IFAI Expo 2018

Sessions Speakers Exhibitors Products Floor Plan Buzz

Developing Advanced Fire Blocking Materials for Wildland Fire Shelters (Room 308)

15 Oct 18
2:30 PM - 3:20 PM

Tracks: Market Segment Open Meeting, Pre-Expo Conference: Advanced Textiles, Special Sessions

How can you develop advanced heat blocking fabric composites that increase thermal protective insulation in simulated wildfire exposures, by 2-3X in comparison to baseline shelter materials, without significantly increasing system weight? This session will: 1. Describe the thermal environments encountered by fire shelters in wildland fires. 2. Show how understanding he thermo-mechanical conditions associated with turbulent wind-driven flames can guide the development of heat blocking composites for fire shelters. 3. Compare bench-scale test methods for measuring the heat blocking ability of materials used in fire shelter constructions. 4. Show how developed advanced prototype fire shelters performed in flame exposures in full-scale lab tests and in prescribed burns conducted in the field. 5. Explain how the development of a NFPA consensus performance standard for wildland fire shelters would be beneficial.