A Practical Guide To Fibre Science (PDFDrive)

N. S.
KAPLAN
A Practical Guide to
Fibre Science
"This page is Intentionally Left Blank"
A Practical Guide
to Fibre Science
N.S. Kaplan
ABHISHEK PUBLICATIONS
QI.AN)IGARH ~ 17 (India)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form, electronically or otherwise, in print, photoprint, micro film or by
any other means without written permission from the publisher.
ISBN 81-85733-42-2
ISBN : 978-81-85733-42-5
© Publishers
First Edition : 2002
Published by:
Abhishek Publications,
S.C.O. 57-59, Sector 17-C,
CHANDIGARH - 160017(lndia)
Ph. 707562, Fax 0172-704668
Printed at Mehra Offset, Daryaganj, Delhi - 110002

Contents
l. Textile Fibres 1
2. Processing of Textile Fibres 23
3. Cotton Fibres 93
4. Cotton Mixing and Blowroom Operations 112
5. Carding 122
6. Effects of Fibre Preparation on
Instrument Readings 132
7. Length of Cotton Fibres 150
8. Cotton Stickiness 166
9. White Specks 183
10. Fibre Dynamics 194
II. Roving Frame and Draw Frame 218
12. Metallic Card Clothing 234
13. Winding 248
14. Spinning Geometry 271
1
Textile Fibres
Fibers are natural or chemical structures that can be spun

into yarns. Yarns then can be woven, knitted, or bonded
into fabrics. Fiber properties and behavior are directly
related to fabric performance and care. Learning about
fibers and their characteristics will help you to
understand fabrics better. Four major natural fibers and
23 man-made fibers are available. Natural fibers come
from plants and animals. The plant fibers-cotton and
linen-are made of cellulose. Animal fibers, silk and
wool, are made of protein.
Two classes of man-made fibers are those adapted
from cellulose (cellulosic) and those made entirely of
chemicals (noncellulosic). Noncellulosic man-made fibers
often are called synthetics. Each fiber is identified by a
generic name. The Textile Fiber Products Identification
Act that officially established the generic fiber
classifications became effective in 1960. All fibers (natural
or man-made), yarns, fabrics, and household textile
articles (includes articles of wearing apparel, draperies,
2 Textile Technology
floorcoverings, furnishings, beddings, and other textiles

customarily used in a household), are covered by this
Act.
Fibrous materials should possess certain properties
for them to be useful as textile raw materials. Those
properties which are essential for acceptance as a suitable
raw material may be classified as "primary properties",
while those which add specific desirable character or
aesthetics to the end product and its use may be
classified as "secondary properties".
PRIMARY PROPERTIES
Length; length-width ratio

Tenacity (strength)
Flexibility (pliability)
Acceptable extensibility for processing
Cohesion
Uniformity of properties
Secondary Properties
Physical shape (cross-section, surface contour, etc.)
Specific gravity (influence weight, cover, etc.)
Moisture regain and moisture absorption (comfort,
static electricity, etc.)
Elastic character - tensile and compression
Thermoplasticity (softening point and heat-set
character)
Dyeability
Textile Fibres 3
Resistance to solvents, corrosive chemicals, micro-

organisms, and environmental conditions
Flammability
Luster
PROPERTIES DESIRED FOR TEXTILE FIBERS
Apparel and Domestic application:

Tenacity: 3 - 7 grams/denier
Elongation at break: 10 - 35%
Recovery from elongation: 100% at strains up to 5%
Modulus of elasticity: 30 - 60 grams/denier
Moisture absorbency: 2 - 5%
Zero strength temperature (excessive creep and softening
point): above 215 0 C
High abrasion resistance (varies with type fabric
structure)
Dyeable
Low flammability
Insoluble with low swelling in water, in moderately
strong acids and bases and conventional organic
solvents from room temperature to 1000 C
Ease of care
INDUSTRIAL REQUIREMENTS
Tenacity: 7 - 8 grams/denier
Elongation at break: 8 - 15%
4 Textile Techll%gtj
Modulus of elasticity: 80 grams/denier or more

conditioned, 50 grams/denier wet
Zero strength tempera ture: 250 0 C or above
KEY FIBER PROPERTIES DETERMINED BY

POLYMER COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE:
• Meltwg Point
• Modulus
• Elasticity and recovery from strain
• Tensile strength
• Density
• Moisture absorption
• Dyeability
• Comfort
The ability of a fiber to withstand the rubbing or abrasion
it gets in everyday use
POLYESTER
Characteristics
Strong
Crisp, soft hand
Resistant to stretching and shrinkage
Washable or dry-cleanable
Quick drying
Resilient, wrinkle resistant excellent pleat retention (if
heat set)
Textile Fibres 5
Abrasion resistant
Resistant to most chemicals
Because of its low absorbency, stain removal can be a
problem
Static and pilling problems
Major End Uses
Apparel - essentially every form of clothing, dresses,

blouses, jackets, separates, sportswear, suits, shirts, pants,
rainwear, lingerie, childrenswear
Home Fashions - curtains, draperies, floor
coverings, fiber fill, upholstery, bedding.
Comments - Of all the manufactured fibers,
polyester is the most used. Polyester is the best wash-
and-wear fiber. Unfortunately, because of the over-
saturation of polyester 20 to 30 years ago, some
consumers maintain a negative perception about the
fiber. But, that is changing.
As with the other manufactured fibers, new
developments in polyester have created a new attitude
towards manufactured fibers. This is true, not only for
manufacturers and designers, but also for consumers. In
addition, when polyester is blended with other dry-clean
only fibers, like wool, acetate, or rayon, the durability of
the blended fabric improves and, in some cases, the
fabrics can even be made washable, if the percentage of
polyester is high enough.
RAYON
Characteristics
- Soft and comfortable

Drapes well
Highly absorbent
Dyes and prints well
No static, no pilling problems
Fabric can shrink appreciably if washing dry-clean-
only rayon
Washable or dry cleanable.
Major End Uses
Apparel - Blouses, dresses, jackets, lingerie, linings,

millinery, slacks, sportshirts, sportswear, suits, ties, work
clothes
Home Fashions - bedspreads, blankets, curtains,
draperies, sheets, slip covers, table cloths, upholstery.
Comments - One of the major characteristics of
rayon, also called viscose, centers around the care of the
fabric. For those of you who have been around rayon a
lot, you know that there are both washable and "dry
clean only" rayons in the garments that you sell. Why are
there both washable and non-washable rayons?
Originally rayon was a "dry clean only" fiber. However,
the fiber producers discovered that they could create
washability in rayon by putting certain finishes on the
surface of the fabric after it was knitted or woven. But
this also added to the price. So, today many rayons in the
marketplace remain untreated, and are therefore "dry
clean only."
It's very important to read the labels, and make the
customer aware that just because he or she may have
purchased a washable rayon last week, that doesn't mean
Textile Fibres 7
that all rayons are washable. Anytime a rayon garment,

labeled "dry clean only," is washed, a risk is taken, and
one of three things may happen. First the garment can
shrink tremendously, sometimes as much as two or three
sizes. Second, the garment may fade, or a printed pattern
may bleed. And third, the fabric may lose its soft hand.
The rayon that was once soft and drapeable may become
stiff and harsh.
There's also something important to remember
when caring for the washable rayons. Most of the
washable rayon garments today are labeled "hand wash,
cool water, drip dry or dry flat." And, it's important that
these directions are followed, because when rayon is wet,
it actually loses 30% to 50% of its strength. So, hand
washing, like the label says, is the best. The constant
agitation of the washer, and tumbling of the dryer will
beat the garment against the side of the washer and
dryer. And, eventually this causes the fiber to break
down, and shorten the life of the rayon garment. So, in
order to get the maximum life out of your washable
rayei garment, it's best to hand wash and drip/hang
dry.
ACETATE
Manufactured Fiber - cellulosic-based, made from wood

pulp or cotton linters
Characteristics
Luxurious appearance
Crisp or soft hand
Wide range of colors; dyes and prints well

Excellent drapeability and softness Shrink, moth, and
mildew resistant
Low moisture absorbency, relatively fast' drying
No pilling problem, little static problem Most acetate
garments require dry-cleaning
Major End Uses
Apparel- Blouses, dresses, linings, special occasion

apparel, Home Fashions - Draperies, upholstery, curtains,
bedspreads.
Acetate is a "dry clean only" fiber. However, again,
read the label, because many of the new acetate circular
knits, that have been out on the market for a few years,
are hand washable. So far, there is no washable woven
acetate available in the marketplace.
Comments - Acetate takes color extremely well. It is
also very soft and drapable. Acetate has been blended
with a wide variety of other fibers. Experimenting has
also been done with different knitting and weaving
techniques, which has resulted in the development of a
variety of fabrics suitable for many markets. Prior to
these developments, the major uses fpr acetate in apparel
were as a liner in coats, jackets, blazers, etc., and as a
major fabric in special occasion dresses - acetate velvets,
crepes, taffetas, and satins were ideal for this market.
Because of these new fabric developments, acetate has
been elevated to the designer level with many major
designers using acetate in their lines.
Textile Fibres 9
ACRYLIC
Characteristics
Light-weight, soft, warm with a wool-like hand Dyes

to bright colors with excellent fastness
Outstanding wickability Machine washable, quick
drying
Resilient; retains shape; resists shrinkage, & wrinkles
Flexible aesthetics for wool-like, cotton-like or
blended appearance
Excellent pleat retention
Resistant to moths, oil and chemicals
Superior resistance to sunlight degradation
Static and pilling can be a problem
Major End Uses
Apparel : sweaters, socks, fleece, circular knit apparel,

sportswear, childrenswear
Home Fashions : Blankets, throws, upholstery,
awnings, outdoor furniture, rugs/floor coverings
Comments - Acrylic is a soft drapeable fabric which
provides warmth without being heavy. It takes color
beautifully. Although acrylic has traditionally been a
fall/winter fabric, with a wonderful resemblance to wool,
acrylic has recently been used in developing some light
weight circular knits and blends which lend themselves
to trans-seasonal dressing as well. Acrylic is comfortable
to wear. It feels like wool. Yet, it is easy care and is
machine washable or dry cleanable.
LYOCELL
Characteristics
Excellent strength
Washable
Shrink- and wrinkle-resistant
Soft hand Excellent drape
Absorbent Dyes and prints well
Major End Uses
Apparel - dresses, suits, sportswear, pants, jackets,

blouses, skirts.
Home Fashions - curtains, draperies, upholstery,
bedspreads, table linens, sheets, dish towels, bath towels.
Comments - This is the newest cellulosic fiber, and a
new brand name that you may have seen recently is
Tencel®. This fiber is cellulosic, and it is very similar to
rayon in appearance. The major difference between
lyocell and rayon is that lyocell is much more durable
and has a much stronger wet strength. It can also be
machine washable and dryable.
MICROFIBERS
Characteristics
Ultra fine (less than 1.0 dpf), finer than the most
delicate silk
Textile Fibres 11
Extremely drapeable
Very soft, luxurious hand with a silken or suede
touch
Washable, dry cleanable
Shrink-resistant
High strength (except Rayon)
Excellent pleat retention Insulates well against wind,
rain and cold
Major End Uses
Apparel - hosiery, blouses, dresses, separates, sportswear,

ties, scarves, menswear, intimate apparel, activewear,
swimwear, outerwear, rainwear.
Home Fashions - curtains, draperies, upholstery,
sheets, towels, blankets.
Comments - Micro-fibers is not really a fiber unto
itself. Rather, it refers to an ultra-fine fiber, which can be
woven or knit into a very high quality fabric
construction. Originally, when DuPont introduced the
first microfiber in 1989, it was a polyester microfiber.
However, today in addition to polyester microfibers,
there are also nylon rhicrofibers that have become
important in the pantyhose market, rayon microfibers,
and acrylic microfibers.
One of the important characteristics of micro fiber
fabrics is that they can be woven so tightly that the fabric
can't be penetrated by wind, rain, or cold. For this
reason, raincoat manufacturers have become big users of
polyester microfibers. Microfibers also have a wicking
ability, which allows perspiration to pass through the
fabriC. Microfibers are comfortable to wear.
NYLON
Characteristics
Lightweight
Exceptional strength
Good drapeability
Abrasion resistant
Easy to wash
Resists shrinkage and wrinkling resilient, pleat
retentive
Fast drying, low moisture absorbency
Can be precolored or dyed in a wide range of colors
Resistant to damage from oil and many chemicals
Static and pilling can be a problem
Poor resistance to continuous sunlight
Major End Uses
Apparel - swimwear, activewear, intimate apparel,

foundation garments, hosiery, blouses, dresses,
sportswear, pants, jackets, skirts, raincoats, ski and snow
apparel, windbreakers, childrenswear.
Home Fashions - carpets, rugs, curtains, upholstery,
draperies, bedspreads Other - Luggage, back packets, life
vests, umbrellas, sleeping bags, tents.
Comments - Nylon is one of the strongest fiber. For
this reason it's used in garments that take a great deal of
hard wear, like panty hose and swimwear.
Textile Fibres 13
The most popular fiber blend used in swimwear

today is nylon and spandex. Although nylon is a very
strong fiber, it has poor resistance to prolonged exposure
to the sun. In addition, spandex breaks down from
exposure to chlorine in pool water. Yet, there probably
aren't a lot of old, worn out swimsuits being returned
because the fabric has wore out. That's because the
customer has learned through experience that most
swimsuits, if worn a lot, won't last for much more than a
season or two. So, in many cases, when a customer shops
for swimwear, she may buy as many as two or three at a
time in order to get herself through just one season. This
is because she has come to know what to expect from
these fibers.
ELAST ANE FIBERS:(LYCRA)
Elastane fibres, better known under their trade names,

Lycra and Dorlastan, represent a further high point in the
development of man-made fibres. Invented in 1937 in
Germany, elastane has properties not found in nature, the
most important being an extraordinary elasticity.
Compared to rubber, elastane has both greater tear
resistance and durability and a tension capacity two or
three times greater, at a third of the weight. Elastane is
used in all areas where a high degree of permanent
elasticity is required, as, for example, in tights,
sportswear, swimwear, corsetry, and in woven and
knitted fabrics. When stretched, it always reverts to its
original form. Elastane thus is a prerequisite for
fashionable or functional apparel which is intended to
cling to the body, while at the same time remaining
comfortable.
Elastane combines its good properties with both

natural and man-made fibres. There are two principal
methods used in processing elastane. One is to wrap the
elastane fibre in a non-elastic thread - either natural or
man-made. The resulting yarn has the appearance and
feel of the outer fibre used. The second method involves
using pure elastane threads, which are worked or woven
into fabrics made from other fibres. The added elasticity
makes such fabrics more comfortable to wear. Blends
with elastane depend on the type of fabric and the end
use.
Properties
High performance and easy care.

Elastane fibres can be stretched from four to seven
times their length, reverting to their original length
when the tension is relaxed. Elastane has the highest
stretch tension of all textile raw materials.
Two per cent elastane is enough to make trousers, for
instance, retain their shape. For body-shaped
silhouette and high stretch capacity, i.e. in swimwear,
corsetry or sportswear, 15 - 40% elastane is used.
Elastane fibres guarantee a high degree of comfort
combined with great freedom of movement.
In woven and knitted fabrics elastane increases shape
retention and accelerates crease recovery. • Elastane is
not sensitive to transpiration, make-up, cosmetics,
sun cream or sea water. For example swimwear with
elastane should be rinsed out after bathing.
Elastane is easy to care for.
Textile Fibres 15
Major End Uses
Apparel - articles where stretch is desired: athletic

apparel, bathing suits, foundation garments, ski pants,
slacks, hosiery, socks, belts.
Comments - Lycra® is the most familiar spandex
fiber, and is DuPont's bran~ name for its spandex fiber.
An interesting fact about spandex is that it was
developed as a substitute for rubber. And, when it was
first introduced in 1959, it totally revolutionized the
swimwear and foundations industry. Although it has
poor strength, it stretches over 500%. So, the excellent
stretch of spandex compensates for the fact that it's a
weak fiber.
SILK
Characteristics
Soft or crisp hand

Luxurious
Drapes and tailors well Thinnest of all natural fibers
Dyes and prints well
Hand-washable or dry-cleanable
Little problem with static, no pilling problem
Only fair abrasion resistance Poor resistance to
prolonged exposure to sunlight
Major End Uses
Apparel - dresses, blouses, skirts, jackets, pants, pants,

scarves, ties.
Home Fashion - curtains, draperies, upholstery.
COTTON
Characteristics
Comfortable
Soft hand
Absorbent
Good color retention, prints well
Machine-washable, dry-cleanable
Good strength
Drapes well
Easy to handle and sew
Major End Uses
Apparel - Wide range of wearing apparel: blouses, shirts,

dresses, childrenswear, activewear, separates, swimwear,
suits, jackets, skirts, pants, sweaters, hosiery, neckwear.
Home Fashions - curtains, draperies, bedspreads,
comforters, throws, sheets, towels, table cloths, table
mats, napkins
FIBER BLENDS
Some reasons of blending are:

To facilitate processing
To improve properties
Textile Fibres 17
Abrasion resistance strength

Absorbency
Add bulk and warmth
Hand
Dimensional stability
Resistance to wrinkling
To produce multi-color fabrics
To reduce cost
MICRO FIBER
The first generation of man-made fibresneeded

substantial improvements technically and commercially
to establisha long lasting favourable relationship between
producers and consumers.Ongoing research have
produced specialty fibres such as high performencefibres,
bio-degradeble fibres, antibiotic fibres, flame retardant
fibres,ultrafine fibres etc. which has changed our way of
life.
The genuine breakthrough occured withthe
introduction of micro fibre technology, originated in Japan
in the early1970s. It was only subsequently that their
advantages were recognised withregard to handle,
napping potential and functional characteristics suchas
air and moisture vapour permeability and insulation. The
developmentof microfibres, the fourth generation of man-
made fibres, has even surpassed the dream of Robert
Hooke and made possible what for a long time was
regarded as unthinkable.
What a microfibre is:

Until recently there was no exact definitionof
micro fibres. Generally, microfibres refer to staple fibres,
or individualfilaments within yarns, which have a finess
less than 1 decitex (0.9' denier).Despite the term 'fibre'
being used, it is generally applied to filamentyarns. To be
classified as microfibre yarn the weight per 10,000
metres of yarn (dtex) is divided by the number of
filaments (f), the result mustbe below 1 e.g. dtex 156 f 256
(=0.6). Althoughacrylic, viscose, polypropylene are
available for the production of microfibres,polyester and
polyamide are mainstream. The fabrics made from them
car,be 100% micro fibre or in blends with wool, cotton or
viscose. Microfibresare finer than the finest natural fibre
i.e. silk (1 dpf =denierper filament) and are ~lso called
'microdenier' or 'ultrafine' fibres.They are so fine that a
single filament of Belima X micro fibre weighingjust one
pound can circle the earth, while another microfibre
Tactel Micro is 60 times stronger and 15 times finer
than silk.
Production of microfibres:
Microfibre spinning is now possible bymany of
major fibre producers on their better existing equipments.
However,economical production of high quality
micro fibres will require significantchanges in future
machine design and operation. There are two routes
toproduce micro fibres i.e.
Direct spinning (conventionalPOY spinning)
Bi-component process (segment& Island-in-sea type)
In the first method, single componenthiaments are
extruded through very fine spinnerets (dia 0.2 mm or
Textile fibreI' 19
lower)and drawn at high draw ratio. However, more

finer fibre cannot be producedbecause of filament
breakage after extrusion. The second method
involvesspinning of conventional sized bicomponent
filaments and break them downinto smaller components
later. Very fine super micro fibres (upto O.OOldpf) can be
prod~ced using bicomponent technique.
Properties and applications
The tightly woven microfibre fabrics impede water

dropletsfrom penetrating but allow water vapours to
permeate.
Microfibres offer a great varietyof applications in
fashion clothing owing to their extra softness, fullhandle,
drape, comfort and easy-care properties. Tightly woven
micro fibre fabrics exhibit an exceptional property of
obstructing water droplets frompenetrating while
allowing water vapour to escape resulting in
increased comfort. Their improved water impermeability
and lower air permeabilitymake micro fibre fabrics highly
suitable for waterproof and windbreakerleisurewear and
sportswear market. Microfibres are increasingly used
forladies' fashion, outdoor wear and upholstery fields.
The fineness of microfibresexcels in producing light
weight, flowing drape and silk-like fabrics andtheir
handle can be substantially improved by appropriate
finishing e.g.emery treatment for peach-skin effect.
Characteristics problems
Due to their fineness, the total surfacearea of microfibre

yarn or fabric is far greater than ordinary fibres.Threfore
larger quantity of size need to be applied to

micro filament warpyarns. Since micro fibres have very
small interstitches, with consequentdifficulties of size
accessibility and duffusibility, desizing becomesquite
difficult and costly. Microfibres have greater absorption
area resultingin a dyeing rate four timt;!S higher than that
of normal, which can causeunlevelness in dyeing. They
also require more dyestuff than standard fibres to obtain
the same depth of shade. Larger external surface means
an incrreasein number of threads exposed to light which,
on destruction of dye, isexpressed as lower lightfastness
rating. Staple microfibres offer difficultyin carding.
Technological developments:
The difficulty in processing microfibrescan be overcome

by proper selection of dyestuffs, using appropriate
dyeingmachinery (air jet type) and choosing suitable
processing parameters.
Knowledge of the type of size used isvery important
to optimise the desizing process. Pretreatment must be
doneeither on tensionless open-width washers or in
Overflow or Jet dyeing machine. Control of pH is
important for optimum size removal (e.g. pH 10.5-11
forpolyacrylate size). In batch pretreatment process,
material is circulatedat 90' C for 30 mins followed by hot,
cold rinsing and neutralisation. The fabric is dried at 140-
150' C on stenter. Materials having 100% rrUcrofibrewarps
or have a peach-skin effect should be pre-set at 180' C for
30 secbefore dyeing to ensure dimensional stability and
finished appearance.Emerising (sueding) effect, which
imparts a slightly napped, peach-likesurface and a
pleasant soft handle, has grown in importance for
Textile Fibres 21
microfibrefabrics. Emerising treatment must always be

carried out before pre-settingto prevent an uneven
surface.
Optimesed dyeing cycles can be workedout by
controlling the temperature to account for the high rate of
dyeingand to eliminate the risk of uneven dyeing. A
slower dyebath cooling afterdyeing prevents crease
formation. The most useful machine for microfibrefabric
processing is a Jet dyeing machine(especially airflow
type) as theyallow the fabric to develop a desirable bulk.
Examples of such machineare Longclose Ventura Rapid
Micro-Tech, Henriksen/Fong's AirJet Thies Luft-roto&
soft stream SV etc. Proper dye selection (Le. compatible
dyes) eliminatesproblems regarding build-up and
fastness properties. Manufacturers likeYorkshire, leI and
BASF offer new generation of dyes suitable for
processingmicrofibres. An emerging technology for
dyeing polyester by using supercriticalfluid (C02) was
tested on polyestermicrofibre and initial trials have
shown excellent levelness and fastnessof dyeing.
Finishing very often consists of both mechanical and
chemical treatments.
Microfibres are being increasingly usedthroughout
the world for various end-uses due to their fineness, high
performancecharacteristics and their unique ability to be
engineered for a specificrequirement. Extreme care must
be taken during processing and handling(lf micro fibre
fabrics. This requires specific equipment to be used
whendyeing and finishing such delicate type of fabrics.
Nylon is claimed tohave advantages over polyester in
having a better cover, plus lower density,higher strength
and abrasion resistance, where this is very
important.Polyester is easier to spin and is available in
finer filaments than nylon.Raised fabrics from polyester

are somewhat easier to produce. This hasgiven polyester
and economic advantage in apparel and sportswear
markets.
2
Processing of Textile Fibres
Mixing is the first and important process in the spinning

process. Some information regarding "cotton mixing", is
given below:-
Cotton mixing: Blow room is the process which takes
care of opening, cleaning and blending of different fibres
used in the mixing. The technological improvements are
remarkable in this process. Important points are
highlighted to refere please click the link
Blowroom process: High production carding has now
become an established practice for short-staple fibres.
Production capacity in recent carding machines can be
increased substatially without deterioration in quality.
Carding process: Reading without thinking is like
eating without digesting. Metallic card clothing played an
important role to improve the production rates on
revolving flat cards. High production card would not
have been possible without the Metallic card clothing.
Moreover the demand for high production and high
quality from carding machine put wire manufacturers
under pressure to improve their design continuously to

meet the requirements. Modem metallic wire is designed
for optimum carding performance during the processing
of many tonnes of fibre at the highest proudction rates
possible, and with the least amount of maintenance.
Card clothing
90 percent of your work can be done by your

subordinates and you genuinely get paid only for 10
percent. Drawframe contributes less than 5% to
production cost of yam. But its influence on quality is
very big, because drawing is the final process of quality
improvement in the spinning mill and quality of
drawframe sliver determines the final yam quality.For
more information please click
Drawing process
Autoievelling
Most problems are really the absence of ideas:

Combing is the process which serves to improve the
raw material.Combed yam is stronger, more uniform,
has greater shine and is smoother and purer.The
quality improvements are obtained at the cost of
additional expenditure on machines, floor and
personnel, together with a loss of rawmaterial.
Cambing process
The greatest loss is the loss of self-confidence:

Processing of Textile Fibres 25
Roving bobbin is the ideal package form for supply

of material to the ring spinning frame. It is very
convenient for transport and storing.Eventhough
drawframe produces a sliver that already exhibits all
the characteristics required for making the yam, the
roving frame is forced upon a spinner as a necessary
evil for two reasons. They are:
1. higher draft
2. drawframe can feeding creates more problem
Speed frame
Do important jobs now before they become urgent

The ring spinning will continue to be the most
widely used form of spinning machine in the near
future, because ring spinning still offers the greatest
flexibility in application and supplies yams of a
quality that cannot be equalled by the new
technologies owing to technological reasons.
Ring frame
A pessimist finds difficulty in every opportunity, the

optimist finds opportunity in every difficulty.
- Winding is the process which results in producing a
good package of long length and fault free yam.
Most of the spinning mills use automatic winding
machines. Quality of yam and package and winding
machine production are improving day by day. The
requirements of package quality and yam quality is also
very high for the present knitters and weavers.
Winding
The more time spent on self improvement, the less there

is to criticise others.
Variables in a spinning mill is extremely high e.g.,
rawmaterial, atmospheric conditions in a plant type
of machines, technology adopted, skill level,
investment concepts, market requirements, etc. Since
the variations are innumerable, it is a must to
optimise the process parameters to produce a good
quality yarn at a lower manufacturing cost. Some
information and guidelines for fixing parameters is
given in the following pages.
Theory without Practice is sterile, and Practice without
Theory is futile.
Yarn occupies the intermediate position in the
manufacture of fabric from raw material. Yarn tests
are therefore essential, both for estimating the quality
of the raw material and for controlling the fabric
produced.
Characteristics
The textile Industry uses compressed air power in
some machinery or other, for instance blow room,
comber, spinning frame, loom, splicers to name a
few. With the use of more sophisticated, high
production machinery the need for more and more
complicated Pneumatic controls are necessitated. To
have minimum breakdowns and reliable performance
with minimum failure, in other words, to have good
quality products, the compressed air supplied to the
machine should be of the highest order, both in
QUALITY and QUANTITY.
Atmospheric conditions have a decided effect on

textile materials, especially during processing.For this
reason it is essential that the temperature and
moisture content of the air within the mill be
controlled. The exact degree of temperature and
relative humidity will vary depending upon the
material and department.
Humidification
It is better to make a first class soup than a second class

painting.
Spinning machines
Blowroom
Lakshmi
Rieter
- Trutzschler
- Crosrol
- Carding
- Lakshmi
- Rieter
- Trutzschler
- Crosrol
- MarzoH
- Comber
Lakshmi
Rieter
- Toyoda
- Marzoli
Draw frame
Rieter
Vouk
Lakshmi
Speed frame
- Zinser
- Toyoda
- Marzoli
- Lakshmi
- Ring spinning
Lakshmi
Rieter
Zinser
- Suessen
- Toyoda
- Open end
Schlafhorst
Rieter
Lakshmi
- Winding
Schlafhorst
Savio
Textile resources
• AKTRIN Textile Information Center
Importance of Rawmaterial in Yam Manufacturing
Raw material represents about 50 to 70% of the

production cost of a short-staple yarn. This fact is
sufficient to indicate the significance of the rawmaterial
for the yarn producer. It is not possible to use a problem-
free raw material always, because cotton is a natural
fibre and there are many properties which will affect the
performance. If all the properties have to be good for the
cotton, the rawmaterial would be too expensive. To
produce a good yarn with this difficulties, an intimate
knowledge of the raw material and its behaviour in
processing is a must.
Fibre characteristics must be classified according to a
certain sequence of importance with respect to the end
product and the spinning process. Moreover, such
quantified characteristics must also be assessed with
reference to the following
what is the ideal value?
what amount of variation is acceptable in the bale
material?
what amount of variation is acceptable in the final
blend
Such valuable experience, which allows one to determine
the most suitable use for the raw material, can only be
obtained by means of a long, intensified and direct
association with the raw material, the spinning process
and the end product. Low cost yarn manufacture,
fulfilling of all quality requirements and a controlled
fibre feed with known fibre properties are necessary in

order to compete on the world's textile markets. Yarn
prodcution begins with the rawmaterial in bales,
whereby success or failure is determined by the fibre
quality, its price and availability. Successful yarn
producers optimise profits by a process oriented selection
and mixing of the rawmaterial, followed by optimisation
of the machine settings, production rates, operating
elements, etc. Simultaneously, quality is ensured by
means of a closed loop control system, which requires the
application of supervisory system at spinning and
spinning preparation, as well as a means of selecting the
most sutable bale mix.
Basic fibre characteristccs
A textile fibre is a peculiar object. It has not truly fixed

length, width, thickness, shape and cross-section. Growth
of natural fibres or prodction factors of manmade fibres
are responsible for this situation. An individual fibre, if
examined carefully, will be seen to vary in cross-sectional
area along it length. This may be the result of variations
in growth rate, caused by dietary, metabolic, nutrient-
supply, seasonal, weather, or other factors influencing the
rate of cell development in natural fibres. Surface
characteristics also play some part in increasing the
variablity of fibre shape. The scales of wool, the twisted
arrangement of cotton, the nodes appearing at intervals,
along the cellulosic natural fibres etc. Following are the
basic chareteristics of cotton fibre:
fibre length
fineness
strength
maturity
Rigidity
fibre friction
structural features
The atmosphere in which physical tests on textile
materials are performed. It has a relative humidity of 65
+ 2 per cent and a temperature of 20 + 2° C. In tropical
and sub-tropical countries, an alternative standard
atmosphere for testing with a relative humidity of 65 + 2
per cent and a temperature of 27 + 2° C, may be used.
Fibre length
The "length" of cotton fibres is a property of commercial

value as the price is generally based on this character. To
some extent it is true, as other factors being equal, longer
cottons give better spinning performance than shorter
ones. But the length of a cotton is an indefinite quantity,
as the fibres, even in a small random bunch of a cotton,
vary enormously in length. Following are the various
measures of length in use in different countries:
mean length
upper quartile
effective length
Modal length
2.5% span length
50% span length
Mean length
It is the estimated quantity which theoretically signifies

the arithmetic mean of the length of all the fibres present
in a small but representative sample of the cotton. This
quantity can be an average according to either number or
weight.
Upper quartile length

It is that value of length for which 75% of all the
observed values are lower, and 25% higher.
Effective length
It is difficult to give a clear scientific definition. It may be

defined as the upper quartile of a numerical length
distribution eliminated by an arbitrary construction. The
fibres eliminated are shorter than half the effective
length.
Modal length
It is the most frequently occurring length of the fibres in

the sample and it is related to mean and median for skew
distributions, as exhibited by fibre length, in the follwing
way.
(Mode-Mean) = 3(Median-Mean)
where,
Median is the particular value of length above and
below which exactly 50% of the fibres lie.
2.5% Span length
It is defined as the distance spanned by 2.5% of fibres in

the specimen being tested when the fibres are
parallelized and randomly distributed and where the
initial starting point of the scanning in the test is
considered 100%. This length is measured using
"DIGITAL FIBROGRAPH".
50% Span length
It is defined as the distance spanned by 50% of fibres in

the specimen being tested when the fibres are
parallelized and randomly distributed and where the
initial starting point of the scanning in the test is
considered 100%. This length is measured using
"DIGITAL FIBROGRAPH".
The South India Textile Research Association
(SITRA) gives the following empirical relationships to
estimate the Effective Length and Mean Length from the
Span Lengths.
Effective length = 1.013 x 2.5% Span length + 4.39

Mean length = 1.242 x 50% Span length + 9.78
Fibre length variation
Eventhough, the long and short fibres both contribute

towards the length irregularity of cotton, the short fibres
are particularly responsible for increasing the waste
losses, and cause unevenness and reduction in strength
in the yarn spun. The relative proportions of short fibres
are usually different in cottons having different mean
lengths; they may even differ in two cottons having

nearly the same mean fibre length, rendering one cotton
more irregular than the other.It is therefore important
that in addition to the fibre length of a cotton, the degree
of irregularity of its length should also be known.
Variability is denoted by anyone of the following
attributes.
1. Co-efficient of variation of length (by weight or

number)
2. Irregularity percentage
3. Dispersion percentage and percentage of short fibres
4. Uniformity ratio
Uniformity ratio is defined as the ratio of 50% span

length to 2.5% span length expressed as a percentage.
Several instruments and methods are available for
determination of length. Following are some
shirley comb sorter

Baer sorter
A.N. Stapling apparatus
Fibrograph
uniformity ration == (50% span length / 2.5% span

length) x 100
uniformity index == (mean length / upper half mean
length) x 100
Short Fibers
The negative effects of the presence of a high proportion

of short fibres is well known. A high percentage of short

fibres is usually associated with:
Increased yam irregularity and ends ddown which

reduce quality and increase processing costs
Increased number of neps and slubs whiich is
detrimental to the yam appearance
Higher fly liberation and machine conttamination in
spinning, weaving and knitting operations.
Higher wastage in combing and other opperations.
While the detrimental effects of short fibres have been

well established, there is still considerable debate on
what constitutes a 'short fibre'. In the simplest way, short
fibres are defined as those fibres which are less than 12
mm long. Initially, an estimate of the short fibres was
made from the staple diagram obtained in the Baer Sorter
method:
Short fibre content = (UB/OB) x 100
While such a simple definition of short fibres is perhaps

adequate for characterising raw cotton samples, it is too
simple a definition to use with regard to the spinning
process. The setting of all spinning machines is based on
either the staple length of fibres or its equivalent which
does not take into account the effect of short fibres. In
this regard, the concept of 'Floating Fibre Index' defined
by Hertel (1962) can be considered to ae a better
parameter to consider the effect of short fibres on
spinning performance. Floating fibres are defined as
those fibres which are not clamped by either pair of
rollers in a drafting zone.
Floating Fibre Index (FFI) was defined as

