Special Apparel

Manufacturing
Introduction Objectives
The apparels used for protection of human body or life • To protect human body and life from adverse
during working at any risky environment, is called environment.
protective clothing or special apparels. In today's • To protect human body from harmful effect of
environment, protective clothing is required to conduct flame, heat and radiation.
dangerous work, particularly in hazardous environment. • To perform challenging works.
Because it is the employer's responsibility to protect their • Ensure proper working condition in hazardous
employees from any detrimental effects when working in a environment.
hazardous workplace. A worker working in a chemical
industry, for example, may be harmed by the chemicals Examples of some special apparels
that are handled daily. Chemical resistant clothing was
used to shield that person from the effects of chemicals. • Heat and flame-resistant clothing
Protective clothing of special clothes that are worn to • Chemical Resistant clothing
safeguard the human body or life when working in • Protective clothing for radiant heat
hazardous environments. Protective clothing are clothing • Fire fighters clothing
especially designed, fabricated, or treated to protect • Armed forces clothing
personnel against hazards caused by extreme changes in • Protective clothing for space shuttle
physical environment, dangerous working conditions, or • Clothing for coal miners
enemy action.
The performance requirement of all types of protective clothing often demands the balance of very different properties of
drape, thermal resistance, liquid barrier, water vapour permeability, anti-static, stretch, etc. The seemingly contradictory
requirement of creating a barrier, e.g. towards heat, cold, chemicals, bacteria, and breathability in high-functional clothing
has placed challenging demands on new technologies for producing fibres, fabrics and clothing design. Among the
contributing factors responsible for successful marketing of such products have been advances in polymer technology and
production techniques for obtaining sophisticated structures of fibres, yarns and fabrics. Improved fibre spinning
techniques in melt spinning, wet spinning, dry spinning and new techniques such as gel spinning, bicomponent spinning,
microfibre spinning, have made it possible to produce fibres with characteristics more suitable for use in protective clothing.

Many of the requirements for protective clothing are aimed at solving a set of problems such as
• Improved protection – against the environment
• Maintenance of thermo-physiological comfort – or survival in extreme conditions.
• Improved compatibility – between and within different components in the clothing assembly.
• Reduction in weight and bulk – especially load carriage systems and ballistic protective clothing.
• Integration of clothing items – in which the clothing items are considered to be parts of a multi-role system.
• Reduction of life cycle costs – future systems may be more expensive, but may be more effective, durable, may consist
of fewer components, and could be recyclable.
 Innovations in fibres
1. Aramid fibres
• p-aramid fibre to provide high strength and ballistics.
• m-aramid fibre to provide flame and heat resistance.

Application
• ballistic protection in armour vests and helmets,
• cut through protection in safety gloves, aprons, work wear and shoes for high risk jobs,
• high-temperature protection

2. Ultra-high tenacity polyethylene fibres (UHMWPE)

Gel spun, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibres with extremely high specific strength and
modulus, high chemical resistance and high abrasion resistance. Application In protective clothing
applications, many impact helmets used by runners and mountain climbers, also used for protection
against cutting, sawing, and ballistics.

3. Polyphenylene sulphide fibres (PPS)

Crystalline thermoplastic fibre with mechanical properties similar to regular polyester fibre. Excellent heat
and chemical resistance.
4. Polyetheretherketone fibres (PEEK)
Crystalline thermoplastic fibre with high resistance to heat and a wide range of chemicals.

5. Novoloid (Cured phenol-aldehyde) fibres

High-flame resistance, non-melting with high resistance to acid, solvents, steam, chemicals and fuels.
Good moisture regain and soft hand.

