Abstract
A nomenclature and procedure is introduced for quantifying the thread mass and fabric mass contained in a given seam. The ratio of thread mass to fabric mass, defined as mass ratio (MR), is compared to seam flammability, as mea sured by DOC FF 3-71 (flammability standard for children's sleepwear). Thread mass values are initially determined by weighting seams before and after thread removal, also permitting subsequent calculation of a characteristic thread length. Fabric mass is calculated from model geometry of simple seams.
Preliminary investigations illustrate that the relationship between mass ratio and seam char length varies with the types of fabric and thread used. With FR-thermoplastic fabrics the char length of cotton and corespun thread-sewn seams increases proportionately with increasing MR, while polyester thread-sewn seams are insensitive to MR. For an FR-cotton fabric, seam char length increases with MR for certain seam types with all threads tested.
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