by weight of tetrakis(hydroxymethyl) phosphonium sulfate (THPS), or tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride (THPC), and wherein treating the stretched fabric with the flame retardant provides a treated fabric having a phosphorus content.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the finished fabric comprises from 1.5% to 4.0% phosphorous content by weight.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the finished fabric has flame resistant characteristic of a char length of less than 6 inches in accordance with the ASTM F1506 test.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of g) squeezing the fabric to obtain a moisture pickup in the range of 80% to 120% by weight.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of f) oxidizing the stretched fabric after step b).

10. A method of treating woven or knitted fabric comprising a cotton blended with at least one fiber selected from the group consisting of thermoset, thermoplastic, and carbon fibers, to impart flame retardant properties to the fabric, the method comprising the steps of: a) stretching the fabric transversely to a width from 5 to 12% greater than its unstretched width resulting in a stretched fabric; b) immersing said stretched fabric in a bath of flame retardant monomer solution, wherein the flame retardant monomer solution comprises water and at least one selected from the group consisting of a phosphorous polymer of tetrakis(hydroxymethyl) phosphonium sulfate (THPS) and tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride (THPC) monomers; c) removing the stretched fabric from the monomer solution; d) drying the fabric; e) applying ammonia to the stretched fabric in a controlled ammonia atmosphere chamber to polymerize and cross-link the flame retardant into a cross-linked flame retardant tetrakis(hydroxymethyl) phosphonium (THP) polymer composition while the fabric is in the stretched condition; and f) allowing the stretched fabric to shrink to its pre-stretched dimensions.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the fabric comprises cotton and 10% to 30% by weight meta-aramid fibers.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the fabric comprises up to about 10% by weight para-aramid fibers.

13. The method of claim 10 including the step of g) dyeing the fabric prior to stretching the fabric.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the finished fabric comprises from 1.5% to 4.0% phosphorous content by weight.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of h) squeezing the stretched fabric after immersion to obtain a moisture pickup in the range of 80% to 120% by weight.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of i) oxidizing the stretched fabric after step e).

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a top view of a schematic representation of the tenter frame stretching operation of the present invention as the fabric enters the dip tank for treatment; and,

(2) FIG. 2 is a side view representation showing the fabric as it is transported through the dip tank treating solution

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(3) Turning first to FIG. 1, a tenter frame layout is shown with woven or knitted fabric 1, which is preferably a fabric made from a blend of a major amount of cotton fibers and a minor amount of meta-aramid fibers, being fed through guide rollers 2, to tenter frame 3 where chain mounted pin or clip array 4 grips the edges of the fabric and stretches it transversely or in the fill direction to a width that is 4 to 7 greater than the un-stretched width, which will be in the range of 60 to 70 so that stretching will be in the order of 5% to 12% greater than the original or initial width.

(4) Referring now to FIG. 2, fabric 1 in its stretched condition enters dip tank 6 where it is immersed in treating solution 7, which is an aqueous solution having a THP concentration in the range from 25% to 40% by weight where the fabric picks up the treating solution. After leaving the dip tank 6, the fabric 1 passes through squeeze rollers 9 to reduce the wet pickup to about 80% to 120% of the fabric weight before entering the drying, ammoniating, and oxidizing steps known as D, A, and O.

(5) In more detail, the steps of the preferred process begin with providing a fabric 1 woven with yarns that have a major amount of cotton and a minor amount of meta-amid fibers. A knitted fabric can also be subjected to this same process. The fabric is first dyed (not shown) using a vat or naphthol dyestuff and pH is controlled to be between 7.0 and 9.0. Next, the fabric is conveyed to a tenter frame where the edges of the fabric are held by pins or clips and the fabric is stretched from about 4 inches to about 7 inches over its original width.