6. Polybenzimidazole fibres (PBI)

Moisture regain 15 percent, high resistance to chemicals especially at elevated temperatures
 Non-woven protective clothing
Protective coveralls, suits, gowns, lab coats and
accessories are used in industry and institutions
to protect workers from exposure to hazardous
materials and to protect sensitive products from
human contamination. Nonwoven clothing are
used for limited use protective clothing and as
components in reusable clothing. Spun-bonded
olefins are the leading materials used and are
often used in composites with barrier films. Heat
bonded and calendared polyethylene spun-
bonded fabric Tyvek from DuPont is a fine
example of a very successful non-woven material
for protective clothing.
 Heat & Flame-Resistant Clothing
• Flammability
The ability of a material or product to burn with a flame under specified test condition. Lewin (1985) explains flammability
as the tendency of a material to burn with a flame. Indeed, the flammability of textiles is a measurement of the ease with
which fabric is able to be ignited and how effectively it burns. of fabric flammability characteristics.

• Flame Resistance
The property of a material whereby the flaming combustion is slowed, terminated or prevented.

• Flame Resistant
A term used to describe a material that burns slowly or is self-extinguishing after removal of an external source of ignition.

• Flame Retardant
A chemical compound that can be incorporated into a textile fiber during manufacture or applied to a fiber, fabric, or other
textile item during processing or use to reduce its flammability.

• Flame Retardancy
Chemical process or treatment whereby improved flame resistance is imparted to a material.

• Flame Propagation
Spread of a flame from region to region in a combustible material. ( Burning velocity = Rate of flame propagation)
• Flame-resistant fabrics are made from materials that are inherently non-flammable; the materials have flame resistance built
into their chemical structures. Fabrics made with these types of materials are designed to prevent the spread of fire and do
not melt or drip when in close proximity to a flame. Because flame-resistant fabrics are not usually made from 100% flame-
resistant materials, they burn, but do so very, very slowly, and are often self-extinguishing. The most important function of
these materials and fabrics is to prevent the further spread of fire.
•
• Fire-retardant or flame retardant fabrics are those that have undergone chemical treatment to acquire some of the same
properties that flame-resistant fabrics inherently have. As a result of these chemical procedures, flame retardant fabrics
become self extinguishing and slow-burning. Any type of fabric may be used, but must undergo this treatment before it can
be considered flame retardant.

Burning Behavior of Different Textile Fibers:

• Most Flammable: Cellulosic fibers such as cotton, flax, viscose, lyocell etc.
• Intermediate: Synthetic fibres such as acetate, triacetate, nylon, polyester, olefin, acrylic, spandex etc.
• Less flammable: Protein fibers such as wool, silk etc.
• Nonflammable: Inorganic fibers such as asbestos, glass, metal etc.
The factors affecting the flammability of apparel are:

• Fiber content,
• Fiber construction,
• Fabric weight,
• Fabric construction,
• Fabric surface texture,
• Moisture content,
• Presence of additives or contaminants in the fabric,
• Garment design,
• Effect of components used in apparel, and
• Laundering of the apparel after use

Factors Influence the Burning Behavior of Textile:

• Nature of the fiber

• Yarn and fabric structure.
• Presence of moisture.
• Impurities in the fiber.
• Environmental factors, e.g., temperature, humidity, oxygen availability and air velocity etc.
Fabric Construction & Fire Safety:

The way the fabric is constructed is another very important factor in fire safety:
• Lighter weight fabrics, especially light, sheer or open fabrics burn faster than heavier fabrics (of equivalent fiber types).
• Fabrics with a raised surface burn faster than smooth fabrics.
• Open, porous fabrics or those with a sparser pile burn faster than those with yarns packed closely to gather.

Apparel Design & Construction & Fire Safety:

The style and construction of a garment affects flammability:

• Loose fitting apparels. trim like lace, anything with a lot of air incorporated with it. Will ignite more readily and burn
faster than closely fitting, virtually untrimmed articles.
• Thread may be more flammable than garment fabric, so an article can burn preferentially at the seams.

Heat Resistant Property in Clothing:

• Still air shows good heat resistant property in clothing.

