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Title: Measuring the short fiber content of cotton.

Author
item Thibodeaux, Devron
item KNOWLTON, JAMES - USDA-AMS
item SENTER, HERMAN - CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
item MCALISTER, DAVID - USTER
item Cui, Xiaoliang

Submitted to: World Cotton Research Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/21/2007
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The presence of excess amounts of short fibers (defined as percent by weight of fibers less than ½ in long) in bales of cotton can cause significant problems for the spinner. These include excess waste, loss of yarn strength, and increases in ends-down, and yarn defects. A rather extensive study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of several different testing methods used to determine short fiber content in a cotton bale. Testing methods/instruments included in the study were the high volume instrument (HVI), advanced fiber information system (AFIS), Suter-Webb array method, and the Peyer Almeter. Comparisons between the four methods indicate that they all track each other quite well. The Suter-Webb and Peyer methods give somewhat higher values than HVI and AFIS and indicate a wider range of short fiber contents.

Technical Abstract: Twenty-nine bales of cotton with short fiber content ranging from about five to twenty-five percent were selected for the purpose of comparing the effectiveness and relationships between current test methods for fiber length. These various instruments/methods used to measure short fiber included: HVI, AFIS, and Suter-Webb array. Comparisons between the four methods indicate that they all correlate well with each other. The Suter-Webb array technique gives higher estimates of short fiber content than those of HVI and AFIS, and show greater discrimination among the samples. Highly significant regression models were developed to predict short fiber content from long fiber data (length and strength), and micronaire.