Author
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Bel, Patricia |
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Submitted to: Lambert Academic Publishing (LAP)
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 4/12/2010 Publication Date: 4/30/2010 Citation: Bel, P. 2010. COTTON QUALITY - WHITE SPECKS NEPS-FIBRE TO FABRIC: FIBRE PROPERTIES RELATIONSHIPS TO FABRIC QUALITY. Lambert Academic Publishing (LAP). Saarbrakan, Germany. p. i-184 Interpretive Summary: White specks are a specific type of fiber defect that result in high financial losses to the cotton industry. Fiber entanglements are called neps. Neps that involve immature fibers do not dye properly and appear as white specks on the dyed fabric. This dissertation addresses the problem of predicting white specks in dyed cotton fabrics. The experimentally derived links between the properties of baled cotton and the quality of resulting fabrics (indicated by the level of white specks in the fabric) are examined. The results are presented as predictive equations for different high-speed fiber measurement systems. The equations are derived from a database of measured cotton parameters that was accumulated from high-speed measurement systems during a research program on two continents (North America and Australia). A number of measurement techniques were developed during the course of the project to acquire the data, and these are explained. The results did indicate that a larger controlled database needs to be developed, with all mill processing held identical, before an accurate WSP (white speck potential) can be relied upon for use by the mills. If high-speed measurement systems can be used to predict white specks from the bale, then these losses could be minimized by using the fibers with a high white speck potential in white product lines where dye defects are not a problem. Technical Abstract: 'White specks' are immature clusters of fibers that are not visible as defects until dyeing, after which they remain white on the surface of a darkly dyed fabric, or appear as non uniform streaks in the fabric. The WSP (White Speck Potential) of cotton is difficult to predict except in extremely immature cottons. White speck neps cause unexpected financial losses to the textile industry because currently only bales with extremely low micronaire (high levels of immature fiber) are detected as being problematic by the current grading system. Processing variables, such as time of harvest, number of lint cleaners, mill opening line cleaning, carding and combing were studied to see the effect on white specks in the finished fabrics. Large-scale projects, from field to fabric, were also studied to develop predictions of white specks in finished fabric from high-speed measurement systems. HVI, FMT, AFIS, and Lintronics fiber measurements were evaluated for all studies. Each system provides fiber measurements that can be used to predict white specks, and had better prediction when all variables were controlled (i.e. individual studies). The variety studies were analyzed using AutoRate-2-03, the best of the image analysis systems studied, developed by Dr. Bugao Xu to measure white specks on dark fabrics in conjunction with this research. This final analysis of these studies results in white speck predictions from high-speed fiber measurement systems (HVI, AFIS and Lintronics). The research will continue on a much larger scale in the US and a WSP value will be developed which can be incorporated into the US Cotton Grading System. |