FFI = «2.5% span length/mean length)-l)x(lOO)
The proportion of short fibres has an extremely great
impact on yarn quality and production. The proportion of
short fibres has increased substantially in recent years
due to mechanical picking and hard ginning. In most of
the cases the absolute short fibre proportion is specified
today as the percentage of fibres shorter than 12mm.
Fibrograph is the most widely used instrument in the
textile industry, some information regarding fibrograph
is given below.
Fibrograph
Fibrograph measurements provide a relatively fast

method for determining the length uniformity of the
fibres in a sample of cotton in a reproducible manner.
Results of fibrograph length test do not necessarily agree
with those obtained by other methods for measuring
lengths of cotton fibres because of the effect of fibre
crimp and other factors.
Fibrograph tests are more objective than commercial
staple length classifications and also 'provide additional
information on fibre length uniformity of cotoon fibres.
The cotton quality information provided by these results
is used in research studies and quality surveys, in
checking commercial staple length classifications, in
assembling bales of cotton into uniform lots, and for
other purposes.
Fibrograph measurements are based on the
assumptions that a fibre is caught on the comb in
proportion to its length as compared to toal length of all
fibres in the sample and that the point of catch for a fibre
is at random along its length.
Fibre Fineness
Fibre fineness is another important quality characteristic

which plays a prominent part in determining the
spinning value of cottons. If the same count of yarn is
spun from two varieties of cotton, the yarn spun from the
variety having finer fibres will have a larger number of
fibres in its cross-section and hence it will be more even
and strong than that spun from the sample with coarser
fibres.
Fineness denotes the size of the cross-section
dimensions of the fibre. AS the cross-sectional features of
cotton fibres are irregular, direct determination of the
area of croo-section is difficult and laborious. The Index
of fineness which is more commonly used is the linear
density or weight per unit length of the fibre. The unit in
which this quantity is expressed varies in different parts
of the world. The common unit used by many countries
for cotton is microgrammes per inch and the various air-
flow instruments developed for measuring fibre fineness
are calibrated in this unit.
Following are some methods of determining fibre
fineness:
gravimetric or dimensional measurements

air-flow method
vibrating string method
Some of the above methods are applicable to single fibres

while the majority of them deal with a mass of fibres. As
there is considerable variation in the linear density from

fibre to fibre, even amongst fibres of the same seed,
single fibre methods are time-consuming and laborious as
a large number of fibres have to be tested to get a fairly
reliable average value.
It should be pointed out here that most of the
fineness determinations are likely to be affected by fibre
maturity, which is an another important characteristic of
cotton fibres.
Air-flow method
The resistance offered to the flow of air through a plug of

fibres is dpendent upon the specific surface area of the
fibres. Fineness tester have been evolved on this principle
for determininG fineness of cotton. The specific surface
area which determines the flow of air through a cotton
plug, is dependent not only upon the linear density of
the fibres in the sample but also upon their maturity.
Hence the micronaire readings have to be treated with
caution particularly when testing samples varying widely
in maturity.
In the micronaire instrument, a weighed quantity of
3.24 gms of well opened cotton sample is compressed
into a cylindrical container of fixed dimensions.
Compressed air is forced through the sample, at a
definite pressure and the volume-rate of flow of air is
measured by a rotometer type flowmeter. The sample for
Micronaire test should be well opened cleaned and
thoroughly mixed( by hand fluffing and opening
method). Out of the various air-flow instruments, the
Micronaire is robust in construction, easy to operate and
presents little difficulty as regards its maintenance.
Fibre maturity
Fibre maturity is another important characteristic of

cotton and is an index of the extent of development of
the fibres. As is the case with other fibre properties, the
maturity of cotton fibres varies not only between fibres of
different samples but also between fibres of the same
seed. The causes for the differences observed in maturity,
is due to variations in the degree of the secondary
thickening or deposition of cellulose in a fibre.
A cotton fibre consists of a cuticle, a primary layer
and secondary layers of cellulose surrounding the lumen
or central canal. In the case of mature fibres, the
secondary thickening is very high, and in some cases, the
lumen is not visible. In the case of immature fibres, due
t? some physiological causes, the secondary deposition of
cellulose has not taken sufficiently and in extreme cases
the secondary thickening is practically absent, leaving a
wide lumen throughout the fibre. Hence to a cotton
breeder, the presence of excessive immature fibres in a
sample would indicate some defect in the plant growth.
To a technologist, the presence of excessive percentage of
immature fibres in a sample is undesirable as this causes
excessive waste losses in processing lowering of the yarn
appearance grade due to formation of neps, uneven
dyeing, etc.
An immature fibre will show a lower weight per
unit length than a mature fibre of the same cotton, as the
former will have less deposition of cellulose inside the
fibre. This analogy can be extended in some cases to
fibres belonging to different samples of cotton also.
Hence it is essential to measure the maturity of a cotton
sample in addition to determining its fineness, to check
whether the observed fineness is an inherent

characteristic or is a result of the maturity.
Different methods of testing maturity

Maturity ratio
The fibres after being swollen with 18% caustic soda are
examined under the microscope with suitable
magnification. The fibres are classified into different
maturity groups depending upon the relative dimensions
of wall-thickness and lumen. However the procedures
followed in different countries for sampling and
classification differ in certain respects. The swollen fibres
are classed into three groups as follows
1. Normal: rod like fibres with no convolution and no

continuous lumen are classed as "normal"
2. Dead: convoluted fibres with wall thickness one-fifth
or less of the maximum ribbon width are classed as
"Dead"
3. Thin-walled: The intermediate ones are classed as
"thin-walled".
A combined index known as maturity ratio is used to

express the results.
Maturity ratio = ((Normal - Dead)/200) + 0.70

where,
N - %ge of Normal fibres
D - '%ge of Dead fibres
Maturity co-efficient
Around 100 fibres from Baer sorter combs are spread

across the glass slide(maturity slide) and the overlapping
fibres are again separated with the help of a teasing
needle. The free ends of the fibres are then held in the
clamp on the second strip of the maturity slide which is
adjustable to keep the fibres stretched to the desired
extent. The fibres are then irrigated with 18% caustic
soda solution and covered with a suitable slip. The slide
is then placed on the microscope and examined. Fibres
are classed into the following three categories:
1. Mature: (Lumen width "L")/(wall thickness"W") IS

less than 1
2. Half mature: (Lumen width "L")/(wall thickness "W")
is less than 2 and more than 1
3. Immature: (Lumen width "L")/(wall thickness "W") is
more than 2
About four to eight slides are prepared from each sample

and examined. The results are presented as percentage of
Mature, half-mature and immature fibres in a sample.
The results are also expressed in terms of "Maturity
Coefficient"
Maturity Coefficient = (M + 0.6H + 0.4 1)/100 Where,
M is percentage of Mature fibres
H is percentage of Half mature fibres
I is percentage of Immature fibres
If maturity coefficient is:
- Less than 0.7, it is caJled as immature cotton
between 0.7 to 0.9, it is called as medium mature

cotton
above 0.9, it is called as mature cotton
There are other techniques for measuring maturity using
Micronaire instrument. As the fineness value determined
by the Micronaire is dependent both on the intrinsic
fineness(perimeter of the fibre) and the maturity, it may
be assumed that if the intrinsic fineness is constant then
the Micronaire value is a measure of the maturity
Dyeing methods
Mature and immature fibers differ in their behaviour

towards various dyes. Certain dyes are preferentially
taken up by the mature fibres while some dyes are
preferentially absorbed by the immature fibres. Based on
this observation, a differential dyeing technique was
developed in the United States of America for estimating
the maturity of cotton. In this technique, the sample is
dyed in a bath containing a mixture of two dyes, namely
Diphenyl Fast Red 5 BL and Chlorantine Fast Green BLL.
The mature fibres take up the red dye preferentially,
while the thin walled immature fibres take up the green
dye. An estimate of the average of the sample can be
visually assessed by the amount of red and green fibres.
Fibre Strength
The different measures available for reporting fibre

strength are:
1. breaking strength
2. tensile strength and
3. tenacity or intrinsic strength

Coarse cottons generally give higher values for fibre
strength than finer ones. In order, to compare strength of
two cottons differing in fineness, it is necessary to
eliminate the effect of the difference in cross-sectional
area by dividing the observed fibre strength by the fibre
weight per unit length. The value so obtained is known
as "INTRINSIC STRENGTH or TENACITY". Tenacity is
found to be better related to spinning than the breaking
strength.
The strength characteristics can be determined either
on individual fibres or on bundle of fibres.
Single fibre strength
The tenacity of fibre is dependent upon the following

factors chain length of molecules in the, fibre orientation
of molecules size of the crystallites distribution of the
crystallites gauge length used the rate of loading type of
instrument used and atmospheric conditions.
The mean single fibre strength determined is
expressed in units of "grams/tex". As it is seen the the
unit for tenacity has the dimension of length only, and
hence this property is also expressed as the "BREAKING
LENGTH", which can be considered as the length of the
specimen equivalent in weight to the breaking load. Since
tex is the mass in grams of one kilometer of the
specimen, the tenacity values expressed in grams/tex will
correspond to the breaking length in kilometers.
Dundle Fibre Strength
In practice, fibres are not used individually but in groups,

such as in yarns or fabrics. Thus, bundles or groups of
fibres come into play during the tensile break of yarns or
fabrics. Further,the correlation between spinning
performance and bundle strength is atleast as high as
that between spinning performance and intrinsic strength
determined by testing individual fibres. The testing of
bundles of fibres takes less time and involves less strain
than testing individual fibres. In view of these
considerations, determination of breaking strength of
fibre bundles has assumed greater importance than single
fibre strength tests.
Fibre Elongation
There are three types of elongation:
Permanent elongation: the length which extended

during loading did not recover during relaxation
Elastic elongation:The extensions through which the
fibres does return
Breaking elongation:the maximum extension at which
the yarn breaks i.e.permanent and elastic elongation
together Elongation is specified as a percentage of the
starting length. The elastic elongation is of deceisive
importance, since textile products without elasticity
would hardly be usable. They must be able to
deforme, In order to withstand high loading, but they
must also return to shatpe. The greater resistance to
crease for wool compared to cotton arises, from the
difference in their elongation. For cotton it is 6 -10%
and for wool it is aroun 25 - 45%. For normal textile
goods, higher elongation are neither necessary nor
desirable. They make processing in the spinning mill
more difficult, especially in drawing operations.
Fibre Rigidity
The Torsional rigidity of a fibre may be defined as the

torque or twisting force required to twist 1 cm length of
the fibre through 360 degrees and is proportional to the
product of the modulus of rigidity and square of the area
of cross-section, the constant of proportionality being
dependent upon the shape of the cross-section of the
fibre. The torsional rigidity of cotton has therefore been
found to be very much dependent upon the gravimetric
fineness of the fibres. As the rigidity of fibres is sensitive
to the relative humidity of the surrounding atmosphere,
it is essential that the tests are carried out in a conditional
room where the relative humidity is kept constant.
Fibre stiffness plays a significant role mainly when
rolling, revolving, twisting movements are involved. A
fibre which is too stiff has difficulty adapting to the
movements. It is difficult to get bound into the yarn,
which results in higher hairiness. Fibres which are not
stiff enough have too little springiness. They do not
return to shape after deformation. They have no
longitudinal resistance. In most cases this leads to
formation of neps. Fibre stiffness is dependent upon fibre
substance and also upon the relationship between fibre
length and fibre fineness. Fibres having the same
structure will be stiffer, the shorter they are. The
slendernesss ratio can serve as a measure of stiffness,
slender ratio = fibre length / fibre diameter
Since the fibres must wind as they are bound-in

during yam formation in the ring spinning machine, the
slenderness ratio also determines to some extent where
the fibres will finish up.fine and/or long fibres in the
middle coarse and/or short fibres at the yam periphery.
Trash content
In additon to usuable fibres, cotton stock contains foreign

matter of various kinds. This foreign material can lead to
extreme disturbances during processing. Trash affects
yam and fabric quality. Cottons with two different trash
contents should not be mixed together, as it will lead to
processing difficulties. Optimising process paramters will
be of great difficulty under this situation, therefore it is a
must to know the amount of trash and the type of trash
before deciding the mixing.
A popular trash measuring device is the Shirley
Analyser, which separates trash and foreign matter from
lint by mechanical methods. The result is an expression
of trash as a percentage of the combined weight of trash
and lint of a sample. This instrument is used:
to give the exact value of waste figures and also the

proportion of clean cotton and trash in the material
to select the proper processing sequence based upon
the trash content
to assess the cleaning efficiency of each machine
to determine the loss of good fibre in the sequence of
opening and cleaning.
Stricter sliver quality requirements led to the gradual

evolution of opening and cleaning machinery leading to
a situation where blow room and carding machinery

were designed to remove exclusively certain specific
types of trash particles. This necessitated the segregation
of the trash in the cotton sample to different grades
determined by their size. This was achieved in the
instruments like the Trash Separator and the Micro Dust
Trash Analyser which could be considered as modified
versions of the Shirley Analyser.
The high volume instruments introduced the
concept of optical methods of trash measurement which
utilised video scanning trash-meters to identify areas
darker than normal on a cotton sample surface. Here, the
trash content was expressed as the percentage area
covered by the trash particles. However in such methods,
comparability with the conventional method could not be
established in view of the non-uniform distribution of
trash in a given cotton sample and the relatively smaller
sample size to determine such a parameter.
Consequently, it is yet to establish any significant name
in the industry.
Raw Material as a factor affecting spinning
Fineness determines how many fibres are present in the

cross-section of a yam of particular linear density. 30 to
50 fibres are needed minimum to produce a yam fibre
fineness influences:
1. spinning limit
2. yam strength
3. yarn evenness
4. yam fullness
5. drape of the fabric

6. lustre
7. handle
8. productivity
Productivity is influenced by the end breakage rate and

twist per inch required in the yarn. Immature
fibres(unripe fibres) have neither adequate strength nor
adequate longitudinal siffness. They therefore lead to the
following:
1. loss of yarn strength

2. neppiness
3. high proportion of short fibres
4. varying dyeability
5. processing difficulties at the card and blowroom
Fibre length is one among the most important

characteristics. It influnces:
1. spinning limit
2. yarn strength
3. handle of the product
4. lustre of the product
5. yarn hairiness
6. prod uctivi ty
It can be assumed that fibres of under 4 - 5 mm will be

lost in processing(as waste and fly). fibres upto about 12 -
15 mm do not contribute to strength but only to fullness
of the yarn. But fibres above these lengths produce the
other positive characteristics in the yarn.
The proportion of short fibres has extremely great

influence on the following parameters:
1. spinning limit
2. yam strength
3. handle of the product
4. lustre of the product
5. yam hairiness 6.productivity
A large proportion of short fibre leads to strong fly

contamination, strain on personnel, on the machines, on
the work room and on the air-conditioning, and also to
extreme drafting difficul ties.
A uniform yam would have the same no of fibres in
the cross-section, at all points along it. If the fibres
themeselves have variations within themselves, then the
yam will be more irregular.
If 2.5% span length of the fibre increases, the yarn
strength also icreases due to the fact that there is a
greater contribution by the fibre strength for the yam
strength in the case of longer fibres.
Neps are small entanglements or knots of fibres.
There are two types of neps. They are:
1. fibre neps and
2. seed-coat neps.ln general fibre neps predominate, the
core of the nep consists of unripe and dead fibres.
Thus it is clear that there is a relationship between
neppiness and maturity index. Neppiness is also
dependent on the fibre fineness, because fine fibres
have less longitudinal stiffness than coarser fibres.
Nature produces countless fibres, most of which are

not usable for textiles because of inadequate strength.
The minimum strength for a textile fibre is approximately
6gms/tex ( about 6 kn breaking length).
Since blending of the fibres into the yarn is achieved
mainly by twisting, and can exploit 30 to 70% of the
strength of the material, a lower limit of about 3 gms/tex
is finally obtained for the yarn strength, which varies
linearly with the fibre strength.
Low micronaire value of cotton results in higher
yarn tenacity. In coarser counts the influence of
micronaire to increase yarn tenacity is not as significant
as fine count.
Fibre strength is moisture dependent. i.e. It depends
strongly upon the climatic conditions and upon the time
of exposure. Strength of cotton,linen etc. increases with
increasing moisture content.
The most important property inflencing yarn
elongation is fibre elongation. Fibre strength ranks
seconds in importance as a contributor to yarn
elongation. Fibre fineness influences yarn elongation only
after fibre elongation and strength. Other characters such
as span length, uniformity ratio, maturity etc, do not
contribute significantly to the yarn elongation.Yarn
elongation increases with increasing twist. Coarser yarn
has higher elongation than finer yarn. Yarn elongation
decreases with increasing spinning tension. Yarn
elongation is also influenced by traveller weight and
high variation in twist insertion.
For ring yarns the number of thin places increases,
as the trash content and uniformity ratio increased For
rotor yarns 50%span length and bundle strength has an
·influence on thin places.
Thick places in ringyarn is mainly affected by

50%span length, trash content and shor fibre content.
The following expression helps to obtain the yarn
CSP achievable at optimum twist multiplier with the
available fibre properties.
Lea CSP for Karded count = 280 x SQRT(FQI) + 700 -

13C
Lea CSP for combed count = (280 x SQRT(FQI) + 700 -
13C)x(1+W)/100
where,
FQI = LSM/F
L = 50% span length(mm)
S = bundle strength (g/tex)
M = Maturity ratio measured by shirly FMT
F = Fibre fineness (micrograms/inch)
C= yam <;:ount
W = comber waste'Yo
Higher FQI values are associated with higher yarn
strength in the case of carded counts but in combed
count such a relationship is not noticed due to the effect
of combing
Higher 2.5 % span length, uniformity ratio, maturity
ratio and lower trash content results in lower
imperfection. FQI does not show any significant influence
on the imperfection.
The unevenness of carded hosiery yarn does not
show any significant relationships with any of the fibre
properties except the micronaire value. As the micronaire
value increases, U% also increases. Increase in FQI

however shows a reduction in U%.
Honey-dew is the best known sticky substance on
cotton fibres. This is a secretion of the cotton louse. There
are other types of sticky substances also. They are given
below:
honey dew - secretions

fungus and bacteria - decomposition products
vegetable substances - sugars from plant juices, leaf
nectar, overprodcution of wax,
fats, oils - seed oil from ginning
pathogens
synthetic substances - defoliants, insecticides,
fertilizers, oil from harvesting machines
In the great majority of cases, the substance is one of a

group of sugars of the most variable composition,
primarily but not exclusively, fructose, glucose,
saccharose, melezitose, as found, for example on sudan
cotton. These saccharides are mostly, but not always,
prodced by insects or the plants themselves, depending
upon the influence on the plants prior to plucking.
Whether or not a fibre will stick depends, not only on the
quantity of the sticky coating and it composition, but also
on the degree of saturation as a solution. Sugars are
broken down by fermentation and by microorganisms
during storage of the cotton. This occurs more quickly
the higher the moisture content. During spinning of
sticky cotton, the R.H.% of the air in the production are
should be held as low as possible.
Cotton fibre growth
!improvements in cotton fiber properties for textiles

depend on changes in the growth and development
of the fiber.
Manipulation of fiber perimeter has a potential to
impact the length, micronaire, and strength of cotton
fibers. The perimeter of the fiber is regulated by
biological mechanisms that control the expansion
characteristic of the cell wall and establish cell
diameter.
Improvements in fiber quality can take many
different forms. Changes in length, strength,
uniformity, and fineness In one recent analysis, fiber
perimeter was shown to be the single quantitative
trait of the fiber that affects all other traits. Fiber
perimeter is the variable that has the greatest affect
on fiber elongation and strength properties. While
mature dead fibers have an elliptical morphology,
living fibers have a cylindrical morphology during
growth and development. Geometrically, perimeter is
directly determined by diameter (perimeter =
diameter x p). Thus, fiber diameter is the only
variable that directly affects perimeter. For this
reason, understanding the biological mechanisms that
regulate fiber diameter is important for the long-term
improvement of cotton.
A review of the literature indicates that many
researchers believe diameter is est:!bllshed at fiber
initiation and is maintained throughout the duration
of fiber development . A few studies have examined,
either directly or indirectly, changes in fiber diameter
during development. Some studies indicate that
diameter remains constant; while others indicate that
fiber diameter increases as the fiber develops.
The first three stages occur while the fiber is alive

and actively growing. Fiber initiation involves the
initial isodiametric expansion of the epidermal cell
above the surface of the ovule. This stage may last
only a day or so for each fiber. Because there are
several waves of fiber initiation across the surface of
the ovule , one may find fiber initials at any time
during the first 5 or 6 d post anthesis. The elongation
phase encompasses the major expansion growth
phase of the fiber. Depending on genotype, this stage
may last for several weeks post anthesis. During this
stage of development the fiber deposits a thin,
expandable primary cell wall composed of a variety
of carbohydrate polymers. As the fiber approaches
the end of elongation, the major phase of secondary
wall synthesis starts. In cotton fiber, the secondary
cell wall is composed almost exclusively of cellulose.
During this stage, which lasts until the boll opens (50
to 60 d post anthesis), the cell wall becomes
progressively thicker and the living protoplast
decreases in volume. There is a significant overlap in
the timing of the elongation and secondary wall
synthesis stages. Thus, fibers are simultaneously
elongating and depositing secondary cell wall.
The establishment of fiber diameter is a complex
process that is governed, to a certain extent, by the
overall mechanism by which fibers expand. The
expansion of fiber cells is governed by the same
related mechanisms occurring in other walled plant
cells. Most cells exhibit diffuse cell growth, in which
new wall and membrane materials are added
throughout the surface area of the cell. Specialized,
highly elongated cells, such as root hairs and pollen
tubes, expand via tip synthesis where new wall and
membrane materials are added only at a specific
location that becomes the growing tip of the cell.
While the growth mechanisms for cotton fiber have

not been fully documented, recent evidence indicates
that throughout the initiation and early elongation
phases of development, cotton fiber expands
primarily via diffuse growth. Later in fiber
development, late in cell elongation, and well into
secondary cell wall synthesis (35 d post anthesis), the
organization of cellular organelles is consistent with
continued diffuse growth. Many cells that expand via
diffuse growth exhibit increases in both cell length
and diameter; but cells that exhibit tip synthesis do
not exhibit increases in cell diameter. If cotton fiber
expands by diffuse growth, then it is reasonable to
suggest that cell diameter might increase during the
cell elongation phase of development.
Cell expansion is also regulated by the extensibility
of the cell wall. For this reason, cell expansion most
commonly occurs in cells that have only a primary
cell wall . Primary cell walls contain low levels of
cellulose. Production of the more rigid secondary cell
wall usually signals the cessation of cell expansion.
Secondary cell wall formation is often indicated by
the development of wall birefringence.
Analyses of fiber diameter and cell wall birefringence
show that fiber diameter significantly increased as
fibers grew and developed secondary cell walls. Both
cotton species and all the genotypes tested exhibited
similar increases in diameter; however, the specific
rates of change differed. Fibers continued to increase
in diameter during the secondary wall synthesis
stage of development, indicating that the synthesis of
secondary cell wall does not coincide with the
cessation of cell expansion.
Ginning
The generally recommended machinery sequence at

gins for spindle-picked cotton is rock and green-boll
trap, feed control, tower drier, cylinder cleaner, stick
machine, tower drier, cylinder cleaner, extractor
feeder, gin stand, lint cleaner, lint cleaner, and press.
Cylinder cleaners use rotating spiked drums that
open and clean the seedcotton by scrubbing it across
a grid-rod or wire mesh screen that allows the trash
to sift through. The stick machine utilizes the sling-
off action of channel-type saw cylinders to extract
foreign matter from the seedcotton by centrifugal
force. In addition to feeding seedcotton to the gin
stand, the extractor feeder cleans the cotton using the
stick machine's sling-off principle.
In some cases the extractor-feeder is a combination of
a cylinder cleaner and an extractor. Sometimes an
impact or revolving screen cleaner is used in addition
to the second cylinder cleaner. In the impact cleaner,
seedcotton is conveyed across a series of revolving,
serrated disks instead of the grid-rod or wire mesh
screen.
Lint cleaners at gins are mostly of the controlled-batt,
saw type. In this cleaner a saw cylinder combs the
fibers and extracts trash from the lint cotton by a
combination of centrifugal force, scrubbing action
between saw cylinder and grid bars, and gravity
assisted by an air current
Seedcotton-type cleaners extract the large trash
components from cotton. However, they have only a
small influence on the cotton's grade index, visible
liint foreign-matter content, and fiber length
distribution when compared with the lint cleaning
effects. Also, the number of neps created by the

entire seedcotton cleaning process is about the same
as the increase caused by one saw-cylinder lint
cleaner.
Most cotton gins today use one or two stages of saw-
type lint cleaners. The use of too many stages of lint
cleaning can reduce the market value of the bale,
because the weight loss may offset any gain from-
grade improvement. Increasing the number of saw
lint cleaners at gins, in addition to increasing the nep
count and short-fiber content of the raw lint, causes
problems at the spinning mill. These show up as
more neps in the card web and reduced yarn strength
and appearance.
Pima cotton, extra-long-staple cotton, is roller ginned
to preserve its length and to minimize neps. To
maintain the highest possible quality bale of pima
cotton, mill-type lint cleaners were for a long time the
predominant cleaner used by the roller-ginning
industry. Today, various combinations of impacts,
incline, and pneumatic cleaners are used in most
roller-ginning plants to increase lint-cleaning
capacity.
Cotton Fiber quality
Two simple words, fiber quality, mean quite different

things to cotton growers and to cotton
processors. No after-harvest mechanisms are
available to either growers or processors that can
improve intrinsic fiber quality.
Most cotton production research by physiologists and
agronomists has been directed toward improving yields,
so the few cultural-input strategies suggested for
improving fiber quality during the production season are

of limited validity. Thus, producers have limited
alternatives in production practices that might result in
fibers of acceptable quality and yield without increased
production costs.
Fiber processors seek to acquire the highest quality
cotton at the lowest price, and attempt to meet processing
requirements by blending bales with different average
fiber properties. Of course, bale averages for fiber
properties do not describe the fiber-quality ranges that
can occur within the bales or the resulting blends.
Further, the natural variability among cotton fibers
unpredictably reduces the processing success for blends
made up of low-priced, lower-quality fibers and high-
priced, higher-quality fibers.
Blends that fail to meet processing specifications
show marked increases in processing disruptions and
product defects that cut into the profits of the yarn and
textile manufacturers. Mill owners do not have sufficient
knowledge of. the role classing-office fiber properties play
in determining the outcome of cotton spinning and
dyeing processes.
Even when a processor is able to make the
connection between yarn and fabric defects and increased
proportions of low-quality fibers, producers have no way
of explaining why the rejected bales failed to meet
processing specifications when the bale averages for
important fiber properties fell within the acceptable
ranges.
If, on the other hand, the causes of a processing
defect are unknown, neither the producer nor the
processor will be able to prevent or avoid that defect in
the future. Any future research that is designed to
predict, prevent, or avoid low-quality cotton fibers that

cause processing defects in yarn and fabric must address
the interface between cotton production and cotton
processing.
Every bale of cotton produced in the USA crosses
that interface via the USDA-AMS classing offices, which
report bale averages of quantified fiber properties.
Indeed, fiber-quality data reports from classing offices are
designed as a common quantitative language that can be
interpreted and understood by both producers and
processors. But the meaning and utility of classing-office
reports can vary, depending on the instrument used to
evaluate.
Fiber maturity is a composite of factors, including
inherent genetic fineness compared with the
perimeter or cross section achieved under prevailing
growing conditions and the relative fiber cell-wall
thickness and the primary -to- secondary fiber cell-
wall ratio, and the time elapsed between flowering
and boll opening or harvest. While all the above
traits are important to varying degrees in
determining processing success, none of them appear
in classing-office reports.
Micronaire, which is often treated as the fiber
maturity measurement in classing-office data,
provides an empirical composite of fiber cross section
and relative wall thickening. But laydown blends that
are based solely on bale-average micronaire will vary
greatly in processing properties and outcomes.
Cotton physiologists who follow fiber development can

discuss fiber chronological maturity in terms of days after
floral anthesis. But, they must quantify the corresponding
fiber physical maturity as micronaire readings for
samples pooled across several plants, because valid

micronaire determinations require at least 10 g of
individualized fiber.
Some fiber properties, like length and single fiber
strength, appear to be simple and easily understood
terms. But the bale average length reported by the
classing office does not describe the range or
variability of fiber lengths that must be handled by
the spinning equipment processing each individual
fiber from the highly variable fiber population found
in that bale.
Even when a processing problem can be linked directly
to a substandard fib~r property, surprisingly little is
known about the causes of variability in fiber shape and
maturity. For example:
Spinners can see the results of excessive variability in
fiber length or strength when manifested as yarn
breaks and production halts.Knitters and weavers can
see the knots and slubs or holes that reduce the value
of fabrics made from defective yarns that were spun
from poor-quality fibre
Inspectors of dyed fabrics can see the unacceptable
color streaks and specks associated with variations in
fiber maturity and the relative dye-uptake success.
The grower, ginner, and buyer can see variations in
color or trash content of ginned and baled cotton.
But there are no inspectors or instruments that can see or

predict any of the above quality traits of fibers while they
are developing in the boll. There is no definitive
reference source, model, or database to which a producer
can turn for information on how cultural inputs could be
adapted to the prevailing growth conditions of soil
fertility, water availability, and weather (temperature, for

example) to produce higher quality fiber.
The scattered research publications that address fiber
quality, usually in conjunction with yield improvement,
are confusing because their measurement protocols are
not standardized and results are not reported in terms
that are meaningful to either producers or processors.
Thus, physiological and agronomic studies of fiber
quality frequently widen, rather than bridge, the
communication gap between cotton producers and
processors.
This overview assembles and assesses current
literature citations regarding the quantitation of fiber
quality and the manner in which irrigation, soil fertility,
weather, and cotton genetic potential interact to modulate
fiber quality. The ultimate goal is to provide access to the
best answers currently available to the question of what
causes the annual and regional fiber quality variations
From the physiologist's perspective, the fiber quality
of a specific cotton genotype is a composite of fiber shape
and maturity properties that depend on complex
interactions among the genetics and physiology of the
plants producing the fibers and the growth environment
prevailing during the cotton production season.
Fiber shape properties, particularly length and
diameter, are largely dependent on genetics. Fiber
maturity properties, which are dependent on deposition
of photosynthate in the fiber cell wall, are more sensitive
to changes in the growth environment. The effects of the
growth environment on the genetic potential of a
genotype modulate both shape and maturity properties to
varying degrees.
Anatomically, a cotton fiber is a seed hair, a single

hyperelongated cell arising from the protodermal cells of
the outer integument layer of the seed coat. Like all
living plant cells, developing cotton fibers respond
individually to fluctuations in the macro- and
microenvironments. Thus, the fibers on a single seed
constitute continua of fiber length, shape, cell-wall
thickness, and physical maturity .
Environmental variations within the plant canopy,
among the individual plants, and within and among
fields ensure that the fiber population in each boll,
indeed on each seed, encompasses a broad range of fiber
properties and that every bale of cotton contains a highly
variable population of fibers.
Successful processing of cotton lint depends on
appropriate management during and after harvest of
those highly variable fiber properties that have been
shown to affect finished-product quality and
manufacturing efficiency . If fiber-blending strategies and
subsequent spinning and dyeing processes are to be
optimized for specific end-uses and profitability,
production managers in textile mills need accurate and
effective descriptive and predictive quant.itative measures
of both the means and the ranges of these highly variable
fiber properties.
In the USA, the components of cotton fiber quality
are usually defined as those properties reported for every
bale by the classing offices of the USDA-AMS, which
currently include length, length uniformity index,
strength, micronaire, color as reflectance (Rd) and
yellowness (+b), and trash content, all quantified by the
High Volume Instrument (HVI) line. The classing offices
also provide each bale with the more qualitative classers'
color and leaf grades and with estimates of preparation

(degree of roughness of ginned lint) and content of
extraneous matter.
The naturally wide variations in fiber quality, in
combination with differences in end-use requirements,
result in significant variability in the value of the cotton
lint to the processor. Therefore, a system of premiums
and discounts has been established to denote a specified
base quality. In general, cotton fiber value increases as
the bulk-averaged fibers increase in whiteness (+Rd),
length, strength, and micronaire; and discounts are made
for both low mike (micronaire less than 3.5) and high
mike (micronaire more than 4.9).
Ideal fiber-quality specifications favored by
processors traditionally have been summarized thusly:
"as white as snow, as long as wool, as strong as steel, as
fine as silk, and as cheap as hell." These specifications are
extremely difficult to incorporate into a breeding
program or to set as goals for cotton producers. Fiber-
classing technologies in use and being tested allow
quantitation of fiber properties, improvement of
standards for end-product quality, and, perhaps most
importantly, creation of a fiber-quality language and
system of fiber-quality measurements that can be
meaningful and useful to producers and processors alike.
Gene and environmental variability
Improvements in textile processing, particularly advances

in spinning technology, have led to increased emphasis
on breeding cotton for both improved yield and
improved fiber properties Studies of gene action suggest
that, within upland cotton genotypes there is little non-
additive gene action in fiber length, strength, and

fineness ; that is, genes determine those fiber properties.
However, large interactions between combined annual
environmental factors (primarily weather) and fiber
strength suggest that environmental variability can
prevent full realization of the fiber-quality potential of a
cotton genotype.
More recently, statistical comparisons of the relative
genetic and environmental influences upon fiber strength
suggest that fiber strength is determined by a few major
genes, rather than by variations in the growth
environment . Indeed, spatial variations of single fertility
factors in the edaphic environment were found to be
unrelated to fiber strength and only weakly correlated
with fiber length.
Genetic potential of a specific genotype is defined as
the level of fiber yield or quality that could be attained
under optimal growing conditions. The degree to which
genetic potential is realized changes in response to
environmental fluctuations such as application of water
or fertilizer and the inevitable seasonal shifts such as
temperature, day length, and insolation.
In addition to environment-related modulations of
fiber quality at the crop and whole-plant levels,
significant differences in fiber properties also can be
traced to variations among the shapes and maturities of
fibers on a single seed and, consequently, within a given
boll.
Effect of fiber length
Comparisons of the fiber-length arrays from different

regions on a single seed have revealed that markedly
different patterns in fiber length can be found in the

micropylar, middle, and chalaza I regions of a cotton seed
- at either end and around the middle. Mean fiber
lengths were shortest at the micropylar (upper, pointed
end of the seed) . The most mature fibers and the fibers
having the largest perimeters also were found in the
micropylar region of the seed. After hand ginning, the
percentage of short fibers less than 0.5 inch or l2.7 mm
long on a cotton seed was extremely low.
It has been reported that, in ginned and baled
cotton, the short fibers with small perimeters did not
originate in the micropylar region of the seed .
MEasurements of fibers from micropylar and chalazal
regions of seeds revealed that the location of a seed
within the boll was related to the magnitude of the
differences in the properties of fibers from the micropylar
and chalazal regions.
Significant variations in fiber maturity also can be
related to the seed position (apical, medial, or due to the
variability inherent in cotton fiber, there is no absolute
value for fiber length within a genotype or within a test
sample . Even on a single seed, fiber lengths vary
significantly because the longer fibers occur at the
chalazal (cup-shaped, lower) end of the seed and the
shorter fibers are found at the micropylar (pointed) end.
Coefficients of fiber-length variation, which also vary
significantly from sample to sample, are on the order of
40% for upland cotton.
Variations in fiber length attributable to genotype
and fiber location on the seed are modulated by factors in
the micro- and macroenvironment. Environmental
changes occurring around the time of floral anthesis may
limit fiber initiation or retard the onset of fiber
elongation. Suboptimal environmental conditions during

the fiber elongation phase may decrease the rate of
elongation or shorten the elongation period so that the
genotypic potential for fiber length is not fully realized .
Further, the results of environmental stresses and the
corresponding physiological responses to the growth
environment may become evident at a stage in fiber
development that is offset in time from the occurrence of
the stressful conditions.
Fiber lengths on individual seeds can be determined
while the fibers are still attached to the seed , by hand
stapling or by photoelectric measurement after ginning.
Traditionally, staple lengths have been measured and
reported to the nearest 32nd of an inch or to the nearest
millimeter. The four upland staple classes are: short «21 .
mm), medium (22-25 mm), medium-long (26-28 mm) and
long (29-34 mm). Pima staple length is classed as long
(29-34 mm) and extra-long (>34 mm). Additionally, short
fiber content is defined as the percentage of fiber less
than 12.7 mm.
Cotton buyers and processors used the term staple
length long before development of quantitative methods
for measuring fiber properties. Consequently, staple
length has never been formally defined in terms of a
statistically valid length distribution.
In Fibrograph testing, fibers are randomly caught on
combs, and the beard formed by the captured fibers is
scanned photoelectrically from base to tip . The amount
of light passing through the beard is a measure of the
number of fibers that extend various distances from the
combs. Data are recorded as span length (the distance
spanned by a specific percentage of fibers in the test
beard). Span lengths are usually reported as 2.5 and 50%.
The 2.5% span length is the basis for machine settings at

various stages during fiber processing.
The uniformity ratio is the ratio between the two
span lengths expressed as a percentage of the longer
length. The Fibrograph provides a relatively fast method
for reproducibility in measuring the length and length
uniformity of fiber samples. Fibrograph test data are used
in research studies, in qualitative surveys such as those
checking commercial staple-length classifications, and in
assembling cotton bales into uniform lots.
Since 1980, USDA-AMS classing offices have relied
almost entirely on high-volume instrumentation (HVI) for
measuring fiber length and other fiber properties (Moore,
1996). The HVI length analyzer determines length
parameters by photoelectrically scanning a test beard that
is selected by a specimen loader and prepared by a
comber /brusher attachment
The fibers in the test beard are assumed to be
uniform in cross-section, but this is a false assumption
because the cross section of each individual fiber in the
beard varies significantly from tip to tip. The HVI fiber-
length data are converted into the percentage of the total
number of fibers present at each length value and into
other length parameters, such as mean length, upper-half
mean length, and length uniformity . This test method for
determining cotton fiber length is considered acceptable
for testing commercial shipments when the testing
services use the same reference standard cotton samples.
All fiber-length methods discussed above require a
minimum of 5 g of ginned fibers and were developed for
rapid classing of relatively large, bulk fiber samples. For
analyses of small fiber samples, fiber property
measurements with an electron-optical particle-sizer, the

