ABSTRACT CARLTON, NIGEL PATRICK. Effective Methods for the Evaluation of Thermal Protective Performance of Firefighter Protective Hoods (Under the direction of Dr. R. Bryan Ormond and Dr. Roger L. Barker). In recent years, firefighting and cancer have become nearly synonymous with one another. To combat the infiltration of the possibly carcinogenic materials in soot and smoke, an optional particulate blocking layer has been added to the firefighter protective hoods in the NFPA 1971 standard which governs the protective equipment of structural firefighters. However, the performance of these materials under flashover conditions must be evaluated first and foremost. There are several test methods that evaluate the performance of materials and garments under flashover conditions, but these test methods must also be evaluated for efficacy and efficiency of their procedures and results. Firefighter protective hood materials and composites were tested using two bench-level thermal protective performance test methods. These were used to evaluate a material’s and composite’s performance under flashover conditions. The first test method used was with a continuous exposure until predicted second-degree burn while the second involved an abbreviated exposure with continued data collection until a predicted second-degree burn is realized. These methods showed that the addition of a particulate blocking layers increases the thermal protective performance of composites. Thickness and weight also were shown to have a significant effect on thermal protective performance. Manikins are frequently used to evaluate thermally resistant garments to incorporate the addition of garment design and air gaps into thermal protective performance. The PyroHead™ Fire Test System is a tool used for the evaluation of flame-resistant headgear and was originally developed for the evaluation of military balaclava testing at four seconds. However, since firefighter protective hoods are designed to give more protection than military balaclavas, four seconds was hypothesized to be too short of an exposure time and therefore a standard testing procedure had to be determined for effective evaluation. After rounds of testing and evaluation, the suggested testing procedure for testing firefighter protective hoods on PyroHead™ was to follow ASTM F1930 and test just the hood on the head form at seven seconds and run five replicates. On-market hoods, both traditional and particulate blocking, were tested and evaluated using the proposed standard testing procedure. This tested was designed and conducted to determine what aspects of firefighter protective hoods influence the thermal protective performance as shown by PyroHead™ results. Aspects such as material, thickness, weight, layering, particulate blocking layers, and design were specifically taken into consideration when correlating variables with predicted head burn percentage. The results found that of the variables explored, the layering had the greatest effect on the predicted head burn percentage produced on PyroHead™. © Copyright 2019 by Nigel Patrick Carlton All Rights Reserved Effective Methods for the Evaluation of Thermal Protective Performance of Firefighter Protective Hoods by Nigel Patrick Carlton A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Textile Engineering Raleigh, North Carolina 2019 APPROVED BY: _______________________________ _______________________________ Dr. R. Bryan Ormond Dr. Roger L. Barker Committee Co-Chair Committee Co-Chair _______________________________ _______________________________ Dr. Jeffrey A. Joines Dr. Cassandra H. Kwon ii DEDICATION First and foremost, this research is dedicated to and intended for our men and women in not only the fire service, but our first responders and military personnel whom put their lives on the line every day for ideas of safety, liberty, justice and freedom. My only hope is that this research is able to assist you in some way, shape, or form while you are protecting these ideologies. More thanks are due to the following people have also made a significant impact on my life, well-being, drive and continued success as an individual: • My mom, Barbara, whom through it all, loved, taught, challenged and shaped four young people to be the best versions of themselves. We will forever be thankful for being brought into this world by such a woman whom we are slowly finding traits about ourselves that are exactly like her. • My dad, A. Nigel, whom taught us discipline and accountability through three simple rules: “mind, do your homework and listen to your momma.” • My siblings, whose annoyance and admiration taught me that someone is always watching and looking up to you, so always set a good example. • My friends and roommates in Raleigh, who distracted me from my studies more than I needed but less than I wanted. • My a cappella groups, Acappology and Triadic, who gave me an outlet from the everyday and allowed me to add diversity to my life and friends. • Brooke, who always showed her dedication and support, no matter the situation or circumstance. • All of my friends, classmates, teammates, and colleagues I have met during my six years at NC State, I will never forget these years and will cherish every memory. iii BIOGRAPHY Nigel (phonetically: nɪgɛl, not traditional British pronunciation) Patrick Carlton was born on November 22, 1994 to A. Nigel (same pronunciation) and Barbara Carlton in Burlington, NC. Nigel is the eldest of four children. His brother Mendé, is four years younger and his twin sisters, Lauryn and Silken, are six years younger. Nigel grew up in an athletic household and participated in a combination of American football, basketball, and baseball up through his time at Western Alamance High School. Nigel went to The North Carolina State University for his undergraduate degree in pursuit for an engineering degree of some sort. To put his love for sports and the sciences together he chased a degree in Textile Engineering. Throughout undergrad, he was involved in intramural sports, a Resident Advisor for two years, an intern at Cotton Incorporated and a member of the a cappella group Acappology. Nigel graduated with his undergraduate degree in May of 2017 and had the unique opportunity to go to graduate school in the Wilson College of Textiles at The North Carolina State University and work as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Textile Protection and Comfort Center (TPACC). In graduate school, Nigel was also able to join a semi-professional a cappella group known as Triadic. After graduation, Nigel intends to work in materials research, development, and innovation. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My journey through graduate school would not have been possible without the help and confidence of Dr. Bryan Ormond. If he did not believe that every interaction is an interview, then I may not have been able to have the unique opportunity to work and learn in a place such as the Textile Protection and Comfort Center. You are invaluable to not only TPACC but also the Wilson College of Textiles and NC State as a whole. The way you are able to understand the needs of your research and students while also using undeniable experience and logic to drive your decisions should not go overlooked and will propel you forward for years to come. You have been a true friend and mentor and I can only hope that your future students will appreciate you as much as I have the past two years. Thank you to my committee, Drs. Roger Barker, Bryan Ormond, Cassandra Kwon and Jeffrey Joines, for advising me through the process of preparing a thesis and for reading this ridiculously long paper. I would also like to acknowledge John Morton-Aslanis and Shawn Deaton for teaching me how to run the testing apparatuses and for helping with my PyroHead™ testing. My undergraduate researchers, Emilie Phan, Jamie Honeycutt and Ryan Adams helped me tremendously from doing some of the duties I did not want to do, to taking their own initiative with the research projects I assigned them. Finally, I would like to thank the other TPACC graduate students for the advice and help they have provided me and would also like to wish them luck finishing out strong and in whatever they decide to pursue next. Thank you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ x LIST OF EQUATIONS ............................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: Introduction and Proposal .................................................................................. 1 1.1. Purpose ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Research Objectives ............................................................................................................. 2 CHAPTER 2: Firefighting Tactics and Personal Protective Equipment ................................ 3 2.1. Evolution of Tactics ............................................................................................................. 3 2.1.1. Cohorts of the Watchmen ............................................................................................