Performance Assessment of the Firefighting Personal Protective Tunic

ABSTRACT

This project centers on addressing the issue of the lack of research and development in Nigeria, in this case, looking into the firefighting and emergency sector. In this industry, the safety of the firefighters is of paramount importance as it is only then that they can fully carry out their duties and tasks. Of all the products that make up a complete assemble of the firefighters’ PPE, it is their personal protective tunic that was used for this project as it is the basic and most important part of the PPE. The city of Ota was used as a case study due to the high concentration of industries which makes it a target for pipeline explosions amongst others. A performance assessment was carried out on an obtained sample material of the firefighters’ personal protective tunic. Four tests were performed to determine the thermophysical and elemental properties of the material. The following results were got: thermal conductivity of 2.47 W/mK and calorific value of 24020.46 kJ/kg. The elemental analysis showed that the sample material contained the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen elements in the molecular ratio of 27:38:14 respectively. The obtained results for the thermophysical properties did not correspond with that of international standards for known firefighter tunic materials such as Nomex and Kevlar and so is not suitable for use. This project seeks to make this information available to stakeholders in the firefighting industry and proffer recommendations for the necessary upgrade on the standard of protective tunics used in fire stations. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATIONi

CERTIFICATIONii

DEDICATIONiii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTiv

ABSTRACTv

TABLE OF CONTENTSvi

CHAPTER ONE1

1INTRODUCTION1

1.1BACKGROUND1

1.2FIREFIGHTER TUNIC2

1.2.1Outer Covering3

1.2.2Moisture Layer3

1.2.3Thermal Liner4

1.2.4Nomex and Kevlar4

1.2.5Firefighter Protective Equipment Overview6

1.3PROBLEM STATEMENT6

1.4GENERAL SCOPE OF STUDY6

1.5LIMITATIONS7

1.6AIM & OBJECTIVES7

1.7JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY7

CHAPTER TWO8

2LITERATURE REVIEW8

2.1INTRODUCTION8

2.1.1Material Differences in Compliance to NFPA 19719

2.1.2Protective Tunic Design Requirements10

2.1.3Specialized Firefighting11

2.2STANDARD MEASUREMENTS FOR THERMAL AND FLAME PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT11

2.2.1Wildland Firefighting13

2.2.2Shipboard Firefighting13

2.2.3Structural Firefighting13

2.2.4Flammability Experiment14

2.2.5Measuring Resistance to Convective Heat14

2.2.6Measuring Resistance to Radiant Heat16

2.2.7Measuring Resistance to Conductive Heat17

2.2.8Thermal Resistance of Materials17

2.2.9Heat Resistance of Thread19

2.2.10Measurement of the Whole Tunic’s Flame and Thermal Performance19

2.2.11Laboratory Measurements with Test Subjects20

2.3APPLICATION OF SILICAOXIDE AEROGELS IN THE TUNIC22

2.4RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THERMAL PROTECTIVE PERFORMANCE AND TOTAL HEAT LOSS23

2.5INFLUENCE OF TUNIC AND EQUIPMENT ON MOVEMENT RATE24

2.6CONFLICT IN FIREFIGHTERS’ TUNIC STANDARDS27

2.7TEST FOR THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY28

CHAPTER THREE31

3MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY31

3.1INTRODUCTION31

3.2MATERIAL31

3.3EQUIPMENT AND APPARATUS32

3.4METHODOLOGY32

3.4.1Thermophysical Properties33

3.4.2Test for Specific Heat Capacity33

3.4.3Test for Thermal Conductivity36

3.4.4Digitized Innovated Lee’s Disc Apparatus36

3.4.5Test for Energy Content38

3.4.6Oxygen Bomb Calorimeter38

3.4.7Elemental Analysis40

3.4.8Elemental Analyzer40

CHAPTER FOUR42

4RESULTS AND DISCUSSION42

4.1RESULTS42

4.1.1Thermal Conductivity43

4.1.2Calorific Value47

4.1.3Elemental Analysis Result48

CHAPTER FIVE49

5CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS49

5.1CONCLUSION49

5.2RECOMMENDATION49

REFRENCES51

APPENDIX: STANDARDS57