Grant: CCI Applied Research and Development Grants

An electric arc, occurring between live conductors and grounding, emits light and heat, posing serious risks of injury or fatality to bystanders, including clothing ignition. To address these hazards, arc flash personal protective equipment (PPE) is crucial, with its performance measured by the arc thermal performance value (ATPV) under ASTM F1506. Given the expense of inherently flame-retardant fibers, fiber blends, particularly with aramids, are utilized to meet safety standards. Aramids offer exceptional protection against electric arcs but pose challenges in dyeing, resulting in high resource consumption and potential fiber degradation. To address these challenges, Textile Monterey is partnering with the CTT Group, a college centre for the transfer of technology affiliated with Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe, to develop a dyeing protocol tailored for pad-dry dyeing processes. This approach promises to reduce dyeing time, temperature, and energy consumption, benefiting from gentle conditions that accommodate fluorescent dyeable fibers for enhanced visibility. Pre-treatment steps will optimize dyeing performance, with experiments conducted using both light and dark colors to understand their impact on arc-flash resistance, an aspect observed empirically but not thoroughly explained. This project represents a significant endeavor in textile innovation. The collaborative expertise of the partners will ensure the development of high-performance, durable anti-arc-flash protective textiles.