Multilayer fabric for personal protective equipment to protect wearer from flame and/or arc flash, and personal protective equipment formed of the same

Abstract

Provided is a fabric for personal protective equipment to protect a wearer from flame and/or arc flash, the fabric being three-layer fabric for personal protective equipment and including an outer layer, an inner layer, and an intermediate layer, wherein the intermediate layer is an embossed layer having a three-dimensional embossed dot or stripe shape, and is in the form of a woven fabric including a warp yarn and a filling yarn that are interlocked with each other, wherein the warp yarn is a first composite spun yarn including a meta-aramid fiber, a flame retardant cellulose fiber, and an antistatic fiber and includes at least one of a meta-aramid filament yarn and a flame retardant cellulose filling yarn, and the filling yarn is a second composite spun yarn including a meta-aramid fiber, a flame retardant cellulose fiber, and an antistatic fiber, wherein the warp yarn and the filling yarn have different thermal shrinkage rates from each other. Personal protective equipment formed by using these special yarns and fabric structures meet the requirements of HRC levels 2 and 4, thereby not only effectively protecting a wearer from flame and/or arc flash, but also providing excellent durability, lightness, and high activity functions.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A multilayer fabric for personal protective equipment to protect a wearer from flame and/or arc flash, the multilayer fabric comprising:
 an outer layer; an inner layer; and an intermediate layer between the outer layer and the inner layer,   wherein the outer layer and the inner layer are each a woven fabric layer having a woven structure selected from an ordinary woven structure, a pile woven structure, and a gauze and leno woven structure,   the intermediate layer is a nonwoven fabric layer including an aramid fiber, the non-woven layer having a plurality of embossed dots or a plurality of embossed stripes, and   the woven fabric layers of the outer layer and the inner layer each have a warp yarn and a filling yarn, wherein the warp yarn includes a first composite spun yarn with an aramid fiber, a flame retardant cellulose fiber, and an antistatic fiber, the filling yarn includes a second composite spun yarn with an aramid fiber, a flame retardant cellulose fiber, and an antistatic fiber, and the warp yarn and the filling yarn have a different thermal shrinkage rate from each other.   
     
     
         2 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of embossed dots in the nonwoven fabric layer each have a quadrangular shape with a length of one side of 1.0 mm to 5.0 mm and a height of 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm, have a dot density of 10,000 dots to 100,000 dots per square meter of the intermediate layer, and are spaced apart by intervals of 2.0 mm to 6.0 mm. 
     
     
         3 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of embossed stripes in the nonwoven fabric layer has a width of 1.0 mm to 5.0 mm and a height of 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm, is spaced apart by intervals of 2.0 mm to 6.0 mm, and has a stripe density of 60 stripes to 800 stripes per square meter of the intermediate layer. 
     
     
         4 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the non-woven layer is a spunlace nonwoven fabric layer or a needle punched nonwoven fabric layer. 
     
     
         5 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 4 , wherein the nonwoven fabric layer consists of an aramid fiber in an amount of 70 wt % or more based on a total weight of fibers constituting the nonwoven fabric layer. 
     
     
         6 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 5 , wherein the nonwoven fabric layer consists of at least one type of aramid fiber selected from a meta-aramid fiber and a para-aramid fiber, in an amount of 90 wt % or more based on a total weight of fibers constituting the nonwoven fabric layer. 
     
     
         7 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 6 , wherein the nonwoven fabric layer consists of a para-aramid fiber in an amount of 97 wt % or more based on a total weight of fibers constituting the nonwoven fabric layer. 
     
     
         8 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the outer layer is a woven fabric layer with a twill weave, and the inner layer is a woven fabric layer with a plain weave. 
     
     
         9 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 1 , wherein, in the first composite spun yarn and the second composite spun yarn of each of the outer layer and the inner layer, the aramid fiber, the flame retardant cellulose fiber, and the antistatic fiber are in the form of staple fiber. 
     
