ARS | Publication request: The Advantage of Lower Half Mean Length in Characterizing Short Fibers

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: February 5, 2009
Publication Date: April 23, 2009
Citation: Cai, Y., Cui, X., Rodgers III, J.E., Martin, V., Watson, M. 2009. The Advantage of Lower Half Mean Length in Characterizing Short Fibers. Proceeding of the National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference. 1227-1228 CD-ROM.

Interpretive Summary: Short fibers reduce textile processing efficiencies and product quality. There have been increasing interests in short fiber measurement in recent years. Currently a common parameter for characterizing short fibers is Short Fiber Content (SFC), which is defined as the percentage of fibers shorter than ½ inch. But SFC has several shortcomings and the major one is its high variation. In this paper we discussed the SFC’s several known problems and earlier efforts in looking for other ways to characterize SFC. We developed a new statistical parameter, Lower Half Mean Length (LHML), which is defined as the mean length of the fibers that are in the shorter half by weight of the fiber sample. The advantages of LHML over SFC are discussed. We also discuss the approaches for obtaining LHML from HVI (High Volume Instrument) measurements since HVI is widely used in cotton classing and testing. Preliminary results show high correlation with HVI SFI (Short Fiber Index). LHML is the most promising candidate for replacing SFC.

Technical Abstract: Short fibers reduce textile processing efficiencies and product quality. There have been increasing interests in short fibers in recent years. Currently a common parameter for characterizing short fibers is Short Fiber Content (SFC). In this paper we discussed the SFC’s several known problems and earlier efforts in looking for alternative statistical parameters characterizing short fibers. We developed a new statistical parameter, Lower Half Mean Length (LHML), which is defined as the mean length of the fibers that are in the shorter half by weight of the fiber sample. We conducted a series of experiments and statistical analyses for studying LHML. We discussed several criteria for selecting SFC alternatives and evaluated LHML according to these criteria. The results show that LHML has several advantages over SFC including less variation. We also discuss the approaches for obtaining LHML from HVI measurements. We developed a semi-empirical equation to calculate LHML from HVI parameters. Preliminary results show high correlation with HVI (High Volume Instrument) SFI (Short Fiber Index). From our study, we consider LHML as the most promising candidate for replacing SFC.