Flame retardancy of polymers

National Nonwovens has launched the Ultra-ProTechtor, the first fire-blocker for all aircraft seating dress covers. The product produced by Sabic Innovative Plastics is a nonwoven lightweight flame barrier that utilises Ultem polymer and newly-developed fibres.

According to National Nonwovens, Ultra-ProTechtor provides increased stability along with significant property improvements including low smoke density and toxicity, water repellency, low heat release, high puncture resistance and improved fire-blocking protection at a lighter weight. In addition, it has excellent seam, tear and tensile strength resulting in less stretch and is formaldehyde free.

Anthony Centofanti, CEO and president at National Nonwovens, said: “Ultra-ProTechtor is engineered to provide ultra-flammability protection with superior performance at a lower weight and lower cost.

“Although it was initially designed for the Aerospace Market, it can also greatly benefit other markets that have modes of transportation requiring fire-blockers.” National Nonwovens added that using its advanced engineering with Ultem fibre technology resulted in the Ultra-ProTechtor being more fire-resistant than Aramids. It also has a higher Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) rating than either Nomex or Kevlar.

LOI is an index that rates the fire-resistance properties according to the minimum concentration of oxygen, expressed as a percentage. The higher the number, the greater resistance of the polymer to support a flame; Ultra-ProTechtor has an LOI of 44% while Nomex has an LOI of 26% and Kevlar has an LOI of 31%. (Source: WTIN)

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