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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 #208470
Title: A Study to Improve the Measrement of Cotton Length Distribution from a Fiber Beard.

Author
item Cui, Xiaoliang
item Thibodeaux, Devron
item Robert Jr, Kearny
item Rodgers Iii, James
item MARTIN, VICKI - COTTON INC, CARY, NC
item WATSON, MIKE - COTTON INC, CARY, NC

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2006
Publication Date: 2/1/2007
Citation: Cui, X., Thibodeaux, D.P., Robert Jr, K.Q., Rodgers Iii, J.E., Martin, V., Watson, M. 2007. A study to improve the measrement of cotton length distribution from a fiber beard.. National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference. p. 1296-1307.

Interpretive Summary: The cotton length measurement from a tapered fiber beard provides a rapid account for fiber length parameters. The High Volume Instrument (HVI) that is used in cotton classification employs this method to determinate fiber length parameters. This manuscript reports the preliminary results from an effort to study the fundamental issues relating to the beard method in order to improve the accuracy and obtain more information. The results showed that the distribution of the specimen fibers picked up by the HVI comb/clamp through the Fibrosampler is similar to that of the original sample, not length-biased. However, very short fibers (shorter than 0.25”) are much less likely to be present in the specimen fibers. In addition, a significant portion of each fiber is hidden in the clamp and cannot be measured, which reduces the accuracy of length measurement and makes it difficult to obtain the entire length distribution. These findings prompt new research on a more realistic model of fiber beards with hidden portion. Modifying the Fibrosampler (a device to form fiber beards for testing) reduced the hidden length by about 0.03 inches, but did not reduce its variation. It also showed that despite the existence of the hidden portion, certain fiber length parameters could be estimated from the projecting fibers through mathematical and statistical manipulation, validating the effectiveness of beard testing method in obtaining certain fiber length parameters. This research is beneficial to the cotton and textile industries by providing more accurate cotton length measurements.

Technical Abstract: The cotton length measurement from a tapered fiber beard provides a rapid account for fiber length parameters. The High Volume Instrument (HVI) that is used in cotton classification employs this method to determinate fiber length parameters. This manuscript reports the preliminary results from an effort to study the fundamental issues relating to the beard method. The results showed that the distribution of the specimen fibers picked up by the HVI comb/clamp through the Fibrosampler is similar to that of the original sample, not length-biased. However, very short fibers (shorter than 0.25”) are much less likely to be present in the specimen fibers. In addition, a significant portion of each fiber is hidden in the clamp and cannot be measured, which reduces the accuracy of length measurement and makes it difficult to obtain the entire length distribution. Modifying the Fibrosampler reduced the hidden length by about 0.03 inches, but did not reduce its variation. It is also showed that despite the existence of the hidden portion, the Upper Quartile Length (UQL) of the projecting fibers correlates to that of the original sample well, validating the effectiveness of beard testing method in obtaining certain fiber length parameters, such as UQL or Upper Half Mean Length (UHML).