     
         10 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 1 , wherein, in the outer layer and the inner layer, a weight ratio of the aramid fiber:the flame retardant cellulose fiber:the antistatic fiber is 45 to 70:30 to 70:1 to 5. 
     
     
         11 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 6 , wherein the meta-aramid fiber is poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide) fiber, and the para-aramid fiber is poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) fiber. 
     
     
         12 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the flame retardant cellulose fiber is a flame retardant cellulose rayon fiber containing a flame retardant material in the form of an oxidized condensate of a tetrakis hydroxyalkyl phosphonium salt with at least one of ammonia and nitrogenous compounds containing one or more amine groups. 
     
     
         13 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 12 , wherein the nitrogenous compounds are selected from urea, ammonia, thiourea, biuret, melamine, ethylene urea, guanidine, and 2-cyanoguanidine. 
     
     
         14 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 12 , wherein the tetrakis hydroxyalkyl phosphonium salt is a tetrakis hydroxymethyl phosphonium salt. 
     
     
         15 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the flame retardant cellulose fiber has a fineness of 1.50 denier to 1.55 denier and a fiber length of 48 mm to 52 mm, the aramid fiber has a fineness of 1.48 denier to 1.52 denier and a fiber length of 48 mm to 52 mm, and the antistatic fiber has a fineness of 1.70 denier to 2.70 denier and a fiber length of 48 mm to 52 mm. 
     
     
         16 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the outer layer and the inner layer have a basis weight of 150 gsm to 260 gsm and a basis weight of 100 gsm to 180 gsm, respectively, the intermediate layer has a basis weight of 60 gsm to 100 gsm, and the outer layer, the intermediate layer, and the inner layer have a combined basis weight of 380 gsm to 520 gsm. 
     
     
         17 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the first composite spun yarn and the second composite spun yarn each have a fineness of 10 to 80 English cotton count. 
     
     
         18 . The multilayer fabric of  claim 1 , wherein the first composite spun yarn and the second composite spun yarn are each prepared by a ring spinning method, an open-end spinning method, or air-jet spinning method. 
     
     
         19 . A multilayer fabric for personal protective equipment to protect a wearer from flame and/or arc flash, the multilayer fabric comprising:
 an outer layer; an inner layer; and an intermediate layer between the outer layer and the inner layer,   wherein the outer layer is a woven fabric layer with a twill weave, and the inner layer is a woven fabric layer with a plain weave,   the intermediate layer is a nonwoven fabric layer including an aramid fiber, the non-woven layer having a plurality of embossed dots,   the nonwoven fabric layer consists of at least one type of aramid fiber selected from a meta-aramid fiber and a para-aramid fiber, in an amount of 90 wt % or more based on a total weight of fibers constituting the nonwoven fabric layer,   the woven fabric layers of the outer layer and the inner layer each have a warp yarn and a filling yarn, wherein the warp yarn includes a first composite spun yarn with an aramid fiber, a flame retardant cellulose fiber, and an antistatic fiber, the filling yarn includes a second composite spun yarn with an aramid fiber, a flame retardant cellulose fiber, and an antistatic fiber, and the warp yarn and the filling yarn have different thermal shrinkage rates from each other,   the plurality of embossed dots each have a quadrangular shape with a length of one side of 1 mm to 5 mm and a height of 0.5 mm to 3 mm, are spaced apart by intervals of 2 mm to 6 mm, and have a dot density of 10,000 dots to 100,000 dots per square meter of the intermediate layer,   a weight ratio of the aramid fiber:the flame retardant cellulose fiber:the antistatic fiber is 45 to 70:30 to 70:1 to 5, and   the outer layer and the inner layer each have a basis weight of 150 gsm to 260 gsm and a basis weight of 100 gsm to 180 gsm, respectively, the intermediate layer has a basis weight of 60 gsm to 100 gsm, and the outer layer, the intermediate layer, and the inner layer have a combined basis weight of 380 gsm to 520 gsm.   
     
     
         20 . Personal protective equipment formed of the multilayer fabric of  claim 1 .