EN 1021 Furniture - Assessment of Flammability of Upholstered Furniture

The European standard “EN 1021 Furniture - Assessment of flammability of upholstered furniture” consists of the following subsections published under the same title:

• The standard "EN 1021-1 Part 1: Ignition source: Smouldering cigarette" describes a test method for assessing the flammability of material combinations, such as covers and padding, used in upholstered seating when exposed to a smoldering cigarette as the ignition source. This method only measures the flammability of material combinations used in upholstered seating, but not the flammability of a specific finished piece of furniture containing these materials.
• For the purposes of this standard, all of the following types of behavior are considered progressive smoldering:
  • Any test setup that exhibits increasing burning behavior where it is not safe to continue testing and active extinguishing is required.
  • Any test setup that smoldered until it was largely exhausted during the test period
  • Any test fixture that smoldered to the ends of the specimen, i.e., the top or bottom edges, both sides, or the entire thickness, during the test period
  • Any test assembly that smoldered one hour after application of the ignition source
  •  Any test assembly that shows evidence of progressive smoldering on final inspection.

In practice, it is generally found that there is a clear distinction between materials that can char under the influence of the ignition source but do not spread further (non-progressive combustion) and materials in which smoldering expands and spreads (progressive combustion).

Flame ignition is considered to be the formation of any flame initiated by a smoldering source.

In principle, the assembly of upholstery materials is subjected to a smoldering ignition source. The assembly is designed to stylize the joint between a seat and back (or seat and arm) that would occur on a typical chair. The ignitability of an assembly is determined by applying a smoldering ignition source, such as a cigarette. The test method measures the ignitability of the overall composition of materials as constructed in the test fixture, i.e., the outer cover, inner cover, or infill. The tests provide an indication of the ignition behavior of the finished furniture piece, but cannot guarantee it. The results should not be interpreted as applicable to the overall behavior of any individual component. Test samples prepared from materials taken from used furniture may yield different results than those from the same materials before use.

The EN 1021-1 standard is part of a two-part European standard that assesses how well upholstered furniture resists ignition from common sources. Part 1 specifically addresses smoldering cigarettes, a common and dangerous ignition source.

• EN 1021-2 Part 2: "Ignition source match flame equivalent" describes a test method for assessing the flammability of material combinations, such as covers and paddings, used in upholstered seating when exposed to a small flame as the ignition source. This method measures the flammability of a material combination used in upholstered seating only, but not of a specific finished piece of furniture containing those materials.

In principle, the assembly of upholstery materials is subjected to a gas flame ignition source. The assembly is designed to stylize the joint between a seat and back (or seat and arm) that would occur on a typical chair. The ignitability of an assembly is determined by applying a gas flame equivalent to a lit match. The test method measures the ignitability of the overall composition of the materials as constructed in the test fixture, i.e., the outer cover, inner cover, infill, and similar composition. The tests provide an indication of the ignition behavior of the finished furniture piece, but cannot guarantee it. The results should not be interpreted as applicable to the overall behavior of any individual component. Test samples prepared from materials taken from used furniture may yield different results than those from the same materials before use.

For the purposes of this standard, all of the following types of behavior are considered to be progressive smouldering ignition:

• Any test setup that exhibits increasing burning behavior where it is not safe to continue and testing and active extinguishing are required
• Any test setup that smoldered until largely exhausted during the test period
• Any test fixture that smoldered to the ends of the specimen, i.e., the top or bottom edges, both sides, or the entire thickness, during the test period
• Any test assembly that smoldered one hour after application of the ignition source
• Any test assembly that shows evidence of gradual smouldering on final inspection.

In practice, it has been found that there is generally a clear distinction between materials that can char under the influence of an ignition source but do not spread further (non-progressive combustion) and materials in which smoldering becomes widespread and spreads (progressive combustion).

All of the following types of behavior are considered flaming combustion:

• Any test setup that exhibits increasing burning behavior where it is not safe to continue testing and active extinguishing is required.
• Any test assembly that burns to substantial exhaustion during the test period
• Any test setup in which any flame front reaches the bottom edge, either side, or passes through its entire thickness during the test period
• Any flame that persists for more than 120 seconds after the burner tube is removed.

Our organization, which has been supporting businesses across all sectors for years through a wide range of testing, measurement, analysis, and evaluation activities, has a strong team of employees who closely follow global developments in science and technology and are constantly improving themselves. In this context, we also provide testing services in accordance with the EN 1021 Furniture - Assessment of the flammability of upholstered furniture standard.