Fire Retardant Nylon Yarn

Current Army Combat Uniforms (ACU) fabricated with 50:50 nylon:cotton (NYCO) blends are relatively inexpensive with the drawback of being extremely flammable. For selected duty missions necessitating flame resistance (FR), the military currently supplies an FR-ACU that utilizes flame resistant polyaramid fabrics. There are several issues with these fabrics: i) they are expensive ($25-30/yard), ii) they do not possess the same level of comfort as the standard NYCO ACU, iii) they are not Berry Amendment compliant, and iv) they have poor mechanical durability. During the completed SBIR Phase II program, Luna Labs’ team successfully produced a unique nylon/cotton (NYCO) blend fabric possessing the flame resistance of current aramid-based FR uniforms, but with the comfort and low cost of currently used non-FR fabrics. In its current form, the technology has demonstrated maintenance of FR properties through 5 wash cycles. To further develop this technology in this Sequential Phase II program, Luna Labs proposes to optimize the durability of the flame-resistant nylon fiber. The material developed will be a drop-in replacement for the nylon currently used in ACUs. This new FR-NYCO will meet the requirements (e.g. tear strength, weight, and breaking strength) outlined in MIL-DTL-44436B, MIL-PRF 32635, and the purchase description GL-PD 15-04G.