Effect of Fire Retardants on the Burning Rate of Cotton
The Experimenter

Researched by Janyn M.
2004-05


 PURPOSE

 The purpose of this experiment was to determine which fire retardant product would most
 effectively prevented cotton from burning.

 I became interested in this idea when I saw a news program that said a house burned down in
 less than 2 minutes because of draperies and cotton material that accidentally caught on fire.

 The information gained from this experiment may be used by everybody (especially parents
 and people who operate hospitals, nursing homes or hotels) who would want to know which
 fire retardant product to use on cotton material to keep it from burning.


 HYPOTHESIS

 My hypotheses were that:

1. The No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray would more effectively prevent the cotton from burning than the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray and the Flametard Fire Retardant Spray.

2. The No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray would take the cotton longer to ignite than the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray and the Flametard Fire Retardant Spray.

3. The No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray would make the cotton faster to extinguish than Flamex Fire Retardant Spray and the Flametard Fire Retardant Spray.

 I based all three of my hypotheses on the web page for Safety Think Incorporated which stated,
 “Not only does No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard slow down the fire, but in many cases will not
 allow interior furnishings to catch fire at all.”


 EXPERIMENT DESIGN

 The constants in this study were:
  • The amount of fire retardant used on the cotton material
  • The temperature in the room
  • The type of material (cotton)
  • Size of cotton material (10cm by 10cm)
  • Candle
  • Stopwatches
 The manipulated variable was the flame retardant used on the cotton material.

 The responding variables were:

- The time it took for the cotton to start burning
- The area of the cotton material that was left unburned in square centimeters
- The time for the cotton to finish burning

 To measure the responding variables I used stopwatches to determine the time taken for the
 cotton to ignite and the time taken for the cotton to extinguish. To measure the area of the
 cotton material that was left unburned, I placed a 10cm by 10cm plastic grid on the cotton 
 material and counted the square centimeters of the area that was unburned.


 MATERIALS

QUANTITY ITEM DESCRIPTION
1 Liter  Flamex Fire Retardant Spray
1 Liter  Flametard Fire Retardant Spray
1 Liter  No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Retardant Spray
1  Candle
2  Stopwatch
1
  Lighter/Box of Matches
1
  Non-Flammable Cookie Sheet
20
  Cotton Fabric Squares (10cm by 10cm)
1
  Transparent 10cm by 10cm Grid
1
  Ring Stand
40
  Clothes Pins


 PROCEDURES

  1. Prepare cotton fabric.
a. Wash and dry cotton fabric before cutting.
b. Cut fabric into twenty 10x10 cm squares.
  2. Divide the 20 squares of fabric into 4 groups of 5 and label (Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 and
      Group 4).
  3. Treat cotton fabric.
a. Spray Group 1 evenly with the Flamex fire retardant spray 20 times on both sides.
b. Spray Group 2 evenly with the Flametard fire retardant spray 20 times on both sides.
c. Spray Group 3 evenly with the No-Burn Fire Guard fire retardant spray 20 times on
    both sides.
d. Spray Group 4 with nothing.
  4. Hang all squares on a string by two clothespins to dry for 24 hours.
  5. Gather materials and do test over the non-flammable cookie sheet.
  6. Light candle with lighter/match.
  7. Once the groups have dried, take one square of the cotton fabric and clip it onto the ring
      stand.
  8. Then, take the lighted candle and ignite the cotton fabric vertically so the fire would be
      directed onto the end of the cotton fabric.
  9. Measure Responding Variables.
a. Start stopwatch 1 when the lighted candle is placed under the cloth.
b. Stop stopwatch 1 when the cotton ignites.
c. Start stopwatch 2 when the cotton ignites.
d. Stop stopwatch 2 when the cotton finishes burning.
e. Place the transparent 10cm by 10cm plastic grid on top of the burned cloth to determine
    how much material was left unburned. Count the square centimeters of the area that
    was left unburned.
f. Record readings from both stopwatches and the grid.
  10. Repeat steps 7, 8 and 9 for the remaining samples in Groups 2, Group 3, Group 4 and
        Group 1.
  11. Record all data for all groups.


 RESULTS

 The original purpose of this experiment was to determine which fire retardant product would
 most effectively prevented cotton from burning.

 The results of the experiment were that the Flametard Fire Retardant Spray effectively
 prevented the cotton from burning more than the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray and the
 No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray. The Flamex Fire Retardant Spray took
 the cotton longer to ignite than the Flametard Fire Retardant spray and the No-Burn Fabric
 Fire Guard Fire Retardant spray. The Flametard Retardant Spray made the cotton extinguish
 faster than No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant spray and the Flamex Fire Retardant
 spray.

 View my data table and graphs.


 CONCLUSION

 My hypotheses were that:

1. The No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray would more effectively prevent the cotton from burning than the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray and the Flametard Fire Retardant Spray.

 The results indicate that this hypothesis should be rejected because the average percent of the
 fabric that was left unburned with the No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray was the
 smallest of the three products tested.

2. The No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray would take the cotton longer to ignite than the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray and the Flametard Fire Retardant Spray.

