Flame-retardant phase change material (PCM) for thermal protective application in firefighting protective clothing

Phase change material (PCM) can adjust the heat transfer performance of clothing through thermal storage, thus providing extra thermal protection to wearer. In order to meet the flame-retardant (FR) requirement of firefighting protective clothing, the PCM coated fabric with the FR property was prepared by a dry coating process. The effects of FR type, FR content and phase change temperature (PCT) on the FR property were analyzed by a cone calorimeter. The PCM coated fabrics were added to different positions of the firefighting protective clothing, and the influence of PCM coated fabric on thermal protective performance (TPP) was investigated experimentally. The results demonstrated that the FR of organic silicon significantly decreased the heat release rate due to the FR effect in condensed and gas phases. The maximum decreasing of heat release rate was 144.37 kW/m2, which was far lower than that of the PCM coated fabric without the FR. The phosphorus-nitrogen FR expanded the ignition time by 16 s at most owing to the FR effect in condensed phase. The TPP of clothing incorporated with the PCM coated fabric was determined by the type, the PCT and the position of PCM coated fabric. Based on experimental investigation of thermal response of the PCM coated fabric, the study provides some reference for the selection of PCM coated fabric and configuration design of firefighting protective clothing in different fire environments.