The flame retardant property measures the capacity of the conveyor belt to extinguish a flame on it and the ease with which the flame reappears once extinguished.
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In esbelt, this inflammability test is carried out in accordance with the ISO 340 standard or ASTM D378 standard, depending on the belt application.
ISO 340 is an international flame retardant standard. This inflammability test is carried out in accordance with standard ISO 340 Conveyor Belts Flame Retardation Specifications and Test Method in the external laboratory Applus, a member of EGOLF European Group of Official Laboratories for FIRE Testing.
It specifies that six samples of the belt are required for the test. The flame is applied to three samples in the direction of the warp and another three in the direction of the weft. Once the flame is removed from the samples, it should go out within 15 seconds with each sample and the total time for the flame to go out with all six samples should be less than 45 seconds. The flame must not re-ignite when an air stream is applied.
ASTM D378 is the flame retardant standard applied to conveyor belts used in many airports in the United States of America. The method used to verify compliance with the standard is described in article 30 of the US Department of Labor&#;s Code of Federal Regulations (30 CFR) Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)&#;.
In summary, four samples are taken, two in the direction of the warp and two in the direction of the weft, and are exposed separately to a flame. Once the flame is removed, the average extinguishing time for the flame must be less than one minute for the belt to be certified flame retardant in accordance with ASTM D378. The incandescence may not last for more than an average of 3 minutes, after removing the flame.
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Our belts with flame retardant property are mainly for the Airports, Distribution and Logistics Centers and Refined Sugar sectors.
If conveyor belts are unable to perform according to claims made by manufacturers and end up wearing out early, breaking down or ripping, there may not be as many safety risks involved.
Even though the damage done can be costly to fix, conveyor operators may still be able to make it out without any sort of injuries.
On the other hand, if a fire/flame resistant conveyor belt fails to resist fire like it should, the consequences could be dramatic.
Most factory owners may only find out that a belt is not fire resistant when it is too late. In fact, in reality, many conveyor belts that should be fire resistant according to their applications, are not.
Fire Resistant Conveyor Belts Are Not Fireproof
Here at Monster Belting, we have rubber conveyor belts that are heat resistant up to 250 degree C. However, the standards applied to conveyor belts are becoming growingly confusing. The most important thing to consider is that conveyor belts can never be completely fireproof. Fire resistant belts include special additives and chemicals that cover the rubber skim and can be engineered to resist fire.
Typically, belt fabrics include nylon and polyester fibers which have negligible resistance to fires. Simply put, all sorts of belts will burn when exposed to fires. Therefore, when exploring fire resistant belts, it can prove significantly important to evaluate the degree of resistance you need, according to the environment.
Conditions That Involve Flammable Gases
In environments where flammable gases are involved, the belt must not be allowed to create static electricity. The conveyor belt should be able to forward any static charge to the surrounding metal frame down to the earth, rather than letting it build up.
When it comes to anti-static properties, a good indication can be the quality of the rubber being used. Almost all black rubber conveyor belts include carbon black which also facilitates necessary mechanical properties. The higher the quality of carbon black used, the better the anti-static properties.
General Service Applications
As fire safety is a major concern, there are several different international classifications to evaluate the self-extinguishing properties of conveyor belts. The primary basis for most industrial tests is EN/ISO 340 which distinguishes between fire resistance with covers (K) and without covers (S).
This is so because when belt covers wear, the amount of fire resistance protecting the flammable parts is also reduced.
For mildly abrasive materials K grade is typically preferred. On the other hand, if the material is more abrasive, it could wear the top with it as well and the best option would be to go for S grade.
In both cases, the rubber skim bonding the fabrics should also be fire resistant. S grade rubber skim should be relatively thicker. This is possible by obtaining technical date sheets from the manufacturer for precise specifications.
Make sure that you implement the right flame/fire resistant conveyor belts and you could ward off millions of dollars of damage to your facility. Check out the collection of flame retardant conveyor belts in our collection as well as a range of collar type endless belt conveyors. Our product range also includes raw materials for conveyors and belting such as fly ashes and bucket belts. Feel free to get in touch with us for more information.
For more information, please visit Flame Retardant Conveyor Belt.
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