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Anna Bergstrand
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Cal TB 117-2013 - Fire testing of upholstered furniture in US
California Technical Bulletin 117-2013 - Requirements, test procedures and apparatus for testing the smolder resistance of materials in upholstered furniture
Purpose
The standard is used to assess the ignitability of individual materials, such as covers or fillings used in upholstered seating, when exposed to an ignition source in the form of a smouldering cigarette.
This test method only evaluates the ignitability of upholstery materials. In order to evaluate the burning behaviour, the furniture needs to be tested in full scale with larger ignition sources.
Since June 25, 2021, all materials in upholstered furniture sold in the United States, should fulfil the requirements in this standard. From June 25, 2022, all upholstered furniture must be labeled in accordance with 16 CFR 1640.
Method
The material to be tested is mounted into a test rig together with the applicable standard material. A glowing cigarette is placed in the junction between the seat and the back in the mock-up assembly.
Observations are made to establish the occurrence of any smouldering and/or flaming ignition of the materials. The length of the charring in the assembly is also measured to evaluate compliance.
Deliveries
A test report, in Swedish or English, is delivered with the test results after testing.