Zellweger Uster AFIS-A2 have been found to be
acceptably sensitive, rapid, and reproducible. The AFIS-
A2 Length and Diameter module generates values for
mean fiber length by weight and mean fiber length by
number, fiber length histograms, and values for upper
quartile length, and for short-fiber contents by weight
and by number (the percentages of fibers shorter than
12.7 mm). The AFIS-A2 Length and Diameter module
also quantifies mean fiber diameter by number .
Although short-fiber content is not currently
included in official USDA-AMS classing office reports,
short-fiber content is increasingly recognized as a fiber
property comparable in importance to fiber fineness,
strength, and length . The importance of short-fiber
content in determining fiber-processing success, yarn
properties, and fabric performance has led the post-
harvest sector of the U.S. cotton industry to assign top
priority to minimizing short-fiber content, whatever the
causes.
The perceived importance of short-fiber content to
processors has led to increased demands for development
and approval of a standard short-fiber content
measurement that would be added to classing office HVI
systems . This accepted classing office-measurement
would allow inclusion of short-fiber content in the cotton
valuation system. Documentation of post-ginning short-
fiber content at the bale level is expected to reduce the
cost of textile processing and to increase the value of the
raw fiber . However, modulation of short-fiber content
before harvest cannot be accomplished until the causes of
increased short-fiber content are better understood.
Fiber length is primarily a genetic trait, but short-

fiber content is dependent upon genotype, growing
conditions, and harvesting, ginning, and processing
methods. Further, little is known about the levels or
sources of pre-harvest short-fiber content .
It is essential that geneticists and physiologists
understand the underlying concepts and the practical
limitations of the methods for measuring fiber length and
short-fiber content so that the strong genetic component
in fiber length can be separated from environmental
components introduced by excessive temperatures and
water or nutrient deficiencies. Genetic improvement of
fiber length is fruitless if the responses of the new
genotypes to the growth environment prevent full
realization of the enhanced genetic potential or if the
fibers produced by the new genotypes break more easily
during harvesting or processing. The reported effects of
several environmental factors on fiber length and short-
fiber content, which are assumed to be primarily
genotype-dependent, are discussed in the subsections
that follow.
Fiber Length and Temperature
Maximum cotton fiber lengths were reached when

night temperatures were around 19 to 20 oc, depending
on the genotype. Early-stage fiber elongation was highly
temperature dependent; late fiber f'lo~\gation was
temperature independent. Fiber length (upper-half mean
length) was negatively correlated with the difference
between maximum and minimum temperature.
Modifications of fiber length by growth
temperatures also have been observed in planting-date
studies in which the later planting dates were associated

with small increases in 2.5 and 50% span lengths. If the
growing season is long enough and other inhibitory
factors do not interfere with fiber development, early-
season delays in fiber initiation and elongation may be
counteracted by an extension of the elongation period .
Variations in fiber length and the elongation period
also were associated with relative heat-unit
accumulations. Regression analyses showed that
genotypes that produced longer fibers were more
responsive to heat-unit accumulation levels than were
genotypes that produced shorter fibers. However, the
earliness of the genotype was also a factor in the
relationship between fiber length (and short-fiber content
by weight) and accumulated heat units .
As temperature increased, the number of small
motes per boll also increased. Fertilization efficiency,
which was negatively correlated with small-mote
frequency, also decreased. Although fiber length did not
change significantly with increasing temperature, the
percentage of short-fibers was lower when temperatures
were higher. The apparent improvement in fiber length
uniformity may be related to increased assimilate
availability to the fibers because there were fewer seeds
per boll.
Fiber Length and Water
Cotton water relationships and irrigation traditionally

have been studied with respect to yield . Fiber length
was not affected unless the water deficit was great
enough to lower the yield to 700 kg ha-l. Fiber
elongation was inhibited when the midday water
Processillg of Textile Fibres 71
potential w,as -2.5 to -2.8 mPa. Occurrence of moisture

deficits during the early flowering period did not alter
fiber length. However, when drought occurred later in
the flowering period, fiber length was decreased .
Severe water deficits during the fiber elongation
stage reduce fiber length, apparently due simply to the
direct mechanical and physiological processes of cell
expansion. However, water availability and the duration
and timing of flowering and boll set can result in
complex physiological interactions between water deficits
and fiber properties including length.
Fibre Length and Light
Changes in the growth environment also alter canopy

structure and the photon flux environment within the
canopy. For example, loss of leaves and bolls from
unfavorable weather (wind, hail), disease, or herbivory
and compensatory regrowth can greatly affect both fiber
yield and quality. The amount of light within the crop
canopy is an important determinant of photosynthetic
activity and, therefore, of the source-to-sink relationships
that allocate photoassimilate within the canopy . Eaton
and Ergle (1954) observed that reduced-light treatments
increased fiber length. Shading during the first 7 dafter
floral anthesis resulted in a 2% increase in the 2.5'Yo span
length.
Shading (or prolonged periods of cloudy weather)
and seasonal shifts in day length also modulate
temperature, which modifies fiber properties, including
length.
Commercial cotton genotypes are considered to be
day-length neutral with respect to both flowering and
fruiting. However, incorporation of day-length data in

upland and pima fiber-quality models, based on
accumulated heat units, increased the coefficients of
determination for the length predictors from 30 to 54%
for the upland model and from 44 to 57% for the pima
model.
It was found that the light wavelengths reflected
from red and green mulches increased fiber length, even
though plants grown under those mulches received less
reflected photosynthetic flux than did plants grown with
white mulches. The longest fiber was harvested from
plants that received the highest far red/red ratios.
Fiber Length and Mineral Nutrition
Studies of the mineral nutrition of cotton and the related

soil chemistry usually have emphasized increased yield
and fruiting efficiency. More recently, the effects of
nutrient stress on boll shedding have been examined.
Also, several mineral-nutrition studies have been
extended to include fiber quality .
Reports of fiber property trends following nutrient
additions are often contradictory due to the interactive
effects of genotype, climate, and soil conditions.
Potassium added at the rate of 112 kg K ha-lyr-l did not
affect the 2.5% span length, when genotype was a
significant factor in determining both 2.5 and 50% span
lengths . Genotype was not a significant factor in Acala
fiber length, but an additional 480 kg K ha-lyr-l
increased the mean fiber length. K ha-l yr-l increased the
length uniformity ratio and increased 50%, but not 2.5%
span length. Genotype and the interaction, genotype-by-
environment, determined the 2.5% span length.
As mentioned above, fiber length is assumed to be

genotype-dependent, but growth-environment
fluctuations - both those resulting from seasonal and
annual variability in weather conditions and thos~
induced by cultural practices and inputs - modulate the
range and mean of the fiber length population at the test
sample, bale, and crop levels.
Quantitation of fiber length is relatively straight
forward and reproducible, and fiber length (along with
micronaire) is one of the most likely fiber properties to be
included when cotton production research is extended
beyond yield determinations. Other fiber properties are
less readily quantified, and the resulting data are not so
easily understood or analyzed statistically. This is
particularly true of fiber-breaking strength, which has
become a crucial fiber property due to changes in
spinning techniques.
Fiber Strength
The inherent breaking strength of individual cotton fibers

is considered to be the most important factor in
determining the strength of the yarn spun from those
fibers . Recent d~velopments in high-speed yarn spinning
technology, specifically open-end rotor spinning systems,
have shifted the fiber-quality requirements of the textile
industry toward higher-strength fibers that can
compensate for the decrease in yarn strength associated
with open-end rotor spinning techniques.
Compared with conventional ring spinning, open-
end rotor-spun yarn production capacity is five times
greater and, consequently, more economical. Rotor-spun
yarn is more even than the ring-spun, but is 15 to 20%
weaker than ring-spun yarn of the same thickness. Thus,

mills using open-end rotor and friction spinning have
given improved fiber strength highest priority. Length
and length uniformity, followed by fiber strength and
fineness, remain the most important fiber properties in
determining ring-spun yarn strength.
Historically, two instruments have been used to
measure fiber tensile strength, the Pressley apparatus and
the Stelometer. In both of these flat-bundle methods, a
bundle of fibers is combed parallel and secured between
two clamps. A force to try to separate the clamps is
applied and gradually increased until the fiber bundle
breaks. Fiber tensile strength is calculated from the ratio
of the breaking load to bundle mass. Due to the natural
lack of homogeneity within a population of cotton fibers,
bundle fiber selection, bundle construction and, therefore,
bundle mass measurements, are subject to considerable
experimental error.
Fiber strength, that is, the force required to break a
fiber, varies along the length of the fiber, as does fiber
fineness measured as perimeter, diameter, or cross
section Further, the inherent variability within and
among cotton fibers ensures that two fiber bundles of the
same weight will not contain the same number of fibers.
Also, the within-sample variability guarantees that the
clamps of the strength testing apparatus will not grasp
the various fibers in the bundle at precisely equivalent
positions along the lengths. Thus, a normalizing length-
weight factor is included in bundle strength calculations.
In the textile literature, fiber strength is reported as
breaking tenacity or grams of breaking load per tex,
where tex is the fiber linear density in grams per
kilometer. Both Pressley and stelometer breaking
tenacities are reported as 1/8 in. gauge tests, the 1/8 in.
(or 3.2 mm) referring to the distance between the two
Pressley clamps. Flat-bundle measurements of fiber
strength are considered satisfactory for acceptance testing
and for research studies of the influence of genotype,
environment, and processing on fiber (bundle) strength
and elongation.
The relationships between fiber strength and
elongation and processing success also have been
examined using flat-bundle strength testing methods.
However cotton fiber testing today requires that
procedures be rapid, reproducible, automated, and
without significant operator bias. Consequently, the HVI
systems used for length measurements in USDA-AMS
classing offices are also used to measure the breaking
strength of the same fiber bundles (beards) formed
during length measurement.
Originally, HVI strength tests were calibrated
against the lI8-in. gauge Pressley measurement, but the
bundle-strengths of reference cotton~ are now established
by Stelometer tests that also provide bundle elongation-
percent data. Fiber bundle elongation is measured
directly from the displacement of the jaws during the
bundle-breaking process, and the fiber bundle strength
and elongation data usually are reported together
(ASTM, 1994, D 4604-86). The HVI bundle-strength
measurements are reported in grams-force tex-1 and can
range from 30 and above (very strong) to 20 or below
(very weak). In agronomic papers, fiber strengths are
normally reported as kN m kg-I, where one Newton
equals 9.81 kg-force.
The BVI bundle-strength and elongation-percent
testing methods are satisfactory for acceptance testing
. and research studies when 3.0 to 3.3 g of blended fibers

are available and the relative humidity of the testing
room is adequately controlled. A 1% increase in relative
humidity and the accompanying increase in fiber
moisture content will increase the strength value by 0.2
to 0.3 g tex-I, depending on the fiber genotype and
maturity.
Further, classing-office HVI measurements of fiber
strength do not adequately describe the variations of
fiber strength along the length of the individual fibers or
within the test bundle. Thus, predictions of yarn strength
based on HVI bundle-strength data can be inadequate
and misleading. The problem of fiber-strength variability
is being addressed by improved HVI calibration methods
and by computer simulations of bundle-break tests in
which the simulations are based on large single-fiber
strength databases of more than 20 000 single fiber long-
elongation curves obtained with MANTIS.
Fiber Strength, Environment, and Genotype:
Reports of stelometer measurements of fiber bundle

strength are relatively rare in the refereed agronomic
literature. Consequently, the interactions of environment
and genotype in determining fiber strength are not as
well documented as the corresponding interactions that
modulate fiber length. Growth environment, and
genotype response to that environment, playa part in
determining fiber strength and strength variability.
Early studies showed fiber strength to be
significantly and positively correlated with maximum or
mean growth temperature, maximum minus minimum
growth temperature, and potential insolation . Increased
strength was correlated with a decrease in precipitation.

Minimum temperature did not affect fiber strength. All
environmental variables were interrelated, and a close
general association between fiber strength and
environment was interpreted as indicating that fiber
strength is more responsive to the growth environment
than are fiber length and fineness. Other investigators
reported that fiber strength was correlated with genotype
only.
Square removal did not affect either fiber elongation
or fiber strength. Shading, leaf-pruning, and partial fruit
removal decreased fiber strength . Selective square
removal had no effect on fiber strength in bolls at the
first, second, or third position on a fruiting branch. Fiber
strength was slightly greater in bolls from the first 4 to 6
wk of flowering, compared with fibers from bolls
produced by flowers opening during the last 2 wk of the
flowering period .
In that study, fiber strength was positively
correlated with heat unit accumulation during boll
development, but genotype, competition among bolls,
assimilatory capacity, and variations in light environment
also helped determine fiber strength. Early defoliation, at
20% open bolls, increased fiber strength and length, but
the yield loss due to earlier defoliation offset any
potential improvement in fiber quality.
Of the fiber properties reported by USDA-AMS
classing offices for use by the textile industry, fiber
maturity is probably the least well-defined and most
misunderstood. The term, fiber maturity, used in cotton
marketing and processing is not an estimate of the time
elapsed between floral anthesis and fiber harvest ,
However, such chronological maturity can be a useful
concept in studies that follow fiber development and

maturation with time . On the physiological and the
physical bases, fiber maturity is generally accepted to be
the degree (amount) of fiber cell-wall thickening relative
to the diameter or fineness of the fiber .
Classically, a mature fiber is a fiber in which two
times the cell wall thickness equals or exceeds the
diameter of the fiber cell lumen, the space enclosed by
the fiber cell walls. However, this simple definition of
fiber maturity is complicated by the fact that the cross
section of a cotton fiber is never a perfect circle; the fiber
diameter is primarily a genetic characteristic.
Further, both the fiber diameter and the cell-wall
thickness vary significantly along the length of the fiber.
Thus, attempting to differentiate, on the basis of wall
thickness, between naturally thin-walled or genetically
fine fibers and truly immature fibers with thin walls
greatly complicates maturity comparisons among and
within genotypes.
Within a single fiber sample examined by image
analysis, cell-wall thickness ranged from 3.4 to 4.9 ]lm
when lumen diameters ranged from 2.4 to 5.2 ]lm . Based
on the cited definition of a mature fiber having a cell-
wall thickness two times the lumen diameter, 90% of the
40 fibers in that sample were mature, assuming that here
had been no fiber-selection bias in the measurements.
Unfortunately, none of the available methods for
quantifying cell-wall thickness is sufficiently rapid and
reproducible to be used by agronomists, the 'classing
offices, or fiber processors. Fiber diameter can be
quantified, but diameter data are of limited use in
determining fiber maturity without estimates of the
relationship between lumen width and wall thickness.
Instead, processors have attempted to relate fiber fineness

to processing outcome.
Estimating Fiber Fineness
Fiber fineness has long been recognized as an important

factor in yarn strength and uniformity, properties that
depend largely on the average number of fibers in the
yarn cross section. Spinning larger numbers of finer
fibers together results in stronger, more uniform yarns
than if they had been made up of fewer, thicker fibers .
However, direct determinations of biological fineness in
terms of fiber or lumen diameter and cell-wall thickness
are precluded by the high costs in both time and labor,
the noncircular cross sections of dry cotton fibers, and the
high degree of variation in fiber fineness.
Advances in image analysis have improved
determinations of fiber biological fineness and maturity ,
but fiber image analyses remain too slow and limited
with respect to sample size for inclusion in the HVI-
based cotton-classing process.
Originally, the textile industry adopted gravimetric
fiber fineness or linear density as an indicator of the
fiber-spinning properties that depend on fiber fineness
and maturity combined. This gravimetric fineness testing
method was discontinued in 1989, but the textile linear
density unit of tex persists. Tex is measured as grams per
kilometer of fiber or yarn, and fiber fineness is usually
expressed as millitex or micrograms per meter . Earlier,
direct measurements of fiber fineness (either biological or
gravimetric) subsequently were replaced by indirect
fineness measurements based on the resistance of a
bundle of fibers to airflow.
The first indirect test method approved by ASTM for

measurement of fiber maturity, lineardensity, and
maturity irdex was the causticaire method. In that test,
the resistance of a plug of cotton to airflow was
measured before and after a cell-wall swelling treatment
with an 18% (4.5 M) solution of NaOH (ASTM, 1991, 0
2480-82). The ratio between the rate of airflow through an
untreated and then treated fiber plug was taken as
indication of the degree of fiber wall development. The
airflow reading for the treated sample was squared and
corrected for maturity to serve as an indirect estimate of
linear density. Causticaire method results were found to
be highly variable among laboratories, and the method
never was recommended for acceptance testing before it
was discontinued in 1992-
The arealometer was the first dual-compression
airflow instrument for estimating both fiber fineness and
fiber maturity from airflow rates through untreated raw
cotton (ASTM, 1976, 0 1449-58; Lord and Heap, 1988).
The arealometer provides an indirect measurement of the
specific surface area of loose cotton fibers, that is, the
external area of fibers per unit volume (approximately
200-mg samples in four to five replicates). Empirical
formulae were developed for calculating the approximate
maturity ratio and the average perimeter, wall thickness,
and weight per inch from the specific surface area data.
The precision and accuracy of arealometer determinations
were sensitive to variations in sample preparation, to
repeated sample handling, and to previous mechanical
treatment of the fibers, e.g., conditions during harvesting,
blending, and opening. The arealometer was never
approved for acceptance testing, and the ASTM method
was withdrawn in 1977 without replacement.
The variations in biological fineness and relative

maturity of cotton fibers that were described earlier cause
the porous plugs used in air-compression measurements
to respond differently to compression and, consequently,
to airflow. The lIC-Shirley Fineness/Maturity Tester
(Shirley FMT), a dual-compression instrument, was
developed to compensate for this plug-variation effect
(ASTM, 1994, D 3818-92). The Shirley FMT is considered
suitable for research, but is not used for acceptance
testing due to low precision and accuracy. Instead,
micronaire has become the standard estimate of both
fineness and maturity in the USDA-AMS classing offices.
Whatever the direct or indirect method used for
estimating fiber maturity, the fiber property being as
sayed remains the thickness of the cell wall. The primary
cell wall and cuticle (together »0.1 pm thick) make up
about 2.4% of the total wall thickness ( »4.1 pm of the
cotton fiber thickness at harvest) . The rest of the fiber
cell wall (»98%) is the cellulosic secondary wall, which
thickens significantly as polymerized photosynthate is
d~posited during fiber maturation. Therefore, any
environmental factor that affects photosynthetic C
fixation and cellulose synthesis will also modulate cotton
fiber wall thickening and, consequently, fiber
physiological maturation
The dilution, on a weight basis, of the chemically
complex primary cell wall by secondary-wall cellulose
has been followed with X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.
This technique determines the decrease, with time, in the
relative weight ratio of the Ca associated with the pectin-
rich primary wall . Growth-environment differences
between the two years of the studies cited significantly
altered maturation rates, which were quantified as rate of
Ca weight-dilution, of both upland and pima genotypes.

The rates of secondary wall deposition in both upland
and pima genotypes were closely correlated with growth
temperature; that is, heat-unit accumulation .
Micronaire (micronAFIS) also was found to increase
linearly with time for upland and pima genotypes . The
rates of micronaire increase were correlated with heat-
unit accumulations . Rates of increase in fiber cross-
sectional area were less linear than the corresponding
micronaire-increase rates, and rates of upland and pima
fiber cell-wall thickening were linear and without
significant genotypic effect .
Environmental modulation of fiber maturity
(micronaire) by temperature was most often identified in
planting- and flowering-date studies . The effects of
planting date on micronaire, Shirley FMT fiber maturity
ratio, and fiber fineness (in millitex) were highly
significant in a South African study (Greef and Human,
1983). Although genotypic differences were detected
among the three years of that study, delayed planting
generally resulted in lower micronaire. The effect on fiber
maturity of late planting was repeated in the Shirley FMT
maturity ratio and fiber fineness data.
Planting date significantly modified degree of
thickening, immature fiber fraction, cross-sectional area,
and micronaire (micronAFIS) of four upland genotypes
that also were grown in South Carolina. In general,
micronaire decreased with later planting, but early
planting also reduced micronaire of Deltapine 5490, a
long-season genotype, in a year when temperatures were
suboptimal during the early part of the season.
Harvest dates in this study also were staggered so
that the length of the growing season was held constant
within each year. Therefore, season-length should not

have been an important factor in the relationships found
between planting date and fiber maturity.
Fiber Maturity and Source-Sink Manipulation
Variations in fiber maturity were linked with source-sink

modulations related to flowering date, and seed position
within the bolls . However, manipulation of source-sink
relationships by early-season square (floral bud) removal
had no consistently significant effect on upland cotton
micronaire in one study. However, selective square
removal at the first, second, and third fruiting sites along
the branches increased micronaire, compared with
controls from which no squares had been removed
beyond natural square shedding . The increases in
micronaire after selective square removals were
associated with increased fiber wall thickness, but not
with increased strength of elongation percent. Early-
season square removal did not affect fiber perimeter or
wall thickness (measured by arealometer) . Partial
defruiting increased micronaire and had no consistent
effect on upland fiber perimeter in bolls from August
flowers.
Generous water availability can delay fiber
maturation (cellulose deposition) by stimulating
competition for assimilates between early-season bolls
and vegetative growth . Adequate water also can increase
the maturity of fibers from mid-season flowers by
supporting photosynthetic C fixation. In a year with
insufficient rainfall, initiating irrigation when the first-set
bolls were 20-d old increased micronaire, but irrigation
initiation at first bloom had no effect on fiber maturity.
Irrigation and water-conservation effects on fiber fineness

(millitex) were inconsistent between years, but both
added water and mulching tended to increase fiber
fineness. Aberrations in cell-wall synthesis that were
correlated with drought stress have been detected and
characterized by glycoconjugate analysis.
An adequate water supply during the growing
season allowed maturation of more bolls at upper and
outer fruiting positions, but the mote counts tended to be
higher in those extra bolls and the fibers within those
bolls tended to be less mature . Rainfall and the
associated reduction in insolation levels during the
blooming period resulted in reduced fiber maturity.
Irrigation method also modified micronaire levels and
distributions among fruiting sites.
Early-season drought resulted in fibers of greater
maturity and higher micronaire in bolls at branch
positions 1 and 2 on the lower branches of rainfed plants.
However, reduced insolation and heavy rain reduced
micronaire and increased immature fiber fractions in
bolls from flowers that opened during the prolonged rain
incident. Soil water deficit as well as excess may reduce
micronaire if the water stress is severe or prolonged .
Micronaire or maturity data now appear in most
cotton improvement reports . In a five-parent half-diallel
mating design, environment had no effect on HVI
micronaire . However, a significant genotypic effect was
found to be associated with differences between parents
and the PI generation and with differences among the PI
generation. The micronaire means for the parents were
not significantly different, although HVI micronaire
means were significantly different for the PI generation
as a group. The HVI was judged to be insufficiently
sensitive for detection of the small difference In fiber

maturity resulting from the crosses.
In another study, F2 hybrids had finer fibers (lower
micronaire) than did the parents, but the improvements
were deemed too small to be of commercial value.
Unlike the effects of environment on the genetic
components of other fiber properties, variance in
micronaire due to the genotype-by-environment
interaction can reach levels expected for genetic variance
in length and strength. Significant interactions were
found between genetic additive variance and
environmental variability for micronaire, strength, and
span length in a study of 64 F2 hybrids.
The strong environmental components in micronaire
and fiber maturity limit the usefulness of these fiber
properties in studies of genotypic differences in response
to growth environment. Based on micronaire, fiber
maturity, cell-wall thickness, fiber perimeter, or fiber
fineness data, row spacing had either no or minimal
effect on okra-leaf or normal-leaf genotypes . Early
planting reduced micronaire, wall-thickness, and fiber
fineness of the okra-leaf genotype in one year of that
study. In another study of leaf pubescence, nectaried vs.
no nectaries, and leaf shape, interactions with
environment were significant but of much smaller
magnitude than the interactions among traits.
Micronaire means for Bt transgenic lines were higher
than the micronaire means of Coker 312 and MD51ne
when those genotypes were grown in Arizona. In two
years out of three, micronaire means of all genotypes in
this study, including the controls, exceeded 4.9; in other
words, were penalty grade. This apparent undesirable
environmental effect on micronaire may have been
caused by a change in fiber testing methods in the one

year of the three for which micronaire readings were
below the upper penalty limit. Genotypic differences in
bulk micronaire may either be emphasized or minimized,
depending on the measurement method used.
Grade
In U.S. cotton classing, nonmandatory grade standards

were first established in 1909, but compulsory upland
grade standards were not set until 1915 . Official pima
standards were first set in 1918. Grade is a composite
assessment of three factors - color. leaf, and preparation.
Color and trash (leaf and stem residues) can be
quantified instrumentally, but traditional, manual cotton
grade classification is still provided by USDA-AMS in
addition to the instrumental HVI trash and color values.
Thus, cotton grade reports are still made in terms of
traditional color and leaf grades; for example, light
spotted, tinged, strict low middling.
Preparation
There is no approved instrumental measure of

preparation-the degree of roughness/smoothness of the
ginned lint. Methods of harvesting, handling, and
ginning the cotton fibers produce differences in
roughness that are apparent during manual inspection;
but no clear correlations have been found between degree
of preparation and spinning success. The frequency of
tangled knots or mats of fiber (neps) may be higher in
high-prep lint, and both the growth and processing
environments can modulate nep frequency . However,
abnormal preparation occurs in less than 0.5% of the U.S.

crop during harvesting and ginning.
Trash or Leaf Grade
Even under ideal field conditions, cotton lint becomes

contaminated with leaf residues and other trash.
Although most foreign matter is removed by cleaning
processes during ginning, total trash extraction is
impractical and can lower the quality of ginned fiber. In
HVI cotton classing, a video scanner measures trash in
raw cotton, and the trash data are reported in terms of
the total trash area and trash particle counts (ASTM, 0
4604-86, 0 4605-86). Trash content data may be used for
acceptance testing. In 1993, classer's grade was split into
color grade and leaf grade . Other factors being equal,
cotton fibers mixed with the smallest amount of foreign
matter have the highest value. Therefore, recent research
efforts have been directed toward the development of a
computer vision system that measures detailed trash and
color attributes of raw cotton.
The term leaf includes dried, broken plant foliage,
bark, and stem particles and can be divided into two
general categories: large-leaf and pin or pepper trash .
Pepper trash significantly lowers the value of the cotton
to the manufacturer, and is more difficult and expensive
to remove than the larger pieces of trash. Other trash
found in ginned cotton can include stems, burs, bark,
whole seeds, seed fragments, motes (underdeveloped
seeds), grass, sand, oil, and dust. The growth
environment obviously affects the amount of wind-borne
contaminants trapped among the fibers. Environmental
factors that affect pollination and seed development
determine the frequency of undersized seeds and motes.
Reductions in the frequencies of motes and small-

leaf trash also have been correlated with semi-smooth
and super-okra leaf traits. Environment (crop year),
harvest system, genotype, and second order interactions
between those factors all had significant effects on leaf
grade . Delayed harvest resulted in lower-grade fiber.
The presence of trash particles also may affect negatively
the color grade.
Fiber Color
Raw fiber stock color measurements are used in

controlling the color of manufactured gray, bleached, or
dyed yarns and fabrics. Of the three components of
cotton grade, fiber color is most directly linked to growth
environment. Color measurements also are correlated
with overall fiber quality so that bright (reflective, high
Rd), creamy-white fibers are more mature and of higher
quality than the dull, gray or yellowish fibers associated
with field weathering and generally lower fiber quality.
Although upland cotton fibers are naturally white to
creamy-white, pre-harvest exposure to weathering and
microbial action can cause fibers to darken and to lose
brightness.
Premature termination of fiber maturation by
applications of growth regulators, frost, or drought
characteristically increases the saturation of the yellow
(+b) fiber-color component. Other conditions, including
insect damage and foreign matter contamination, also
modify fiber color.
The ultimate acceptance test for fiber color, as well
as for finished yarns and fabrics, is the human eye.
Therefore, instrumental color measurements must be
Processmg of Textile Fibres 89
correlated closely with visual judgment. In the HVI

classing system, color is quantified as the degrees of
reflectance (Rd) and yellowness (+b), two of the three tri-
stimulus color scales of the Nickerson-Hunter
colorimeter.
Fiber maturity has been associated with dye-uptake
variability in finished yarn and fabric, but the color
grades of raw fibers seldom have been linked to
environmental factors or agronomic practices during
production.
Other environmental effects on cotton fiber quality
Although not yet included in the USDA-AMS cotton fiber

classing system, cotton stickiness is becoming an
increasingly important problem . Two major causes of
cotton stickiness are insect honeydew from whiteflies and
aphids and abnormally high levels of natural plant
sugars, which are often related to premature crop
termination by frost or drought. Insect honeydew
contamination is randomly deposited on the lint in heavy
droplets and l->as a devastating production-halting effect
on fiber processing.
The cost of clearing and cleaning processing
equipment halted by sticky cotton is so high that buyers
have included honeydew free clauses in purchase
contracts and have refused cotton from regions known to
have insect-control problems. Rapid methods for
instrumental detection of honeydew are under
development for use in classing offices and mills .
Fiber quality or fiber yield?
Like all agricultural commodities, the value of cotton lint

responds to fluctuations in the supply-and-demand forces
of the marketplace. In addition, pressure toward specific
improvements in cotton fiber quality - for example, ~he
higher fiber strength needed for today's high-speed
spinning - has been intensified as a result of
technological advances in textile production and
imposition of increasingly stringent quality standards for
finished cotton products.
Changes in fiber-quality requirements and increases
in economic competition on the domestic and
international levels have resulted in fiber quality
becoming a value determinant equal to fiber yield .
Indeed, it is the quality, not the quantity, of fibers ginned
from the cotton seeds that decides the end use and
economic value of a cotton crop and, consequently,
determines the profit returned to both the producers and
processors.
Wide differences in cotton fiber quality and shifts in
demand for particular fiber properties, based on end-use
processing requirements, have resulted in the creation of
a price schedule, specific to each crop year, that includes
premiums and discounts for grade, staple length,
micronaire, and strength. This price schedule is made
possible by the development of rapid, quantitative
methods for measuring those fiber properties considered
most important for successful textile production . With
the wide availability of fiber-quality data from HVI,
predictive models for ginning, bale-mix selection, and
fiber-processing success could be developed for textile
mills.
Price-analysis systems based on HVI fiber-quality

data also became feasible. Quantitation, predictive
modeling, and statistical analyses of what had been
subjective and qualitative fiber properties are now both
practical and common in textile processing and
marketing.
Field-production and breeding researchers, for
various reasons, have failed to take full advantage of the
fiber-quality quantitation methods developed for the
textile industry. Most field and genetic improvement
studies still focus on yield improvement while devoting
little attention to fiber quality beyond obtaining bulk
fiber length, strength, and micronaire averages for each
treatment. Indeed, cotton crop simulation and mapping
models of the effects of growth environment on cotton
have been limited almost entirely to yield prediction and
cultural-input management.
Plant physiological studies and textile-processing
models suggest that bulk fiber-property averages at the
bale, module, or crop level do not describe fiber quality
with sufficient precision for use in a vertical integration
of cotton production and processing. More importantly,
bulk fiber-property means do not adequately and
quantitatively describe the variation in the fiber
populations or plant metabolic responses to
environmental factors during the growing season. Such
pooled or averaged descriptors cannot accurately predict
how the highly variable fiber populations might perform
during processing.
Meaningful descriptors of the effects of environment
on cotton fiber quality await high-resolution
examinations of the variabilities, induced and natural, in
fiber-quality averages. Only then can the genetic and
environmental sources of fiber-quality variability be

quantified, predicted, and modulated to produce the
high-quality cotton lint demanded by today's textile
industry and, ultimately, the consumer.
Increased understanding of the physiological
responses to the environment that interactively determine
cotton fiber quality is essential. Only with such
knowledge can real progress be made toward producing
high yields of cotton fibers that are white as snow, as
strong as steel, as fine as silk, and as uniform as
genotypic responses to the environment will allow.
3
Cotton Fibres
Cotton fibres is defined as white fibrous substance

covering seeds harvested from Cotton Plant.
Seed cotton: (called Kapas In India - Paruthi In
Tamil)harvested from Cotton Plant.
Lint cotton: (RUIA in Hind~. PANJU in Tamil) is
obtained by removing the seeds in a ginning machine.
Lint cotton is spun into Yarn, which is woven or knitted
into a Fabric. Researchers have found that cotton was
grown more than 9000 years ago. However large scale
cultivation commenced during middle of 17th Century
AD. Many varieties of Cotton are cultivated mainly from
3 important genetic species of Gossipium.
G. Hirsutim- 87% Grown in America, Africa, Asia,
Australia Plant grows to a height of 2 Meters.
G. Barbadebse- 8% Grown in America, Africa &
Asia. Plant grows to a height of 2.5 Meters with yellow
flowers, long fibers with good quality, fibers with long
staple and fineness
G. Arboreum - 5% Perennial plant grows up to 2

meters with red flowers, poor quality fibers in East Africa
and South East Asia.
There are four other species grown in very
negligible quantities. Cotton harvested from the Plant by
hand - picking or machine picking is ginned to remove
seeds and the lint is pressed into Bales for delivery to
Spinning Mills. Cotton is Roller Ginned (RG) or Saw
Ginned (SG) depending varieties and ginning practices.
Cotton is cultivated in 75 Countries with an area of
32 Million Hectares. Cultivation period varies from 175
days to 225 days depending on variety. Cotton is
harvested in two seasons, summer and winter seasons.
Saw ginned cotton is more uniform and cleaner than
Roller Ginned Cotton. But fibers quality is retained better
quality in Roller Ginning than Saw Ginning which has
high productivity.
Cotton Fiber is having a tubular structure in twisted
form. Now. researchers have developed coloured cotton
also. As on date, percentage of Cotton fiber use is more
than synthetic fibers. But, its share is gradually reducing.
Cotton is preferred for under garments due its comfort to
body skin. Synthetics have more versatile uses and
advantage for Industrial purposes.
Properties of cotton
No other material is quite like cotton. It is the most

important of all natural fibres, accounting for half of all
the fibres used by the world's textile industry.
Cotton has many qualities that make it the best
choice for countless. Cotton fibres have a natural twist
Cotton Fibres 95
that makes them so suitable for spinning into a very

strong yarn.
The ability of water to penetrate right to the core of
the fibre makes it easy to remove dirt from the cotton
garments, and creases are easily removed by ironing.
Cotton fabric is soft and comfortable to wear close to skin
because of its good moisture absorption qualities.
Charges of static electricity do not build up readily on the
clothes.
History of Cotton
Nobody seems to know exactly when people first began

to use cotton, but there is evidence that it was cultivated
in India and Pakistan and in Mexico and Peru 5000 years
ago. In these two widely separated parts of the world,
cotton must have grown wild. Then people learned to
cultivate cotton plants in their fields.
In Europe, wool was the only fiber used to make
clothing. Then from the Far East came tales of plants that
grew "wool". Traders claimed that cotton was the wool of
tiny animals called Scythian lambs, that grew on the
stalks of a plant. The stalks, each with a lamb as its
flower, were said to bend over so the small sheep could
graze on the grass around the plant. These fantastic
stories were shown to be untrue when Arabs brought the
cotton plant to Spain in Middle Ages.
In the fourteenth century cotton was grown in
Mediterranean countries and shipped from there to mills
in the Netherlands in western Europe for spinning and
weaving. Until the mid eighteenth century, cotton was
not manufactured in England, because the wool
manufacturers there did not want it to compete with

their own product. They had managed to pass a law in
1720 making the manufacture or sale of cotton cloth
illegal. When the law was finally repealed in 1736, cotton
mills grew in number. In the United States though, cotton
mills could not be established, as the English would not
allow any of the machinery to leave the country because
they feared the colonies would compete with them. But a
man named Samuel Slater, who had worked in a mill in
England, was able to build an American cotton mill from
memory in 1790.
Plantation of cotton
Cotton plant's leaves resemble maple leaves and flowers

look very much like pink mallow flowers that grow in
swampy areas. They are relatives and belong in the same
plant family.
Cotton is grown in about 80 countries, in a band that
stretches around the world between latitudes 45 North to
30 South. For a good crop of cotton a long, sunny
growing season with at least 160 frost-free days and
ample water are required. Well drained, crumbly soils
that can keep moisture well are the best. In most regions
extra water must be supplied by irrigation. Because of it's
long growing season it is best to plant early but not
before the sun has warmed the soil enough.
Seedlings appear about 5 days after planting the
seeds. Weeds have to be removed because they compete
with seedlings for water, light and minerals and also
encourage pests and diseases. The first flower buds
appear after 5-6 weeks, and in another 3-5 weeks these
buds become flowers.
COttOIl Fibres 97
Each flower falls after only 3 days leaving behind a

small seed pot, known as the boll.
Each boll contains about 30 seeds, and up to 500 000

fibres of cotton. Each fibre grows its full length in 3
weeks and for the following 4-7 weeks each fiber gets
thicker as layers of cellulose build up the cell walls.
While this is happening the boll matures and in about 10
weeks after flowering it splits open. The raw cotton fibres
burst out to dry in the sun. As they lose water and die,
each fibre collapses into what looks like a twisted ribbon.
Now is time for harvesting. Most cotton is hand-picked.
This is the best method of obtaining fully grown cotton
because unwanted material, called "trash", like leaves and
the remains of the boll are left behind. Also the cotton
that is too young to harvest is left for a second and third
picking. A crop can be picked over a period of two
months as the bolls ripen. Countries that are wealthy and
where the land is flat enough usually pick cotton with
machines - cotton harvesters.
COTTON AND YARN QUALITY CO-RELATION:

