Properties of Textiles Flashcards
what is the main purpose of clothing
to cover our bodies and to protect us from the weather.
what must clothing always be
functional, e.g raincoat must be waterproof to keep us dry.
what has developed many new products
technology
for what is protective clothing used
to protect people who work in emergency services, like fire fighters, or in dangerous professions, like miners.
meaning - chemicals, durable, fire-resistant and hazardous materials.
chemicals - made by a chemist in a laboratory
durable - can be used for a long time
fire-resistant - cannot burn
hazardous materials - substances that are extremely dangerous to touch / inhale
what are textiles and describe them
any cloth or fabric that has been knitted or woven. it’s made of fibres from raw materials, either natural / man-made. natural fibres come from plants (cotton + linen) and animals (wool + silk). man-made fibres are made from chemicals or from chemicals mixed with natural fibres. e.g polyester, nylon and poly-cotton.
what are the properties required in textiles used in fire fighting
fire fighters need clothes can withstand high temperatures, without burning. the 2 man-made textiles used protective clothing for fire fighters are Kevlar and Nomex. these fabrics developed by French company called DuPont.
describe the 2 man-made textiles used in fire fighter clothing
Kevlar - extremely strong fabric related to nylon. it’s tough and durable. Kevlar doesn’t wear / tear, and has no melting point.
Nomex - strong and durable fabric that is comfortable to wear. only starts showing signs of burning when temperatures are greater than 350 degrees C.
what are and describe the 4 types of fire-fighting gear
(3 used by fire-departments and 1 used in airports in SA)
1 - Turnout or bunker gear
this is the protective clothing fire fighters wear when fighting structural fires - that is, fires in buildings. bunker gear has reflective stripes on it and consists of a helmet, jacket, pants with braces, and rubber, steel-toed boots.
both jacket + pants have 3 layers:
- Kevlar outer layer, which is fire-resistant
- middle Nomex lining, protects fire fighter from the heat of the fire
- the inner moisture barrier, keeps the fire fighter dry.
the protective headgear is made from fibreglass and has a perspex visor. Fire-resistant fabric is pulled down from inside the helmet to protect wearer. the steel-toed boots made from thick leather that can’t be pierced by metal
2 - Wildfire suits
similar to bunker gear, but boots and helmet are different. helmet is lighter but still provides protection and the boots give extra support around ankles because the ground in the veld is rough and uneven.
3 - Hazmat suits
word hazmat comes from term ‘hazardous materials’. hazardous material = any solid, liquid or gas that is very poisonous. these suits are worn by people who deal with these dangerous chemicals. the fabric is tough, strong resistant to chemicals and flexible. it doesn’t allow any air in at all, which means that the person is completely sealed off from the outside world. for added protection the gloves and boots are attached to the suit.
Person who wears it will have an air tank and a radio with him.
4 - Fire proximity suits
these suits used by the airports in SA when fighting extremely high temperatures. a fire on aeroplane reaches these temperatures because of aeroplane’s high metal content. outer layer of suit is made up off metallic material. this protects fire fighter by deflecting heat.
