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The Effect of Different Brands |
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Researched by Austin
H. |
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PURPOSE
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of different brands of fire retardants on the burning rate of cotton.
I became interested in this idea when I heard that there had been many fires in our community lately and I wondered what could stop or slow down fires.
The information gained from this experiment could help everyone, especially people in hospitals, nursing homes, and schools, as well as parents of young children. No one wants their house or other possessions burned.
HYPOTHESES
My first hypothesis was that the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray would more effectively prevent the cotton from burning than the No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant spray or the Flametard Fire Retardant spray.
My second hypothesis was that the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray would take the cotton longer to ignite than Flametard Fire Retardant Spray or the No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray.
My third hypothesis was that the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray would make the burning cotton faster to extinguish than No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray or the Flametard Fire Retardant Spray.
I based my hypotheses on the website http://www.natfire.com/ which stated, “When applied, Flamex slows the flame spread and greatly reduces smoke developed and afterglow in fire situations.”
The constants in this study were:
• The type of material (cotton)
• Amount of fire retardant used on cotton material(10ml)
• The temperature of the room
• Size of cotton material squares (10cm x 10cm)
• Alcohol burner
• Stopwatches
The manipulated variable was the type of flame retardant used on the cotton material.
The responding variables were:
• The amount of time it took for the cotton to start burning
• The time for the ignited cotton to stop burning
• The area of the cotton left unburned in square centimeters
To measure the responding variable, I used a stopwatch to determine the time it took for the cotton to start burning and a second stopwatch for the time it took for the cotton to extinguish. I also measured the part of the cotton left unburned in square centimeters.
MATERIALS
| QUANTITY | ITEM DESCRIPTION |
| 1 Liter | Flamex Fire Retardant Spray |
| 1 Liter | No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Retardant Spray |
| 1 Liter | Flametard Fire Retardant Spray |
| 20 | Cotton fabric squares (10cm x 10cm) |
| 2 |
Stopwatches |
| 1 |
Alcohol burner |
| 1 |
Lighter/box of matches |
| 1 |
10x10 centimeter grid sheet |
PROCEDURES
1. Prepare the cotton material.A. Wash/Dry
cotton material.
B. Cut cotton
material into 20 10x10 centimeter squares.
2. Divide the 20 squares of fabric into 4 equal
groups.3. Treat the cotton fabric.
A. Spray group
1 evenly with 10 ml of the Flamex Fire Retardant spray.
B. Spray group
2 evenly with 10 ml of the No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard fire retardant
spray.
C. Spray group 3 evenly with 10 ml of the Flametard fire retardant spray.
D. Do not spray group 4 with anything.
4. Hang fabric squares to dry for 24 hours.C. Spray group 3 evenly with 10 ml of the Flametard fire retardant spray.
D. Do not spray group 4 with anything.
5. Set up ring stand with test tube clamp.
6. Once groups have dried take one square of the cotton material and hang it from the test tube clamp.
7. Light Alcohol burner
8. Using the alcohol burner ignite cotton material under the bottom corner of material so fire will be directed to the bottom end of the material.
9. Measure the responding variables.
A. Start the
first stopwatch once the alcohol burner is placed under the cotton
material.
B. Then simultaneously stop the first stopwatch once the cotton ignites and start the second stopwatch.
C. Stop the second stopwatch once the material finishes burning.
D. Take the cooled sample out of the test tube clamp
E. Place 10x10 centimeter transparent grid sheet on the top of the cotton to determine how much of the material was left unburned.
B. Then simultaneously stop the first stopwatch once the cotton ignites and start the second stopwatch.
C. Stop the second stopwatch once the material finishes burning.
D. Take the cooled sample out of the test tube clamp
E. Place 10x10 centimeter transparent grid sheet on the top of the cotton to determine how much of the material was left unburned.
F. Count the
square centimeters on the grid of unburned cotton.
G. Record all 3 data items
10. Repeat steps 6-9 with the remaining samples of
groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 G. Record all 3 data items
11. Average the data within each group and compare.
RESULTS
The original purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of different brands of fire retardants on the burning rate of cotton.
The results of the experiment were that cotton treated with the Flamex fire retardant spray took longer to ignite than the Flametard fire retardant spray and the No-Burn fabric fire guard fire retardant spray. The Flametard fire retardant spray extinguished the cotton faster than the Flamex fire retardant spray and the No-Burn fire retardant spray. The Flametard fire retardant spray more effectively prevented the cotton from burning than the Flamex fire retardant spray and the No-Burn fire retardant spray.
See the tables and graphs on the next pages.
CONCLUSION
My first hypothesis was that the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray would more effectively prevent the cotton from burning than the No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant spray or the Flametard Fire Retardant spray.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be rejected, because the Flametard fire retardant spray more effectively prevented the cotton from burning than the Flamex fire retardant spray and the No-Burn fire retardant spray.
My second hypothesis was that the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray would take the cotton longer to ignite than Flametard Fire Retardant Spray or the No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted, because the Flamex fire retardant spray group took longer to ignite than the Flametard fire retardant spray and the No-Burn fire retardant spray.
