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Title: Performance of the Cottonscan Instrument for Measuring the Average Fiber Linear Density (Fineness) of Cotton Lint Samples

Author
item ABBOTT, A.M. - Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
item HEQUET, E.F. - Texas Tech University
item HIGGERSON, G.J. - Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
item LUCAS, S.R. - Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
item NAYLOR, G.R.S - Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
item PURMALIS, M.M - Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
item Thibodeaux, Devron

Submitted to: Textile Research Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/8/2010
Publication Date: 9/6/2010
Citation: Abbott, A., Hequet, E., Higgerson, G., Lucas, S., Naylor, G., Purmalis, M., Thibodeaux, D.P. 2010. Performance of the Cottonscan Instrument for Measuring the Average Fiber Linear Density (Fineness) of Cotton Lint Samples. Textile Research Journal. 81(1):94-100.

Interpretive Summary: Cotton fineness or linear density is defined as the mass per unit length of the fiber. The Cottonscan instrument gives essentially a direct measurement of fineness. A representative sample of cotton is presented to a special sample preparation apparatus that cuts out about 100 mg of “snippets”. These are dispersed into a water bath which is then pumped past an electrooptical sensor. This allows the computation of the total length of the snippets which have been accurately weighed. The manuscript reports the results of comparing the performance of three separate instruments (one in Australia, and two in the US). All indications are that the instrument indeed has good potential for assessing cotton quality.

Technical Abstract: This paper explores the CottonscanTM instrument, a new technology designed for routine measurement of the average linear density (fineness) of cotton fiber. A major international inter-laboratory trial of the CottonscanTM system is presented. This expands the range of cottons and laboratories from previous studies. Overall, for cottons finer than 200mtex, the 95% confidence limit for a single measurement was estimated to be ± 12 mtex, in good agreement with previous work. This confirms that the CottonscanTM instrument is a useful technique for determining the average fiber linear density of cotton fiber.