California Technical Bulletin 117-2013 (TB 117-2013) is a fire safety standard for upholstered furniture implemented in California. It specifies flammability requirements and test methods for the following types of materials used in the manufacture of upholstered furniture such as mattresses, sofas and cushions:
Cover the fabric. Barrier material.
Elastomeric filler material.
The standard sets different test methods for different types of materials. In addition, it only covers the flammability of the material under smoldering ignition source conditions, and is not designed to evaluate performance under an open flame source.
tb 117-2013Fire protectionTestingpurpose
This standard is used to assess the flammability of individual materials, such as upholstery or upholstery used in upholstery seats, when exposed to ignition sources in the form of luminescent cigarettes.
This method only assesses flammability. In order to assess how a piece of furniture can start a fire, the furniture must be thoroughly tested under a stronger fire source.
As of June 25, 2021, all materials included in upholstered furniture sold in the United States must comply with this standard. From 25 June 2022, all upholstered furniture must be labelled. The governing document is 16 C.F.R. ยง 1640.
tb 117-2013Test Method:
The tests are carried out in a calibrated airflow hood. The material to be tested is mounted on the test bench together with the applicable standard material. A glowing cigarette is placed at an angle between the seat and the backrest and covered with a sheet.
Observations are made to determine if there is any ignition and/or flammable ignition in the material. The length of damage around the ignition source was also measured to assess compliance with the requirements.
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