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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 #232621
Title: Near infrared measurement of cotton fiber micronaire, maturity and fineness--a comparative investigation

Author
item Rodgers Iii, James
item Montalvo Jr, Joseph
item Davidonis, Gayle
item von Hoven, Terri

Submitted to: Textile Research Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/12/2009
Publication Date: 5/25/2010
Citation: Rodgers III, J.E., Montalvo Jr, J.G., Davidonis, G.H., Von Hoven, T.M. 2010. Near infrared measurement of cotton fiber micronaire, maturity and fineness--a comparative investigation. Textile Research Journal. 80(9):780-793.

Interpretive Summary: A key cotton fiber quality property is micronaire, which is an air flow resistance measurement that is highly correlated to the fiber’s maturity and fineness. Fiber maturity and fineness can impact the downstream processing of the fiber into yarn and fabric and the fiber’s dyeability. Previous studies have demonstrated the ability of Near Infrared (NIR) instrumentation to measure cotton micronaire, maturity and fineness with varying degrees of success. However, these studies did not provide general conclusions on the capabilities of NIR spectroscopy as a general technique for these key analyses. Recent advances in NIR instrumentation and software could result in improved, rapid, and precise measurements of cotton micronaire, maturity, and fineness fiber properties. An investigation was implemented to determine the capabilities of modern, off-the-shelf/commercial scanning bench-top and portable NIR systems to monitor cotton fiber micronaire, maturity, and fineness in order to gain insight as to the “universality” of the NIR measurements of these fiber properties. A set of samples with wide ranges of micronaire, maturity, and fineness were analyzed on five commercial systems from four vendors along with an older custom built system that was optimized for NIR analysis of cotton. Spectral analyses indicated very good spectral agreement between the portable and bench-top NIR units over the spectral range of interest. The rapid and simultaneous measurement of cotton fiber micronaire, maturity, and fineness by multiple commercial systems was demonstrated and compared favorably to the custom system but without the delay and cost in building these type units. The NIR systems generally yielded good to very good results for these cotton fiber properties, especially fiber maturity. For the bench-top NIR systems, all end-state criteria were successfully meet. The “universal” nature of the NIR measurement of these cotton fiber properties was validated for several commercial NIR systems. As expected, the NIR results for the portable NIR units were normally not as good as those for the bench-top instruments for the three fiber properties, but they were very acceptable for demonstrating the potential for the portable units to measure the three fiber properties.

Technical Abstract: A key cotton fiber quality property is micronaire, which is an air flow resistance measurement that is highly correlated to the fiber’s maturity and fineness. Fiber maturity and fineness can impact the downstream processing of the fiber into yarn and fabric and the fiber’s dyeability. Previous studies have demonstrated the ability of Near Infrared (NIR) instrumentation to measure cotton micronaire, maturity and fineness with varying degrees of success.However, these studies did not provide general conclusions on the capabilities of NIR spectroscopy as a general technique for these key analyses. Recent advances in NIR instrumentation and software could result in improved, rapid, and precise measurements of cotton micronaire, maturity, and fineness fiber properties. A comparative investigation was implemented to determine the feasibility and capabilities of modern, off-the-shelf/commercial scanning bench-top and portable NIR systems to monitor the critical cotton fiber properties of micronaire, maturity, and fineness in order to gain insight as to the “universality” of the NIR measurements of these fiber properties. A set of samples with wide ranges of micronaire, maturity, and fineness were analyzed on five commercial systems from four vendors along with an older custom built system that was optimized for NIR analysis of cotton. Spectral analyses indicated very good spectral agreement between the portable and bench-top NIR units over the spectral range of interest. The rapid and simultaneous measurement of cotton fiber micronaire, maturity, and fineness by multiple commercial systems —bench-top and portable — was demonstrated and compared favorably to the custom system but without the delay and cost in building these type units. The NIR systems generally yielded good to very good results for these cotton fiber properties, especially fiber maturity. For the bench-top NIR systems, all end-state criteria were successfully meet (high R2s, low residuals) for all three fiber properties. The “universal” nature of the NIR measurement of these cotton fiber properties was validated for several commercial NIR systems. As expected, the NIR results for the portable NIR units were normally not as good as those for the bench-top instruments for the three fiber properties, but they were very acceptable for demonstrating the potential for the portable units to measure the three fiber properties.