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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Structure and Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #258003

Title: Obtaining Cotton Fiber Length Distributions from the Beard Test Method Part 2 – A New Approach through PLS Regression

Author
item BELMASROUR, RACHID - University Of New Orleans
item LI, LINXIONG - University Of New Orleans
item Cui, Xiaoliang
item CAI, YIYUN - Louisiana State University
item Rodgers Iii, James

Submitted to: Journal of Cotton Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2011
Publication Date: 3/1/2011
Citation: Belmasrour, R., Li, L., Cui, X., Cai, Y., Rodgers III, J.E. 2011. Obtaining Cotton Fiber Length Distributions from the Beard Test Method Part 2 – A New Approach through PLS Regression. Journal of Cotton Science. 15:73-79.

Interpretive Summary: In fiber length measurement by the rapid method of testing fiber beards instead of testing individual fibers, only the fiber portion projected from the fiber clamp can be measured. The length distribution of the projecting portion is very different from that of the original sample. This paper provides a new approach to estimation of the fiber length distribution of the sample based on the length distribution of the observed projecting portion. The probability density function (PDF) curves from this new method show a good match with the PDF curves obtained from the experimental data except in the short fiber region. Comparisons of some commonly used length quality parameters between experimental data and estimated data showed good agreement. The results indicates the proposed new method for obtaining fiber length distribution from the beard test method is very promising , but additional work is needed to improve the estimation accuracy in short fiber region.

Technical Abstract: In fiber length measurement by the rapid method of testing fiber beards instead of testing individual fibers, only the fiber portion projected from the fiber clamp can be measured. The length distribution of the projecting portion is very different from that of the original sample. The Part 1 paper (Cui et al 2009) of this research reported that the original fiber length distribution of cotton can be modeled by a five-parameter mixed Weibull distribution, and the length distribution of the projecting portion can also be modeled by a five-parameter mixed Weibull distribution with parameters different from the original sample. Based on the results reported in Part 1, this Part 2 paper provides a new approach to estimation of the fiber length distribution of the sample based on the length distribution of the observed projecting portion. The proposed approach is the Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression. The probability density function (PDF) curves from the PLS regression method show a good match with the PDF curves obtained from the experimental data except in the short fiber region. Comparisons of some commonly used length quality parameters between experimental data and PLS regression showed good agreement for UHML and ML. The results indicates the proposed PLS approach for obtaining fiber length distribution from the beard test method is very promising , but additional work is needed to improve the estimation accuracy in short fiber region.