ABSTRACT
This project centers on addressing the issue of the lack of research and development in Nigeria, in this case, looking into the firefighting and emergency sector. In this industry, the safety of the firefighters is of paramount importance as it is only then that they can fully carry out their duties and tasks. Of all the products that make up a complete assemble of the firefighters’ PPE, it is their personal protective tunic that was used for this project as it is the basic and most important part of the PPE. The city of Ota was used as a case study due to the high concentration of industries which makes it a target for pipeline explosions amongst others. A performance assessment was carried out on an obtained sample material of the firefighters’ personal protective tunic. Four tests were performed to determine the thermophysical and elemental properties of the material. The following results were got: thermal conductivity of 2.47 W/mK and calorific value of 24020.46 kJ/kg. The elemental analysis showed that the sample material contained the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen elements in the molecular ratio of 27:38:14 respectively. The obtained results for the thermophysical properties did not correspond with that of international standards for known firefighter tunic materials such as Nomex and Kevlar and so is not suitable for use. This project seeks to make this information available to stakeholders in the firefighting industry and proffer recommendations for the necessary upgrade on the standard of protective tunics used in fire stations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION i
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
CHAPTER ONE 1
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 BACKGROUND 1
1.2 FIREFIGHTER TUNIC 2
1.2.1 Outer Covering 3
1.2.2 Moisture Layer 3
1.2.3 Thermal Liner 4
1.2.4 Nomex and Kevlar 4
1.2.5 Firefighter Protective Equipment Overview 6
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT 6
1.4 GENERAL SCOPE OF STUDY 6
1.5 LIMITATIONS 7
1.6 AIM & OBJECTIVES 7
1.7 JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY 7
CHAPTER TWO 8
2 LITERATURE REVIEW 8
2.1 INTRODUCTION 8
2.1.1 Material Differences in Compliance to NFPA 1971 9
2.1.2 Protective Tunic Design Requirements 10
2.1.3 Specialized Firefighting 11
2.2 STANDARD MEASUREMENTS FOR THERMAL AND FLAME PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 11
2.2.1 Wildland Firefighting 13
2.2.2 Shipboard Firefighting 13
2.2.3 Structural Firefighting 13
2.2.4 Flammability Experiment 14
2.2.5 Measuring Resistance to Convective Heat 14
2.2.6 Measuring Resistance to Radiant Heat 16
2.2.7 Measuring Resistance to Conductive Heat 17
2.2.8 Thermal Resistance of Materials 17
2.2.9 Heat Resistance of Thread 19
2.2.10 Measurement of the Whole Tunic’s Flame and Thermal Performance 19
2.2.11 Laboratory Measurements with Test Subjects 20
2.3 APPLICATION OF SILICAOXIDE AEROGELS IN THE TUNIC 22
2.4 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THERMAL PROTECTIVE PERFORMANCE AND TOTAL HEAT LOSS 23
2.5 INFLUENCE OF TUNIC AND EQUIPMENT ON MOVEMENT RATE 24
2.6 CONFLICT IN FIREFIGHTERS’ TUNIC STANDARDS 27
2.7 TEST FOR THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY 28
CHAPTER THREE 31
3 MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY 31
3.1 INTRODUCTION 31
3.2 MATERIAL 31
3.3 EQUIPMENT AND APPARATUS 32
3.4 METHODOLOGY 32
3.4.1 Thermophysical Properties 33
3.4.2 Test for Specific Heat Capacity 33
3.4.3 Test for Thermal Conductivity 36
3.4.4 Digitized Innovated Lee’s Disc Apparatus 36
3.4.5 Test for Energy Content 38
3.4.6 Oxygen Bomb Calorimeter 38
3.4.7 Elemental Analysis 40
3.4.8 Elemental Analyzer 40
CHAPTER FOUR 42
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 42
4.1 RESULTS 42
4.1.1 Thermal Conductivity 43
4.1.2 Calorific Value 47
4.1.3 Elemental Analysis Result 48
CHAPTER FIVE 49
5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 49
5.1 CONCLUSION 49
5.2 RECOMMENDATION 49
REFRENCES 51
APPENDIX: STANDARDS 57
