Abstract

Radiative and thermal characterization of basalt fabric as an alternative for firefighter protective clothing

Author(s): Miguel �?�?�?�?�?�?�?ngel Gallegos Lazcano, Yu Weidong

This work investigates the thermal performance and characterization of Basalt Fiber as an alternative for firefighter protective clothing at elevated temperature. The development of protective clothing for better protection, stability, and durability has been the subject for several researches. Since the mainmechanismor heat transfer between fire and firefighter is radiation, therefore produce the second degree of burn in the firefighter, Ultraviolet Visible near Infrared (UV-vis-NIR) spectrophotometer was used, toperform the thermal radiation. Basalt and Glass fabric coated with aluminumfoil and uncoated were used for comparison the thermal properties. Chemicals bonding and molecular structure that cause higher thermal stability of basalt fiber were identified using FTIR, while low thermal degradation was performed using TGA. Significant improvement in reflection was observed in the fabrics after coating with aluminum foil. The main difference was in the surface roughnessof the materials, also basalt revealed to be natural resistant to electromagnetic radiation. FTIR result showed greater Q4Si-O molecular networking and chemical bonding for basalt fiber, thus higher thermal stability, because according to TGA results only 0.58% of mass was lost at elevated temperatures.(900oC) Thermal performance and characterization of basalt fiber in this investigation suggest that basalt fiber possess excellent thermal performance and stability at elevated temperature, with great potential for application in firefighter protective clothing.