Cigarette ignition of soft furnishings - a literature review with commentary

Literature pertinent to the ignition by smoldering cigarettes of upholstered furniture and mattresses (soft furnishings) was searched through early 1986. This included literature on the smoldering behavior of cigarettes in air. their behavior on a variety of substrates simulating soft furnishings: mechanism of smoldering in substrates; relative cigarette ignition resistance of substrates; and relative propensity of commercial cigarette packings to ignite substrates. According to the reviewed literature, the smoldering behavior of cigarettes on substrates differs from that of cigarettes burning in air. on substrates, cigarette tempera^ tures tend to be lower and burning rates slower These differences seem to be larger for substrates which ignite than for those which self-extinguish aner the cigarette burns out. The characteristics of soil furnishings which insure resis~ tame to cigarette ignition have been established. but those of cigarettes with low propensity to ignite furnishings have not. No mathematical model has been reported for the interaction of cigarette and substrate. but some empirical data do exist.