Instead of buying any cotton available at lowest
price, spinning it to produce yarn of highest count
possible and selling Yam at any market in random, it is
advisable to locate a good market where Yarn can be sold
at highest price and select a Cotton which has
characteristics to spin Yarn of desired specifications for
that market.
Essential characteristics of cotton quality and
characteristics of Yarn quality of Yarn are given from
detailed experimental investigations. Some of the
important conclusions which help to find co-relation
between Yarn quality and Cotton quality are given below
STAPLE LENGTH: If the length of fiber is longer, it

can be spun into finer counts of Yarn which can fetch
higher prices. It also gives stronger Yarn.
STRENGTH : Stronger fibers give stronger Yarns.
Further, processing speeds can be higher so that
higher productivity can be achieved with less end-
breakages.
FIBER FINENESS: Finer Fibers produce finer count of
Yarn and it also helps to produce stronger Yarns.
FIBER MATURITY : Mature fibers give better evenness
of Yarn. There will be less end - breakages . Better
dyes' absorbency is additional benefit.
UNIFORMITY RATIO: If the ratio is higher. Yam is
more even and there is reduced end-breakages.
ELONGATION :A better value of elongation will help
to reduce end-breakages in spinning and hence
higher productivity with low wastage of raw
material.
NON-LINT CONTENT: Low percentage of Trash will
reduce the process waste in Blow Room and cards.
There will be less chances of Yarn defects.
SUGAR CONTENT: Higher Sugar Content will .create
stickiness of fiber and create processing problem of
licking in the machines.
MOISTURE CONTENT : If Moisture Content is more
than standard value of 8.5%, there will be more
invisable loss. If moisture is less than 8.5%, then there
will be tendency for brittleness of fiber resulting in
frequent Yarn breakages.
FEEL: If the feel of the Cotton is smooth, it will be
Cotton Fibres 99
produce more smooth yarn which has potential for

weaving better fabric.
CLASS : Cotton having better grade in classing will
produce less process waste and Yarn will have better
appearance.
GREY VALUE: Rd. of calorimeter is higher it means it
can reflect light better and Yam will give better
appearance.
YELLOWNESS : When value of yellowness is more,
the grade becomes lower and lower grades produce
weaker & inferior yarns.
NEPPINESS: Neppiness may be due to entanglement
of fibers in ginning process or immature fibers.
Entangled fibers can be sorted out by careful
processing But, Neps due to immature fiber wHl stay
on in the end product and cause the level of.
Yarndefects to go higher.
An analysis can be made of Yarn properties which can be
directly attributed to cotton quality.
1. YARN COUNT: Higher Count of Yarn .can be
produced by longer, finer and stronger fibers.
2. C.V. of COUNT: Higher Fiber Uniformity and lower
level of short fiber percentage will be beneficial to
keep c.V.(Co-efficient of Variation) at lowest.
3. TENSILE STRENGTH : This is directly related to fiber
strength. Longer Length of fiber will 1180 help to
produce stronger yarns.
4. C.V. OF STRENGTH: is directly related CV of fiber
strength.
5. ELONGATION: Yam elongation will be beneficial for
weaving efficiently. Fiber with better elongation have
positive co-relation with Yarn elongation.
6. C.V. OF ELONGATION: C.V. of Yarn Elongation can be

low when C.V. of fiber elongation is also low.
7. MARS VARIA nON: This property directly related to
fiber maturity and fiber uniformity.
8. HAIRINESS: is due to faster processing speeds and
high level of very short fibers,
9. DYEING QUALITY: will defend on Evenness of Yarn
and marketing of cotton fibers.
10. BRIGHTNESS: Yarn will give brighter appearance if
cotton grade is higher.
Cotton quality specifications
The most important fiber quality is Fiber Length

Length
Staple
Classification
Length mm Length inchesSpinning CountShortLess than

2415/16 -1 Coarse Below 20Medium24- 281.1/132-1.3/
32Medium Count 20s-34sLong28 -341.3/32 -1.3/8Fine
Count 34s - 60sExtra Long34- 401.3/8 -1.9/16Superfine
Count 80s - 140s.
Spinning Count does not depend on staple length
only. It also depends on fineness and processing
machinery.
Length is measured by hand stapling or Fibrograph
for 2.5% Span Length
Cotfon Fibres 101
2.5%SL (Spun Length) means at least 2.5% of total

fibers have length exceeding this value.
50% SL means at least 50% of total fibers have length
exceeding this value.
Length Uniformity
Length Uniformity is Calculated by 50SL x 100 / 2.5 SL
Fiber strength
Fiber Strength, next important quality is tested using

Pressley instrument and the value is given in Thousands
of Pounds per Square inch. (1000 psi) For better accuracy,
Stelometer is used and results are given in grams / Tex.
Lately, strength is measured in HVI (High Value
Instrument) and result is given in terms of grams/tex.
Interpretation of Strength value is given below:
G / texClassifica tionBelow 23Weak24-25Medi um26-
28Average29-30StrongAbove 31 Very Strong
Strength is essential for stronger yarns and higher
processing speeds.
Fiber Fineness Fiber Fineness and maturity are tested
in a conjunction using Micronaire Instrument.
Finer Fibers give stronger yarns but amenable for
more neppiness of Yarn due to lower maturity.
Micronaire values vary from 2.6 to 7.5 in various
varieties.
Fineness and maturity

Usually Micronaire value is referred to evaluate fineness

of Cotton and its suitability for spinning particular count
of Yarn. As the value is a combined result of fineness and
maturity of Cotton fiber, it cannot be interpreted,
property for ascertaining its spinning Value. This value
should be taken in conjunction with standard value of
Calibrated Cotton value.
The following table will explain that micronaire
value goes up along with maturity but declines with
thickness of fiber. An Egyptian variety of Cotton, three
samples of High maturity. Low maturity and Medium
maturity were taken and tested. Test results are given
below,
Here, Micronaire Value of 4.3 is higher than 3.9 of
low maturity cotton Another Greek Cotton was tested
and results are give below
High 3.857.075.10.88
Medium 3.554.970.70.84
Low 3.255.265.80.80
Micronaire Value of 3.8 is higher than 3.2 of low maturity
cotton. Another American Cotton was tested and results
are as follows
High 4.164.475.90.87
Medium 3.462.168.00.80
Low 2.759.856.10.67
Hence, it is essential to know what Micronaire value
is good for each variety of Cotton.
Maturity RatioClassification1.00 and aboveVery
Mature 0.95 - 1.0Above Average 0.85 - 0.95 Mature 0.80 -
Cotton Fibres 103
0.85 Below Average Less than 0.80 immature.
Cotton Grade
Cotton grade is determined by evaluating colour, leaf and

ginning preparation. Higher grade cottons provide better
yarn appearance and reduced process waste.
Colour is determined by using Nickerson-Hunter
Calorimeter. This gives values Rd (Light or Dark) and +b
(Yellowness) .
How to buy cotton?
Cotton buying is the most important function that will

contribute to optimum profit of a Spinning Mill.
Evaluation of cotton quality is generally based more
on experience rather than scientific testing of
characteristics only.
Timing of purchase depends on comprehensive
knowledge about various factors which affect the prices.
Choosing the supplier for reliability of delivery
schedules and ability to supply cotton within the
prescribed range of various parameters which define the
quality of Cotton.
Bargaining for lowest price depends on the buyer'S
reputation for prompt payment and accept delivery
without dispute irrespective of price fluctuations.
Organising the logistics for transportation of goods
and payment for value of goods will improve the benefits
arising out of the transaction.
Profit depends on producting high quality Yarn to

fetch high prices. Influence of quality of raw material is
very important in producing quality Yarn. But, quality of
yam is a compound effect of quality of raw material,
skills of work-force, performance of machines,- process
know-how of Technicians and management expertise.
A good spinner is one who produces reasonably
priced yarn of acceptable quality from reasonably priced
fiber. Buying a high quality, high priced cotton does not
necessarily result in high quality Yarn or high profits.
Guidelines for
Buyer and seller should clearly reach correct

understanding on the following factors.
1. Country of Origin, Area of Growth, Variety, Crop
year
2. Quality - Based on sample or
Description of grade as per ASTM standard or
sample
For grade only and specifying range of staple length,
Range of Micronaire, range of Pressley value,
uniformity,
Percentage of short fiber, percentage of non-lint
content,
Tolerable level of stickiness
3. Percentage of Sampling at destination
4. Procedure for settling disputes on quality or
fulfillment of contract obligations.
Cotton Fibres 105
5. Responsibility regarding contamination or stickiness.

6. Price in terms of currency, Weight and place of
delivery.
7. Shipment periods
8. Certified shipment weights or landing Weights
9. Tolerances for Weights and Specifications
10. Port of Shipment and port of destination, partial
shipments allowed or not, transshipment allowed or
not, shipments in containers or Break-bulk carriers
11. Specifications regarding age of vessels used for
shipment, freight payment in advance or on delivery
12. Responsibility regarding Import & Export duties
13. Terms of Insurance cover
14. Accurate details of Seller, Buyer and Broker
15. Terms of Letter of. Credit regarding bank
.negotiation, reimbursement and special conditions, if
any
Apart from ensuring correct terms of Contract,
Buyer should ensure that purchase is made from Reliable
Supplier or through a Reliable Agent. Some suppliers
evade supplies under some pretext if the market goes up.
Otherwise, they supply inferior quality Either way buyer
suffers.
By establishing long term relationship will reliable
Suppliers, Buyers can have satisfaction :)f getting correct
quality, timely deliveries and fair prices.
Choosing Supplier:
It is good to establish long term relationship with a few

Agents who represent reputed Trading Companies in

various Cotton Exporting Countries. They usually give
reliable market information on quality, prices and market
trends so that buyer can take intelligent decision. As
cotton is not a manufactured Commodity, it is good to
buy from dependable suppliers, who will ensure supply
of correct quality with a variation within acceptable
limits at correct price and also deliver on due date.
Choosing Qaulity:
In a market with varying market demand situation.

Buyers should decide which counts of Yarn to spin.
Buyer can call for samples suitable for spinning Yarn
counts programmed for production. Many spinners plan
to do under-spinning. For Example, cotton suitable for
44s is used for spinning 40s. Some spinners do over-
spinning. They buy cotton suitable for 40s and spin 44s
count. But, is advisable to spin optimum count to ensure
quality and also keep cost of raw material at minimum
level as for as possible. Some spinners also buy 2 or more
varieties and blend them for optimum spinning. For' this
purpose, a good knowledge to evaluate cotton quality
and co-relate with yarn properties of required
specifications. Cotton buyer should develop expertise in
assessing cotton quality. Machine tests must be done only
to confirm manual evaluation.
Taking Right Option:
It is not advisable just to look at price quoted by supplier.

Correct costing should be done to work out actual cost
when the cotton arrives at Mills. Further lowest price
Cotton Fibres 107
does not always mean highest profit for buying.

Profitability may be affected by anyone or more of the
following factors.
If the trash is higher, more waste will be produced
reducing the Yarn out- turn and hence profit.
If the uniformity is less, end - breakages will be more
reducing productivity and profitability.
If grade is poor or more immature fibers are found in
cotton, the yarn appearance will be affected and Yarn
will fetch lesser price in the market.
If the transit period for transport of cotton is longer,
then also profitability will be reduced due blocking of
funds for a longer period and increased cost of
Interest.
Rate of Sales Tax varies from State to State. This must
be taken in to account.
Hence, thorough costing should be worked out
before deciding on the quoted price only.
The margin of profit in spinning cotton should be
calculated before deciding on The various options
available depending on market conditions should be
studied.
The factors to be considered for taking options are as
follows.
Count for which demand is good in market
Prices for various counts for which demand exists.
Cost of manufacturing various counts.
Adequacy of machinery for the selected count.
Various varieties of cotton available for spinning the
selected count.
Profit margin for each count using different varieties.
Price quoted by different Agents for same variety of
selected cotton.
Reliability of supplier for quality and timely delivery.
Cost Consideration:
Apart from the price quoted by the seller, other

incidental costs must be taken into consideration before
buying.
a) Duration for goods to reach Buyer's god own from the
seller's Warehouse. If the duration is longer, buyer
will incur higher interest charges.
b) Cost of Transportation and taxes.
Resolution of differences
If any discrepancy arises in the quality, weight and

delivery periods, sellers should be willing to resolve the
differences amicably and quickly. In case the matter is
referred to Arbitrator, the award of the Arbitrator must
be immediately enforced.
Bench Marks for Easy Reference
It is better if quality bench marks are established for

different varieties so that buying decisions are easy for
buyers Following standards have been found to be
appropriate for Strict Middling Grade Cotton of staple
1.3/32".
Cotton Fibres 109
1.Staple Length ( 2.5% Spun Length) - Minimum

1.08" or 27.4 mm 2.Micronaire : Minimum 3.8, Maximum-
4.6 Variation within bulk sample should not be more
than 0.1 3.Colour : Rd not less than 75 not more than 10
4.Nep Content: Less than 150 per gram 5.Strength : More
than 30 grams/tex 6.Length Uniformity Ratio: Not less
than 85% 7.Elongation : More than 8% 8.Short Fiber
Content: Less than 5% 9.5eed Count Fragments: Less
than 15 per grams
1.Commercial Bench marks can be given as follows:
1. Price Competitiveness
2. Price Stability
3. Easy Availability throughout year
4. Uniform Classing and Grading system
5. Even- running Cotton in all Characteristics
6. Reliable deliveries or Respect for sanctity of contract.
Quality Evaluation:
The need for quality evaluation is for following purposes

a) To get optimum quality at lowest price.
b) To decide whether cotton bought will can be
processed to spin Yarn of desired specifications.
c) To check the quality of sample cotton with quality of
delivered cotton.
d) To decide about correct machine settings and speeds
for processing the cotton
e) To estimate profitability of purchase decisions.
Knowing the cotton properties is only half the battle

for profits. It needs expertise to know how to get best of
its value.
Currently popular instrument called HVI gives
ready information on various parameters to make correct
purchase decisions.
If may not be possible to get all the desired qualities
in one variety or one lot of Cotton. In such case, an
intelligent decision to select best combination of different
varieties or lots to get desired Yam quality is necessary to
get optimum yarn quality at optimum cost.
If correct evaluation is made, profits are large.
Hence, evaluation of quality is essential for optimum
profit making and also make the customers happy with
supply of correct quality of Yarn.
Expert dassers can manage to achieve reasonable
level of correct evaluation. Now, with availability of
better instruments, it is better to check qualities to make
sure that desired quality of cotton is procured. These
details should give cotton buyer reasonable guidance to
make correct evaluation of cotton quality and ensure its
suitability for producing required quality of yarn.
Quality Evaluation Chracteristics Co-relation to

Yarn.
1. Staple Length Spinning Potential

2. Fiber Strength Yarn strength, less Breakages
3. Fineness Finer Spinning Potential
4. Maturity Yarn Strength and even ness, better
dyeing
Cotton Fibres 111
5. Non-Lint.content (Trash) Reduced Waste

6. Uniformity Ratio Better productivity and Evenness
7. Elongation Less end Breakages
8. Friction Cohesiveness
9. Class Yarn Appearance
10. Stickiness Spinning problem by lapping & Dyeing
quality
11. Grey ValueYarn lustre
12. Yellowness Yarn Appearance
13. Neppiness Yarn neppiness
14. Moisture Content 8.5% moisture content optimum for
spinning at 65%
4
Cotton Mixing and Blowroom
Operations
COTTON MIXING
Cotton is a hygroscopic material, hence it easily adopts

to the atmospheric airconditions. Air temperature inside
the mxing and blowroom area should be more than 25
degree centigrade and the relative humidity(RH%)
should be around 45 to 60 %, because high moisture in
the fibre leads to poor cleaning and dryness in the fibre
leads to fibre damages which ultimately reduces the
spinnability of cotton.
Cotton is a natural fibre. The following properties
vary very much between bales (between fibres) fibre
micronaire fibre length fibre strength fibre color fibre
maturity Out of these, fibre micronaire, color, maturity
and the origin of growth results in dye absorption
variation.
There fore it is a good practice to check the maturity
. color and micronaire of all the bales and to maintain the
Cotton Mixing and Blowroom Operations 113
following to avoid dye pick up variation and barre in the

finished fabric.
Bale Management
In a particular lot
• Micronaire range of the cotton bales used should be
same for all the mixings of a lot
• Micronaire average of the cotton bales used should
be same for all the mixings of a lot
• Range of color of cotton bales used should be same
for all the mixings of a lot
• Average of color of cotton bales used should be same
for all the mixings of a lot
• Range of matutrity coefficient of cotton bales used
should be same for all mixings of a lot
• Average of maturity coefficient of cotton bales used
should be same for all mixings of a lot
In practice people do not consider maturity coefficient
since Micronaire variation and maturity variation are
related to each other for a particular cotton.
It the cotton received is from different ginners, it is
better to maintain the percentage of cotton from different
ginners throught the lot, even though the type of cotton
is same.
It is p.ot advisable to mix the yarn made of out of
two different shipments of same cotton. For example ,
the first shipment of west african cotton is in january and
the second shipment is in march, it is not advisable to
mix the yarn made out of these two different shipments.
If there is no shadevariation after dyeing, then it can be
mixed.
According to me, stack mixing is the best way of

doing the mixing compared to using automatic bale
openers which picks up the material from 40 to 70 bales
depending on the length of the machine and bale size,
provided stack mixing is done perfectly. Improper stack
mixing will lead to BARRE or SHADE VARIATION
problem. Stack mixing with Bale opener takes care of
short term blending and two mixers in series takes care
of long term blending.
Why?
• Tuft sizes can be as low as 10 grams and it is the best
way of opening the material(nep creation will be less,
care has to be taken to reduce recyling in the inclined
lattice) contaminations can be removed before
mixing is made
• The raw material gets acclamatised to the required
temp and R.H.%, since it is allowed to stay in the
room for more than 24 hours and the fibre is opened,
the fibre gets conditioned well.
Disadvan tages
• more labour is required

• more space is required
• mixing may not be 100% homogeneous( can be
overcome by installing double mixers)
If automatic bale opening machine is used the bales
should be arranged as follows let us assume that there
are five different micronaires and five different colors in
the mixing, 50 bales are used in the mxing. 5 to 10 groups
.should be made by grouping the bales in a mixing so that
each group will have average micronaire and average
color as that of the overall mixing. The position of a bale

for micronaire and color should be fixed for the group
and it should repeat in the same order for all the groups
It is always advisable to use a mixing with very low
Micronaire range.Preferably .6 to 1.0 . Because
• It is easy to optimise the process parameters in blow
room and cards
• drafting faults will be less
• dyed cloth appearance will be better because of
uniform dye pickup etc
It is advisable to use single cotton in a mixing , provided
the length, strength micronaire, maturity coefficient and .
trash content of the cotton will be suitable for producing
the required counts. Automatic bale opener is a must if
more than two cottons are used in the mixing, to avoid
BARRE or SHADE VARIAnON problem.
It is better to avoid using the following cottons
• cottons with inseparable trash (very small size), even
though the trash % is less
• sticky cotton (with honey dew or sugar)
• cotton with low maturity co-efficient
Stickiness of cotton consist~ of two major causes.
Honeydew from Whiteflies and aphids and high level of
natural plant sugars. The problems with the randomly
distributed honey dew contamination often results in
costly proudction interruptions and requires immediate
action often as severe as discontinuing the use of
contaminated cottons.An effective way to control cotton
stickiness in processing is to blend sticky and non-sticky
cotton. Sticky cotton percentage should be less than 25%.
BLOWROOM OPERATIONS
Basic operations in the blowroom:

1. opening
2. cleaning
3. mixing or blending
4. micro dust removal
5. uniform feed to the carding machine
6. Recycling the waste
Blow room installations consists of a sequence of
different machines to carry out the above said
operations.Moreover Since the tuft size of cotton becomes
smaller and smaller, the required intensities of
processing necessitates different machine configuration.
Technological operation
Opening in blowroom means opening into small

flocks. Technological operation of opening means the
volume of the flock is increased while the number of
fibres remains constant. i.e. the specific density of the
material is reduced. The larger the dirt particle, the better
they can be removed
Since almost every blowroom machine can shatter
particles, as far as possible a lot of impurities should be
eliminated at the start of the process.Opening should be
followed immediately by cleaning, if possible in the
same machine.
The higher the degree of opening, the higher the
degree of cleaning. A very high cleaning effect is almost
always purchased at the cost of a high fibre loss. Higher

roller speeds give a better cleaning effect but also more
stress on the fibre.
Cleaning is made more difficult if the impurities of
dirty cotton are distributed through a larger quantity of
material by mxing with clean cotton.
The cleaning efficiency is strongly dependent on the
TRASH %. It is also affected by the size of the particle
and stickyness of cotton. Therefore cleaning efficiency
can be different for different cottons with the same trash
%.
There is a new concept called CLEANING
RESISTANCE. Different cottons have different cleaning
resistance. If cotton is opened well in the opening
process, cleaning becomes easier because opened cotton
has more surface area, therefore cleaning is more efficient
If automatic bale opener is used, the tuft size should be
as small as possible and the machine stop time should
be reduced to the minimum level possible If Manual
Bale openers are used, the tuft size fed to the feed lattice
should be as small as possible
Due to machine harvesting, cotton contains more
and more impurities, which furthermore are shattered by
hard ginning. Therefore cleaning is always an important
basic operation.
In cleaning, it is necessary to release the adhesion of
the impurities to the fibres and to give hte particles an
opportunity to separate from the stock. The former is
achieved mostly by picking of flocks, the latter is
achieved by leading the flocks over a grid.
Using Inclined spiked lattice for opening cotton in
the intial stages is always a better way of opening the
cotton with minimum damages. Ofcourse the production

is less with such type of machines. But one should bear
in mind that if material is recyled more in the lattice,
neps may increase.
Traditional methods use more number of machines
to open and clean natural fibres.
Mechanical action on fibres ca uses some
deterioration on yarn quality, particularly in terms of
neps. Moreover it is true that the staple length of cotton
can be significantly shortened.
Intensive opening in the initial machines like Bale
breaker and blending machines means that shorter
overall cleaning lines are adequate.
In a beating operation, the flocks are subjected to a
sudden strong blow. The inertia of the impurities
accelerated to a high speed, is substantially greater than
that of the opened flocks due to the low air resistance of
the impurities. The latter are hurled against the grid and
because of their small size, pass between the grid bars
into the waste box, while the flocks continue around the
periphery of the rotating beater.
By using a much shorter machine sequence, fibres
with better elastic properties and improved spinnability
can be produced. Air streams are often used in the latest
machine sequence, to separate fibres from trash particles
by buoyancy differences rather than beating the material
against a series of grid bars.
There are three types of feeding apparatus in the
blowroom opening machines
1. two feed rollers( clamped)
2. feed roller and a feed table
3. a feed roller and pedals

Two feed roller arrangements gives the best forwarding
motion, but unfortunately results in greatest clamping
distance between the cylinders and the beating element
feed roller and pedal arrangement gives secure clamping
throughout the width and a small clamping distance,.
which is very critical for an opening machine
In a feed roller and table arrangement, the clamping
distance can be made very small. This gives intensive
opening, but clamping over the whole width is poor,
because the roller presses only on the highest points of
the web. Thin places in the web can be dragged out of
hte web as a clump by the beaters
Honeydew(sugar) or stickiness in cotton affect the
process very badly. Beacause of that production and
quality is affected. Particles stick to metal surfaces, and it
gets aggreavated with heat and pressure. These deposits
change the surface characteristics which directly affects
the quality and running behavior.
There are chemicals which can be sprayed to split
up the sugar drops to achieve better distribution.
But this system should use water solutions which is
not recommeded due to various reasons. It is better to
control the climate inside the department when sticky
cotton is used. Low temperature (around 22 degree
celcius) and low humidity (45% RH). This requires an
expensive air conditioning set up.
• The easiest way to process sticky cotton is to mix
with good cotton and to process through two blending
machines with 6 and 8 doublings and to install machines
which will seggregate a heavier particles by buoyanccy
differences.
General factors which affect the degree of opening,

cleaning and fibre loss are,
1. thickness of the feed web
2. density of the feed web
3. fibre coherence
4. fibre alignment
5. size of the flocks in the feed (flock size may be same
but density is different)
6. the type of opening device
7. speed of the opening device
8. degree of penetration
9. type of feed (loose or clamped)
10. distance between feed and opening device
11. type of opening device
12. type of clothing
13. point density of clothing
14. arrangement of pins, needles, teeth
15. speeds of the opening devices
16. throughput speed of material
17. type of grid bars
18. area of the grid surface
19. grid settings
20. airflow through the grid
21. condition of pre-opening
22. quantity of material processed,
23. position of the machine in the machine sequence
Cotton Mixing and Blowroo11l Operations 121
24. feeding quantity variation to the beater

25. ambient R.H.%
26. ambient teperature
Cotton contains very little dust before ginning. Dust is
therefore caused by working of the material on the
machine. New dust is being created through shattering of
impurities and smashing and rubbing of fibres.
However removal of dust is not simple. Dust
particles are very light and therefore float with the cotton
in the transport stream. Furthermore the particles adhere
quite strongly to the fibres. If they are to be eliminated
they are to be rubbed off. The main elimination points for
adhering dust therefore, are those points in the process at
which high fibre/metal friction or high fibre/fibre
friction is produced.
Removal of finest particles of contaminants and fibre
fragments can be accomplished by releasing the dust into
the air, like by turning the material over, and then
removing the dust-contaminated air.
Release of dust into the air occurs whereever the
raw material is rolled, beaten or thrown
about.Accordingly the air at such positions is sucked
away. Perforated drums, stationary perforated drums, ,
stationary combs etc. are some instruments used to
remove dust.
5
Carding
"Card is the heart of the spinning mill" and "Well carded

is half spun" are two proverbs of the experts. These
proverbs inform the immense significance of carding in
the spinning process.High production in carding to
economise the process leads to reduction in yarn quality.
Higher the production, the more sensitive becomes the
carding operation and the greater. danger of a negative
influence on quality.The technological changes that has
taken place in the process of carding is remarkable. Latest
machines achieve the production rate of 60 - 100 kgs / hr,
which used to be 5 - 10 kgs / hr, upto 1970.
THE PURPOSE OF CARDING
1. To open the flocks into individual fibres

2. cleaning or elimination of impurities
3. reduction of neps
4. elimination of dust
Carding 123
5. elimination of short fibres

6. fibre blending
7. fibre orientation or alignment
8. sliver formation
TECHNOLOGICAL POINTS OF CARDING
There are two types of feeding to the cards

1. feeding material in the form of scutcher lap
2. flock feed system (flocks are transported
pneumatically)
lap feeding
1. linear density of the lap is very good and it is
easier to maintain(uniformity)
2. the whole installation is very flexible
3. deviations in card output will be nil, as laps can
be rejected
4. autolevellers are not required, hence investment
cost and maintenace cost is less
5. transportation of lap needs more manual efforts(
more labour)
6. lap run out is an additional source of fault, as it
should be replaced by a new lap
7. more good fibre loss during lap change
8. more load on the taker-in, as laps are heavily
compressed
flock feeding
1. high performance in carding due to high degree
of openness of feed web
2. labour requirement is less due to no lap

transportaion and lap change in cards
3. flock feeding is the only solution for high
prouduction cards
4. linear density of the web fed to the card is not as
good as lap
5. installation is not felxible
6. autoleveller is a must, hence investment cost and
maintenance cost is more
- Type of flock feed(chute feed)
there are two basic concepts of flock feed
1. one piece chute without an opening device
2. two piece chute with an opening system
2. one piece chute is simple, economical and requires
little maintenance
3. two piece chute is complex, expensive, but delivers a
uniform batt.
4. One piece chut is a closed system, i.e.excess flock
returns to the distrbutor, if too much material is
present, neps can be increased
5. one piece chute is not flexible to run different
mixings
6. layout restrictions are more with one piece chute
A feeding device is a must to feed the web to the

Taker-in region and it should perform the following
tasks
1. to clamp the batt securely throughout its width
2. to grip the fibres tightly without slippage during
the action of taker-in
Carding 125
3. to present the fibres in such a manner that

opening can be carried out gently
The divertor nose(sharp or round) and the length of
the nose(guide surface) have a significant influence
on quality and quantity of waste removed. Shart nose
divertor avoids fibre slippage but the opening action
is not gentle. If the length of the guide surface is too
short, the fibres can escape the action of the taker-in.
They are scraped off by the mote knives and are lost
in the waste receiver.
Feed roller clothed with sawtooth is always better ,
because it gives good batt retention. Thus the
opening effect of the taker-in is more as it is in
combing
Rieter has devloped a "unidirectional feed system"
where the two feed devices(feed roller and feed plate
are oppositely arranged when compared with the
conventional system. i.e. the cylinder is located below
and the plate is pressed against the cylinder by
spring force. Owing to the direction of feed roller, the
fibre batt runs downwards without diversion directly
into the teeth of the taker-in(licker-in) which results
in gentle fibre treatment. This helps to reduce faults
in the yam.
The purpose of the taker-in is to pluck finely opened
flocks out of the feed batt, to lead them over the dirt
eliminating parts like mote knives, combing segment
and waste plates, and then to deliver the fibres to the
main cylinder. In high production cards the
rotational speed ranges from 700-1400
The treatment for opening and cleaning imparted by
Taker-in is very intensive, but unfortunately not very
gentle. Remember that around 60% of the fibres fed to

the main cylinder is in the form of individual fibres.
The circumferential speed of Taker-in is around 13 to
15 m/ sec and the draft is more than 1000.lt clearly
shows that fibre gets deteriorated at this opening
point. Only the degree of deterioration can be
controlled by adjusting the following:
1. the thickness of the batt
2. the degree of openness of the rawmaterial
3. the degree of orientation of the fibres
4. the aggressiveness of the clothing
5. the distance between the devices
6. the rotational velocity of the taker-in
7. the material throughput
Latest TRUTZSCHLER cards work with three licker-

ins compared to one liker-in. The first one is
constructed as needle roll. This results in very gentle
opening and an extremely long clothing life for this
roll. The other two rollers are with finer clothing and
higher speeds, which results in feeding more %of
individual fibres and smallest tufts compared to
single lickerin, to the main cylinder. This allows the
maing cylinder to go high in speeds and reduce the
load on cylinder and flat tops. There by higher
productivity is achieved with good quality. But the
performance may vary for different materials and
different waste levels.
between the taker-in and main cylinder , the
clothings are in the doffing disposition. It exerts an
influence on the sliver quality and also on the
Carding 127
improvement in fibres longitudinal orientation that

occurs here. The effect depends on the draft between
main cylinder and taker-in.The draft between main
cylinder and taker-in should be slightly more than
2.0.
The opening effect is directly proportional to the
number of wire points per fibre. At the Taker-in
perhaps 0.3 points/ fibre and at the main cylinder 10-
15 points / fibre.lf a given quality of yarn is required,
a corresponding degree of opening at the card is
needed. To increase production in carding, the
number of points per unit time must also be
increased. this can be 'achieved by:
1. more points per unit area(finer clothing)
2. higher roller and cylinder speeds
3. more carding surface or carding position speeds
and wire population has reached the maximum,
further increase will result in design and
technological problems. Hence the best way is to
add carding surface (stationary flats). Carding
plates can be applied at
1. under the liker-in
2. between the licker-in and flats
3. between flats and doffer
- Taker-in does not deliver 100% individual fibres to
main cylinder. It delivers around 70% as small flocks
to main cylinder. If carding segments are not used,
the load on cylinder and flats will be very high and
carding action also suffers. If carding segemets are
used, they ensure further opening, thinning out and
primarily, spreading out and improved distributiorl
of the flocks over the total surface area.carding

segments bring the following advantages
1. improved dirt and dust elimination
2. improved disentanglement of neps
3. possibility of speed increase (production increase)
4. preservation of the clothing
5. possibility of using finer clothings on the flats and
cylinder
6. better yarn quality
7. less damage to the clothing
8. cleaner clothing
In an indepth analysis, all operating elements of the
card were therefore checked in regard to their
influence on carding intensity. It showed that the
"CYLINDER-FLATS" area is by far the most effective
region of the card for.
1. opening of flocks to individual fibres
2. elimination of remaining impurities(trash
particles)
3. elimination of short fibres( neps also removed
with short fibres)
4. untangling the neps
5. dust removal
6. high degree of longitudinal orientation of the
fibres
The main work of the card, separation to individual
fibres is done between the main cylinder and the flats
Carding 129
Only by means of this fibre separation, it is possible

to eliminate the fine dirt particles and dust.
When a flat enters the working zone, it gets filled up
very quickly. Once it gets filled, after few seconds,
thereafter, hardly any further take-up of fibres occurs,
only carding. Accordingly, if a fibre bundle does not find
place at the first few flats, then it <:an be- opened only ----
with difficulty.lt will be rolled between the working
surfaces and usually leads to nep formation
In princile, the flats can be moved forwards or
backwards, i.e. in the same direction as or in
opposition to the cylinder.ln reverse movement, the
flats come into operative relationship with the
cylinder clothing on the doffer side. At this stage, the
flats are in a clean condition. They then move
towards the taker-in and fill up during this
movement.Part of their receiving capacity is thus lost,
but sufficient remains for elimination of dirt, since
this step takes place where the material first enters
the flats.
At this position, above the taker-in, the cylinder carries
the material to be cleaned into the flats. The latter take
up the dirt but do not transport it through the whole
machine as in the forward movement system.
Instead , the dirt is immediately removed from the
machine. Rieter studies show clearly that the greater part
of the dirt is hurled into the first flats directly above the
taker-in.
Kaufmann indicates that 75% of all neps can be
disentagled, and of these about 60% are in fact
disentagled. Of the remaining 40% disentaglable nep
1. 30-33% pas on with the sliver 2.5-6% are removed

with the flat strips 3.2-4%are eliminated with the
waste.
The intensity of nep separation depends on:
1. the sharpness of the clothing
2. the space setting between the main cylinder and
the flats
3. tooth density of the clothing
4. speed of the main cylinder
5. speed of the flat tops
6. direction of flats with reference to cylinder
7. the profile of the cylinder wire
The arrangement of the clothing between the cylinder
and the doffer is not meant for stripping action, it is
for CARDING ACTION.This is the only way to
obtain a condensing action and finally to form a web.
It has both advantages and disadvantages. The
advantage is that additional carding action is
obtained here and it differs somewhat from
processsing at the fIats.A disadvantage is that leading
hooks and trailing hooks are formed in the fibres,
beause the fibres remain caught at one end of the
main cylinder(leading hook) and some times on the
doffer clothing(trailing hook).
There are two rules of carding
1. The fibre must enter the carding machine, be
efficiently carded and taken from it in as little
time as possible.
2. The fibre must be under control from entry to exit
Carding 131
Carding effect is taking place between cylinder and

doffer because, either the main cylinder clothing
rakes through the fibres caught in the doffer clothing,
or the doffer clothing rakes thro the fibres on the
main cylinder.
Neps can still be disentangled here, or non-
separated fibre bundles can be opened a bit in this area
and can be separated during the next passage through
the flats
A disadvantage of web-formation at the card is the
formation of hooks. According to an investigation by
morton and Yen in Manchester, it can be assumed
that 1.50% of the fibres have trailing hooks 2.15%
have leading hooks 3.15% have both ends hooked
4.20% without hooks
Leading hooks must be presented to the comber and
trailing hooks to the ring spinning frame.
There must be even number of passages between card
and comber and odd number between the card and
ringframe.
Carding Machines
- Lmw card
- Rieter card
- Trutzschler card
- Crosrol card
- Marzoli card
6
Effects of Fibre Preparation on
Instrument Readings
Cotton processing machines that mechanically work the

cotton fiber from bale to yarn are designed with the
intent of minimizing fiber damage. Nevertheless,
opening, cleaning and blending equipment shorten the
staple length while increasing short fiber content and
neps. Carding and combing reverse this by removing a
percentage of the short fibers and neps. Drawing is
thought to have a minimal effect on fiber physicals, its
purpose being to improve sliver evenness and fiber
orientation. With machine settings and speeds optimized,
a comparison of the fiber properties of stock-in compared
with stock-out provides valuable information for
achieving further optimization.
Procedure
Instrument used: Uster AFIS and HVI Spinlab 900B

