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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 #143652
Title: CALIBRATION, UPGRADE AND CORRELATION OF TWO FINENESS AND MATURITY TESTERS

Author
item Montalvo Jr, Joseph
item Thibodeaux, Devron
item von Hoven, Terri

Submitted to: Proceedings of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation Meeting
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2002
Publication Date: 8/6/2002
Citation: Montalvo Jr, J.G., Thibodeaux, D.P., Von Hoven, T.M. 2002. Calibration, upgrade and correlation of two fineness and maturity testers. Proceedings of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation Meeting. Appendix FM 4:78-89.

Interpretive Summary: The Fineness and Maturity Tester (FMT) is an instrument that measures pressure drops through cotton that has been compressed to two different volumes. From these pressure drops, one for the highly compressed small volume of cotton, one for the less compressed larger volume, fiber properties can be calculated. Because of its design, any leaks in the instrument reduces the quality of the fiber data. The importance of effective upgrading was made apparent when an instrument was not airtight due to shipping damage, and reproducible measurements were not possible. Once upgraded and leak free, the instrument was calibrated using the constant offset technique that was proven successful on a previously calibrated and upgraded instrument (Von Hoven et al., 2001). Following a strict quality control protocol, a comparison of fiber property measurements of the two upgraded and calibrated FMTs demonstated that the two instruments were generating statistically similar data, thus benefiting the fiber testing industry.

Technical Abstract: Calibration and proper upgrading are imperative to correlating fiber properties as measured on different Fineness and Maturity Testers (FMTs). The importance of effective upgrading was made apparent when an instrument was not airtight due to shopping damage and reproducible fineness and maturity measurements were not possible. Once upgraded and leak free, the instrument was calibrated using the constant offset technique that was proven successful on an instrument calibrated and upgraded previously (Von Hoven et al., 2001). Following a strict quality control protocol, a comparison of micronaire, fineness and maturity measurements of the two upgraded and calibrated FMTs demonstrated that the two instruments were generating statistically similar data.