Study in the field of product development about Illuminating material for fire-fighter garments & others in the future Master thesis To acquisition of the academic degree Master of Science Summer term 2010 BY Nikola Elisabeth Schwaiger (X090204) Shufei Wang (X090210) In cooperation with the company F.O.V. fabrics AB, Borås, Sweden Supervisor: Prof. Heikki Mattila, University of Borås, Sweden Examiner: Prof. Håkan Torstensson, University of Borås, Sweden Submission date of the final thesis: 26/05/2010 Statutory declaration Herewith we assure that the present master thesis has been written independently, and no others as the given sources have been used. All executions and thoughts, that were taken from other writings literally or basically, are marked, and the work in same or similar version yet was not presented to an exam authority before. Borås, May 2010 Signature: Signature: Acknowledgement We would lik e to thank Fred rik Johansson from the company F.O.V. fabrics AB in Bor ås, for the great comm unication and creative meetings during our thesis time; thank s our supervisor Prof. Heikki Mattila from the University of Bor ås for the great support. Also, we want to say thank you to the fire-fighter brigade in Borås, particularly Mr. Anders Johansson an d other organizations/ companies for their ideas and information during the interviews. Nikola Schwaiger & Shufei Wang Borås, 26. May 2010 2 Abstract The field of protective garments is a wide range segment, and protective clothings are needed in the daily business of workers, for example fire fighters, police men, and in the fishing industry. This Master-Thesis focuses on properties of fire fighters protective garments and other work wear in combination with luminescent materials and future challenges. The research is based on a market research through interviewing fire- fighters and all important manufacturers along the supply chain. It analyzes the market demand of new fire-garments with both fire retardant and luminescent functions; provides an overview over current available materials, and explains the future possibilities for those garments; gives a suggestion of possible supply chain as well as the product design. Some relevant standards and tests were also described; major impacts that protective clothing has to withstand are thermal heat, biological, chemical, and also mechanical impacts; in this context, the properties of flame retardant and luminescent materials are worked out. From technical point of view, it seems to be possible to combine flame retardant and luminescent material together on protective garment, though still lots of research work needs to be done to ensure the combination can meet high standards. However, other work-wear is a potential field for the application of luminescent material, for example road-workers, sports wears, etc. 3 Table of content Introduction Aim Methods Delimitation 1 The partner F.O.V. fabrics AB ...................................................................... 12 2 Luminescence ............................................................................................. 14 2.1 Luminescence in general ................................................................................... 14 2.2 Photo-luminescence ......................................................................................... 15 2.2.1 Fluorescence ........................................................................................ 16 2.2.2 Phosphorescence ................................................................................. 17 2.3 Material properties of phosphorescent materials ............................................ 19 2.4 Field of application ............................................................................................ 19 3 Flame retardant materials today ................................................................. 22 3.1 Definition of flame retardant material ............................................................. 22 3.2 Materials & producing companies .................................................................... 22 3.2.1 Kevlar ®/ DuPont.................................................................................... 23 3.2.2 Nomex ®/ DuPont .................................................................................. 23 3.2.3 Lenzing FR ® ........................................................................................... 23 3.2.3.1 Standards and testing .......................................................................... 25 3.2.3.2 Company size and capacity .................................................................. 25 3.2.3.3 Customers and application field .......................................................... 25 3.2.3.4 Comparison to other fibers .................................................................. 26 3.2.4 PBI ® ....................................................................................................... 26 3.2.5 Twaron ® ................................................................................................ 27 3.3 Material properties ........................................................................................... 27 3.4 Field of application of flame retardant materials ............................................. 27 4 EU Standards and Norms of illuminating and flame retardant material ........ 28 4.1 EN 469 protective clothing ................................................................................ 28 4.1.1 EN 433, 3.17 accessory ........................................................................ 30 4.1.2 EN 433, 3.29 trim ................................................................................. 30 4.1.3 The old German standard DIN 14940 for helmets ............................... 30 4.2 EN 471 High Visibility ........................................................................................ 31 4.3 Certificates ........................................................................................................ 31 5 Textile tests after the EU Standards ............................................................. 32 5.1 Mandatory textile tests related to DIN EN 469................................................. 32 5.2 Additional possible tests ................................................................................... 35 5.3 Fluorescent or reflective applications and accessory materials ....................... 36 5.4 Mandatory textile tests related to DIN EN 471:2008-03 .................................. 36 4 5.5 Tests for finished garment ................................................................................ 37 6 Market research ......................................................................................... 38 6.1 Chemistry industry ............................................................................................ 38 6.2 Testing institutes ............................................................................................... 39 6.3 W. L. Gore & Associates GmbH ......................................................................... 39 6.4 Garment Manufacturer ..................................................................................... 40 6.5 End user, the Fire brigade Borås ....................................................................... 40 6.5.1 Materials & Suppliers in the market .................................................... 41 6.5.2 Lion Apparel ......................................................................................... 41 7 Analysis of the market demand ................................................................... 42 7.1 Interviewresults from the end-user “fire-brigade” ........................................... 44 7.2 Result from the interviews through questionnaires ......................................... 46 8 Technical feasibility discussion .................................................................... 47 8.1 Interview with chemistry industry .................................................................... 48 8.1.1 Schill+Seilacher GmbH ......................................................................... 48 8.1.2 Wacker Chemie AG .............................................................................. 49 8.1.3 CHT-Beitlich, Tübingen/BEZEMA, Switzerland ..................................... 49 8.1.4 Company UV-elements ........................................................................ 50 8.1.5 Result form the chemistry industry ..................................................... 51 8.2 Results from the testing Institutes .................................................................... 51 8.3 W. L. Gore & Associates GmbH ......................................................................... 52 8.3.1 Results .................................................................................................. 52 8.3.2 Requirements and problems ............................................................... 52 8.3.3 Positive aspects .................................................................................... 53 8.4 Overall result of the technical discussion part .................................................. 53 9 Supply chain discussion ............................................................................... 53 9.1 Rawmaterial suppliers....................................................................................... 54 9.1.1 Yarn supplier .......................................................................................