Timothy Adams Steven Burns Tony Cartwright Michelle Yu

Nomex (poly(m-phenylene teraphthalate)) Celazole (Polybenzimidazole) (PBI) Kevlar (poly(p-phenylene teraphthalate)) Zylon (Polybenzobisoxazole) (PBO) Kapton (poly(4,4'-oxydiphenylene- pyromellitimide)) Polyimides Polysulfones Polyaryletheretherketone (PEEK) Phosphazenes Trade Names

Firefighting Suits Space Suits Flight Suits Electrical Insulation Heat shields Aircraft Fuselage Welding Protection Sealing Tapes Bushings, Seals Bearings Hot Gas Filtration DuPont, 2007 Nasa 2008

Firefighting Suits

Major Time Periods Pre 1800: Limited protective equipment. First leather fire helmets invented. Mid 1800s: Use of wool for some protective clothing. First traditional fire helmet. Post WWI: Use of rubber coats and boots, and use of Bunker Pants. Post WWII: First NFPA standards set. Evolution of the modern turnout gear. Fire Suit History

NFPA Requirements Globe Firefighter Suits, 2009

Requirements II Globe Firefighter Suits, 2009

Direct Industry, 2009 Wale Apparatus Co., 2009 Performance Products, 2009

Poly(2,2-(m-phenylene)-5,5bibenzimidazole Performance Products, 2009

Chung, Tai-Shung Common Monomers : Tetra-amines (bis-o-diamines) and dicarboxylates R1 and R: Either aromatic or aliphatic functional groups, such as ether, ketone, sulfone, siloxane, silane, phosphine oxide

Extreme Flame Resistance Excellent High Energy Radiation Resistance High Chemical and Thermal Stabilities at High Temperatures High Tg Highest Compressive Strength Heat Deflection Temp. = 435 deg. 264 psi Good Mechanical Strength NASA, 2008 Chung, Tai-Shung. 1997

PBI Fiber Processing Methods 1.Dry Spinning 2.Wet Spinning 3.Dry-jet Wet Spinning Chung, Tai-Shung. 1997

China Suppliers, 2009 Alibaba, 2009 Storyboardtoys.blogspot.com, 2009 Sariwarnamas, 2009

Synthetic Methods in Step-growth Polymers, 2003

Wet spin DMAc Ionic Liquids Dry spin Christian Kubel et al., 2001 Tingting Zhao, 2007

Flame resistance Self extinguishing LOI: 28 No melt drip Chemical resistance Solvents & biohazards Long duration Low shrinkage Water Absorption ~9% Gang Sun,

Advantages: Extreme Fire Resistance No smoke or off-gases at 1000F Retains properties up to 760 degrees Celsius and all the way down to -200 degrees Celsius High Chemical Resistance Disadvantages: Higher Water Absorption 15-18% water absorption Cost - More than $70/lb (Smith, 1999) PBINomex VS Advantages: Extreme Fire Resistance Self extinguishing No drip or melt High Chemical Resistance Low Water Absorption ~9% Cost - $14/kg (Volokhina, 1984) Disadvantages: UV degradation In Conclusion…

Nomex on Demand Fibers swell when exposed to heat At 250F, the polymer expands to about 5x the thickness Provides better protection when needed and increased mobility when thermal protection is not needed Textileworld.com, 2009

DuPont, 2009

Questions? Acknowledgements: Cleveland Heights Fire Department