No. of bale samples: 10 bales with different mic and
length were used
Effects of Fibre Preparation on Instrument Readings 133
No. of processing method: 12 different processing

combinations
Machineries used:
Blow room
hunter hopper feeder

Rieter Mono cylinder (750 rpm)
Rieter ERM B5/5(850 rpm)
Rieter ERM B5/5(950 rpm)
Carding: Rieter C4 card with Hollingsworth Trashmaster
TM2000 (100 pounds per hour, with 60 grains per yard
sliver)
Details of the findings
There are slight AFIS variations in the apparent fiber

diameter when going from a processing stage to another.
It seems that the ERMII results in a slight increase, which
could be due to the removal of dead fibers in the opening
line. Certainly the card also removes neps and dead
fibers; however, the diameter appears to decrease
slightly. There is also a significant decrease due to the
drawing. These mechanical processes cannot modify the
diameter. The only logical explanation is an artifact effect.
In the card sliver and the drawing slivers the fibers are
oriented and paralleled, this removes the crimp. The
length of the electronic signal and its height are then
modified giving higher length readings and lower
diameter readings. The HVI micronaire values vary
slightly in the opening line, perhaps due to the removal
of some dead fibers. The carding seems to reduce the

micronaire, which is not explainable. Then the drawing
leads to an increase in micronaire. The theory of the
micronaire instruments is based on airflow passing
through a sample constituted of randomly oriented fibers.
In the drawing process the fibers are made parallel,
which probably leads to an easier flow of air through the
cotton sample and results in an apparent higher
micronaire.
As the micronaire is used to calculate the beard
mass (function of optical density and micronaire) for the
strength test, any positive micronaire bias will lead to a
negative HVI strength bias. In addition, the drawing
process is similar in effect to an increase in the brushing
time (or force) on the HVI combs. Taylor has shown the
effect of increasing brushing force on HVI strength
readings. In his experiment two sample preparations
were tested, hand brushing and HVI brushing (harder
brushing than by hand). The results show an increase by
1.9 g/tex when using the HVI brushing device. In our
case, we think that the drawing sliver samples have a
lower optic density (for a given number of fibers in the
comb) than the raw cotton. This results in a lower
calculated mass of the sample to be broken. As the HVI
strength is calculated by dividing the force applied to
break the sample by the
As expected, the AFIS nep counts increase with
passage of the fibers through the opening line. The
Mono- cylinder increases the average nep count by 75,
then the first ERM (operating at 850 rpm) by 136 and the
second ERM (operating at 950 rpm) by 240; that is 451
neps in total. The card removes 540 neps and the
drawing frames have no effect.
Effects of Fibre Preparation on Instnlment Readings 135
The HVI reflectance increases slightly after each

cleaning stage. The drawing seems to also have an effect
on the reflectance readings. This is not due to trash
removal but more likely to an artifact because the
paralleled fibers are not reflecting the light the same way
as the randomly oriented fibers.
The changes in yellowness are quite small but
significant. The most important change is due to the
drawing. This is, as for the reflectance, probably due to
an artifact.
Combed Process
Combing affects AFIS Upper Quartile Length, Mean

Length, Short Fiber Content and HVI Upper Half Mean
Length and Uniformity Ratio. As expected the fiber
length parameters all increase when the cotton is
combed, with the exception of the Short Fiber Content.
The drawing also affects the length parameters; as
discussed bef?re, it is probably an artifact. It is interesting
to note that combing increases the length by 0.006 inch
(minimum noil settings) and that the first drawing
increases it by 0.027, i.e. nearly five times more. The
artifact effect seems to be much more important than the
real mechanical effect. The combing process seems to
have no effect on the fiber diameter. The drawing, as
discussed before, decreases the diameter (artifact). The
HVI micronaire increases when combing is applied,
mainly because the removal of short, weak and immature
fibers during the combing process increases the average
maturity level. As discussed before the drawing has a
positive effect on micronaire (artifact effect).
The HVI strength also increases with combing,

because of the removal of short fibers. The drawing, as
discussed before, increases the apparent HVI strength
(artifact effect).
The AFIS neps are removed during the combing
process as expected (-62% for the minimum noil setting
to -91% for the normal noil setting).
The combing also removes trash and dust. The
decrease in trash is nearly 60% for both types of settings.
The decrease in dust is about 40% for the minimum noil
setting and 60% for the normal noil setting. As these are
removed the HVI reflectance increases as expected and
the yellowness decreases. The drawing effect on both
parameters is an artifact, as discussed before.
High Volume instrument System
The testing of fibres was always of importance to the

spinner. It has been known for a long time that the fibre
characteristics have a decisive impact on the running
behaviour of the production machines, as well as on the
yarn quality and manufacturing costs. In spite of the fact
that fibre characteristics are very important for yarn yarn
proudction, the sample size for testing fibre
characteristics is not big enough. This is due to the
following.
The labour and time involvement for the testing of a
representativesample was too expensive. The results
were often available much too late to take corective
action.
The results often depended on the operator and / or
the instrument, and could therefore not be
considered objective
Effects of Fibre Preparation 011 1I1stnmlent Readings 137
one failed in trying to rationally administer the flood

of the rawmaterial data, to evaluate such data and to
introduce the necessary corrective measures.
Only recently technical achievements have made possible
the development of automatic computer-controlled
testing equipment. With their use, it is possible to quickly
determine the more important fibre characteristics. Recent
developments in HVI technology are the result of
requests made by textile manufacturers for additional
and more precise fibre property information. Worldwide
competitive pressure on product price and product
quality dictates close control of all resources used in the
manufacturing process.
Following are the advantages of HVI testing
the results are practically independent of the operator

the results are based on large volume samples, and
are therefore more significant
the respective fibre data are immediately available
the data are clearly arranged in summerised reports
they make possible the best utilisation of rawmaterial
data
problems as a result of fibre material can be
predicted, and corrective measures instituted before
such problems can occur
Cotton classification does not only mean how fine or
clean, or how long a fibre is, but rather whether it meets
the requirements of the finished product. To be more
precise, the fibre characteristics must be classified
according to a certain sequence of importance with
respect to the end product and the spinning process.
The ability to obtain complete information with

single operator HVI systems further underscores the
economic and useful nature of HVI testing.
Two instrument companies located in the US
manufacture these HVI systems. Both the systems include
instruments to measure micronaire, length, length
uniformity, strength, colour, trash, maturity, sugar
content etc.
Length
The length measure by HVI systems used by the USDA is

called upper-haH-mean length. This is the average or
mean length of the longest one-half of the fibres in the
sample. The spinlab system uses the fibrosampler device
to load the fibres on needles, the motion control system
uses the Specimen Loader to capture the fibres in a pinch
clamp. However the preparation of the length specimen
for both systems includes - combin to straighten and
parallel the fibres, and brushing to remove fibre crimp.
The length measurement is then made by the instrument
scanning along the length of the specimen to determine
the length data.
The insturments are calibrated to to read in staple
length. Length measurements obtained from the
instrument are considerably more repeatable than the
staple length determination by the classer. In one
experiment the instrument repeated the same staple
length determination 44% of the time while the classer
repeated this determination only 29(Yo of the time.
Similarly, the instrument repeated to 1/32" on 76% of the
samples, while the classer agreed on 71% of the samples
to within 1/31".
Effects of Fibre Preparation Oil Instrument Readings 139
The precision of the HVI length measurement has

been improved over the last few years. If we take the
same bale of cotton used in the earlier example and
repeatedly measure length with an HVI system, over
two-thirds of measurements will be in a range of only
about 1/32 nd of an inch: 95% of the individual readings
will be within 1/32nd of an inch of the bale average. In
the 77000 bales tested, the length readings were repeated
within 0.02" on 71% of the bales between laboratories.
Length Uniformity
The HVI system gives an indication of the fibre length

distribution in the bale by use of a length uniformity
index. This uniformity index is obtained by dividing the
mean fibre length by the upper-half-mean length and
expressing the ratio as a percent. A reading of 80% is
considered average length uniformity. Higher numbers
mean better length uniformity and lower numbers poorer
length uniformity. A cotton with a length uniformity
index of 83 and above is considered to have good length
uniformity, a length uniformity inqex below 78 is
considered to show poor length uniformity.
Repeated measurements on a single bale of cotton
show the length uniformity index measurement to have
relatively low precision. About two-thIrds of the
measurements will occur within one unit of length
uniformity; thus a bale with an average length uniformity
index of 80 would have 68% of the readings occuring
between 79 and 81, and 95% of hte readings occuring
between 78 and 82. This does not seem too bad until one
cGnsiders that most US upland cottons will hav(;: a length
uniformity reading between 75 and 85.
Most organizations operate their HVI systems to use

an average of 2 or 4 readings per bale for the length
uniformity index. Using that number tests per bale, the
USDA test of 77000 bales showed that laboratoriesat
different locations agreed 68% of the time to within one
length uniformity index unit.
In some cases low length uniformity has correlated
with high short fibre content. However, in general the
correlations between length uniformity index and short
fibre content have not been very good. One important
reason why the length uniformity index is a not a very
good indicator of the short fibre content has to do with
the fact that the HVI systems do not measure the length
of any fibres shorter than about 4mm.
Another reason for the poor correlations between
length uniformity index and short fibre content is that
the short fibre content is related to staple length while
the length uniformity index is fairly independent of
staple length. As an example, the shorter staple cottons
tend to contain higher amounts of short fibre than the
longer staple cottons. Howeer, many short staple cottons
have length uniformity index readings above 80.
Micronaire
The micronaire reading given by the HVI systems is the

same as has been used in the commercial marketing of
cotton for almost 25 years. The repeatability of the data
and the operator ease of performing the test have been
improved slightly in the HVI micronaire measurement
over the original instruments by elimination of the
requirement of exactly weighing the test specimen. The
micronaire instruments available today use
microcomputers to adjust the reading for a range of test

specimen sizes.
The micronaire reading is considered both precise
and reperable. For example, if we have a bale of cotton
that has an average micronaire of 4.2 and repeatedly test
samples from that bale, over two-thirds of thet
micronaire readings will be between 4.1 and 4.3 and 95
%of the readings between and 4.0 and 4.4. Thus, with
only one or two tests per bale we can get a very precise
measure of the average micronaire of the bale.
This reading is also very repeatable from laboratory
to laboratory. Tn USDA approx 77000 bales were tested
per day in each laboratory, micronaire measurements
made in different laboratories agreed with each other
within 0.1 micronaire units on 77% of the bales.
The reading is influenced by both fibre maturity
and fibre fineness. For a given growing area, the cotton
variety generally sets the fibre fineness, and the
environmental factors control or influence the fibre
maturity. Thus, within a growing area the micronaire
value is usually highly related to the maturity value.
However, on an international scale, it cannot be known
from the micronaire readings alone if cottons with
different micronaire are of different fineness or if they
have different maturity levels.
Strength
The strength measurement made by the HVI systems is

unlike the traditional laboratory measurements of
Pressley and Stelometer in several important ways. First
of all the test specimens are prepared in a very different
manner. In the laboratory method the fibres are selected,
combed and carefully prepared to align them in the jaw

clamps. Each and every fibre spans the entire distance
across the jaw surfaces and the space between the jaws.
In the HVI instruments the fibres are ramdomly
selected and automatically prepared for testing. They are
combed to remove loose fibres and to straighten the
clamped fibres, also brushed to remove crimp before
testing. The mechanization of the specimen preparation
techniques has resulted in a "tapered" specimen where
fibre ends are found in the jaw clamp surfaces as well as
in the space between the jaws.
A second important difference between traditional
laboratory strength measurements and HVI strength
measurements is that in the laboratory measurements the
mass of the broken fibres is determined by weighing the
test specimen. In the HVI systems the mass is determined
by the less direct methods of light absorption and
resistance to air flow. The HVI strength mass
measurement is further complicated by having to
measure the mass at the exact point of breaks on the
tapered specimen.
A third Significant difference between laboratory
and HVI strength measurements is the rate or speed at
which the fibres are broken. The H~ II systems break the
fibres about 10 times faster than the laboratory methods.
Generally HVI grams per tex readings are 1 to 2 units (3
to 5%) hihger in numerical value. In some individual
cases that seem to be related to variety, the differences
can be as much as 6 to 8% higher. This has not caused a
great deal of problems in the US, perhaps because a
precedent was set many years ago when we began
adjusting our Stelometer strength values about 27% to
put them on Presseley level.
Relative to the other HVI measurements, the

strength measurement is less precise. Going back to our
single bale of cotton and doing repeated measurements
on the bale we shall find that 68% of the readings will be
within 1 g/tex of the bale average. So if the bale has an
average strength of 25 g.tex, 68% of the individual
readings will be betweeen 24 and 26 g/tex, and 95%
between 23 and 27 g/tex. Because of this range in the
readings within a single bale, almost all HVI users make
either 2 or 4 tests per bale and average the readings.
When the average readings are repeated within a
laboratory, the averages are repeated to within one
strength unit about 80% of the time. However, when
comparisons are made between laboratories the
agreement on individual bales to within plus or minus 1
g/tex decreases to 55%.This decrease in strength
agreement between laboratories is probably related to the
difficulty of holding a constant relative humidity in the
test labs. Test data indicate that 1% shift in relative
humidity will shift the strength level about 1% . For
example, if the relative humidity in the laboratory
changes 3% ( from 63 to 66%), the strength would
change about 1 g/tex ( from 24 to 25 g/tex)
Colour
The measurement of cotton colour predates the

measurement of micronaire, but because colour has
always been an important component of dasser's grade it
has not received attention as an independent fibre
property. However the measurement of colour was
incorporated into the very early HVI systems as one of
the primary fibre properties.
Determination of cotton colour requires the

measurement of two properties, the grayness and
yellowness of the fibres. The grayness is a measure of the
amount of light reflected from the mass of the fibre. We
call this the reflectance or Rd value. The yellowness is
measured on what we call Hunter's +b scale after the
man who developed it. The other scales that describe
colour space (blue, red, green) are not measured becasue
they are considered relatively constant for cotton.
Returning once again to the measurements on our
single bale, we see that repeated measurements of colour
are in good agreement. For grayness or reflectance
readings, 68% of the readings will be within 0.5 Rd units
of the bale average, and 95% within one Rd unit for the
average.
As for yellowness, over two-thirds of these readings
will be within on-fourth of one +b unit of the average,
and 95% within one-half of one +b unit. The grayness
(Rd) and yellowness (+b) measurements are related to
grade through a colour chart which was developed by a
USDA researcher. The USDA test of 77000 bales showed
the colour readings to be the most repeateable of all data
between laboratories; 87% of the bales repeated within
one grayness(Rd) unit, and 85% repeated within one-half
of one yellowness( +b) unit.
Trash Content
The HVI systems measure trash or non-lint content by

use of video camera to determine the amount of surface
area of the sample that is covered with dark spots. As
the camera scans the surface of the sample, the video
output drops when a dark spot (presumed to be trash) is

encountered. The video signal is processed by a
microcomputer to determine the number of dark spots
encountered (COUNT) and the per cent of the surface
area covered by the dark spots (AREA). The area and
count data are used in an equation to predict the amount
of visible non-lint content as measured on the Shirley
Analyser. The HVI trash data output is a two-digit
number which gives the predicted non-lint content for
that bale. For example, a trash reading of 28 would mean
that the predicted Shirley Analyser visible non-lint
content of that bale would be 2.8%.
While the video trash instruments have been around
for several years, But the data suggest that the prediction
of non-lint content is accurate to about 0.75% non lint,
and that the measurements are repeatable 95% of the
time to within 1% non-lint content.
Short Fiber Content
The measure of short-fiber content (SFC) in Motion

Control's HVI systems is based on the fiber length
distribution throughout the test specimen. It is not the
staple length that is so important but the short fiber
content which is important. It is better to prefer a lower
commercial staple, but with a much lower short-fibre
content.
HVI systems measure length parameters of cotton
samples by the fibrogram technique. The following
assumptions describe the fibrogram sampling process:
The fibrogram sample is taken from some population
of fibres
The probability of sampling a particular fiber is

proportional to its length
A sampled fiber will be held at a random point along
its length
A sampled fiber will project two ends away from the
holding point, such that all of the ends will be
parallel and aligned at the holding point.
All fibers have the same uniform density
The High Volume Instruments also provide empirical
equations of short fibre content based on the results of
cotton produced in the United States in a particular year.
Short Fibre Index = 122.56 - (12.87 x UHM) - (1.22 x
UI)
where UHM - Upper Half Mean Length (inches)
UI - Uniformity Index
Short Fibre Index = 90.34 - (37.47 x SL2) - (0.90 x UR)
Where SL2 - 2.5% Span length (inches)
UR - Uniformity Ratio
In typical fibrogram curve, the horizontal axis represents
the lengths of the ends of sampled fibers. The vertical
axis represents the percent of fiber ends in the fibrogram
having that length or greater.
Measurement of Maturity and Sugar Content
Near infrared analysis provides a fast, safe and easy

means to measure cotton maturity, fineness and sugar
content at HVI speed without the need for time
consuming sample preparation or fiber blending. This
technology is based on the near infrared reflectance
spectroscopy principle in the wavelength range of 750 to

2500 nanometers. Differences of maturity in cotton fibers
are recognized through distinctly different NIR
absorbance spectra. NIR technology also allows for the
measurement of sugar content by separating the
absorbance characteristics of various sugars from the
absorbance of cotton material.
Cotton maturity is the best indicator of potential
dyeing problems in cotton products. Immature fibers do
not absorb dye as well as mature fibers. This results in a
variety of dye-related appearance problems such as barre,
reduced color yield, and white specks. Barre is an
unwanted striped appearance in fabric, and is often a
result of using yarns containing fibres of different
maturity levels.
For dyed yarn, color yield is diminished when
immature fibres are used. White specks are small spots in
the yarn or fabric which do not dye at all. These specks
are usually attributed to neps (tangled clusters of very
immature fibers)
NIR maturity and dye uptake in cotton yarns have
been shown to correlate highly with maturity as
measured by NIR. A correlation of R=0.96 was obtained
for a set of 15 cottons.
In a joint study by ITT and a European research
organization, 45 cottons from four continents were tested
for maturity using the NIR method and (he SHIRLEY
Development Fineness/ Maturity tester(FMT). For these
samples, NIR and FMT maturity correlated very highly.
On 15 cottons from different growth areas of the
USA, NIR maturity was found to correlate with r2 = 0.9
through a method developed by the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA). In this method,

fibres are cross-sectioned and microscopically evaluated.
Sugar Content is a valid indicator of potential
processing problems. Near infrared analysis, because of
its adaptability to HVI, allows for screening of bales prior
to use. The information serves to selected bales to avoid
preparaion of cotton mixes of bales with excessive sugar
content. COTTON STICKINESS consists of two major
causes- honeydew form white flies and aphids and high
level of natural plant sugars. Both are periodic problems
which cause efficiency los.ses in yarn manufacutring
The problems with the randomly distributed
honeydew contamination often results in costly
production interruptions and requires immediate action
often as severe as discontinuing the use of contaminated
cottons.
Natural plant sugars are more evenly distributed
and cause problems of residue build-up, lint
accumulation and roll laps. Quality problems created by
plant sugar stickiness are often more critical in the
spinning process than the honeydew stickiness. Lint
residues which accumulate on machine parts in various
processes will break loose and become part of the fiber
mass resulting in yarn imperfections.
An effective way to control cotton stickiness in
processing is to blend sticky and nonsticky cottons.
Knowing the sugar content of each bale of cotton used in
each mix minimizes day-to-day variations in processif).g
efficiency and products more consistent yarn quality.
Screening the bale inventory for sugar content prior to
processing will allow the selection of mixes with good
processing characteristics while also utilizing the entire
bale inventory.
The relationship between percent sugar content by

NIR analysis and the Perkins method shows an excellent
correlation of r2=0.9S. The amount of reducing material
on cotton fiber in the Perkins method is determined by
comparing the reducing ability of the water extract of the
fiber to that of a standard reducing substance. Using the
NIR method, the amount of reducing sugar in cotton is
measured. The popularity of HVI testing has steadily
gained since the introduction of the technology in the
early 1960s. Timely, valuable information, promotion of
communication, standardisation of measurements,
optimization of processes, development of new products
and cost control are the outstanding benefits of
technology.
7
Length of Cotton Fibres
The l~ngth of cotton fibres is a property of commercial

value as the price is generally based on this character. To
some extent it is true, as other factors being equal, longer
cottons give better spinning performance than shorter
ones. But the length of a cotton is an indefinite quantity,
as the fibres, even in a small random bunch of a cotton,
vary enormously in length. Cotton is the shortest of the
common textile fibers, hence, other things being equal, it
makes the most irregular yarns and fabrics. Accordingly
the market pays a premium for good length. The various
methods of measuring length may be classified according
to whether they
measure the staple length only, or other parameters

work by aligning the fiber ends, e.g comb sorters,
measure only length, or use the tuft for other
measurements, such as strength etc
The importance of fiber length to textile processing is
significant. Longer fibers produce stronger yarns by
Length of Cotton Fibres 151
allowing fibers to twist around each other more times.

Longer fibers can produce finer yams to allow for more
valuable end products. Longer fibers also enable higher
spinning speeds by reducing the amount of twist
necessary to produce yam.
The variability in fiber length can be explained 70-80
percent by genetics , so variety selection is very
important. Fiber elongation begins at bloom and
continues for about 21 days. Moisture stress during the
fiber elongation period will reduce fiber length in all
varieties. Starting with a variety that has better genetic
potential for fiber length win minimize the probability of
producing fiber length in the discount range. Severe
weathering after bolls have opened can reduce fiber
length because more breakage can be expected in the
ginning process. Besides variety, water management and
maintaining good plant-water relations is probably the
most important factor affecting fiber length
Length Uniformity and Short Fiber Content. Length
uniformity is now part of the premium/ discount
valuation of cotton. Short fibers within a process mix of
cotton cannot wrap around each other and contribute
little or nothing to yarn strength. Short fibers are
virtually uncontrolled in the manufacturing process,
indirectly causing product defaults and directly
contributing to higher waste and lower manufacturing
efficiency.
Since short fiber content and length uniformity are
derived from length, they are influenced by the same
factors as length .. Length uniformity can be more
influenced by environment than effective length because
temperature is involved in the regulation of genes, which
cause epidermal cens to differentiate into fibers. Crop
management practices that influence where bolls are

located on the plant can impact short fiber content levels.
Uniform fruit retention patterns encourage better length
uniformity. Disruption to the natural length distribution
is most often caused by mechanical damage, so
maintaining recommended moisture levels at the gin is
important.
Theory of Short Fiber
The original theory of the fibrogram as developed by

Hertel more than fifty years ago has served as the basis
of all subsequent cotton length measurements. :he major
assumptions Hertel made in deriving the theory of the
fibrogram are embodied in the statement "The fiber is to
be selected at random and every point on every fiber is
equally probable." This statement translates to:
A sampled fiber is held at a random point along its
length.
The probability of sampling a particular fiber is
proportional to its length.
Since the longer fibers have a greater probability of being
sampled, this results in the length distribution in the
fiber beard becoming biased toward the longer fibers ..
Using Suter-Webb data and assuming uniform fiber
fineness, it is possible to calculate the distributions for
the length biased samples.
To investigate the validity of the second assumption,
we measured the length distribution of a few fiber
samples in their original forms and of fiber beards made
from these samples. The selected samples for the
experiment were two staple standard cotton samples
(SS28 and SS40). Length measurements were performed

on the samples in their original forms using standard
Suter-Webb Array (SWA) methods and the Advanced
Fiber Information System Length and Diameter module
(AFIS-L/D) made by Zellweger Uster, Inc.
In addition, the AFIS was used to measure the
length distributions of fiber beards prepared using a
model 192 fibrosampler with and without allowing the
beards to pass over the carding section of the
fibrosampler. All AFIS-L/D results are the averages of
three repetitions with three thousands fibers were
measured in each repetition.
A comparison of the Suter-Webb array data and the
AFIS data for the raw stock show good agreement
between the methods with small differences characteristic
of this version of AFIS. Of more importance is a
comparison of the AFIS data between the raw, uncarded
and carded samples. The mean lengths and length
distributions as indicated by the coefficient of variation
are almost identical to those in their original forms. Even
if some fiber damage occurs in the AFIS, the damage
would be very similar for a given sample and allow us to
detect differences in the samples due to the sampling or
carding process.
Since the differences of the length distributions and
the calculated mean lengths between fiber beards and the
original fiber samples are small, this would indicate that
the second assumption should be modified such that
each fiber in the original sample has equal probability to
be caught in forming the fiber beard. This in turn would
indicate fibers are sampled in clumps rather than
individually. Thus the fibrogram theory derived by
Hertel should not be applied to the fiber beards prepared
from the fibrosampler. However, his theory appears to

apply to those fibe'r beards prepared from sliver by using
sliver clamp.
The short fiber algorithm as developed by Zellweger
Uster is based on the assumption that the fibers are
sampled in clumps and integrates the optical response of
the fibers over the width of the lens. The first few length
groups are estimated by the character of the fibrogram in
the form of a quadratic since the HVI is not able to scan
in front of the 0.150 in position. This allows us to
calculate a complete fiber distribution from the
fibrogram, This data is then treated as Suter-Webb data
and various length parameters calculated including short
fiber content.
The cotton set with which the short fiber algorithm
was originally verified at Zellweger Uster includes
international cottons coliected by sales agents from
around the world along with all available ICC cottons.
This set of cottons was tested on two different AFIS
instruments. Suter-Webb tests were performed at
Zellweger Uster and at the University of Tennessee.
The USDA crop samples from 1990 to 1994 were
obtained from Clemson and tested on three HVls. The
entire fiber distribution is obtained. This allows us to
calculate not only short fiber values but also other fiber
length parameters such as the upper quartile length
based on the complete fibrogram rather than a small
section of the fibrogram. The relationship of the upper
quartile length calcuiated from Suter-Webb data.
The USDA, AMS, Cotton Program has been
evaluating two methods for determining short fiber
content using the Zellweger Uster HVI system. The first
method utilizes a short fiber index algorithm, developed
by Zellweger Uster, to derive a fibrogram based short

fiber index measurement. This method has been under
evaluation by the Cotton Program for the past two
classing seasons. The accuracy of the measurement has
improved during this time with the addition of a cotton
calibration routine.
The second method being evaluated utilizes a
prediction model to derive short fiber index from the
HVI measurements of length and uniformity index. This
model was designed to predict the short fiber
measurement provided by the HVI short fiber index
algorithm. Development of the predicted short fiber
index measurement began in early 1998. Final revisions
to the model, followed by a preliminary evaluation were
carried out during the 1998 classing season. Results
indicated a strong correlation between the two HVI short
fiber measurement methods. Overall reproducibility
between HVls, with a tolerance of 1.0, was 75.1% for the
predicted short fiber index measurement compared to
58.7% for the HVI short fiber index algorithm.
Short fiber content is defined as the percentage of
fibers in a sample, by weight, less than one half inch in
length. Direct short fiber content measurements can be
made with methods such as the Suter-Webb Array and
AFIS. Although methods such as these provide useful
information, testing speed is slow and the short fiber
measurement accuracy is questionable. Another option
for obtaining a measurement of short fiber is through the
HVI system.
All HVI length related measurements such as length
and uniformity index are derived from the HVI length
fibrogram. Similarly, information exists in the fibrogram
to provide a measure of a cotton's short fiber content.
The short fiber measurement provided by the HVI is

technically defined as a short fiber index since the HVI is
capable of only an indication of the true short fiber
content. Since many of the short fibers in a sample are
too short to extend from the HVI's specimen holding
clamp into the optical scanning device, a direct short
fiber content measurement is not possible.
HVI Short Fiber Index
The addition of the Zellweger Uster HVI Short Fiber

Index measurement did not require any HVI hardware
modifications. Since this measurement is derived from
the same fibrogram used in the determination of length
and uniformity index measurements, the only change
was the addition of the short fiber algorithm to the HVI's
operating software. The first version of the HVI short
fiber index measurement was evaluated in 1997. This
early version did not use cotton standards as a basis for
calibration. The calibration routine relied on hardware
settings which were not successful in providing a
common level of testing between multiple instruments.
In 1998, a short fiber cotton calibration was
developed and added to the existing strength, length and
uniformity index cotton calibration routine. Short fiber
index values were established on an initial set of
calibration cottons using an AFIS instrument.
Subsequent value establishment on replacement
standards was performed by the Quality Assurance Unit
on HVI's calibrated to the initial set. Results of the 1998
evaluation showed a reduction in level differences in
addition to improved reproducibility between HVI
systems.
Predicted Short Fiber Index
Considerable research has shown the predictability of

short fiber content from HVI measurements of length and
uniformity index. The concept of predicting short fiber
content from the HVI measurements of length and
uniformity index was investigated in 1989. This work
resulted in a first order prediction model known as the
"Zeidman equation." More recent work has shown that
an improved prediction model can be developed with the
help of a second order prediction model. The advantage
of the second order model over the first is the ability to
provide accurate short fiber predictions over a wider
range of fiber lengths.
The Cotton Program began development of a short
fiber prediction equation during the evaluations of the
HVI short fiber index measurement. Several equation
revisions were made as more HVI short fiber index data
was collected. The data used for developing the final
prediction equation came from 31,000 samples tested two
times in 1998 by the Cotton Program's Quality Assurance
check lot program. These samples are representative of
all the major U.S. cotton growing areas and therefore
have a very wide range of fiber lengths and short fiber
contents.
In addition, the data contained the necessary
measurements of HVI length, uniformity index and short
fiber index for development of a prediction equation. In
order to give the proper weighting to the data,' average
short fiber indexes were calculated for every combination
of length and uniformity index. A total of 269
combinations of length and uniformity index along with
the averaged short fiber indexes were computed.
The regression analysis of the combination data set

resulted in an R2 of 0.97 and produced the second order
equation given below:
Z = a + bX + cY + dX2 + eY2 +fXY where
Z = Predicted Short Fiber Index
X = HVI Length
Y = Uniformity Index
a = 384.39664 b = -120.3791 c = -6.700362
d = 12.490109 e = 0.0295697 f = 1.0305676
Applying the equation back to the original data set
resulted in favorable predicted short fiber reproducibility
between the two tests made on each of the 31,000
samples. Reproducibility was 75.1% with a tolerance of
1.0 between the two predicted measurements. A
reproducibility of 58.7% was calculated for the HVI short
fiber index on the same test data. In order to evaluate the
agreement between the predicted and HVI short fiber
index measurements, reproducibility was calculated
within one test of the 31,000 samples. In other words, a
comparison was made between the two short fiber
measurement methods within the same sample
fibrogram. Variability due to between test differences is
therefore eliminated. The resulting reproducibility was
77.5%.
The predicted short fiber measurement provides the
simplest method for obtaining HVI short fiber
information. Obtaining short fiber information is simply a
matter of plugging length and uniformity index
measurements into the equation. Since the short fiber
measurement is derived from these well established
measurements, additional calibration routines and
calibration standards are not required. In addition,

evaluations show that the predicted measurement not
only agree extremely well with the HVI short fiber
measurement, but is also more repeatable.
Any new HVI measurement should provide
meaningful information regarding its subsequent use.
Good progress is being made in the HVI determination
of a cotton's short fiber content. Both of the short fiber
measurement methods presented in this report are
showing their potential. Studies are underway in mill
processing environments to assess the utility value of
short fiber measurements provided by both methods. In
addition, the Cotton Program plans to continue
evaluating and comparing these short fiber measurement
methods during the upcoming classing season.
Fibre length and yarn Quality
The prediction of yarn quality based on the technological

characteristics of the raw material has been improved by
the use of the AFIS. Unfortunately, information about
distributions of fiber properties that are measured by the
AFIS is generally not used. The studies carried out at the
ITC show that the AFIS length distribution is variety
related. In addition, the percentages of both the shortest
and the longest fibers have an important impact on yarn
quality.
During recent years, the Uster AFIS (Advanced Fiber
Information System) has been increasingly used in the
research projects carried out at the International Textile
Center (ITC), Texas Tech University. The prediction of
yarn quality based on the technological characteristics of
the raw material has been improved by the use of the
AFIS. The ITC has shown in the past few months the
value of AFIS measurements such as the short fiber
content or the standard fineness. Unfortunately,
information about distributions of fiber properties that
are measured by the AFIS are generally not used, because
the data are not available in an electronic file. This makes
the use of these data extremely unfriendly. Nevertheless,
we decided to investigate the value of the distribution
information with a focus on the influence of the fiber
length distribution on the yarn quality.
Procedures
First Experiment
Fourteen USDA (United States Department of

