New seat foam

[carusoam]

If ever wondering....

If a plastic piece has a anti-flame additive added to it...

Take a small sample to your fire place and light it on fire...

If it...

• lights, and burns easily, while dripping flaming drops...  not flame retardant...
• lights, burns slowly, and doesn’t drip... some flame retardant...
• lights, burns slowly, and goes out... lots of flame retardant...
• Won’t light, burns with a torch held next to it, self extinguishes when the torch is removed... plenty of flame retardant...
• won’t light, until the piece of aluminum next to it is on fire... flame retardant enough....

Very often flame retardants are added to the polymers when they get their pigments and other property modifying additives...

Most polymers are not naturally flame retardant...

The UL flame test is a typical sample size of a large coffee stir stick... one test the stick is held horizontally... the other test, the stick is held vertically, and lit via a Bunsen burner...

Kind of a go / no go test for flammability...

PP thoughts only, not a polymer science lab guy...

Best regards,

-a-

[cliffy]

Here's something I learned in my research doing my interior (CAR-3)

All upholstery materials used in the USA today have to meet some kind if "National standard"  for fire. Fabric, vinyl, carpets, etc. When you buy fabrics for upholstery get the manufacturer's name and go to their website and SOMEWHERE on that website it will list the fabric or vinyl specifications in which the National standard it meets will be found. I found it on every fabric and vinyl I used. All home or business carpet has to meet a national standard to be sold in the  USA. 

There is a national standard somewhere. Finding it can be difficult at times. 

This subject comes up every 10 or 12 months around here. I have opined on it myself several times in the past. You can use a variety of fabrics in your CAR-3 airplane as long as you find the National standard for the fabric and state that the material meets a National standard per the manufacturer (AP work) in the log book entry. 

You can also purchase a spray on treatment for interior fabrics that will make them meet FAR 23 burn criteria. 

Edited November 25, 2020 by cliffy
added text

[Derrickearly]

Passed my burn test.  3.3 inch/min which is well below the 20 inch/min required.

2020 11 30 TR2620.1.pdf