Affordable and Durable Flame Retardant Treatment for Military Fabrics

TIAX proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of a new flame retardant (FR) treatment for nylon/cotton combat uniform textiles, like that used in the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU). Currently the military procures specialty FR uniforms to meet its needs. Although these uniforms provide critical FR properties, they are twice as expensive as standard uniforms and not as comfortable or durable. As a result, a general need exists to develop a FR treatment method for the standard MCCUU which would provide the needed FR properties without significant impact on the other critical uniform properties for an increase of 5% or less in the cost of the uniform. Current FR treatments are typically designed for use on cotton and do not perform satisfactorily on textile blends with nylon. These existing treatments also tend to add substantial weight and decrease the strength of the fabric. TIAX will develop a new FR treatment for textiles, which provides excellent FR properties without significantly degrading other critical properties, based an understanding of the particular chemistry of cotton/nylon blends and utilizing a combination of traditional and nanoscale FR additives.