Agriculture) standards cottons were used in this first
experiment. The following measurements were
performed on fiber: . AFIS with 5 replications of 3,000
fibers, . Sutter Web Fiber Array with 3 replications per
technician and two technicians, . Peyer AL 101 with 6
replications
Second Experiment
Variety evaluation tests were performed at the ITC

during the 1998-99 crop year. Eighteen U.S. Upland
cotton varieties were represented. Each variety was
grown in three locations and two replicated samples
were taken at each location. Therefore, a total of 108
cotton samples were collected (18 x 3 x 2). The cotton
fibers from each variety were processed through the
Short Staple Spinning Laboratory at the ITC and were
made into both ring-spun (36 and 50 Ne carded, 50 Ne

combed) and rotor-spun yarns (36 Ne carded). The
following measurements were performed on fiber and
yarn:
Fiber Tests:
Zellweger Uster HVI 900A: 4 mike measurements, 4
color-grade measurements, 10 length and strength
measurements.
Zellweger Uster AFIS Multidata: 5 replications of
3,000 fibers
Yarn Tests:
Zellweger Uster Tensorapid: 10 breaks per bobbin
and 10 bobbins
Zellweger Uster UT3: 400 yards per bobbin and 10
bobbins
The printout from the AFIS provides us with a
distribution of the length by weight. The histogram is
built based upon the percentage of fibers in each of the
40 length categories, from 0 to 2.5 inches with an
increment of 1/16th of an inch. In order to get a first
look at the data provided on those 108 cotton samples,
we limited the number of length categories to 10 by
aggregating 4 categories together; therefore, the length
category increment became 0.25 inch.
Third Experiment
Two commercial cotton bales were selected. A very low

amount of ELS cotton was added (2% and 5%) in order to

check if the addition of a very small amount of long
fibers would increase significantly the CSP. The same
measurements used in the second experiment were taken
on the fibers and yams.
Results
The first experiment grew out of an anomaly with AFIS

measurements.
During the past few years, thousands of cotton
samples have been analyzed at the ITC using the AFIS.
Results for most of the cottons indicate a very small
percentage of fibers in the length categories of 2 inches
and longer. We can postulate either that those very long
fibers really exist or that the AFIS over- estimates the
length of the longest fibers. To investigate this, 14 USDA
standard cottons were tested on the AFIS, Sutter Web
Fiber Array and Peyer AL 101. Results showed that the
instruments correlate very well for the shortest fiber
percentages, although the levels are different.
For the very short-staple cotton (staple 26), the
length distributions obtained are very similar.
For the short-staple cotton (staple 32), AFIS and
Peyer are in good agreement, but the Array method tends
to get higher percentages for the longest fibers.
For the medium (staple 35) and long (staple 40)
fibers, the discrepancy between instruments is clear.
Neither the Peyer nor the Array showed any fibers
to the longer than 2 inches, but the AFIS did indicate
some of these for most of the samples. This suggests that
the AFIS tends to over- estimate the length of the longest

fibers.
One hypothesis to explain this result is that the
speed of the fibers passing trough the sensing device is
not constant; i.e., the longer the fiber, the higher the
friction forces for the air-to-fiber interface. This could
lower the speed, resulting in a longer electronic signal.
Given this anomalous result with the AFIS, the question
arises whether it is a useless artifact or if it has predictive
power. This led to the second experiment involving 18
upland varieties grown in 3 locations with 2 field
replications per location. Using the AFIS multidata, for
each length category, defined, an analysis of variance was
done.
The length distribution by weight is variety related;
this implies that breeders could modify the length
distribution. The longest fibers measured with the AFIS,
although a very small percentage of total fibers, are also
variety related. This means that the fibers measured as
too long by the AFIS cannot be dismissed as meaningless.
To investigate further, we calculated the coefficients
of correlation between major yam characteristics and the
percentages of fibers in the different length categories.
For Count Strength Product (CSP), these correlations are
quite similar for all the types of yarns.ring or rotor,
carded or combed.
For the fibers shorter than one inch ele correlation
coefficients are negative in all cases; therefore, the larger
the share of these length categories, the lower the CSP.
For fibers in the 1.00-to-1.25 category the correlation
coefficients are still negative but are near zero. As the
length categories increase above this level, the
correlations become positive and large. The category
longer than 2 inches exhibits the highest positive

correlation of all.
It shows that the AFIS percent of fibers longer than
2 inches is the best length parameter to predict CSP. In
fact, it performs better than the HVI strength and the
AFIS standard fineness. This is even more startling given
that the percentage of fibers longer than 2 inches
averages only 1 percent on the 108 samples tested .
The carded ring spun yarns exhibit very similar
behavior. The length categories giving the best
correlation coefficients with the yarn uniformity are:
[0.00;0.25], [0.25;0.50] and [>2.00], with a positive
correlation for the shorter fibers and a negative
correlation for the longer fibers. Therefore, the higher the
short fiber content, the higher is the yarn CV%; and the
higher the long fiber content, the lower is the yarn CV% ..
The UT3 CV% of the combed ring-spun yarn
exhibits a very good correlation with the percentage of
fibers longer than 2 inches and a quite poor correlation
with the shorter fibers. This is logical because a large
part of the shorter fibers has been removed during the
combing operation.
For the rotor spun yarn, the negative effect on the
yarn uniformity of the shorter fibers is limited. But the
fibers between 1.75 and 2 inches exhibit the highest
correlation with the yarn CV%. The fibers longer than
two inches give a lower correlation, probably because a
part of them (the extremely long fibers) wrap around the
yarn and create imperfections. This is likely related to the
rotor diameter and it will be necessary to test different
rotor diameters to confirm this hypothesis. The third
experiment was done to obtain some confirmation of
effects of the longest fibers on the yarn strength. Using
two commercial bales of Upland cotton, ring-spun 30 Ne

yarns were made. Then very small amounts (2% and 5%)
of ELS cotton fibers were mixed with the Upland cotton
and also ring spun into 30 Ne yarns.
The length distribution data available with the AFIS
appears to contain information that is useful to both the
cotton breeders and the spinners. Since the length
distribution clearly appears to be variety related, it may
provide a new tool for cotton breeders in their efforts to
reduce short fiber content. The causes for the AFIS
measuring some fibers as longer than 2 inches are not
understood; nevertheless, this measurement exhibits the
highest correlation with the yarn esp. For the carded
ring-spun yarns, the shortest fibers and the longest fibers
exhibit the highest correlation with the yarn eV%, the
number of thin places, and the number of thick places.
For the combed ring-spun yarns and the rotor-spun
yarns, the longest fibers exhibit the highest correlation
with the yarn eV%, the thin places, and the thick places.
The correlation coefficients between the different length
categories and the number of neps are generally low. The
shortest and the longest fibers are highly correlated with
the hairiness for all the types of yarns. The shortest fibers
increase hairiness and the longest fibers decrease
hairiness. The three shortest length categories are highly
correlated with increased combing noils.
8
Cotton Stickiness
Stickiness occurs when excessive sugars present on fibers

are transferred to equipment and interfere with
processing. Sugars may be insect- or plant-derived.
Though sugars are ubiquitous in lint, they usually occur
at levels that pose no processing difficulties. This details
the sources and components of problem sugars on
harvested lint, the processing impacts of stickiness, and
strategies for avoiding or mitigating stickiness.
Cottons contaminated with stickiness cause multiple
problems in the spinning mills. The honeydew present on
the cotton lint is able to contaminate all the mechanical
instruments used in the transformation process from
fiber to yarn, i.e. opening,carding, drawing, roving and
spinning operations. These contaminants are mainly
sugar deposits produced either by the cotton plant itself
(physiological sugars) or by the feeding insects
(entomological sugars), the latter being the most common
source of contamination.
Honeydew, when present in sufficient quantity, is
the main source of sugars that can result in sticky lint.
Cotton Stickiness 167
Honeydew is excreted by certain phloem-feeding insects

including such common pests of cotton as aphids and
whiteflies. These insects are capable of transforming
ingested sucrose into over twenty different sugars in
their excreted honeydew. The major sugars in cotton
insect honeydew are trehalulose, melezitose, sucrose,
fructose and glucose.
Another source of stickiness is free plant sugars
sometimes found in immature fibers. Cotton fiber is
largely cellulose that is formed from sugars synthesized
by the plant. Dry, mature cotton fibers contain little free
sugar, while immature cotton fibers contain glucose,
fructose, sucrose, and other sugars. If immature cotton
fiber is subjected to a freeze, complex sugars may be
broken down to release additional simple sugars. Less
commonly, oils released by crushed seed coat fragments
can also result in stickiness. In this case, raffinose is the
characteristic sugar.
Sugars differ in their stickiness. For example,
sucrose, melezitose, and trehalulose are all significantly
stickier when deposited on fiber than are glucose or
fructose. Further, trehalulose-contaminated fiber is
stickier than fiber with an equivalent amount of
melezitose. Mixtures of sugars, such as occur in
honeydew, tend to be stickier than single sugars.
Localized concentration of sugars like honeydew is at
higher risk of causing stickiness than more evenly
distributed sources like plant sugars ..
Sticky cotton can reduce cotton gin output (in bales/
hr) by up to 25%. At the textile mill, excessive wear and
increased maintenance of machinery may occur even
with slightly sticky cotton. In severe instances mill
shutdown with a thorough cleanup is required.
Cotton aphids
Aphids are slow-moving, soft-bodied insects. Adult

cotton aphids are approximately 1/10 of an inch long and
roughly pear shaped. They may possess wings or may be
wingless. Cotton aphids have two color phases: yellowish
or dark green.
The cotton aphid has two projections which arise
from the upper side of the abdomen. These small tubes
are called cornicles and are used to excrete defensive
secretions.
Both the adult and immature stages (called nymphs)
of the cotton aphid have stylet like mouthparts, which
they use to suck juices from the host plant. Consequently,
cotton aphids are sometimes referred to as plant lice
The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii, excretes
honeydew rich in melezitose (ca. 30-40%). Their droplets
(inset, SOX) tend to be larger than those produced by
whiteflies.
Whiteflies, Bemisia spp., also excrete honeydew, but
as trehalulose-rich (ca. 40-50%) droplets (inset, SOX).
Stickiness Measurement
'Stickiness' is the physical process of contaminated lint

adhering to equipment. The degree of stickiness depends
on chemical identity, quantity, and distribution of the
sugars, the ambient conditions during processing-
especially humidity -and the machinery itself. Stickiness
is therefore difficult to measure. Nonetheless, methods
for measuring sugars on fiber have been and are being
developed. These measurements may be correlated with
sticking of contaminated lint to moving machine parts.

The physical and chemical attributes of the lint and
sugars that are correlated with stickiness have been
measured in many ways, each with differing efficiency
and precision.
Reducing-sugar tests
Some textile mills use reducing-sugar tests based on

reduction of the cupric ion to screen for sugar
contamination. These tests are relatively quick and
inexpensive. However, some insect sugars are not
reducing sugars, and some others are measured at
different levels of efficiency by various reducing-sugar
methods.
Thus conventional reducing-sugar tests are best
reserved for screening lint that potentially has high levels
of plant sugars. In these cases and with the potassium
ferricyanide (KFeCN) test, lint with reducing sugar levels
below 0.3% may be processed without difficulty.
High Perfonnance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

identifies and measures both reducing and nonreducing
sugars. The main sugars of insect honeydew, trehalulose
(from whiteflies) and melezitose (from aphids), and of
plant sugars (glucose, fructose & sucrose) are all readily
identified in this test. The benefit of HPLC analysis is the
identification of the source of contamination (whitefly,
aphid, or plant) which may help identify specific
mitigiation measures
170 Textile Technology'
Mincard method
The physical interaction of all sugars on lint with

equipment can be measured by several types of
machines. The primary difficulty with these physical tests
is in standardizing the stickiness measurement. As with
chemical testing, these tests must be correlated with
measures of fiber processing efficiency in order to
interpret the results. One of these tests, the minicard, is a
physical test that measures actual cotton stickiness of the
card web passing between stainless steel delivery rollers
of a miniature carding machine. Modeled after a
production carding machine, the minicard must be run
under strict tolerances. A '0' minicard rating indicates
that no sticking was observed, while progressively higher
numbers (on a 0-3 scale) indicate progressively greater
amounts of sticking during the process. Cottons with
high plant sugar contents evenly distributed along the
fibers may fail to be measured as sticky in this test. The
minicard test is slow and has been replaced as the
international standard by the manual thermodetector.
High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
The Sticky Cotton Thermodetector (SCT) measures the

physical sticking points transferred to aluminum sheets
by a conditioned lint sample that is squeezed and heated
(to 82.5°C for 12 sec.). Levels of stickiness are categorized
according to the number of specks left on the two sheets
of foild.Lower numbers of specks are preferable to
higher numbers; however, a specific threshold over
which all cotton will result in processing problems has
not been defined. The SCT takes about 5 minutes to
process each sample, requires smaller initial investment

costs than the minicard, is more mobile, and its results
correlate well with predicted stickiness from the
minicard.
The High Speed Stickiness Detector (H2SD)
The High Speed Stickiness Detector (H2SD) is a

quicker, automatic version of the thermodetector. The
cotton sample is pressed between a heated (54°C for 30
sec.) and an unheated pressure plate. Sticky points are
counted and point size distribution determined by image-
processing computer software. Plates are automatically
cleaned between samples. The H2SD is able to analyze a
sample in 30 seconds.
Fiber Contamination Tester (FCT)
Like the thermodetector and H2SD, the Fiber

Contamination Tester (FCT) measures physical sticking
points (at 65% RH). The instrument feeds a thin web
between two rollers. Contamination of the rollers
interrupts a laser beam, resulting in a recording. Because
the cleaning and recording is automated, samples may be
processed as quickly as one per 45 seconds.
While there is no reliable infield method for
detection of stickiness predisposition, the insects
responsible for honeydew deposits can be sampled and
populations measured. Not all population levels of
insects lead to sticky lint; however, chronic numbers of
insects, especially during boll opening or an extended
season, can lead to excessive insect sugars that result in
stickiness. In addition, field factors associated with risk of

excessive plant sugars are lateness of the crop, fiber
immaturity, and freezing temperatures before harvest.
Stickiness Control
The most efficient way now to prevent stickiness is by

managing sugar sources in the field. Detailed integrated
pest management plans (see references) for both aphid
and whitefly. These honeydew-producing insects may be
managed by avoiding conditions leading to outbreaks,
carefully sampling pest populations, and using effective
insecticides when populations reach predetermined
thresholds.
The risk of having excessive plant sugars can be
minimized by harvesting mature seed cotton. This may
be accomplished through plant management tactics that
include: early and uniform planting, nitrogen
management according to plant growth and yield goals,
high first-position boll retention, and timely chemical
termination and harvest. If a freeze is imminent and
immature bolls are present, the use of boll-opening
chemicals can greatly dimhish the problem of plant
sugar contamination. All these measures work towards
early harvest, before freezing conditions that contribute
to excess plant sugars.
When field management of sugar sources is
inadequate to prevent excess accumulation of sugars,
mitigation tactics may be necessary to remove excess
sugars from the lint. This mitigation may be achieved
through both natural and managed processes; however,
the specific impact of these processes on stickiness is
variable and may depend on the initial level of
contamination.
Natural processes include weathering, rainfall, and

degradation by microorganisms. Since sugars are water
soluble, rainfall will wash some honeydew from lint. If
sufficient moisture is available, bacteria and molds living
on the plants will decompose many honeydew sugars.
Complex sugars are broken down to simpler sugars, and
the simpler sugars, given sufficient time and moisture,
are further broken down to carbon dioxide and water.
Unfortunately, microbial action also leads to discoloration
and to a weakening of the fibers as well as heating of
cotton in modules that may result in reduced seed
viability and problems in ginning.
Potential in-field mitigation techniques include
supplemental oversprays of enzymes or water. Certain
carbohydrate degrading enzymes when sprayed on sticky
cotton can reduce honeydew to simpler sugars. Microbial
activity on the fibers then further degrades these simpler
sugars, resulting in a significant decrease in fiber
stickiness. However, these enzymes require water for
activity, and metering the proper amount of water for
activity is a problem yet to be solved. In some areas of
the world, overhead and in-canopy irrigation has been
used to remove honeydew from open bolls. The
frequency of this type of irrigation may be more
important than the volume applied. Use of sprinklers has
been limited in the Western United States, where furrow
irrigation is prevalent.
If stickiness is a problem while ginning, the ginning
rate of honeydew contaminated cotton can be increased
by increasing the heat of the drying towers to reduce
humidity. The potential for stickiness can be further
reduced by lint cleaning. Both of these practices,
however, can result in shorter fibers.
Conventional textile lubricants may also be used.

Stickiness due to high levels of plant sugars can be
reduced by storing the cotton for approximately six
months.
However, storage of baled cotton will not
appreciably reduce stickiness from insect sugars. At the
textile mill, stickiness may be managed by blending bales
and by reducing humidity during carding.
A lubricant in fog form may be introduced at the
end of the hopper conveyor, and card crush rolls may be
sprayed sparingly with a lubricant to minimize sticking.
Processing of sticky cotton
In spinning mills, sticky cotton can cause serious

problems. It contaminates the textile machineries like
blow room , card, drawing, roving, and spinning frames.
These contaminants are mainly sugar deposits produced
either by the cotton plant itself (physiological sugars) or
by feeding insects (entomological sugars), the latter being
the most common source of stickiness.
Seventeen mixes having a moderate level of
stickiness were evaluated in both ring and rotor spinning.
High-performance liquid chromatography tests were
performed on residues collected from the textile
machinery to identify the types of sugars present. It was
shown that among the sugars identified on raw fiber,
only trehalulose exhibits higher percentages in the
residues than on the fiber. During the fibers-to-yarn
transformation, the flow of lint is submitted to different
friction forces; consequently, the temperature of some
mechanical elements may increase significantly and affect
the thermal properties of the contaminated lint. After a

sugar becomes sticky, the other sugars present on the
lint, as well as other substances such as dusts, silica, etc.,
will stick to the lint and could cause unevenness in the
flow of lint being drawn, such as lapping up on the rolls,
nep-like structures, and ends-down.
Therefore, the thermal properties of the five sugars
identified on the contaminated fiber and on the residues
collected on the textile equipment were investigated.
Among the sugars tested, trehalulose is the only one
having a low melting point, around 48degre C. In
addition, trehalulose is highly hygroscopic.
After passive conditioning of dehydrated trehalulose
at 65% ± 2% relative humidity and 21 degree C ± 1degree
C for 24 h, the quantity of adsorbed water at eqUilibrium
was found to be approximately 17.5%. This corresponds
to three molecules of water adsorbed for each molecule of
trehalulose. The combination of low melting point and
high hygroscopicity could be the cause of the selective
accumulation of this sugar on the textile equipment.
Stickiness is primarily due to sugar deposits
produced either by the cotton plant itself(physiological
sugars) or by feeding insects(entomological sugars)
.Insects have been documented as the most common
source of contamination in some studies . The analysis of
honeydew from thecotton aphid and cottonwhitefly has
shown that aphid honeydew contains 138.3% melezitose
plus 1.1% trehalulose. whereas whitefly honeydew
contains 43.8%trehalulose plus 16.8% melezitose.
Otherrelative percentages may occur, depending on the
environmental or feeding conditions. Furthermore,
stickiness is related to the type of sugars present on the
lint. The authors showed that trehalulose and sucrose,
bothdisaccharides, were the stickiest sugars when added

to clean cotton, while melezitose(trisaccharide}, glucose,
and fructose (both monosaccharides) were relatively non-
sticky.
Previous investigations wereconducted to elucidate
the factors affecting the behavior of cotton contaminated
with stickiness. In textile mills, the method mainly used
to reduce the impact of stickiness is blending sticky
cotton with non-stickycotton . Stickiness caused by
honeydew depends on the relative humidity, which is a
function of both water content and air temperature, in
which the contaminated cotton is processed.
Stickiness measured with the thermodetector is
dependent on the relative humidity. Sticky cotton (with
1.2% reducing sugarcontent), when stored in high relative
humidity(70degree F, 80% relative humidity, caused
moreproblems during processing than the same
stickycotton stored at low relative humidity 75degree F,
55% relative humidity. However, at low relativehumidity,
the fibers are more rigid and will increase the friction
forces creating static electricity .. Therefore, it will
require more energy to draw the lint.
Stickiness has been reported to cause a build-up of
residues on textile machinery, which may result in
irregularities or excessive yarn breakage. When
processing low to moderately contaminated cotton
blends, residues will slowly build up, decreasing
productivity and quality, and forcing the spinner to
increase the cleaning schedule. Consequently, we decided
to study the origin of the residues collected on the textile
equipment after processing sticky cotton blends with low
to moderate levels of contamination.
Materials and Method
Materials
We selected 12 commercial bales contaminated with

insect honeydew on the basis of their insect sugar
(trehalulose and melezitose) content and their stickiness
as measured with the high-speed stickiness detector . In
addition, five non-sticky bales from one module were
purchased for mixing with the contaminated cotton, so
that alternative stickiness levels in the mixes could be
obtained. The 12 contaminated bales were broken and
layered. Ten samples per bale were taken. Each sample
was tested with a high-volume instrument (Model 900
Automatic, Zellweger Uster, ) and high-performance
liquid chromatography
High-Speed Stickiness Detector
The high-speed stickiness detector is derived from the

sticky cotton thermodetector , which was approved as a
reference test by the International Textile Manufacturers
Federation in 1994 . This thermomechanical method
combines the effect of heat and pressure applied to a
sample of cotton placed between two pieces of aluminum
foil. When the temperature increases, moisture in the
cotton vaporizes and is absorbed by the sticky spots,
making them stick to the foil. The high-speed stickiness
detector is an automated version of the sticky cotton
thermodetector . Three replications were performed on
each sample (10 samples per bale x three replications =
30 readings per bale).
Spinning Trials
Opening, carding, drawing, roving, ring spinning, and
rotor spinning machines used were all industrial
equipment. In the ring spinning trial, the yarns were
spun to a 19.68 x 10-6 kg m-l (19.68-tex or 30 English
number) count. Fourteen spindles were used for each mix
spun, and each mix was run for 72 h. For the open-end
spinning trials, the yarn produced was 26.84 x 10-6 kg m-
1 (26.84-tex or 22 English number); 10 positions were
used, and each mix was run for 20 h.
We ran preliminary tests on ring spinning before
testing the mixes. A 13.6 kg sample of lint from each bale
was carded and drawn. If noticeable problems occurred
at the draw frame, the process was stopped. If not, the
drawing slivers were transformed into roving. If
noticeable problems occurred at the roving frame, the
process was stopped. If not, the roving was transformed
into yarn at the ring spinning frame. If noticeable
problems occurred at the ring spinning frame, the process
was stopped. If not, 45.4 kg of lint was processed for the
large-scale test. If noticeable problems occurred at any
step of the process, the cotton was mixed with 50% non-
sticky cotton and the process was repeated. This
procedure was used for 17 large-scale tests. Four bales
were spun without mixing the lint with the non-sticky
cotton. Four bales were spun after mixing the lint with
50% non-sticky cotton.
Four bales were spun after mixing the lint with 75%
nonsticky cotton. Three bales were spun after mixing the
lint with 87.5% non-sticky cotton. Finally, two baleswere
spun after mixing the lint with 93.75% nonsticky cotton.
Card slivers, flat wastes, draw frame residues, and sticky
deposits collected at the end of each test on the rotor

spinning and ring spinning frames were analyzed by
high-performance liquid chromatography. These tests
quantify the amount of sugars, expressed as a percentage
of total sugars present. In addition, high-speed stickiness
detector measurements were made on card slivers. After
each spinning test was completed, the opening line and
the card were purged by processing a non-contaminated
cotton, then all the equipment was washed with wet
fabric and thoroughly dried.
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography on Sticky

Deposits
Residues on textile equipment were collected using wet

wipes. Each wipe was identified, placed into a. plastic
bag, and frozen. After the spinning trials, sugars were
extracted from the wipes using 20 mL of 18.2- megohm
water. High-performance liquid chromatography tests
were performed following the same procedure used for
the bale samples. Three replications were performed on
each sample. The results for each sugar were expressed
as a percentage of total sugars identified.
Dust Test
Dust was collected from 20 rotors after a 4-h run. The

spinning equipment for this test was an Elitex BD200M ,
because it has no auto-cleaning devices to remove dust.
Collected dust was frozen. We extracted the sugars from
the dust using 20 mL of 18.2-megohm water. High-
performance liquid chromatography tests were
performed following the same procedure used for the
bale samples. Three replications were performed on each

sample. The results for each sugar were expressed as a
percentage of total sugars identified.
Water Adsorption
The selected sugars were fructose, glucose, sucrose,

trehalulose, and melezitose. Trehalulose was obtained
from Cornell University; the other sugars were from
Sigma Chemical Company (St. Louis, MO). The sugars
first were dehydrated at room temperature under
vacuum for 48 h. They were weighed immediately in
tightly closed weighing containers in a controlled
atmosphere (65% ± 2% relative humidity, 21degreeC ±
1degreeC. Recorded weight, mO (dry weight), at time, to
= 0, was used for calculation of weight-gain. Since the .
stickiness tests were done at 65% ± 2% relative humidity
and 21degree C ± 1degreeC, the open containers
containing sugar samples were stored at these conditions
and weighed (weight mt) over time until the weight
stabilized (14 wk). The percentage of adsorbed water on
each sugar was then calculated as [(mt - mO)/mO] x 100
and plotted against time.
Differential Scanning Calorimetry
The differential scanning calorimetry technique is widely

used to examine and characterize substances. The
principle of this method is based on measuring the heat
flux between the sample and a reference while the
temperature is rising. The sample and the reference are
deposited into two different pans and heated at the same
rate. In this work, the reference was an empty pan. The
analysis of the differential scanning calorimetry profiles

indicates the thermal properties of the substances being
tested; specific values such as melting point and
decomposition point are obtained. The differential
scanning calorimetry profiles were recorded by heating at
the rate of 5degreeeC min-1 between 25degreeC and
250degreeC.
Scanning Electron Microscope
Following the processing of the 17 mixes, yarn neps were

identified and collected. The samples were mounted in
the stub and coated with a layer of gold by means of
thermal evaporation in a vacuum coating unit. They were
then examined in the scanning electron microscope
using an accelerating voltage of 20 KV.
Sucrose is virtually the only sugar in the phloem sap
of the cotton plant . Insects produce trehalulose and
melezitose by isomerization and polymerization of
sucrose; neither of these sugars occurs in the cotton plant
. Therefore, their presence on cotton lint demonstrates
honeydew contamination. Stickiness can cause a build-up
of residues on the textile machinery, which may result in
irregularities or excessive yarn breakage. When cotton is
very sticky, it cannot be processed through the card;
however, with low to moderate stickiness levels, yarn can
generally be produced. For this reason we decided to
work with mixes having a very moderate level of
stickiness so that residue would build-up slowly on the
textile equipment. Performing the spinning test this way
is more representative of industrial practice. Indeed, a
spinner will not run a very, or even moderately, sticky
blend. Rather, the spinner will mix the sticky cotton in
such a way that no short-term effect will be noticed.

Nevertheless, residues will build up over time and
translate into a slow decrease in productivity and quality,
forcing the spinner to increase the cleaning schedule. In
this chapter, we present only the results of the study on
the composition of residues found on the textile
equipment after processing of sticky cotton blends.
Stickiness caused by honeydew contamination has
been reported to cause residue build-up on textile
machinery, which may cause subsequent irregularities or
yarn breakage. We evaluated 17 mixes having a moderate
level of stickiness. In both ring and rotor spinning,
trehalulose content had the tendency to increase in the
residues collected on the equipment while the other
sugars did not.
The study of the thermal properties of the identified
sugars present on contaminated lint shows that among
the selected sugars, trehalulose has the lowest melting
point 48 degree C . It begins to melt as 'soon as the
temperature starts rising. Therefore, any increase in the
temperature of the textile processing equipment will first
affect trehalulose. In addition, trehalulose is highly
hygroscopic. The combination of high hygroscopicity and
low melting point could explain the higher concentration
of trehalulose in the residues collected on the textile
equipment than on the original fiber.
9
White Specks
The term 'white specks' describes a condition in dyed

cotton fabric where small nep-like forms can be seen as
white or, more accurately, lighter shade specks on the
surface of the finished fabric. This condition can exist in
both woven and knitted goods. White specks are undyed
spots on dyed fabric, and are commonly caused by neps.
According to the American Society for Testing and
Materials, a nep is "a tightly tangled knot-like mass of
unorganized fibers." This is to be differentiated from a
mote, which is another impurity found in cotton
consisting of a seed fragment encompassed by cotton
fibers. Many researchers have studied neps over the
decades, including types, formation, effects, and
solutions.
Watson classified neps into two groups, mechanical
and biological, and observed that mechanical neps are
similar to the classical ASTM definition, where they are
formed from mechanical actions on the fibers. They also
reported that fibers with low micronaire values tend to
form mechanical neps because the fibers are finer and
less mature, and are therefore less rigid. Biological neps

are clumps of very immature fibers that can be found in
seed cotton before mechanical processing has occurred.
They also reported that fibers with low micronaire values
(finer and immature fibers) tend to form mechanical neps
because of the weak, poorly developed, less rigid fibers.
Goynes et al. reported that because of low cellulose
content of the undeveloped, flat, ribbon-like fibers,
clumps of these fibers do not accept dye. Therefore, when
a fabric is dyed, the mechanical and biological neps'
formed by fine or immature fibers create undyed spots in
the finished fabric. These undyed spots are known as
white specks.
Quality of a finished garment is determined by,
among other things, the number of imperfections
contained within the fabric. The more imperfections
found in the cloth, the less value can be added to the
product by the manufacturer. Since uniform surface color
is a desirable aspect for fabrics, the inclusion of white
specks is detrimental to fabric quality. White specks are a
result of neps being included in the raw cotton product
supplied to a processor or result from ensuing
mechanical treatment.
The process of counting neps is very tedious and
time consuming. Since the late 1930s, neps were counted
manually using a back light or a black background. Even
today, neps are being counted manually relying on visual
inspection. The manual counting is not only a time-
consuming process, but also inconsistent and prone to
error because it is very subjective.
Recently, many studies focused on automatic
counting of neps and white specks. The Advanced Fiber
Information System (AFIS) module has been used by
White Specks 185
many researchers to detect and count seed coat neps.

Mor introduced a fiber contamination tester that detects
sticky deposits by an electro-optical device and evaluates
nonsticky parameters such as neps, trash, and seed coat
fragment using an image processing system. Bel-Berger et
al. used three different image processing hardware
systems in analyzing the number and area of white
specks found in dyed fabric. The area of white specks
was calculated in terms of number of pixels.
The white speck counter developed consists of three
major components: an illumination chamber, fabric
transport mechanism, and image processing hardware
and software. The illumination chamber is needed to
provide uniform illumination on the fabric surface by
blocking ambient light and furnishing a consistent light
source.
An aluminum roller is mounted on each side of the
chamber so that a roll of dyed fabric can be mounted on
a roller on one side of the chamber, and transported
through the chamber to the other side onto the second
roller. An image of the fabric is then captured by a black-
and-white camera. Image analysis software counts the
number of white specks in the image and measures the
area of individual white specks.
The appearance of white specks on dyed and
finished fabrics continues to be a sporadic and periodic
problem for dyers, knitters, and spinners. Perhaps the
most troubling aspect of this problem is the fact that its
presence is not usually known until the fabric is dyed
and finished. The severity of the occurrence can range
from barely noticeable to rendering the material useless
as first-quality goods. White specks are not normally
visible in bleached or greige state goods.
186 Textile Tec1tnology
White specks are actually small clusters of immature

fibers (often "fused" together) which lie on the surface of
the dyed fabric. Because these fibers are immature, or-
underdeveloped, their cell walls contain relatively little
cellulosic material. This condition causes the fiber to take
on a very flat and ribbon-like form. It is this flat form
that, when seen on the surface of a dyed fabric, reflects
light more efficiently than the surrounding fibers. This
high reflectivity is perceived by the eye as being lighter
in shade or, in some situations, as white specks.
All cottons (different varieties and bales) contain
some amount of immature fibers. They are a natural
product of the plant's developmental physiology. It is
only when these immature and underdeveloped fibers
reach certain concentrations in a bale, or group of bales,
that the problem of white specks becomes an issue.
Depending on their form and/or concentration level,
immature fibers mayor may not actually produce a white
speck occurrence. This is part of the dilemma facing yarn
manufacturers ... There is no way of absolutely predicting
(or avoiding) a white speck outbreak.
With that said, there are some general rules of
thumb (based on empirical data and actual experience)
that a spinner can follow in order to lower the
probability of producing yarns which contain potential
white specks.
1. For any given growth area and! or variety, higher
micronaire values are less likely than lower
micronaire values for producing white specks.
2. Higher maturity ratios are less likely than lower
maturity ratios for producing white specks.
3. Stripper harvested cottons are more likely to produce
white specks than- spindle picked cottons. This is
White Specks 187
largely due to the tendency of the stripper to harvest

bolls that are not fully mature.
4. Removing more waste through cleaning and carding
(especially under the lickerin and fine openers) can
minimize, or make an unacceptable situation
acceptable. This suggestion should also imply that
the introduction of reclaimed waste is a high risk
activity for introducing white specks.
5. Maintaining a higher nep reduction factor on all
cards can be very effective in minimizing white speck
problems
Problems with white specks can be completely avoided
or eliminated. This is especially true if the concentration
of white speck producing material is high enough, but
even a severe problem can be improved by their
implementation.
The real crux of this very costly and frustrating
situation is that there is no definitive or quantitative
means of identifying, absolutely, the potential for this
problem before it actually appears in dyed fabric. With
all the indicators available to fiber users, none offer the
ability to positively warn of a white speck outbreak. For
this reason, many spinners, knitters, and dyers will
perform sample dyeings on a given lot of yam, which
has been knitted into a small amount of fabric expressly
for that purpose.
Since it should be clear at this point that complete
avoidance is not possible, then it should also follow that
the responsibility for white speck occurrences is very
difficult to assign to one party in the production chain. If
the conditions are shown to be favorable for white specks
to appear, all parties must communicate quickly so that
alternative processing and production decisions can be

made in a timely manner.
Using known white speck containing fabrics for only
bleached whites is one possible recourse. There are also
many dyes that do a better, or worse, job of actually
covering the problem. Dye selection (and shade choices)
alone can prove to be a very effective means of dealing
with this serious issue. Caustification of white speck
infected fabrics has also shown to be quite successful.
There is no one, single best answer to this very
frustrating issue. But, with the understanding and
cooperation of all those involved, there may be found
some fair compromises that could very well turn an
unacceptable situation into one of shared acceptability.
Dyeing imperfections that appear as white specks on
cotton fabrics that have been dyed deep shades are a
major problem in the textile industry. The presence of
these imperfections in raw cotton is not evident since
they only show up after dyeing. Processing through
fabric dyeing results in both time and product losses
when white specks are present. Approaches for
eliminating or minimizing the problem include plant
breeding, changes in growing and harvesting procedures,
and additional finishing during dyeing. None of these
provide immediate cost free solutions.
A method of screening samples for dye defect
potential before processing would allow mills to divert
affected cotton batches to non-problem products. In this
paper, a simple light microscopy process is described for
screening undyed fabrics, yarns, and sliver. This
darkfield procedure discriminates between common fiber
tangle neps that are not dye resistant, and those that
White Specks 189
consist of bundles of extremely thin-walled fibers that

will not dye.
The nature and effect of undyed white defects in
cotton fabrics has been extensively investigated . These
defects have been confirmed to be bundles of extremely
immature (undeveloped) fibers that come in with ginned
cotton, and though some are removed in cleaning
processes many are carried through processing to the
final fabric, and become apparent on dyeing. Processing
can affect apparent size and number of defects. Growing
location and conditions can influence the number of
defective fiber bundles in a harvested lot. Variety also is
responsible for amount of defects in a lot. Breeding
programs caf\ possibly decrease the pre-disposition for
production :"of motes, which in turn produces
undeveloped fibers. Effects of environmental conditions
in open fields are difficult to control.
It is possible to adjust dye formulations for
variations in overall bulk maturity, but it is difficult to
achieve even dyeing when concentrated areas of
undeveloped fibers are present in lots of otherwise
average maturity. Therefore, the most immediate solution
to the problem would seem to be a system for
predetermining presence of large quantities of undyeable
materials. If such tests could be developed for incoming
lots, then those with high speck potential could be
rejected, or at least diverted to non-problem uses.
Detection even at the yarn or pre-dyed fabric level
would at least prevent use of white speck goods for dark
textiles: Therefore, we attempted to develop a method to
"see" white specks in undyed cotton.
Samples used in the study were from a series of
cottons especially grown for white speck studies. They
were grown under irrigated conditions in a field in the