• Higher the still air in a fabric, higher the heat resistant property.
• Higher the fabric thickness, higher the still air, so higher the heat resistant.
• Higher the thickness, lower the density of clothing means higher the volume of still air.
• Again, if fabric density is very low, then still air can not be retained by fabric, so lower heat resistant property.
Heat And Flame Resistant Clothing
• Workers of steel mill, moulding factory, welding factory, glass item manufacturing factory requires heat and flame resistant
clothing
• These factories produces enough heat and flame
• Human body feels burning effects at 45°C and burning occurs at 72°C

Heat and flame resistant clothing properties

• This work wear gives some time to save life/injury.
• If working condition requires high temperature for longer time, clothing should be very compactly woven and thickness
should be higher
• Higher the still air, higher the heat resistant
• If fabric density is very low when it cannot retain air, shows lower heat resistant.
• Working at higher temperature for short time requires thicker fabric with more weights as it shows better heat resistant
property.
• For example, gloves made of jersey wool having pile fibers shows good thermal resistance at 270°C.
• If molten iron, aluminum and magnesium splinters drops on clothing, work wear should be made of very heavy and thick
woolen fabrics.
• This type of fabric that is 540 GSM can protect human body of 350 ml molten metal.
• 270 -350 GSM fabric can protect splinters of metals
• Knitted fabric structure shows better performance than woven.
• Zirpro woolen fabric and caliban finished fabric can protect human body from molten splinters of aluminum.
• As per protection length of time, following fabrics are listed as per merit
1. Zirpro wool,
2. 85/15 zirpro/glass
3. Aramid fiber
4. FR Cotton
• Two ply zirpro wool shows better performance, ideally 290 GSM twill as outer and 230 GSM rib as inner.
• Two ply shows better result of same thickness of one ply.
• To increase flame retardancy on woolen fiber, mix compound of titanium and zirconium is used for finishing wool fabric, is
called zirpro finish.
How Does Flame-Resistant Clothing Work?
• Most FR clothing is made from material that is designed to be resilient to heat. Materials like Nomex, Kevlar, and Modacrylic
have excellent flame-resistant qualities and are commonly used to make elements of FR garments. Other fabrics, such as
cotton, are naturally resistant to flames and can be treated with specialist chemicals to boost their heat resistance and their
protective qualities.
• Materials that are naturally flame resistant, and those that are treated with specialist chemicals, will behave in broadly the
same way. These materials won’t keep burning when the source of combustion is removed, won’t ignite easily, and won’t
melt. This last point is very important, as burning, melted fabric can do a lot of damage and cause serious, lasting injuries.

The Limitations of Flame-Resistant Clothing

• Flame-resistant clothes, while incredibly important pieces of PPE, are not fireproof. In extreme settings, the clothing will
catch fire, and although it won’t melt onto the wearer’s body and will burn for a minimal amount of time, it can still cause
serious injuries.
• As flame-resistant clothes are not fireproof, it is essential for professionals to avoid wearing synthetic garments under their
FR clothing.
• Underwear, T-shirts, and other items made from flammable synthetic materials can cause a real hazard and can melt onto
the skin, causing serious injury.
• Melting is possible even if the outer layer of clothing doesn’t catch fire. This is why it’s so important for professionals to wear
appropriate clothing from head to toe.
• Flame-resistant clothing also won’t protect against explosive forces, projectiles, and other hazards professionals may
encounter while at work. If entering a situation where other hazards are expected, professionals need to ensure they’re
wearing the correct PPE for the situation. Some of this PPE may also be flame resistant, increasing the protective qualities
of the outfit.

 Zipro wool (also spelled Zirpro wool) refers to wool treated with flame-retardant finishes using zirconium or titanium
complexes—commonly applied using agents like potassium hexafluorozirconate or hexafluorotitanate under acidic
conditions. One real-world application is Zipro-treated wool socks, such as the “Dromex Flame Retardant Socks.

 Caliban finished cottons are treated with Caliban® F/R-44. Caliban® F/R-44 is a brominated flame retardant chemical
system used to impart flame resistance in cotton flannel. It has been used in the inner layer of a Chinese army chemical
protective suit, demonstrating its utility in protective clothing.