Flame Protective Fabric Structure

Abstract

A flame protective fabric structure ( 1 ) comprises a fabric ( 10 ) being formed with multiple yarns ( 20 ), each yarn ( 20 ) made of a fiber blend of at least a first fiber component and a second fiber component. The first fiber component comprises flame resistant viscose fibers ( 22 ) in an amount of at least 50% of the fiber blend weight and the second fiber component comprises meltable fibers ( 24 ) in an amount of at least 10% of the fiber blend weight. The fabric ( 10 ) is formed as a woven fabric with a total fractional cover factor of greater than 60% having a capability to withstand a horizontal flame exposure of 10 seconds without hole formation according to ISO 15025/14116_Index III.

1 . A flame protective fabric structure comprising:
 a fabric being formed with multiple yarns, wherein each of the yarns is made of a fiber blend of at least a first fiber component and a second fiber component,   the first fiber component comprising flame resistant viscose fibers in an amount of at least 50% of the fiber blend weight and the second fiber component comprising meltable fibers in an amount of at least 10% of the fiber blend weight;   wherein the fabric is formed as a woven fabric with a total fractional cover factor of greater than 60% having a capability to withstand a horizontal flame exposure of 10 seconds without hole formation according to ISO 15025/14116 Index III.   
     
     
         2 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the meltable fibers are made of polyamide. 
     
     
         3 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the flame resistant viscose fibers are man-made cellulosic fibers comprising flame resistant additives incorporated in the viscose matrix. 
     
     
         4 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the fiber blend comprises the flame resistant viscose fibers and the meltable fibers in a weight ratio of 80:20. 
     
     
         5 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the fabric has a weight in the range of 50 g/m 2  to 550 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         6 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the fabric is formed in a plain weave construction. 
     
     
         7 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least one barrier layer adjacent to one side of the fabric. 
     
     
         8 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 7 , wherein the barrier layer comprises a porous membrane layer made of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene. 
     
     
         9 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the first fiber component and the second fiber component are homogenously distributed in the yarns. 
     
     
         10 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the fiber blend comprises at least one third or more additional fiber components, the third and more additional fiber components being provided in the fiber blend in an amount of not more than 3% of the fiber blend weight. 
     
     
         11 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one surface of the fabric is dyed such that it has a color fastness greater than 4. 
     
     
         12 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one surface of the fabric is dyed with a carrier-free dye such that it has a color fastness of greater than 4. 
     
     
         13 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 12 , wherein the carrier-free dye is directly integrated into the fabric on at least one surface of the fabric. 
     
     
         14 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the fabric is printed with a dye having a color fastness of greater than 4. 
     
     
         15 . The flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the flame resistant viscose fibers and meltable fibers are made by staple fiber spinning and twisting. 
     
     
         16 . A clothing article comprising a flame protective fabric structure according to  claim 1 .