San Joaquin Valley in California, and included a
commercial Delta Upland (DP-90), a Mississippi hybrid
(ST-825), and two Acalas (EA-C 30, early maturing; and
EA-C 32, a Prema). Each sample was available as bale
cotton; sliver, yam, undyed fabric, and dyed fabric. For
microscopical examination, a wide field stereo zoom light
microscope equipped with substage darkfield
illumination was used. Observations were made at 10-
20X magnification. Identified defects were marked, cut
from the sample, and prepared for examination at higher
magnification using a scanning electron microscope
(SEM).
When textile fabrics are examined using surface
lighting with a stereo light microscope, it" is possible to
see the weave of the fabric, outlines of fibers within
yams, and both contamination and fiber defects on the
fabric surface. Contamination defects such as seed coat
fragments, and leaf and bract materials' appear very dark,
and can easily be segregated from fiber defects. One type
of fiber defect consists of individual fibers that have been
tangled with other fibers during processing. These
defects do not normally cause dye defects. Another type
of fiber defect is caused by bundles of undeveloped
fibers. Both of these fiber defects can be seen using
surface lighting. However, it is not possible to distinguish
them as two different types using surface illumination, so
determinations of white speck potential cannot be made
from such opservations.
If the fabrics are examined using dark field lighting,
there is an obvious difference in the two types of fiber
defects. Dark field illumination is accomplished using a
substage lighting system, and a field stop that blocks the
White Specks 191
path of the light beam that normally is projected through

the sample. This system forms a hollow cone of light that
travels around the field stop. A ground glass or filter
system can be used to decrease the intensity of the light.
With small objects scattered on a clear field, the field
appears black, and the sample appears self illuminated
because the light observed is that transmitted to the
objective lens by the sample itself. Thus the nature of the
sample determines the brightness of the object in the
observed field. If samples containing fiber defects are
examined first using surface illumination to show
presence of the defect, then the lighting is switched to
darkfield, an immediate differencev can be seen in the
fabric image.
Yarns appear with bright edges because they are
thinner at the edge, and more light is transmitted.
Differences can also be seen in thick and thin yarns
because of the amount of light that passes through them.
Thick, non-fiber neps (usually plant parts) appear
completely dark, and those containing only thin areas of
seedcoat may appear gold or orange. Of greater
significance, differences can be seen between fiber neps.
Tangled fiber neps blend into the yarn and are hardly
seen, but defects formed from clumped, undeveloped
fibers appear as a shadow on, or in the yarn.
The tangled network of the thin-walled fibers can be
seen. This difference is subtle, and careful observation is
required to become familiar with the differences in
appearance. However, switching back and forth between
surface and darkfield, subsurface lighting shows the
obvious differences in tangled fiber neps and
undeveloped fiber neps. To verify that defects identified
as undeveloped fiber clumps were actually the same
undyeable white defects that were found in dyed fabrics,

the defects identified by dark field microscopy were cut
from the fabric and examined using scanning electron
microscopy.
Results of these examinations showed that all
examined defects were composed of undeveloped fiber
clumps. Although detection of white speck potential of
fabrics is of great significance because it would prevent
dyeing of fabrics that would be unusable, detection of
these defects at earlier stages of processing would be of
even greater value.
Therefore, a procedure was devised for examination
of yarns using darkfield illumination. Yarns are more
difficult to examine at low magnifications than are
fabrics. Even in samples of high white speck content, an
individual defect may only be found once in a 36 inch
length of yarn. Therefore, yarns must be moved rapidly
through the viewing field because a large portion of the
yarn has no defect. This was accomplished by locating a
spindle containing yarn on the left side of the microscope
stage, pulling the yarn across the stage so that it was
visible through the binoculars, and rolling the examined
yarn onto a dowel attached to the right side of the stage.
Turning the dowel pulls yarn from the spindle,
across the stage and reroUs it onto the dowel while the
yarn is being observed. When a defect is detected, that
section of the yarn can be clipped and prepared for
examination by SEM. As with defects found in fabrics,
those cut from yarns and examined by SEM were also
identical to white speck defects on dyed fabrics. Similar
examinations were made on cotton in the sliver form.
Sliver was flattened and thinned so that light could
pass through. A cast aluminum plate with a 2 in2
White Specks 193
opening was placed over the sample to maintain the

proper location of the examined area. Dark defects
detected by darkfield microscopy were removed and
examined by SEM and were shown to be the expected
bundles of undeveloped fibers.
Of the four specifically grown cotton varieties, the
EA-C 32 sample was found to have the highest number
of white defects as shown by image analysis, and EA-C
30 the lowest . In developing the darkfield procedure for
dye defect surveys, these two samples were compared.
Results indicated significantly more defects in the EA-C
32 sample than in the EA-C 30, which is consistent with
data from Image analysis on dyed fabrics. This method
provides a means of determining presence of dye defects
in undyed cotton. Fabrics with high and low defect
counts can be distinguished. However, standardization of
the method would require a sufficient number of samples
from different sources to be examined to determine a
thresh hold level of defects that would make fiber lots
unusable for dark shade dyeing.
10
Fibre Dynamics
Over the last 30 years numerous developments have

taken place with the cotton card. The production rate has
risen by a factor of 5 with the main rotating components
running at significantly higher speeds. Triple taker-in
rollers and modified feed systems are in use, additional
carding segments are fitted for more effective fibre
opening, and improved wire clothing profiles have been
developed for a better carding action.
Advances in electronics have provided much
improved monitoring and process control. Most of these
developments have resulted in enhanced cleaning of
cotton fibres, reduced neppiness of the card web and
better sliver uniformity.
Despite the various improvements made to the card
a commonly held view is that more is known about the
cleaning processes on the card than about the carding
process itself. For instance, modern cards can achieve
an overall cleaning efficiency of 95%. It is well
established that the cleaning efficiency of modern taker-
Fibre Dynamics 195
in systems is a round 30%, that the cylinder/flats action

with the latest wire clothing profiles gives 90% cleaning
efficiency and that effective cleaning is associated with
lower neps in the card web .
However, even though the nep content and the
sliver Uster CV% are used as quality measures of carding
performance they are not satisfactory indicators for
anticipating yarn quality. This is because some fibre
arrangements in the sliver may lead to nep formation and
imperfections during up-stream drafting processes .
In addition to the removal of trash and neps,
important aspects of the carding process in relation to
yarn quality and spinning performance are the degree of
fibre individualisation, the fibre extent and the fibre hook
configurations in the sliver. With regard to these factors,
increased production rate can reduce cardulg quality. It
is therefore of importance that a better understanding is
established of the effect that carding actions have on such
quality parameters, particularly at high production rates.
The most widely accepted view of how fibres are
distributed within the card under steady-state conditions.
Reported studies into the fundamentals of the carding
process have largely been concerned with how the
principal working components of the card affect this
distribution of fibre mass and interact with the mass to
achieve:trash and nep removal from cottons; the
disentangling of the fibre mass into indi';idual fibres,
with minimal fibre breakage; and the alignment of the
fibres to give a sliver suitable for drafting in down
stream processes.
These actions occur at the interface of the card
components within the three zones indicated. This paper
therefore gives a critical review of published research on

the:
mechanisms by which the fibre mass is broken down
into individual fibres,
mechanisms of fibre transfer between the component
parts of the card
effect of the saw-tooth wire geometry on these
actions
Separation and CleaniIlS' .of the Input Fibre Mass
The taker-in has effectively a combing action , which

results in the breakdown of the tufts, consituting the fed
fibre mass, into single fibres and smaller size tufts
(tuflets), and in the liberation of trash particles ejected
from the mass flow by the mote knives positioned below
the taker-in. To effectively breakdown the fibre mass feed
into tuftlets with minimal fibre breakage, the taker-in
wire has to be coarse, with a low number of points per
unit area (4.2 to 6.2 pcm-2) and not too acute an angle of
rake. The objective is to obtain gentle opening of the fibre
mass feed and easy transfer of the tuftlets to the cylinder.
Angles of 800 - 850 are used for short and medium
length cottons to give effective opening and cleaning. For
longer cottons and synthetics, a 900 or negative rake may
be needed to facilitate g-~ntler opening and satisfactory
fibre transfer to prevent lapping of the taker-in .
Fibres, usually very short fibres, which are not
adequately held by the teeth or present in the interspaces
of the clothing are ejected causing fibre loss. However, it
is the mote knives that govern the amount of fibre to
trash (Le. lint) in the extracted waste. Experimenting with
Fibre Dynamics 197
the settings of two mote knives below the taker-in,

Hodgson found that the absence of the knives greatly
increased the lint content with little increase in trash.
With the knives present, the best setting was that which
gave the least waste since increasing the amount of waste
did not improve cleaning. Artzt found that irrespective
of teeth density and tooth angle the waste increased with
taker-in speed but the increase was attributed to higher
lint content.
It is reasona1Jle to assume that the smaller the tuftlet
size and the greater the mass ratio of individual fibres to
tuftlets the better the cleaning effect of the taker-in.
Supanekar and Nerurkar suggest that the takerin breaks
down the fibre feed into tuftlets of various sizes and
mass, conforming to a normal frequency distribution. In
the case of cotton, some tuftlets may consist of only fibres
whilst others will contain seed or trash particles
embedded among the fibres, these tuftlets constituting
the heavier end of the distribution curve. Thus, the mean
of the distribution would depend on the trash content of
the material, as well as on the production rate, the taker-
in speed and the wire clothing specification. However,
the authors did not report any data to support their
ideas.
Little detailed information has yet been published
on the mass variation of tuftlets or on the relative
proportion of discrete fibres to tuftlets resulting from the
combing action of the taker-in. Nittsu using
photographic techniques studied the effect of process
variables on tuftlet size. It was found that the total
number of tuftlets decreases the closer the feed plate
setting, the lower the feed rate, the smaller the steeper
rake of the saw-tooth clothing and the higher the licker-
in speed. Since th licker-in opens the batt into both
tuftlets and individual fibres, a decrease in the total

number of tuftlets suggests an increase in the mass of
individual fibres. Liefeld calculated estimates of the
opened fibre mass at various stages through the
blowroom and gives a value of 50mg for tuftlets on the
taker-in. Mills claims that the calculated optimum
number of fibre per tooth is one, and that this should be
maintained at increased production rates by increasing
the taker-in speed. There is, however, the question of
fibre damage at high taker-in speeds.
Honold and Brown found no fibre damage occurred
at speeds of up to 600 r/min. Krylov reports the absence
of fibre breakage at speeds up to 1,380 r/min, and
Artzt's work shows taker-in speeds to have a negligible
effect on fibre shortening and subsequently on yarn
strength. In all cases cotton fibres of 26.5- 30.2 mm (2.5%
span length) and 3.8 - 4.9 micronaire were processed. The
level of fibre breakage, however, would seem to depend
on production rate and the batt fringe setting to the
licker-in. High production rates achieved by increased
sliver counts and a close setting of the batt fringe result
in significant fibre breakage.No fundamental studies have
been reported on the forces involved in the fibre-wire
interaction of revolvingflat card components. However,
Li and etal report a simulated study of fibre-withdrawal
forces for wool in high-speed roller- clearer cards.
Although impact forces could cause damage , it was
found that card component speeds had no significant
effect on the withdrawal-force, and that fibre
configuration and entanglement were the important
factors.
The importance of producing small size tuftlets is
evident form the various components fitted in the
Fibre Dynamics 199
fibreopening zone on modern short-staple cards. Saw-

tooth wire covered plates, termed combing segments,
fitted below the taker-in or built into the taker-in screen
are claimed to give improved trash removal. Reportedly ,
the stationary flats fitted between the taker-in and the
revolving flats provide extra opening of the tuftlets
transferred to the cylinder from the taker-in. They also
act as a barrier to large, hard, trash particles such as seed
coats, protecting the wire of the revolving flats from
damage, particularly at high cylinder speeds. This
enables finer wire to be used for the revolving flats and
thereby improves the cleaning effect of the interaction
between cylinder and revolving flats. The chances are
also reduced of longer length fibres becoming deeply
embedded in the revolving flats to become part of the flat
strips. These attachments are widely accepted by the
industry as beneficial, particularly at high production
speed. However, there is no published systematic study
of their effectiveness in reducing tuft size, and the effect
of stationary flats on the recycling layer, .Q2, is unknown.
The little information that is available attempts to
illustrate the effectiveness of these components on yarn
quality, but there is no evidence of analytical rigour in
the way the data were obtained.
Fig 3. shows the effect of the combing segment and
the stationary flats on dust deposits in rotor spinning and
on the imperfections in several types of ring spun yarn.
The values for the effect of stationary flats above the
.
doffer, but this will be considered in a later section. It
would appear that the added components in the taker-in
region might well reduce the dust deposit in the rotor,
but the results showing improvements in yarn quality are
not convincing, and in all cases the stationary flats above
the doffer appear the most effective. Leifeld reports that
the cylinder - revolving flats carding action occurs when

the fibre mass delivered to the cylinder is in a highly
opened state.
Tandem cards are said to give a high standard of
carding with low nep and trash levels in the card web.
This is because a uniform web of almost discrete fibres is
fed to the second cylinder of the tandem card and closer
revolving flat settings with higher cylinder speeds can be
used . Single taker-in systems, even with combing
segments and stationary flats, cannot give as high a
degree of opening. However, Leifeld reports that a triple
taker-in system facilitates high taker-in speeds and, fitted
to a single-cylinder card, feeds a uniform web of d;screte
fibres to the cylinder, thereby offering a more cost-
effective process than the tandem card, but no
comparative data for the two types of card are given.
Although it may be reasoned that a triple taker-in action
should improve nep removal, it is of importance to
compare the web qualities with regard to dust and trash
content, the level and type of fibre hooks, and the degree
of fibre parallelism since these greatly influence yarn
quality.
Contradicting the triple taker-in approach, Mills
states that the fibrous material fed to the card should not
be broken down into individual fibres by the taker-in
system. This is because the fibres would remain largely
disoriented with a high proportion of them lying
transversely to the direction of mass flow when
transferred to the cylinder and subsequently to the
revolving flats. This can result in fibre loss during
transfer to the cylinder and an unevenness of the fibre
mass across the cylinder width, causing neps to be
formed and degrading the carding action between the
cylinder and the revolving flats.
Fibre Dynamics 201
It is claimed that good carding requires a thin,

uniformly distributed sheet of well-opened tuftlets fed to
the cylinder from the taker-in. Fujino reports results that
would appear to confirm the view that as the level of
opening increases through faster taker-in speed, the
degree of fibre parallelism on transfer to the cylinder
decreases. The nep level in the card web was, however,
observed to decrease noticeably with increased taker-in
speed. This was attributed to the reduced speed ratio of
the cylinder and taker-in. Artzt found that reducing the
takerin/ cylinder draft ratio from 2.4 to 1.4 caused yarn
imperfections to increase. In contrast to these findings
Harrison states that increasing taker-in speed did not
affect the nep level in the card web, the exception being
for low micronaire cottons. The apparent contradictions
in these results suggest that a better understanding of the
transfer mechanism may be needed which takes into
account fibre properties. Fibre Mass Transfer to Cylinder
Two contrasting views have been reported on the
mechanism of fibre transfer. Oxley suggests that the fibre
mass on the taker-in is ejected between the cylinder wire
and the back plate. Whereas Varga believes that the fibre
mass is stripped from the taker-in in the following way.
In the feed to the card, tufts and fibres lie randomly and
by the action of the taker-in are brought into length-wise
orientation in the direction of the roller rotation. The
trailing ends of newly formed tuftlets protrude above the
taker-in wire and are easily stripped by the cylinder wire
clothing. This implies that the transfer involves a reversal
of the leading and trailing ends of the fibres. Further
orientation and parallelism of the fibre mass is thought to
occur during the transfer onto the cylinder. No
experimental work has been published which specifically
involves a study of the transfer of fibres from the taker-in
to the cylinder. Therefore it has yet to be established

whether at the interface, the cylinder, which has the
faster surface speed, strips the fibre mass with its
clothing or the taker-in, through the action of centrifugal
forces, ejects the tuftlets and single fibres onto the
cylinder, or a combination of both occurs. It is also of
interest to determine if the airflow in the region assists
the fibre mass transfer. Whatever the case, the fibre mass
is likely to be subjected to an uncontrolled drafting effect,
which could introduce irregularities in the mass flow.
In the carding zone, it is the interaction of the fibre
mass and the wire-teeth clothing of cylinder and flats
that fully individualises the fibres and gives parallelism
to the fibre mass flow. In considering how fibres enter
and are individualised in the carding zone, Oxley
suggests that tuftlets are not strongly held on the
cylinder clothing because the tooth angle faces the
direction of cylinder rotation. They are, thus, easily
removed and more firmly held by the opposing teeth of
the ilats. It is therefore assumed that as a flat enters the
carding zone it becomes almost fully loaded with fibres,
the airflow within the region assisting the fibre mass
transfer. Having been stripped of fibre mass, subsequent
following areas of the cylinder wire clothing move past
the fully loaded flat and proceed to comb fibres from the
flat, carrying them towards the doffer. The action of
combing causes the fibres to be hooked around the
cylinder wire points and prevents them from being easily
removed by other flats.
Debar and Watson's experiments of the movement
of radioactive tracer fibres through a miniature card
showed that some fibres caught by the flats were often
only removed by the cylinder-wire clothing after many
revolutions of the cylinder. Varga reports an alternative
Fibre Dynamics 203
view to Oxley's, stating that two types of action occur at

the cylinder-flats interface. First, a carding action where
the upper layer of a tuftlet or a loosely opened fibre
group is caught and held by the flats whilst
simultaneously the bottom layer is sheared away by the
fast moving cylinder surface. This action causes the top
to hang from the flats and to contact subsequent parts of
the cylinder wire surface resulting in the 'second action
which is combing, where the wire clothing of the
cylinder hooks single or a small group of fibres and
combs them from the top layer. A second flat catches the
bottom layer on the cylinder and the actions are repeated.
In this way tuftlets or groups of fibres are separated into
individual fibres.
By making abrupt changes in the colour of the fibre
mass fed to the card, Oxley demonstrated that tuftlets
from the load on a given flat are carried forward by the
cylinder clothing and separated into individual fibres
over a small number of preceding flats, typically 4. It was
concluded that the interchange of fibres between cylinder
and flats does not occur over the full carding zone.
Sengupta ] made measurements of the carding/combing
forces and showed that essentially these actions were on
average confined to the first ten working flats.
A study by Hodgson showed that moving in the
direction of the cylinder rotation, a given flat acquires
two-thirds of its final load directly it comes into position
over the cylinder. The load then increases exponentially
with time, reaching nine-tenths of the final value within
6-8 minutes. Completion of the load takes place slowly
during the remainder of the working time.With flats
moving in the reverse direction the load first increases
rapidly with time and then slows until the flat is about to
leave the working area. Here it encounters the fibre layer
being transported on the cylinder surface from the taker-

in. The flat receives a sudden addition of fibre mass to
become fully loaded, and, in agreement with other results
, the load weighs more than for the forward direction of
motion. Contrary to Oxley's conclusions, it was found
that 30% of the final load on a given flat resulted from
fibre interchange between flats and cylinder over the full
carding zone.
It may be reasoned that the number of flats involved
in separating a tuftlet depends on the tuftlet size, the
mass flow rate and the flat setting. Large tuftlets will be
pressed into the cylinder wire during the carding action,
whereas small tuftlets will be more easily carded and will
remain at the top of the cylinder wire teeth. The larger
the tuftet, the higher the production rate and the closer
the flat settings, the greater the number flats involved in
the separation of a given tuftlet. Bogdan reports that flats
tend to load quickly at the beginning of their cycle of
contact with the cylinder. This, however, is only a partial
loading, since the fibre mass tends to resist more fibres
entering the space but, in the case of cotton, not the leaf
and trash particles present.
Analysis of the trash in cotton flat strips showed
that initially the percentage of trash in a given flat strip is
low and increases slowly during the first 10 minutes of
carding, then remains at almost a constant value. The
final percentage depends on the trash content of the
cotton. For a fixed production rate, the amount of flat
strips was found to be directly proportional to the flat
speed, but provided the speed was such that the working
time was not less than 10 minutes, both the weight and
composition of the flat strips remained approximately
constant. Feil claims that a high degree of air turbulence
exists in the flat/cylinder zone. A combination of
Fibre Dynamics 205
centrifugal forces, mechanical contact with the flat wire

and air turbulence causes the trailing ends of fibres
attached individually to the cylinder clothing to vibrate
and shake loose trash and dust particles. Short fibres
which cannot adequately cling to the cylinder clothing
will also be shaken free, and along with impurities ",
become part of the flat strips.
Fibres that are deeply embedded in the flats, and
cannot be reached by the cylinder wires become flat
strips. For this reason the closeness of the flats setting to
the cylinder is important. It may be assumed that closer
flats/ cylinder setting and faster cylinder speeds will give
more effective carding and combing actions as described
by Varga and thereby improve web quality through
reduced neps and trash. Cylinder diameters vary and
Karasev showed mathematically that for a given
cylinder rotational speed the carding power will be
greater for a larger cylinder diameter with a higher
number of working flats. However, because of lower
mechanical stresses, smaller cylinders can be rotated at
higher speeds than larger cylinders.
The above advantage is therefore reduced the higher
the speed of the smaller cylinder. Artzt studying the
influence of card clothing parameters and cylinder speeds
on yarn imperfections, report that the teeth density of the
flats and cylinder, and the speed of the cylinder must
prevent tuftlets lying within the spiral pitch of the
cylind.er clothing. If this occurs the tuftlets generally
become the thick pJaces in the yarn. It was found that
high teeth densities and low cylinder speeds were as
effective as lower teeth densities and high cylinder speed.
High teeth densities with high cylinder speeds did not
give effective carding, but no reason was reported for
this.
Since the action of the cylinder in this region is to

individualise fibres, the wire clothing on the cylinder has
a steeper rake and a higher point density than the wire
clothing of the flats. Thus, with closer settings and higher
cylinder speeds greater forces may be involved and may
~" result in fibre breakage. However, the work of Li
indicates that the withdrawal forces needed to separate
an entangled fibre mass was largely dependent on the
density of the fibre mass and the contact angle fibres
made with the wire clothing, than on the machine
speeds.
Van Alphen reports that increasing cylinder speed
causes more fibre breakage than increasing taker-in speed
and that this is reflected in the yarn properties. Rotor
yarn tenacity was reduced by up to 5% with increasing
cylinder speeds between 480 -600 r / min. Whereas ring
yarns showed a 5% reduction for speeds between 260 -
380 r/min and 10% at 600 r/min. The higher sensitivity
of ring yarns to fibre breakage was attributed to the
negative effect of short fibres during roller drafting.
Krylov reports that no fibre shortening was observed for
cylinder speeds up to 380 r/min.
It may be reasoned that the smaller the tuftlets and
the more parallel fibres in tuftlets are to the direction of
mass flow the lower the probability of fibre breakage.
Honold attributes fibre damage to the cylinder/flat
interaction and suggested that the degree of damage
depends on the size of the tuftlets entering the working
area; the smaller the tuftlets, the closer the setting that
can be used and the lower the fibre breakage .
Hodgson's work showed fibre length is also an
important factor. For cottons, fibre breakage was only
found to have occurred when the staple length was
greater than 25mm. Increasing the flat speed appears to
Fibre Dynamics 207
have no effect on fibre breakage. However, the amount of

flat strips increased proportionally with the flat speed
and the mean fibre length of the strips increased
significantly. This means that faster flat speeds result in
larger amounts of useable fibre in the waste.
Interestingly, when carding cottons, immature fibres were
not readily found in the flat strips. The coarser rigid
fibres seem more easily retained by the flats. The
effectiveness of the carding and combing actions within
the cylinder/flats area is, inter alia, dependent on the
quantity of fibre mass on the cylinder, and this includes
the recycling layer, Q2. It is of interest therefore to
consider how the Q2 is formed during fibre transfer from
cylinder to doffer, and its importance to the card web
quality.
Varga reports that the action of fibre mass transfer
to the doffer is similar to the transfer at the input to the
cylinder-flats zone. The regions above and below the line
of closest approach of the cylinder to the doffer (i.e. the
setting line) are important to the mechani.sm of fibre
mass transfer and the transfer coefficient, K. The two
regions may be termed the top and bottom co-operation
arcs or top and bottom zones. Simpson claims that
transfer can occur in both zones and that the particular
region in which transfer actually occurs influences the
fibre configuration and the nep level of the card web,
although cylinder-flats action is more important in
reducing neps. Which zone transfer occurs in is
dependent on the cylinder-doffer surface speed ratio, C/
D. For high C/Ds, transfer occurs in the top zone and
results in a larger number of trailing than leading hook
fibres and a low nep level. The reverse occurs when
transfer takes place in the bottom zone owing to lower
C/Ds. Simpson does not however say at what C/D value
transfer changes from one zone to the other. Although

reference is made to other authors who have proposed a
mechanism for fibre transfer in the top zone, no
mechanism or experimental evidence is given to support
the idea of fibre transfer in the bottom zone. Lauber and
Wulfhorst used laser-doppler anemometry and high-
speed cine photography to study fibre behaviour in the
bottom zone, i.e. up tollO mm below the setting line.
Their findings showed no evidence of fibre transfer
within the bottom zone.
Since Morton and Summers' work in 1949 other
researchers have confirmed that the values given in the
five classes of fibre configuration observed in slivers. It is
of interest to note that the hooked lengths are greater for
leading than trailing hooks. Although, the calendar draft
can be used to change the relative proportions, Gosh and
Bhaduri showed that the method of removing the web
from the doffer does not influence the propensity of any
class of configuration. It is the mechanism of transfer that
is seen as principally responsible for the shape fibres
have in the sliver.
Several studies have been reported on the fibre-
mass-transfer mechanism. A number used tracer fibres
with one end of a fibre dyed a different colour from the
other. The reported findings suggest that fibre mass
transfer occurs by fibres acting independently and not as
a web of fibres. Observations showed that prior to
transfer, neariy 70% of fibres on the cylinder had leading
hooks, only 9% had trailing hooks. On transfer the
relative proportions changed. Half the number observed
underwent reversals, with greater than 70% changing
their configurations [e.g. leading hooks becoming trailing
hooks]. Of those that transferred without reversals ca
90% did so with a change of configuration.
Fibre Dynamics 209
Ghosh and Bhaduri report that tracer fibres were

noted generally to go around with the cylinder for
several revolutions before being transferred by the doffer.
On occasions transfer only happened when the cylinder
speed was increased. Debar and Watson's work with
radioactive viscose tracer fibres showed that a fibre on
the cylinder wire passes the doffer up to a maximum 20
times before being removed by the doffer, sometimes
interchanging several times between the cylinder and
flats, during the 20 revolutions on the cylinder. Hodgson
found that cotton fibres make between 10 and 25 cylinder
revolutions before being removed by the doffer. With the
continuity of fibre mass flow through the card, this
means that the doffer web is built up over many cylinder
revolutions and that the recycling layer, Q2, is comprised
of multiple fractional layers of the fibre mass transferred
from taker-in to cylinder during these cylinder
revolutions .
A proposed hypothesis for the mechanism of fibre
transfer. Here the trailing ends of fibres are lifted from
the cylinder surface by centrifugal forces and become
hooked around the teeth of the doffer clothing. The
frictional drag of the doffer clothing eventually removes
these fibre from the cylinder clothing. This mechanism
only explains the formation, without reversal, of trailing
hooks in the doffer web. However, the importance to
fibre transfer of the relative angles and tooth lengths of
the cylinder and doffer is self evident. Baturin developed
equations that showed the importance of tooth angle and
teeth density of the cylinder and doffer wires to the value
of K and thereby Q2. Other investigators have reported
experimental data that verify Baturin's equations. It was
found that the more acute the working angle of the
doffer wire compared to the cylinder wire, the higher the
value of K, and the lower Q2, and that higher teeth

densities on the doffer increased K. These findings would
tend to suggest that the proposed mechanism is a
principal action by which fibres are removed from the
cylinder. However, this mechanism of fibre transfer does
not explain the change of fibre configuration with
reversals and the formation of leading hooks in the doffer
web. It also does not explain how fibres forming the
recycling layer, Q2, are subsequently removed, even
though an input layer of fibre mass is added to Q2 each
time it passes the taker-in.
The above studies did not take account of the degree
of fibre parallelism on the cylinder prior to transfer, nor
the number of fibres per tooth on the cylinder and
consequently the likelihood of fibre interaction during
transfer. Fujino and Itani used a microscopic technique
to observe the orientation of fibres on the cylinder
surface above the taker-in and just before the doffer, and
in the doffer web. They found that fibres showed the
highest degree of parallelism when on the cylinder
surface just above the doffer. The degree of parallelism
decreases on transfer to the doHer, and further·
deteriorates when the web is removed from the doffer to
form the sliver, even though the calendar draft helps to
maintain some degree of parallelism. Grimshaw and
others report the use of fixed flats just before the
cylinder / doffer top transfer zone, to improve fibre
parallelism in the card web.; up to 20% reduction in fibre
hooks and 25% improvement in fibre parallelism were
obtained in the card web, resulting in improved yarn
properties. The fixed flats in this region are more
effective in improving yarn properties compared with the
fixed flats above the taker-in. The action of the flats fitted
above the doffer is not fully understood. It is assumed
Fibre Dynamics 211
that they tend to lift the fibres to the tip of the cylinder
wire for more effective transfer to the doffer, particularly
at high cylinder speed. Lauber and Wolfhorst ,
Kamogawa, report that in this region aerodynamic forces
affect the parallelism of the fibres and the way they are
transferred to the doffer. However, no details are given.
Owing to the higher speed and larger diameter of
the cylinder, it is assumed that during transfer in the top
zone the fibres are more substantially affected by the
flow of air transported with the cylinder's than by the
doffer's wire clothing. High-speed photographs showed
that in the bottom zone the main flow of fibre mass was
with the doffer at close to the doffer speed, even when
the fibres were just below the cylinderdoffer setting line.
However, some fibres were seen to be free of both the
doffer and cylinder and tended to move with the air
currents and eventually with the motion of the cylinder
surface. From the above discussion, it can be seen that
work is still needed to establish a more detailed
understanding of fibre mass transfer between the
cylinder and doffer. The results of such work may also
help in better explaining how fibres remain on the
cylinder to form the recycling layer Q2.
Varga suggests that with fibre transfer in the top
zone, the thicker layer of web on the doffer surface
protrudes above the doffer wire and into the gap setting
between doffer and cylinder. The faster moving cylinder
wire clothing combs through the doffer web and thereby
pulls fibres back onto the cylinder surface. De Swann
showed that fibres can be readily transferred f!."Om the
doffer to the cylinder as well as from cylinder to doffer.
In Hodgson's study, changing cylinder/doffer setting
affected the neppiness of the web but did not affect K,
which seems to contradict Varga's view. Baturin and

Simpson however showed that K will increase if the
region of interaction between the cylinder and doffer is
reduced by decreasing the doffer or the cylinder diameter
and this tend to supports Varga's suggestion for a
combing and robbing action of the cylinder. It is
reasonable to assume that the combing action could lead
to fibres in Class II and IV, but there is still no verified
explanation of how fibres in Classes I, III, and V are
formed, with and without reversals.
Much of the research on the cylinder / doffer
interaction concerns the effect of machine variables on
the size of Q2 (or the operational layer, Qo), on the web
quality and changes to the relative proportions of the
classified configurations, and on ultimately the yarn
quality. Sing and Swani developed a Markovian model
for the carding process in order to determine the
probabilities of fibre transfer between cylinder and flats
and cylinder and doffer, taking into account the recycling
of fibres. It was shown that the times spent by a fibre on
the cylinder, Tr, and in the flats/ cylinder region, Td, are
given by:
Tr = 1 / K and Td = Tr . Pf
Where K = Ql / Qo and Pf = Qf / Qo
Reported values for K would seem to vary between 0.2%

to 20% , depending on doffer and cylinder speeds, on the
relative profiles of the saw-tooth wire clothing, and on
the sliver count. Simpson suggests that fibre properties
are also of importance, in that there is a tendency for low
micronaire cottons to give higher cylinder loading and
for fibres with low shear friction and good compression
recovery to result in higher K values. No physical
Fibre Dynamics 213
explanation is given for these findings and no other

studies are reported on the effect of fibre properties.
Further work is therefore needed in this area.
A popular view is that a low fibre mass entering the
cylinder / flats interface, i.e. a low fibre load on the
cylinder, results in better quality carding. This would
seem to imply that the higher the value of K the better
the carding since less fibre mass is recycling to be added
to the mass transferred from the taker-in. However, there
are several ways of increasing K and not all of them
result in improved carding quality.
Baturin reports an alternative approach to the
above in which the following expression was derived for
the number of cycles, Np, under steady state conditions
that fibres on the cylinder clothing make pass the flats
before being removed by the doffer:
Np =1 + Vc/KVd
Where K is the transfer coefficient
Vc and Vd are cylinder and doffer
surface speeds (m/min).
Since this gives the number of times the recycling fibre

mass is subjected to the carding action, it may be a better
indication than Pf of the importance of Q2. From the
expression, Np decreases when K increases by increasing
doffer speed. Web quality decreases when Np decreases
with doffer speed, even though the cylinder load
decreases and a high number of cylinder teeth per fibre is
obtained. The last two parameters are usually taken as
indicative of good carding. The effect of increased doffer
speed and sliver count on web quality and there is a
consistent trend which suggests that increasing the
production rate by increasing the sliver count, instead of

doffer speed, gives better web quality. With regard to
sliver irregularity, several investigators report theoretical
and experimental studies showing that increasing the
recycling layer, Q2, reduces the short-term irregularity.
Karasev attempted to show experimentally the
importance of Q2 by removing it during carding using a
suction extractor. It was found that without Q2 a large
proportion of tr.e fibre mass transferred from the takerin
became embedded into the empty teeth of the cylinder
clothing. Only the larger tuftlets and groups of individual
fibres would then be subjected to the carding and
combing actions. Hence,. there is a greater chance of small
groups of entangled fibres being removed by the doffer.
Q2 therefore acts as a support to new layers of fibre mass
being transferred form the taker-in, keeping the new fibre
mass at the tips of the cylinder wire teeth and thereby
promoting the interaction of tuftlets with the flats and
cylinder clothing. This idea, however, does not facilitate
an explanation of the mechanism by which fibres leave
the recycling layer to form part of the doffer web, Ql .
Gupta suggest that the rotating cylinder could be
considered as a large centrifuge that would cause fibres,
impurities and seed fragments to migrate to the cylinder
periphery and thereby make contact with the flats
clothing and, presumably, the doffer teeth.
However, no experimental verification of this
hypothesis is reported. Many of the authors have
reported the effect of machine variables on fibre
configurations within the card sliver and several have
related yarn properties to the observed configurations.
Generally it was found that for a fixed sliver count
increasing the carding rate by increasing the doffer
Fibre Dynamics 215
speed, increased the number of minority hooks and

reduced the number of majority hooks, irrespective of
cylinder speed. However, for a given doffer speed,
increased cylinder speed gave the reverse trend for
minority hooks, but no clear trend for majority hooks.
Baturin and Brown showed that increased cylinder speed
decreases cylinder load owing to the effect of centrifugal
forces and Simpson showed that increased cylinder
speed also increased minority hooks and decreased
majority hooks. Bhaudri reports that when the fibres are
forced nearer the surface of the cylinder teeth, either by
increasing the fibre load or increasing the centrifugal
force on the cylinder, the proportion of minority hooks
increases. Simpson found that there was a direct relation
between yarn imperfections and increased occurrence of
minority hooks and that spinning end breakage rates and
yarn imperfection increased with increased card
production speed owing to minority hooks. Gosh and
Simpson found that heavier slivers had fewer minority
hooks. However, the increased draft needed to process
the heavier slivers into yarn led to increased yarn
imperfections.
Conclusions
1. The taker-in action separates the fed fibre mass into

tuftlets and individual fibres. Although it is reported
that the taker-in action gives a normal mass
distribution of tuftlet sizes, this is speculation. Little
research has been reported on the effect of taker-in
parameters, fibre properties and the blowroom
process on tuftlet size distribution and on the relative
proportions of tuftlets to individual fibres.
2. The perceived benefits of combing segments built

into the taker-in under-screen and of stationary flats
fitted before and after the revolving flats are well
known, but only limited experimental findings have
been reported to support the use of these
attachments. There are conflicting views qn the
benefits of triple taker-in systems, concerning
whether the fibre opening by such systems would
give a high misalignment of fibres to the direction of
mass flow during transfer to the cylinder and
degrade the subsequent carding action. A better
understanding is therefore required of the fibre mass
transfer from taker-in to cylinder, since the surface
speed ratio of these components is seen as a key
factor in the proper functioning of high production
cards.
3. The cylinder-flats and cylinder-doffer interactions
have been well researched. Published findings show
that each flat acquires two-thirds of its load at the
beginning of its cycle of contact with the cylinder,
and that separation of a given tuftlet occurs over a
few flats. With regard to clothing parameters and
cylinder speed, high teeth densities and lower
cylinder speeds gave similar results to the converse
arrangement. However, a high teeth density and
cylinder speed did not give effective carding. Results
showed that high cylinder speeds caused more fibre
breakage than hi~h taker-in speed.
4. A high cylinder to doffer speed reduces cylinder
load, gives a higher K value and a better web quality.
Increasing doffer speed was also found to increase K,
but the web quality deteriorated. The reported
mechanism of fibre transfer from cylinder to doffer
Fibre Dynamics 217
does not adequately explain the effect of the

cylinder- doffer speed ratio, or the various reported
changes in fibre configuration during transfer.
Further work is therefore still needed in this area.
11
Roving Frame and Draw Frame
Roving machine is complicated, liable to faults, causes

defects, adds to production costs and delivers a product
that is sensitive in both winding and unwinding. This
machine is forced to use by the spinner for the following
two reasons.
1. Sliver is thick, untwisted strand that tends to be hairy
and to create fly. The draft needed toconvert this is
around 300 to 500. Drafting arrangements of
ringframes are not capable of processing this strand
in a single drafting operation to create a yarn that
meets all the normal demands on such yarns.
2. Drawframe cans represent the worst conceivable
mode of transport and presentation of feed material
tothe ring spinning frame.
TASKS OF ROVING FRAME:
1. Attenuation- drafting the sliver into roving

Roving Frame and Draw Frame 219
2. twisting the drafted strand

3. winding the twisted roving on a bobbin
Fibre to fibre cohesion is less· for combed slivers. Rollers
in the creel can easily create false drafts.
Care must be taken to ensure that the slivers are
passed to the drafting arrangement without disturbance.
Therefore, a perfect drive to the creel rollers is very
important.
The drafting arrangement drafts the material with a
draft between 5 and lS.The delivered strand is too thin to
hold itself together at the exit of the front bottom roller.
Bobbin and flyer are driven separately, so that
winding of the twisted strand is carried out by running
the bobbin at a higher peripheral speed than the flyer.
The bobbin rail is moving up and down
continuously, so that the coils must be wound closely
and parallel to one another to ensure that as much as
material is wound on the bobbin.
Since the diameter of the packages increases with
each layer, the length of the roving per coil also will
increase. Therefore the speed of movement of bobbin rail
must be reduced by a small amount after each completed
layer
Length delivered by the front roller is always
constant. Owing to the increase in the diameter of the
package for every up and down movement, the
peripheral speed of package should keep on changing to I
maintain the same difference in peripheral speeds

between pakcage and flyer.
There are two types of drafting systems.
1. 3/3 drafting system

2. 4/4 drafting system
In general 3/3 drafting system is used, but for higher
draft applications 4/4 drafting system is used.
The draft often has limits not only at the upper limit
(15 to 20), but also at lower limit.
It is around 5 for cotton and 6 for synthetic fibres. If
drafts below these lower limits are attempted, then the
fibre masses to be moved are too large, the drafting
resistance becomes too high and the drafting operation is
difficult to control.
It is advisable to keep the break draft(predarft) as
low as possible, because lower breakdraft always
improves roving evenness.
In general two condensers are used in the drafting
arrangement. The purpose of this condensers is to bring
the fibre strands together. It is difficult to control, Spread
fibre masses in the drafting zone and they cause
unevenness. In addion, a widely spread strand leaving
the drafting arrangement leads to high fly levels and to
high hairiness in the roving. The size of condensers
should be selected according to the volume of the fibre
sliver.
Flyer inserts twist. Each flyer rotaion creates one
turn in the roving. Twist per unit length of roving
depends upon the delivery rate.
Turns per metre = (flyer rpm)/(delivery speed (m/
min»
Higher levels of roving twist, therefore, always
represent production losses in Roving frame and possible
draft problems in the ring spinning machine. But very

low twist levels will cause false drafts and roving breaks
in the roving frame.
Centrifugal tension is created at the bobbin surface
as the layers are being wound and is created by the
rotation of the package. Each coil of roving can be
considered as a high-speed rotating hool of roving on
which centrifugal tension increases with increasing
diameter of the package. centrifugal tension in the roving
is proportional to the square of the winding surface
velocity.In this context, ccentrifugal force acts in such a
manner as to lift the top roving strand from the surface
of the package so that the radial forces within the strand
that hold the fibres together are reduced and the roving
can be stressed to the point of rupture. Breaks of this
type may occur at the winding-on Point of the presser or
in strands that have just been wound on the top surface
of the package. This phenomenon is known as "bobbin-
bursting"
This phenomenon will be prominent if the twist per
inch is less or the spindle speed is extremely high when
the bobbin is big.
Apart from inserting twist, the flyer has to lead the
very sensitive strand from the flyer top to thepackage
without introducing false drafts. Latest flyers have a very
smooth guide tube set into one flyer legand the other
flyer leg serves to balance the flyer. The strand is
completely protected against air flows and the roving is
no longer pressed with considerable force against the
metal of the leg, as it is inthe previous designs. Frictional
resistance is considerably reduced, so that the strand can
be pulled throughwith much less force.
False twisters are used on the flyers to add false

twist when the roving is being twisted between the front
roller and the flyer. Because of this additional twist, the
roving is strongly twisted and this reduces thebreakage
rate. Spinning triangle is also reduced which will reduce
the fibre fly and lap formation on the front bottom roller.
Because of the false twister, the roving becomes
compact which helps to increase the length wound on the
bobbin. This compactness helps to increase the flyer
speed also.
Roving strength is a major factor in determining
winding limitations. It must be high enough for the
fibresto hold together in a cohesive strand and low
enough for satisfactory drafting at the spinning machine.
The factors affecting roving strength are as follows:
• the length, fineness, and parallelisation of fibres
• the amount of twist and compactness of the roving
• the uniformity of twist and linear density.
BUILDER MOTION MACHINE
This device has to perform the following tasks

1. to shift the belt according to the bobbin diameter
increase
2. to reverse the bobbin rail direction at top and bottom
3. to shorten the lift after each layer to form tapered
ends
Shifting of the belt is under the control of the ratchet
wheel. The ratchet wheel is permitted to rotateby a half
tooth. The bobbin diameter increases more or less rapidly

depending upon roving hank. The beltmust be shifted
through corresponding steps. The amount of shifting,
which depends upon the thickness of the roving, is
modified by replacement of the ratchet wheel or by other
gears.If a ratchet wheel with fewer teeth is inserted, then
the belt is shifted through larger steps, i.e. it moves more
rapidly, and vice versa.
To form a package, the layer must be laid next to its
neighbours. For that the lay-on point must continually be
moved. The shift of the winding point is effected by
moving the bobbin rail. This raising and lowering isdone
by rails.5ince the package diamter is steadily increasing,
the lift speed must be reduced by a small amount after
each completed layer.
During winding of a package, the ratchet is rotated
at every change-over. Reversal of the bobbin layer occurs
little earlier for every reversal.This gives a conitnuous
reduction in the lift of the rail. Thus bobbins are built
with taper.
DRAW FRAME
Tasks of Draw frame
1. Through doubling the slivers are made even

2. doubling results in homogenization(blending)
3. through draft fibres get parallelised
4. hooks created in the card are straightened
5. through the suction, intensive dust removal is
achieved
6. autoleveller maintains absolute sliver fineness

Quality of the drawframe sliver determines the yarn
quality. Drawing is the final process of quality
improvement in the spinning mill .
DRAFTING
Drafting is the process of elongating a strand of fibres,

with the intention of orienting the fibres in the direction
of the strand and reducing its linear density.In a roller
drafting system, the strand is passedthrogh a series of
sets of rollers, each successive set rotating at a surface
velocity greater than that of the previous set.
During drafting, the fibres must be moved relative
to each other as uniformly as possible by overcoming the
the cohesive friction. Uniformity implies in this context
that all fibres are controllably rearranged with a shift
relative to each other equal to the degree of draft.
In drawframe, the rollers are so rotated that their
peripheral speed in the throughflow direction increases
fromroller pair to roller pair, then the drawing part of the
fibres, i.e.the draft, takes place. Draft is defined as the
ratio of the delivered length to the feed length or the
ratio of the corresponding peripheral speeds.
Drawing apart of the fibres is effected by fibres
being carried along with the roller surfaces. For this to
occur, the fibres must move with the peripheral speed of
hte rollers. This transfer of the roller speed tothe fibres
represents one of the problems of drafting operation. The
transfer can be effected only byfriction, but the fibre
strand is fairly thick and only its outer layers have
contact with the rollers, and furthermore various, non-
constant forces act on the fibres.