 The results indicate that this hypothesis should be rejected because the average time it took for
 the fabric sprayed with the No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray to ignite was
 shorter than the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray but not the Flametard Fire Retardant Spray.

3. The No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray would make the cotton faster to extinguish than Flamex Fire Retardant spray and the Flametard Fire Retardant spray.

 The results indicate that this hypothesis should be rejected because the average time it took for
 the fabric sprayed with the No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray to extinguish was
 4.99 seconds, longer than either of the other products.

 Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if the Flametard Fire Retardant spray would
 still effectively prevent cotton from burning after the cotton has been washed 10, 20, or 30
 times?

 If I were to conduct this project again I would include more trials. I would also use more types
 of fabrics (linen, silk, etc.) to see if the Flametard Fire Retardant Spray would effectively
 prevent those fabrics from burning.



RESEARCH REPORT

Introduction

Fire is an important resource to mankind. It is mainly used for warmth, light and cooking, but fire is used for other purposes as well. Fire can be helpful in many ways but can also be dangerous.

Discovery of Fire

Fire has existed on the Earth for millions of years, and fire has existed before the Earth for even longer (the sun and the stars are basically burning balls of gas). But, how we got fire remains a mystery. Many people believe that early man discovered fire burning on a branch that had been struck by lightning. Early man most likely got very frightened when they first saw fire. But, over time they learned that fire could keep them warm. They also learned that fire could scare off predators and could help them hunt for food. But, learning how to cook their food with fire came long after that. There are many religious beliefs of how fire was discovered, like Prometheus from a Greek myth who stole fire from the Gods and gave it to man to cook and also keep warm. We do not know how man, really got fire, for the discovery of fire is lost in the sands of time.

Chemistry of Fire

Fire is a chemical reaction. Fire needs three things so it can burn: Oxygen, Heat, and Fuel. The fuel can be in any form, such as solids, liquids and gases. Oxygen, another thing that will start a fire creates ignition. And lastly, heat; makes solid give off flammable vapor. Oxygen, Heat and Fuel are commonly known as the fire triangle. If Oxygen, Heat and Fuel are not present, a fire cannot start. If Oxygen, Heat and Fuel are removed, the fire will stop burning and snuff out.

Uses and Dangers of Fire

The earliest use of fire was to keep warm. Other uses of fires are hunting, cooking, repelling predators and more. There are thousands of uses of fires. We have to be careful when we are around or near fires. Did you know that over 2000 children die from fires every year? This is mostly due to human carelessness (like leaving the stove on) and ‘fire-starters’, commonly know as ‘fire-bugs’, ‘arsonists’ and ‘pyromaniacs’. Starting a fire is a crime. Also, keeping matches and lighters away from small children can avoid severe injuries and even deaths.

Fire Retardants

No material or substance on Earth is fireproof. Most substances on Earth will burn. But, you can apply fire retardants to a material to prevent it from being damaged when caught on fire. Chemicals of the fire retardant react with burning gases and tars created by the material. The tars turn into ‘carbon char’. The carbon char slows down the burning rate of the material. That’s how a fire retardant works. This reaction happens automatically by the heat of a fire. Some materials you can apply fire retardants on to their surface include wood, fabric and paper. There are a lot of fire retardants to purchase on the market, and some of them are inexpensive. Although fire retardants can save you from a fire, fire retardants are dangerous to your health. Fire retardants are poisonous and can be very harmful if swallowed.

Conclusion

We use fires for many things. So, fire is both helpful and very dangerous to mankind. We always need to remember that fire can be very dangerous so that we can live a healthy life.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alvares, Norman,  "Fireproofing",  World Book Online Reference Center,  2004.

“Combustion”,  Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2004.

Quintiere, James,  “Fire”,  World Book Online Reference Center, 2004.

Cnn., Stephanie,  “Retarding the Flame”, 11/10/2004
<http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/SOAR/SciProj2002/Stephaniec.html>

Arnett, Landin,  “The Effect of Different Concentrations of Flame Retardant
          on Cotton”, 11/10/2004
<http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/SOAR/SciProj2002/LandinA.html>
    
Vince National Fireproofing Company,  “Fire Retardants: An Advantageous Solution to Fire Protection”, 11/10/2004
<http://www.fabrics.net/fireproofing.asp>

National Fire Proofing Company.  “Fire Retardant Products”, 11/10/04
< http://www.natfire.com/flame.retardant_fx.htm>

Safety Think Incorporated,  “No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard”, 11/17/04
    < http://www.safetythink.com/detail.php?catid=3&prodid=36>

Dharma Trading Company,  “Fire Retardant Spray for Fabrics”, 11/17/04
    <http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1693-AA.shtml>

Vince National Fireproofing Company,  “What is a Fire Retardant”, 11/10/2004
<http://www.fabrics.net/fireproofing.asp>

BBB-H2G2,  “The Discovery of Fire”, 11/17/2004
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A206380>

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service,  “All about FIRE!”, 01/19/2005
< http://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/kids/learn/allaboutfire.html>


 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 I would like to thank the following people for helping make my project possible:
  • My parents for supporting me and buying the materials for my project.
  • Mr. Newkirk for correcting my project, buying fire retardants and also for pushing me to try as hard as I could.
  • Mrs. Helms for helping me choose a science project topic.

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