GB2300592A

GB2300592A - Flexible non-combustible heat resistant material

Info

Publication number: GB2300592A
Application number: GB9509371A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Martin Alexander
Original assignee: SANCOR
Current assignee: SANCOR
Priority date: 1995-05-09
Filing date: 1995-05-09
Publication date: 1996-11-13
Also published as: GB9509371D0

Abstract

A flexible non-combustible heat resistant material comprising a fireproof outer layer (1) which will not ignite, melt or drip when subjected to temperatures in excess of 400{C and up to a maximum of 1000{C, an intermediate fire resistant thermally insulating layer (2) containing no binding material such as mineral wool which can be released on heating and an inner layer (3) which can be made of the same material as the outer layer. The material can be used to make fireproof wallets to protect valuable items such as papers or manuscripts. It can also be used as a fireproof wrapping for solid objects.

Description

FLEXIBLE NON-COMBUSTIBLE HEAT RESISTANT MATERIAL This invention relates to a flexible non-combustible heat resistant material which will not ignite or burn at temperatures in excess of 400"C and which can be used to wrap solid articles or to provide a wallet or container into which items such as original manuscripts, paintings or the like can be inserted to protect them against damage by fire and/or foam or water used by the firefighters to extinguish the fire.

Little attention is paid by individuals or companies to protect their data or belongings against the ravages of fire. Whilst they usually have fire insurance, they rarely take steps to physically protect their data or belongings. Whilst it is relatively easy and straightforward to ensure that data or documents are not lost as a result of a fire by making copies thereof (e.g.

microfiche, discs, tapes etc.) and keeping them in a separate location or in a fireproof enclosure on site, this is not always be done on a regular basis. For instance, original manuscripts, books or paintings are often stored or exhibited in such a way that it would be impractical to move them at the end of each day into a fireproof room. Furniture is particularly difficult to store in a fireproof manner. Fireproof safes and cabinets are commonplace but they are really only suitable for storing documents, computer discs or tapes.

They are also expensive to buy and furthermore the items to be protected have to be moved from their normal position to a separate fireproof storage location.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that there is a need for some way of protecting against damage by fire irreplaceable or valuable items in a way which is relatively inexpensive.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a flexible non-combustible heat resistant material which can be readily used to provide a fireproof enclosure to protect valuable irreplaceable items contained therein against destruction and/or damage by fire or to act as a fireproof barrier material which can be wrapped around a solid article to protect it against fire damage.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a flexible non-combustible heat resistant material comprising a fireproof outer layer which will not ignite, melt or drip when subjected to temperatures in excess 4000C, an intermediate fire resistant thermally insulating layer which contains no binding material which can be released on heating, and an inner layer.

The inner and outer layers can be made of the same material but this is not essential. Furthermore, the inner layer can be made of natural or synthetic fibres which are not readily combustible and can also be treated to render them fire resistant although this is not essential.

Suitably, the intermediate layer is made of mineral wool fibres which are knitted or are annealed together. As the intermediate layer contains no binding material such as resin, oil or organic binders, there is nothing in it which can be released onto any article in contact with it which will result in discolouration of the article when the insulating material is heated.

Preferably the insulating material has a basaltic composition in which the refractory oxide components have been increased to enhance its stability at high temperatures up to 750"C.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat protective wallet or enclosure made from the material just described.

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is a cross-section through a preferred material of the present invention; and Figure 2 is a graph showing the results obtained when a wallet made from a material of the invention was subjected to temperatures over 500"C.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1 a flexible laminate material of the invention which comprises an outer layer 1, an intermediate layer 2 and an inner layer 3. The outer and inner layers 1 and 3 can be attached together by means of stitching to enclose the intermediate layer 2 or alternatively they can be glued or attached in some other way to the intermediate layer 2.

The outer layer 1 is made from a material which will not ignite, melt, drip, shrink, stretch or rot when subjected to temperatures in excess of 4000C and up to 1000 C.

Furthermore, it is made of a material which results in minimal smoke emission when heated and which is antibacterial, mildew resistant and anti-fungal. It is also waterproof and can be readily washed or wiped clean. An example of such a material is manufactured by Firesafe Products Corporation and sold under the Registered Trade Mark SANDEL. This product is the subject of UK Patent No. 0056405.

The inner layer 3 can be made of the same material as the outer layer 1 to provide an added barrier against fire or it can be made from a natural or synthetic material such as cotton or nylon which may also be treated to render it fire resistant in known manner.

The intermediate layer 2 is made of a material which provides high performance thermal insulation and is manufactured from specially treated temperature-resistant fibres. The material is free of any binding material e.g. resin and offers excellent fire resistance. A suitable material is that manufactured by Rockwool and sold under their Registered Trade Mark ROCKTHERM. This material is designated class 0 as defined within the UK building regulations and is suitable for use at temperatures up to 750"C. It provides excellent thermal insulation, is free from emissions and dimensionally stable. It is also chemically inert and has a basaltic composition in which the refractory oxide components have been deliberately increased to enhance its stability at high temperatures up to 750"C. It is CFC and HCFC free.

Because the material has no binding material such as resin in it, it contains nothing which can transfer onto an article located closely adjacent the inner layer 3 which could discolour it when the material is subjected to high temperatures.

Figure 2 illustrates the results of a test which was carried out on a wallet made of the material of the present invention which contained sheets of white paper.

The inner and outer layers of the wallet were made of SANDEL and the intermediate layer was made of Rockwool which was 15mm thick and 120kg/m3 in density.

Paper normally self combusts at approximately 4000C but it can be seen from the test results that although the temperature of the fire outside the wallet reached a maximum of over 500"C during the initial 5 minute period, the temperature inside the wallet remained below 1500C, i.e. well below the temperature of which the paper would self-ignite and burn. As a result, at the end of the test, the paper was found to be in excellent condition with no discolouration. The wallet was also found to have suffered only minor damage and capable of being reused.

It will be appreciated that a lower internal temperature within the wallet can be achieved by simply varying the thickness and/or density of the intermediate ROCKTHERM layer.

The important advantages of the material of the present invention are that it provides a barrier against fire, water and heat. Also, as the material SANDEL generates little or no smoke, fire fighting is assisted and the recovery of items during or after the fire is made easier. Furthermore, as the SANDEL material is waterproof, the documents contained within the wallet are protected against further damage by water or foam used by the fire fighters to put out the fire.

Claims

1. A flexible non-combustible heat -resistant material comprising a fireproof outer layer which will not ignite, melt or drip when subjected to temperatures in excess of 4000C, a fire resistant thermally insulating intermediate layer which contains no binding material which can be released on heating and an inner layer.

2. A heat resistant material as claimed in claim 1 wherein the inner and outer layers are made of the same material.

3. A heat resistant material as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the intermediate layer is made of mineral wool fibres which are knitted or annealed together.

4. A heat resistant material as claimed in claim 3 wherein the material of the intermediate layer contains no resins, oils or organic binders.

5. A heat resistant material as claimed in claim 4 wherein the material of the intermediate layer has a basaltic composition in which the refractory oxide components have been increased to enhance its stability at temperatures up to 7500C.

6. A heat resistant material as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the inner and outer layers are made of a material which has a very low organic content so that there is a low release of carbon monoxide gas and/or smoke when the material is subjected to temperatures above 4000C.

7. A heat resistant material as claimed in claim 6 wherein the inner and outer layers are made from an inorganic material.

8. A heat resistant material substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A heat resistant material as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the material will not ignite, melt or drip when subjected to temperatures up to 10000C.

10. A protective wallet made of the heat resistant material of any of claims 1-9.