My third hypothesis was that the Flamex Fire Retardant Spray would make the burning cotton faster to extinguish than No-Burn Fabric Fire Guard Fire Retardant Spray and the Flametard Fire Retardant Spray.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be rejected, because the flametard fire retardant spray made the cotton faster to extinguish then the flamex fire retardant spray or the No-Burn fire retardant spray.
After thinking about the results of this experiment, I wonder how the results would have changed if I used less fire retardant spray and how they would change if I used a thicker material such as wool.
If I were to conduct this project again I would test more squares of fabric for each group and I would test more types of retardant. I would also do more trials in the experiment to make more accurate results and different types of material.
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Introduction to Fire Combustion is a rapid chemical reaction of two or more substances with a result of heat and light. It’s more commonly known as fire or burning. In order for combustion or burning to take place, there must be sources of heat, fuel, and oxygen. These are what make up the fire triangle. Oxygen is one of the things that fire needs the most to burn. If a fire were in a closed area it would soon run out of oxygen and extinguish itself. The definition of fuel is something that is burned to provide power or heat. Fuel can be any burnable substance and is necessary for combustion. Each fuel has it’s own ignition point or kindling temperature. The ignition point or kindling temperature is the temperature at which the fuel is able to burn. Vaporization Point Fuel burns as a vapor, it will not burn in solid or liquid form. Wood or other solids will not burn unless it reaches its vaporization point. The vaporization point is the temperature when the fuel would release an ignitable vapor. The flame heating the fuel would then come in contact with the vapor which, ignites and this flame will then vaporize the next layer of fuel and it will continue in a cycle until the fuel has been thoroughly burnt. This is called self-sustaining fire. An example of self-sustaining fire is a forest fire. Most fire is hard to put out because of self-sustaining fire. Flame Retardants & Fire Proofing Flame-retardants are generally materials that inhibit or slow the spread of fire. Flame-retardants are used in many situations. They can be used in hospitals, homes, hotels, or nursing homes. They are needed on any kind of fabric that would cause danger if set aflame. There are many forms of flame retardant. One is flame retardant material or cloth where the item is manufactured with flame retardant materials. There is also chemical flame retardant spray which you use to treat the material, such as cotton, with a certain amount of spray to prevent or slow burning. Some fire retardants can also cause the fire to extinguish. Fireproofing is a popular name for methods of protecting burnable substances. Fire prevention experts consider fireproofing misleading because even steel and concrete are affected by burning to some degree. Fire’s History Most historians and scientists say that fire was most likely discovered after trees were set aflame by lightning or possibly volcanoes. Once cavemen learned to make and use fire they were able to live in more civilized ways. With fire they were able to cook food and keep warm during the winter and inhabit colder regions of the earth. They were also able to harden weapons with fire. People remained ignorant about the properties of flame until 1783. In that year Antoine Lavosier investigated the properties of oxygen. His studies revealed that ordinary fire is due to a process called oxidation which is the combination of oxygen with another substance. Uses and Dangers of Fire There are many uses of fire but the earliest use was to keep warm. They also used fire to cook food that they found. Fire was able to help people inhabit the colder regions of the Earth. After many years early people made more complicated ways of using fire such as melting rock or iron to form weapons and tools. There are also many dangers of fire over 2000 children a year die from uncontrolled fires. This problem is mostly due to human carelessness but it can also be started by pyromaniacs (criminals). Starting an uncontrolled fire is a crime. Fire can cause death or severe injuries to organisms. The punishment for starting a fire is jail. Cotton Cotton is the most used of all plant fibers. Cotton is made from the seeds of the cotton plant. Using the cotton plant seeds manufacturers create thread from the seed. The thread created from the cotton plant seed is made into cloth. Then the cloth is made into clothes, bed sheets, curtains, and other items used by people. Cotton has been separated from its plant and woven into cloth for thousands of years. The leading countries that produce cotton are the United States and China. Pakistan, India, and Uzbekistan also produce large amounts of cotton. Together these countries make up three fourths of the cotton produced in the world. Cotton is a very important resource to the people today. Cotton is produced rapidly all over the United States. Summary An uncontrolled fire can be very harmful to mankind. Understanding the properties of fire is important to everyone’s safety. Mankind must know that fire can dangerous in order to live a safe and healthy life. |
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Alvares, Norman J. "Fire Proofing," http://worldbook.com, 2005. “Fire.” Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. 2003. “Flamex Fire Retardant Spray” http://natfire.com Mercado,Janyn. “Effect of Fire Retardants on the Burning Rate of Cotton”, 11/10/2005 <http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/SOAR/SciProj2005/JanynM.html> Nguyen, Hay X. “Flame Retardant” Encarta Encyclopedia. 2005ed. CD-ROM. Quintierre, James G. “Fire,” World Book Encyclopedia. 2004 ed. CD-ROM. Chicago: World Book Inc., 2004. Quintierre, James G. “Combustion,” http://worldbook.com, 2005. Vinson, Bradleigh S. “Fire,” World Book Encyclopedia. 2004 ed. CD-ROM. Chicago: World Book Inc., 2004. Wikipedia Encyclopedia “Combustion,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/combustion, 2005 |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the following people for helping make my project possible:
• My parents for supporting me and helping me with my experiment
• Mr. Newkirk for keeping me on task and helping me with my project when I needed it
• Mrs. Viernes for helping me find information and making corrections with my report to make it the best it could be
• My Brother for giving me support me when I needed it
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