Effect of fabric properties and glove structure on thermal protective performance of fire gloves under flash fire exposure

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of fabric properties and glove structure on the thermal protective performance of fire glove when exposed to a flash fire. Ten types of firefighting glove fabrics were selected, and nine types of gloves with four-layer fabrics were obtained for an orthogonal experiment. Different structures and sizes of gloves were also designed. The burn area and absorbed energy were tested using a flame hand system. Pearson correlations were established to analyze the relationships of fabric properties and absorbed energy, and of shrinkage rate and absorbed energy. The statistical analysis from these obtained data indicated that the thickness of fabric systems had no significant correlation for total absorbed energy ( p > 0.05), while the flame retardancy, air permeability, and shrinkage rate of the outer shell fabric exhibited a strong relation ( p = 0.033, 0.012, and 0.013, respectively). With the increase in glove looseness, the absorbed energy and burn area first decreased and then increased. The thermal protective performance was best at a looseness of 10 mm (by the largest absorbed energy reduction of 24%). It has been found that long gloves provide better thermal protection than short gloves. For short gloves, adding an elastic belt to the wrist can reduce the absorbed energy, while adding an elastic belt to the cuff for long gloves has a negative effect on the thermal protective performance.