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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Cotton Production and Processing Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #265538
Title: Relationships of cotton fiber properties to ring-spun yarn quality on selected High Plains cottons

Author
item FAULKNER, WILLIAM - Texas A&M University
item HEQUET, ERIC - Texas Tech University
item Wanjura, John
item BOMAN, RANDAL - Oklahoma State University

Submitted to: Textile Research Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/15/2011
Publication Date: 2/21/2012
Citation: Faulkner, W.B., Hequet, E.F., Wanjura, J.D., Boman, R.K. 2012. Relationships of cotton fiber properties to ring-spun yarn quality on selected High Plains cottons. Textile Research Journal. 82(4):400-414.

Interpretive Summary: Cotton grown in the U.S. is graded by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service which utilizes the High Volume Instrument (HVI) system to measure fiber quality parameters such as length, bundle strength, micronaire, color, and trash content. Additional fiber testing is commonly conducted by spinning mills using the Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) which provides additional information over HVI parameters in terms of fiber length distribution, fiber maturity, and fiber entanglements (neps). The goal of fiber quality testing is to provide information for mills to use in determining proper equipment settings and predicting yarn quality. The objective of this paper is to utilize HVI and AFIS fiber quality parameters along with harvest method information to predict yarn quality. The results show that the use of harvest method in predictive models for yarn strength does not contribute additional useful information over that already provided in fiber quality data. Around 70% of the variation in yarn evenness, strength, and work to break was accounted for by models developed from HVI and AFIS fiber quality parameters. These findings will benefit mills looking to use U.S. cotton by providing the basis for mathematical models for use in predicting yarn quality from given fiber quality measurements.

Technical Abstract: The objective of this research was to evaluate the adequacy of High Volume Instruement (HVI) and Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) fiber quality parameters for predicting quality parameters of ring-spun yarns considering differences in harvest method. Fiber properties measured using the HVI (i.e. those available to merchants and buyers plus fiber elongation) and the AFIS, along with harvest method and cultivar, were analyzed to determine their relative influence on the properties of ring spun yarns. Seventy-six samples of commercially-grown cotton representing five cultivars from six locations across the High Plains were collected over three years. Carded 14.5 tex (40Ne) ring-spun yarns were produced and tested for various yarn quality characteristics. Principal component analysis and partial least squares regression were used to determine relationships between fiber and yarn properties. Differences in yarn quality resulting from harvest method and cultivar were captured by differences in fiber quality parameters measured by the HVI and AFIS such that neither harvest method nor cultivar explained a significant portion of yarn variability beyond that captured by HVI and AFIS results. Yarn work-to-break was highly correlated to fiber bundle elongation, which is not currently reported by USDA cotton classing offices.