(6) While stretched, the fabric is immersed in an aqueous bath with a concentration of 25% to 40% of THPS (tetrakis hydroxymethyl phosphonium sulfate) or THPC (hydroxymethyl phosphonium chloride) to produce a concentration level of 1.5% to about 4.0% phosphorous content by weight in the finished fabric. Preferably, the bath concentration can be confirmed by chemical titration during treatment and the phosphorous content may be verified by X-ray analysis after treatment. THP broadly includes THPS and THPC.

(7) After the fabric leaves the immersion bath, it is then squeezed through the nip or pad rollers to achieve a wet pickup of about 80% to 120% of the fabric by weight. The fabric is then dried in a forced air dryer followed by infrared heating. Moisture level after drying is preferably below 8% and more preferably the moisture level would be 6 to 8%.

(8) Next, the fabric is bathed with ammonia gas in a controlled atmosphere chamber for a short period sufficient to cross-link the THP while the fabric is in the stretched position. Afterwards, the fabric is oxidized with hydrogen peroxide to stop the cross-linking process and then it is washed with a neutralizing soda solution. The treatment with ammonia followed by oxidation is well-known in the art and is described in detail in the above-mentioned patents to Smith and Fleming, which are incorporated herein by reference. The fabric is now allowed to shrink back to its pre-stretched dimensions.

(9) A novel feature of the present invention is that the fabric receives its flame retardant treatment while stretched. The stretching opens up the fabric so that the THP can penetrate the tightly twisted and woven yarns and contact the cotton fibers. This is unique and is advantageously accomplished with the assistance of thermoset fibers which are resilient and will stretch and then shrink back to pre-stretched dimensions. The shrink-back of the entire fabric is enhanced by the thermoset materials, which then help the cotton to compress back to its original dimensions. The penetration of the THP deep into each cotton fiber of the yarn causes the THP to be evenly deposited in the fabric; and, while in this stretched position, the ammonia is applied so that it cross-links the evenly deposited THP. The subsequent application of the hydrogen peroxide will also evenly shut down the cross-linking process so that the degree of cross-linking is controlled and the fabric will not become unacceptably and unevenly stiff.

(10) The finished fabric can be tested for flame resisted characteristics using the char length test according to ASTM D6413. After the testing, the fabric is washed according to Underwriters Laboratories 100 IL (industrial laundering) criteria and tested again for char length using the ASTM standard for comparison purposes to determine if the flame retardant compound tends to wash out. The char length resulting from the test will be less than the 6 maximum which is considered flame resistant under ASTM F1506.

(11) The preferred fabric, according to the present invention, comprises 50 to 95% by weight of cotton fiber with the preferred percentage being 70 to 75%. The other fibers range between 5% and 30% of the weight of the fabric. All fibers should be the same length, typically 1 to 1 . These fibers are blended together in yarn manufacturing and are either blended together in both warp and fill yarns fabric or simply in with the warp yarn only or in fill yarns only. The balance of the fiber composition would be 20 to 25% meta-aramid of the Nomex brand.

(12) Both Nomex, a meta-aramid, and Kevlar, a para-aramid, are heat and flame resistant and have been used extensively because of these properties.

(13) In the best mode of the invention, a woven fabric about 60 wide comprising 70% cotton, 20% meta-aramide, and 10% nylon is prepared. The fabric is stretched transversely in the fill direction as in FIG. 1 to a width of about 65. While in this stretched condition, the fabric is immersed in a bath containing 40% THPS, then squeezed through pad rollers so that wet pickup is between the range of 80 to 120% and dried so that the moisture content is in the range of 6 to 8%. Next, the fabric is treated with ammonia and then hydrogen peroxide. After washing, the fabric is tested to determine that it meets the ASTM standards.

(14) In another preferred embodiment, the fabric of the above described best mode includes sufficient carbon/polyester fibers in the fill to impart anti-static properties to the fabric. Specifically, it is preferred that a carbon fiber be the core of a yarn strand with a polyester covering sheath.

(15) In the specification above, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined by the claims that follow.