CarbonX is the brand name behind the products produced by Chapman Thermal Products. CarbonX in its raw form, is a yarn created by spinning O-PAN (oxidized polyacrylonitrile) fiber with an Aramid strenghthening fiber. This formula results in a yarn with amazing fire resistant characteristics that serves as the precursor to a wide array of products and applications requiring heat and flame resistance. The CarbonX yarn can then be converted into an array of fabrics ranging from woven fabrics, knitted fabrics and non-woven felts.
To better understand the differences between CarbonX and competitive products such as Nomex, Kevlar, PBI, Proban, Basofil and Panox, among others, one must first understand the technical functions and objectives relating to these products.
The basic concept and definition of a high performance FR fabric is usually considered a manmade fiber with a continuous operating temperature ranging between 375° to 600° f. The fibers are classified as having favorable characteristics in at least one of the following performance properties: operating temperature, the limit of heat transfer, tensile strength when exposed to high temperature, chemical resistance and, LOI. Most of the FR fabrics currently used for FR safety applications perform well in one, sometimes two of these areas, CarbonX performs extremely well with all of these performance properties and more. CarbonX also has the highest LOI rating of any FR fabric available.