Roller drafting adds irregularities in the strand.Lamb
states that,though an irregularity causing mechanism
does exist in drafting, drafting also actually reduced the
strand irregularities by breaking down the fibre groups.
Drafting is accompanied by doubling on the
drawframe, this offsets the added irregularity.
Variance(sliver out) = Variance(sliver in) +
Variance(added by m/c)
In Statistics, Variance is the square of standard deviation
Two passages of drawing with eight ends creeled
each time would produce a single sliver consisting of 64
ribbons of fibre in close contact with each other.In the
ultimate product, each ribbon may be only a few fibres
thick, and thus the materials of the input slivers are
dispersed by the drawing process. The term doubling is
also used to describe this aspect of drawing
Drafting arrangement is the heart of the drawframe.
The drafting arrangement should be
1. simple
2. stable design with smooth running of rollers
3. able to run at higher speeds and produce high
quality product
4. flexible i.e suitable to process different materials ,
fibre lenths and sliver hanks
5. able to have good fibre control 6.easy to adjust
Roller drafting causes irregularities in the drafted strand
since there is incomplete control of the motionof each
individual fibre or fibre group.
The uniformity of the drafted strand is determined by

l. draft ratio
2. roller settings
3. material characteristics
4. pressure exerted by the top roller
5. hardness of top roller
6. fluting of the bottom rollers
7. distribution of draft between the various drafting
stages
Drafting is affected by the following rawmaterial factors
l. no of fibres in the cross section
2. fibre fineness
3. degree of parellelisation of the fibres
4. compactness of the fibre strand
5. fibre cohesion which depends on
l. surface structure
2. crimp
3. lubrication
4. compression of the strand
5. fibre length
6. twist in the fibre
7. distribution of fibre length
3-over-3 roller drafting arrangements with pressure bar is
widely used in the modern drawframesBigger front
rollers are stable and operated at lower speeds of
revolution, this necessitated pressure bararrangement for

better control of fibres. Some drawframes are with 4-
over-3 drafting arrangement, butstrictly speaking it
behaves like a 3-over-3 drafting system except for the fact
that fourth roller helpsto guide the sliver directly into the
delivery trumpet.
Drafting Wave
Floating fibres are subject to two sets of forces acting in

opposite directions. The more number of fibreswhich are
moving slowly because of the contact with the back
rollers. restrain the floating fibres from accelerating.
The long fibres in contact with the front rollers tend
to accelerate the floating fibres to the higher speed.
As the floating fibres move away from the back
roller, the restraining force by back roller held fibres
reduces, and the front roller influence increases. At some
balance point, a fibre accelerates suddenly from low to
high speed.
This balance point is compounded by the laws of
friction, static friction being higher than dynamic
friction. When onefloating fibre accelerates, the
neighbouring shor fibres suddenly feel one more element
tending to accelrate them and one fewer trying to restrain
them. Thus there may be an avalanche effect which
results in drafting wave.
Auto leveller
Autoleveller is an additional device which is meant for

correcting the linear density variations in the delivered
sliver by changing either the main draft or break draft of

the drafting system, according to the feed variation.
There are two types of Autolevelling systems. They
are
• Open loop system
• closed loop system
Most of the drawframe autolevellers are open loop auto
levellers.
In open loop autolevellers , sensing is done at the
feeding end and the correction is done by changing
either a break draft or main draft of the drafting system.
In closed loop system, sensing is at the delivery side
and correction is done by changing either a break draft or
main draft of the drafting system.
Most of the earlier card autolevellers are closed loop
autolevellers. But the latest cards have sensing at the feed
rollers and as well as at the delivery calender rollers. We
can say , both closed loop and open loop systems are
being used in such autolevellers.
Open loop system is very effective, because the
correction length in open loop system is many fold lower
than closed loop system. But in case of closed loop
system, it is confirmed that the delivered sliver is of
required linear density. In case of openloop system, since
the delivered material is not checked to know whether
the correction has been done or not, Sliver monitor is
fixed to confirm that the delivered sliver has the required
linear density.
Let us discuss about an autoleveller system which is
being used in most successful drawframes like RSB-951,
RSB-D-30 etc. This system is an electronic levelling

system. The major componenets in the system are
• Scanning roller
• signal converter
• levelling CPU
• servo drive(servo motor and servo leveller)
• Differential gear box (Planetary gear box)
Function of the scanning roller is to measure the
variation in the feed material. All slivers fed to the
machine pass thro a pair of scanning rollers. One of the
scanning roller is moveable. These scanning rollers are
loaded either by a spring loading system or a pneumatic
loading system. Pneumatic loading is alwyas better,
because the pressure in kgs will be always
same(consistent), irrespective of the sliver feed variation.
But in the case of spring loaded, the pressure on scanning
rollers may vary depending upon the feed variation.
The variations in sliver mass of the incoming slviers
displace the scanning roller. The distance moved by the
scanning is proportional to the slvier mass fed. This
displacement of scanning rollers are transformed into
volatage by a signal converter and is fed to an Electronic
Levelling processor. With analogue system, electronic
levelling processor is a servo amplifier, but in the case of
digital system, it a CPU.
It is the Electronic Levelling processor which
furnishes the correct target value to the servodrive.(servo
motor and servo leveller).
Delivery speed of the machine and electric signal
values arrived at by the slivers fed are the two important
signals for the correction.
Servo drive takes the information and is converted

in such a way that servomotor RPM and direction is
decided for appropriate correction.
Planetary gearing (Differential gearing) with its
controlled output speed drives the middle and back
roller. i.e. Sliver entry of the drafting system
Because the servo motor RPM and direction varies
according to the feed variation, and the servo motor and
servo leveller generates a control speed of the planetary
gearing, the required change in main draft is
accomplished, compensating for the weight variation of
the sliver fed.
• If the slivers fed are too heavy, the entry speed is
reduced i.e draft increased
• If the slivers fed are too light, the entry speed is
increaed i.e. draft reduced
Delivery speed ( the front roller speed) remains constant
and hence the production remains constant.
Mechanical draft or nominal draft should be selected
properly. Before switching on the auto leveller, gears
should be selected such that, the wrapping average
(linear density of sliver) should be less than plus or
minus 3%.
If the feed variation indicated in the A % display of
sliver fed is continuously showing more than -5% or
+5%, then the mechanical draft selected is not correct.
If the mechanical draft selected is correct, then the
indication in A % display of sliver fed should be between
-5% red lamp and 0% green lamp or +5% red lamp and
0% green lamp. In other words, green lamp(O% variation
indication) should be on atleast for 80% of the running

time.
Atuo leveller is meant for correcting
• continuous long term varition in the fed slvier
• medium term variation
• seldom occuring abnormal variations in the sliver fed
due to deviations in carding and comber
• short term variations in the sliver fed
• variations like comber piecings
Scanning rollers should be selected properly. In some
drawframes like DX7-LT OR DXA7-LT, the scanning
roller is same for all sliver weights and all types of
material. But in case of RSB draw frames, there are
different sizes of scanning rollers. It depends on sliver
weight fed and the type of material processed.
Scanning roller pressure is not a constant. It
depends on the material being used. It is selected so that
minimum A % is achieved in the sliver. For the same
material if the scanning roller pressure is changed, the
linear density of the delivered material will also change.
Hence enough care should be taken so that whenever the
pressure is changed, the wrapping should be checked
and adjusted.
Following are the two important parameters for
Quality Levelling
• Levelling action point ( time of correction)
• Levelling intensity
Both feed variation sensing and correction are being done
when the machine is running (continuous process) at two
different places(i.e sensing is at one place and correction

is at an other place). Hence the calculated correction
should be done on the corresponding defective material.
This is decided by Levelling action Point. The time
required for the defective material to reach teh correction
point should be known and correction should be done at
the right time.
Levellling action point depends upon
• break draft
• main draft roller setting
• delivery speed
Levelling Intensity is to decide the amount of draft
change required to correct feed variation. The correlation
between mass and volume for different fibres is not
same. Therefore the levelling intensity .may be different
for different fibres. Levelling intensity is selected based
on the following trial.
Wrapping of the delivered sliver should be checked
with "n", "n+I", "n-I" sliver at the feeding side. The
sliver weight of the delivered sliver should be same for
all the three combinations or should be the minimum.
This can be cheked if the sliver is checked at UT
3(uster)or premier tester 7000 for mass varia tons ( U%).
If Levelling correction point and levelling intensity is
selected properly, then the cuI length C.V% of I meter
will be less than 0.5, if the sliver is tested in UT-3
instrument.
Advantages of Autoleveller
• All variations are corrected

• Count C.V.% will be consistent and good, hence the

yarn will be suitable for knitting
• Off counts will be very very less in the yarn, hence
off count cuts will come down drastically in
autoconers
• Thin places in the sliver, hence in the yarn will be
low. Ring frame breaks will come down, hence
• pneumfil waste will be less
• fluff in the department will be less, therefore uster
cuts will be less
• fabric quality will be good because of lower number
of fluff in the yarn
• labour productivity will be more
• machine productivity will be more
• idle spindles will be less
• RKM C.V.% will be low, because of low number of
thin places.
Workability in warping and weaving will be good,
because of less number of thin places and lower end
breaks in spinning and winding. Production calculated
will be more accurate in autoleveller drawframe
compared to non autolevller drawframe.
Variation in Blend percentage will be very less, if
both the components are autolevelled before blending,
hence fabric appearance after dyeing will be excellent. As
long as the autolevelling system is set properly and all
the components are working properly, the above said
benefits can be achieved. Otherwise, the negative impact
will be very big compared to working without
autoleveller.
12
Metallic Card Clothing
As Carding machine design improved in 1950's and 60's,

it became apparent that card clothing was a limiting
factor.Much time and effort was spent in the
development of metallic card clothing.
- There are two rules of carding
1. The fibre must enter the carding machine, be
efficiently carded and taken from it in as little
time as possible
2. The fibre must be under control from entry to exit
Control of fibres in a carding machine is the
responsibilitgy of the card clothing
Following are the five types of clothings used in a
Carding machine
1. Cylinder wire
2. Doffer wire
3. Flat tops
4. Licker-in wire
Metallic Card Clothing 235
5. Stationary flats
Cylinder Wire
The main parameters of CYLINDER Card clothing

1. Tooth depth
2. Carding angle
3. Rib width
4. Wire height
5. Tooth pitch
6. Tooth point dimensions
- Tooth depth
1. Shallowness of tooth depth reduces fibre loading
and holds the fibre on the cylinder in the ideal
position under the carding action of the tops. The
space a fibre needs within the cylinder wire
depends upon its Micronairel denier value and
staple length. ould have to be reduced.
2. The recent cylinder wires have a profile called
"NO SPACE FOR LOADING PROFILE"(NSL).
With this new profile, the tooth depth is
shallower than the standard one and the overall
wire height is reudced to 2mm , which eliminates
the free blade in the wire. This free blade is
responsible for fibre loading.
Once the fibre lodges betweent the free blade of two
adjacent teeth it is difficult to remove it.Inorder to
eliminate the free blade, the wire is made with a larger
rib Width
- Front angle
1. Front angle not only affects the carding action but
controls the lift of the fibre under the action of
centrifugal force. The higher the cylinder speed,
the lower the angle for a given fibre. Different
fibres have different co-efficients of friction values
which also determine the front angle of the wire.
2. If the front angle is more, then it is insufficient to
overcome the centrifugal lift of the fibre created
by cylinder speed. Therefore the fibre control is
lost, this will result in increasing flat waste and
more neps in the sliver.
3. If the front angle is less, then it will hold the
fibres and create excessive recyling within the
carding machine with resulting overcarding and
therefore increased fibre damage and nep
generation.
4. Lack of parallelisation, fibre damage, nep
generation, more flat waste etc. etc., are all
consequences of the wrong choice of front angle.
- Tooth pitch
1. Each fibre has a linear density determined by its
diameter to length ratio. Fine fibres and long
fibres necessitates more control during the carding
process. This control is obtained by selecting the
tooth pitch which gives the correct contact ratio of
the number of teeth to fibre length.
2. Exceptionally short fibres too require more
control, in this case , it is not because of the
stiffness but because it is more difficult to
parallelise the fibres with an open tooth pitch
giving a low contact ratio.
- Rib thickness
1. The rib thickness of the cylinder wire controls the
carding "front" and thus the carding power.
Generally the finer the fibre, the finer the rib
width. The number of points across the carding
machine is determined by the carding machine's
design, production rate and the fibre dimensions.
General trend is towards finer rib thicknesses,
especially for high and very low production
machines.
2. Rib thickness should be selected properly, if there
are too many wire points across the machine for a
given cylinder speed, production rate and fibre
fineness, "BLOCKAGE" takes place with
disastrous results from the point of view of
carding quality. In such cases, either the cylinder
speed has to be increased or most likely the
production rate has to be reduced to improve the
sliver quality
- Point population
The population of a wire is the product of the rib
thickness and tooth pitch per unit area. The general rule
higher populations for higher production rates, but it is
not true always. It depends upon other factors like
production rate, fineness, frictional properties etc.
- Tooth point
The tooth point is important from a fibre penetration
point of view. It also affects the maintenance and
consistency of performance. Most of the recent cylinder
wires have the smallest land or cut-to-point. Sharp points
penetrate the fibre more easily and thus reduce friction,
which in tum reduces wear on the wire and extends wire
life.
- Blade thickness
Blade thickness affects the fibre penetration. The blade
thickness is limited by practical considerations,but the
finer the blade the better the penetration of fibres. Wires
with thin blade thickness penetrate the more easily and
thus reduce friction, which in turn reduces wear on the
wire and extends wire life.
- Back angle
A lower back angle reduces fibre loading, but a higher
value of back angle assists fibre penetration. Between the
two extremes is an angle which facilitates both the
reduction in loading and assists fibre penetration and at
the same time gives the tooth sufficient strength to do the
job for which it was designed.
- Hardness of wire
The cylinder wire needs to be hard at the tip of the tooth
where the carding action takes place.The hardness is
graded from the hard tip to the soft rib. High carbon
alloy steel is used to manufacture a cylinder wire and it
is flame hardened. Rib should not be hardened,
otherwise, it will lead to mounting problems.
The design or type of clothing, selected for the fibre
to be carded is important,but it is fair to state that
within reason, an incorrect design of clothing in
perfect condition can give acceptable carding quality
whereas a correct clothing design in poor condition
will never give acceptable carding quality.
There is no doubt that the condition of the clothings is
the most important single factor affecting quality at high
rates of production. Wire condition and selection of wire
are considered to be the two most important factors
which influence the performance of modern high

production carding machines.
The condition of the clothing may be defined as the
collective ability of the individual teeth of the
clothing to hold on to the fibre against the opposing
carding force exerted by other teeth acting in the
carding direction. For a given design of clothing the
condition of the teeth determines the maximum
acceptable production rate that can be achieved at the
card.
The speed of the main cylinder of card provides the
dynamic force required to work on separating the
fibres fed to the card but it is the ability of the
carding teeth on the cylinder to carry the fibre
forward against the opposing force offered by the
teeth of the tops which determines the performance
of the card. Increasing cylinder speed increases the
dynamic forces acting upon the carding teeth and
thus the condition of teeth becomes more important
with increased speed.If the condition and design of
the cylinder wire is poor, the teeth will not be able to
hold onto the fibre through the carding zone, thus
allowing some of the freed fibre to roll itself into nep.
DoHer Wire
1. The doffer is a collector and it needs to have a sharp

tooth to pickup the condensed mass of fibres
circulating on the cylinder. It also requires sufficient
space between the teeth to be efficient in fibre
transfer from the cylinder, consistent in the transfer
rate and capable of holding the fibre under control
until the doffer's stripping motion takes control.
2. A standard doffer wire has an overall height of

approx. 4.0 rnm to facilitate the deeper tooth which
must have sufficient capacity to collect all the fibre
being transferred from the cylinder to meet
production requirements. Heavier webs require a
deeper doffer tooth with additional collecting
capacity to hanndle the increased fibre mass.
3. The doffer wire's front angle plays a very important
part in releasing the fibre from the cylinder wire's
influence. A smaller angle has a better chance of
enabling the doffer wire's teeth to find their way
under the fibres and to secure the fibre's release from
the cylinder with greater efficiency. A 60 degree front
angle for Doffer has been found to give the optimum
performance under normal carding conditions. Too
small an angle results in cloudy web and uneven
sliver whilst too large an. angle results in fibre
recirculation and nep generation.
4. Having collected the fibre, it is important for the
doffer to retain it until it is stripped in a controlled
manner by the doffer stripping motion. The tooth
depth, tooth pitch and rib width combine to create
the space available for fibre retention within the
doffer wire. Thus they directly influence the
collecting capacity. If the space is insufficient, fibre
will fill the space and any surplus fibre will be
rejected. When the surplus fibre is left to recirculate
on the cylinder, cylinder loading can take place.
Unacceptable nep levels and fibre damage will also
result. In severe cases pilling of the fibre will take
place.
5. The point of the doffer wire normally has a small
land which helps to strengthn the tooth. The
extremely small land of around 0.05 mm ensures that

the doffer wire height is consistent, has no adverse
effect on fibre penetration and is considred essential
for efficient fibre transfer from the cylinder. The land
has micropscopic striations which are created during
manufacturing or grinding. The striations help to
collect the fibres from the cylinder and keep them
under control during the doffing process.
6. It has been found that a cut-to-point doffer wire
penetrates the fibre better than does the landed point
wire but is less likely to keep the fibre under control
during the doffing process. Sometimes a cut-to-point
doffer wire is accompanied by striations along one
side of the tooth for this reason.
Until recently 0.9mm rib thickness is standardised for
doffer wire, regardless of production and fibre
characteristics.This rib thickness has been found to give
optimum results. However doffer wires with a 0.8mm rib
thickness have been introduced for applications involving
finer fibres.
7. In general 300 to 400 PPSI(points per square inch) has
been found to perform extremely well under most
conditions. Doffer wire point population is limited by
the wire angle and tooth geometry. Higher
population for doffer does not help in improving the
fibre transfer.
8. As the production rate rises, the doffer speed also
increases. The doffer is also influenced by the
centrifugal force, as is the cylinder. But cylinder wire
front angle can become closer to counter the effect of
centrifugal force, to close the front angle on a doffer
wire would reduce its collecting capacity and result
in a lowering of the production rate. The solution is
to .use the wire with striations, which will hold the

fibre until the doffer is stripped.
9. The hardness of the doffer wire is a degree lower
than that of the cylinder but sufficiently hard to
withstand the forces generated in doffing and the
resultant wear of the wire. The reason for this slightly
lower hardness requirement is the longer and
slimmer tooth form of the differ wire.
10. The fibres which are not able to enter the wire will
lay on top, i.e.completely out of control. There fore
instead of being carded by the tops the fibres will be
rolled. Similarly a fibre buried too deep within the
cylinder wire will load the cylinder with fibre,
weaken the carding action and limit the quantity of
new fibres the cylinder can accept. Therefore, the
production rate would have to be reduced.
Licker-in Wire
Licker-in with its comparatively small surface area

and small number of carding teeth, suffers the
hardest wear of all in opening the tangled mass of
material fed to it.
Successful action of the Licker-in depends upon a
penetrating sharp point rather than a sharp leading
edge as with the cylinder wire. Therefore the licker-in
wire cannot be successfully restored to optimum
performance by grinding.
The most satisfactory system to adopt to ensure
consistent performance is to replace the licker-in
wire at regular intervals before sufficient wear has
taken place to affect carding quality.
The angles most widely used are 5 degrees negative

or 10 degrees.
There is no evidence to suggest recommendation of a
tooth pitch outside the range of 3 to 6 points per
inch.
It is better to use Licker-in roller without groove.

Interlocking wires are used for such type of licker-
ins. This avoids producing the eight precise grooves
and to maintain them throughout its life.
Interlocking wire is almost unbreakable and thus no
threat to the cylinder, tops and doffer in the event of
foreigh bodies entering the machine.
Flat Tops
1. The flat tops are an equal and opposite carding force

to the cylinder wire and it should be sharp, well
maintained and of the correct design.
2. The selection of flexible tops is very much related to
the choice of cylinder wire, which in turn is related
to the cylinder speed, production rate and fibre
charactersitics, as previously stated.
3. The modern top is of the semi-rigid type, having
flexible foundation and sectoral wire. The points are
well backed-off and side-ground co give the
necessary degree of fineness. The strength of the top
from a carding point of view is in the foundation and
is affected by the number of plies and the type of
material used. The position of the bend in the wire is
determined by stress factors, at around 2:1 ratio along
the length of the wire protrusion.
4. The modern top is made from hardened and

tempered wire to increase wear resistance , thus
improving the life of the flat top.
Life of the cylinder wire depends upon
1. Material being processed
2. production rate
3. cylinder speed
4. settings
Wear is the natural and unavoidable side effect of the
work done by the vital leading edge of the metallic
wire tooth in coping with the opposing forces needed
to obtain the carding action which separates fibre
from fibre. When the leading edge becomes rounded
due to wear, there is a loss of carding power because
the point condition has deteriorated to an extent
where the leading edge can no longer hold on to the
fibre against the carding resistance of the flats. This
ultimately leads to fibres becoming rolled into nep
with consequent degradation of carding quality.
Therefore it is important to recognise that, due to the
inevitable wear which takes place during carding,
metallic wire must be reground at regular intervals
with the object of correctly resharpening the leading
edge of each tooth.
Grinding
1. Wire points of cylinder have become finer and the tip

is cut-to-point.Because of this new profile, it has
beccome necessary to recommend a Ii ttle or no
grinding of the cylinder wire following mounting.
TSG grinding machine of GRAF(wire manufacturer)

can be used to sharpen these modern wires. TSG
grinding is a safe method of grinding.
2. Before grinding, the wire should be inspected with a
protable microscope to ascertain the wear. Based on
this and the wire point land width, no of traverse for
TSG grinding should be decided. If the width of the
wire point tip is bigger and the wear out is more, the
number of traverse during grinding should be more.
For a new wire, 3 or 4 traverses may be enough. But it
may require 10 to 30 traverses for the last grinding before
changing the wire, depending upon the maintenance of
the wire.
Grinding a normal cylinder and doffer wire
1. The first grinding of the metallic wire on the cylinder

and doffer is the final and most important step
leading up to providing the card with a cylinder in
the best possible condition for carding well at
maximum produciton rate.Grinding the lands of the
teeth provides the leading edge of each tooth with
the final sharpness reqauired for maximum carding
power.
2. The first grinding should be allowed to continue until
at least eighty percent(for cylinder) and 100% (for
doffer) of the lands of the teeth have been ground
sufficient to sharpen the leading edge of the tooth.
3. To ascertain this stage of grinding, it is necessary to
stop the cylinder regularly and use a simple
microscope to examine the teeth at random across
and round the cylinder.
4. If the wire on the cylinder is of good quality and has

been correctly mounted, the initial grinding period
should be completed with in 20 min.
5. It is essential to avoid over-working the wire before
taking corrective action. The regrinding cycle must be
determined accurately for the conditions applying in
the individual mill, by using the microscope.
6. If regrinding is done properly, there are several

advantages
1. carding quality will remain consistent
2. There is no risk of overworking the wire
3. Time required for regrinding is very short
4. The exact condition of the clothing is known
5. The working life of the wire is likely to be longer
because the points are never allowed to become
worn beyond recovery
6. To obtain acceptable grinding conditions at the
low grinding speed, the grindstone must always
be SHARP, CLEAN and CONCENTRIC. If the
grinding stone is gradually allowed to become
dull and glazed through constant use, the limited
cutting action available will eventually disappear,
resulting in burning and hooking of the carding
teeth.
7. Due to the low peripheral speed of the grindstone
which has to be used, it is most important that the
speed of the wire to be ground is as high as is
practicable to provide a high relative speed
between the grindstone surface and the cardig
teeth'!f wire speed is low, the individual carding

tooth spends too long a time in passing under the
grindstone, thereby increasing the risk of hooking
and burning the tooth, which is usually
irreparable.
8. With cylinder grinding, speed is no problem because

the normal operating speed of the cylinder is more
than sufficient. The speed of the doffer for grinding is
more commonly a problem and this should be driven
at a minimum speed of 250 m/min, to avoid damage
when grinding the wire, the design which is
particularly susceptible to hooking due to the long
fine, low angled teeth needed on the doffer.
9. The directions of rotation for metallic wire grinding
are normally arranged so that the back edge of the
tooth is first to pass under the grindstone. This is
termed grinding "back of point"
Grinding Flat Tops
1. Flat tops provide the opposing carding force against

the cylinder wire and hence can equally effect
carding quality.lt is essential to ensure that the tops
are kept in good condition to maintain maximum
carding power with the cylinder.
2. For cards fitted with regrind able tops, it is good
practice to regrind the flats at regular intervals thus
ensuring that the conditions of the two principal
carding surfaces are always complementary one to
other.
13
Winding
Ring spinning produces yarn in a package form called

cops. Since cops from ringframes are not suitable for
further processing, the winding process serves to achieve
additional objectives made necessary by the requirements
of the subsequent processing stages.
Following are the tasks of winding process:
Extraction of all disturbing yarn faults such as the
short, long thick ,long thin, spinners doubles, etc
Manufacture of cones having good drawing - off
properties and with as long a length of yarn as
possible
Paraffin waxing of the yarn during the winding
process
Introduction into the yarn of a minimum number of
knots
Achievement of a high machine efficiency i.e high
produciton level
Winding 249
The winding process therefore has the basic function

of obtaining a larger package from several small ring
bobbins. This conversion process provides one with the
possibility of cutting out unwanted and problematic
objectionable faults. The process of removing such
objectionable faults is called as yarn ' clearing' .
Practical experience has proven that winding alters
the yarn structure.This phenomenon does not affect yarn
evenness, but affect the following yarn properties
thick places
thin places
neps
hairiness
standard deviation of hairiness
If winding tension is selected properly, the following
tensile properties are not affected:
tenacity
elongation
work- to- break
But excessive tension in winding will deteriarate the
above said tensile properties.
Changes in the yarn surface structure due to
winding cannot be avoided. Since the yarn is accelerated
from zero speed to 1200 or 1350 meters per min in a few
milli seconds while being pulled off the bobbin, dragged
across several deflection bars and eyelets, forced into a
traverse motion at speed that make it invisible, and
finally rolled up into a firm construction called package
or cone.
The factors that affect the yarn structure during

winding include the frictional properties of the yarn
itself, the bobbin geometry and the bobbin unwinding
behaviour, winding speed, winding geometry as well as
the number and design of the yarn / machine contact
points.
However, the bobbin unwinding behaviour is the
major limiting factor for winding speed which also is the
main reason for the above said changes in yarn structure.
Most of the damage occurs at the moment when the end
is detached and removed from the tight assembly of yarn
layers on the bobbin and dragged along the tube at very
high speeds.
High speed automatic winders have frequently been
blamed for causing higher nep counts but this is not a
correct statement. typical nep-type imperfections, i.e shor
mass defects, can be identified as tight fibre
entanglements, clumps of immature or dead cotton fibres,
or seed coat fragments. Naturally, such defects are not
produced by the winding machine. The increase in nep
counts after winding is related to the formation of loose
fiber accumulations. These fibre accumulations represent
a true mass defect, yet their apperance in the yarn and in
the final fabric is clearly different from that of typical
fibre entanglements or seed coat fragments.
Some very fine and delicate yarns will result in
marginal structural changes after winding. But this is not
the result of mechancial stress like in winding but a
natural reaction caused by the reversal of the yarn
running direction. irecrronal influences are omnipresent,
they become apparent in all subsequent processing
stages.
Winding 251
In earlier days, knotters were used in winding

machine to join two ends after cutting the fault and after
chaning the ringframe bobbin . But now , splicing of the
yarn ends has become quite popular and has gradually
replaced knotting by way of its better appearance while
at the same time retaining sufficient strength.
Waxing Process
Waxing is the process which is almost exclusively used in

all automatic and manual winding machines for yarns
which are meant for knitting. This helps to reduce the
coefficient of friction of yarns created during knitting
process.
Extensive tests have shown that the coefficient of
friction of waxed yarn is not constant, but depends on
the amount of wax on the yarn. It is proved that both too
little and too much wax cause increase in coefficient of
friction and thus detrioration in running efficiency on the
knitting machine.
The recommended wax pick up for different
material are given below:
Cotton and its blends - wax take-up of 1.0 to 2.0
grams per kg of yarn II.synthetics - wax take-up of 0.5 to
1.5 gram per kg of yarn lII.wool and its blends - wax
takep-up of 2.0 to 3.0 grams per kg
From the technical point of view, it is interesting to
note that very small amounts of wax are already
sufficient to give an optimal reduction in friction
coefficient. If for example, we take 1 kg of 50s metric
yarn, there are 50000 meters of yarn. It is quite sufficient
to apply 1 gm of wax on this length of yarn, to obtain
optimum reduction in friction.
•
As the original coefficients of friction of non-waxed
yarns are so varied, due to different raw materials and
blends, dye-stuffs, additives, twist etc, so also are the
values obtained with waxed yarns. The table shows
several typical examples of coefficient of friction for
unwaxed and waxed yarns.
Absolute comments about coefficients of friction are
not possible. It depends on several factors, such as type
of material, count, twist, dyeing process, yarn moisture
content, atmospheric conditions etc.
Kind of yarn count (Metric) friction coefficient of
unwaxed yarnfriction coefficienr of waxed
yarnpercentage of friction coefficient decrease % cotton,
50s combed 0.2850.14549 cotton, 40 bleachd cbd
0.300.1453 wool, 36s natural 0.330.15553 wool,36s dyed
0.320.15552 polyester 40s white 0.420.2150
Even with efficient waxing , the results in knitting
can still be adversely affected, if the package of waxed
yarn is subsequently handled. A typical example is
conditioning of waxed packages. The conditioning
causes an increase in friction coefficient, and thus a
deterioration in running properties. Therefore one
should not condition waxed packages. An increase in
moisture content causes an increase in friction coefficient.
If too-damp bobbins are creeled at the winding
machine, poor waxing results, because yarns with high
moisture content take up hardly any wax. If bobbins have
to be conditioned or steamed, the yarn should be allowed
to stand for atleast 24 hours, so that it can return to its
normal condition before winding.
A further problem can arise during steaming, or any
other treatment involving the application of heat to a
waxed package.
Winding
Low yarn tension will affect the wax pickup.

253 \
Dimensions and form of wax rollers will affect the wax
uniformity
As it is clear and is important that, if the waxed
particles are to carry out their function, they must remain
on the surface of the yarn. When the yarn is subjected to
heat however, the wax melts and penetrates to the inside
of the yarn body: it can then no longer work effectively.
When choosing the wax, it is essential to consider
the type of yarn and fibre, the temperature in the
production area, etc., and the characteristics indicated by
the wax manufacturer
Yarn faults and clearing
Each yarn contains, here and there, places which deviate

to quite a considerable extent from the normal yarn corss-
section. These can be short thick places, long thin places
, long thick places or even spinners doubles. Eventhough
such events seldom occur, they represent a potential
disturbance in the appearance of the fabric or can
negatively influnece subsequent processing of the yarn.
Short thick places are those faults which are not
longer than approximately 8 cms, but have a cross-
sectional size approx. twice that of the yarn. These faults
are relatively frequent in all spun yarns. To an extent
they are the result of the rawmaterial ( vegetable matter,
non-seprated fibres, etc). To a much larger extent, these
faults are produced in the spinning section of the mill
and are the result of spun in fly. Short thick places are
easIly determinable in the yarn. In many cases, they
cause disturbances in subsequent processing. Once they
I 254 Textile Technology
reach a certain size( cross-section and length) , and in

each case accoridng to the type of yarn and its
application, short thick place fults can considerably affect
the appearance of the finished product.
Long thick places are much more seldom-occuring
than the short thick places and usually have a length
longer than 40cms. In some cases, their length can even
reach many meters. Their cross sectional size approx. +
40% to +100% and more with respect of the mean cross-
section of the yarn. Long thick places will affect the fabric
apperance. Faults like spinners doubles are difficult to
determine in the yarn, with the naked eye. On the other
hand, they can produce quite fatal results in the finished
product. A spinners double in the warp or in yarn for
circular knitting can downgrade hundreds of meters of
woven, or knitted fabric.
Thin places occur in two length groups. Short thin
places are known as imperfections, and have a length
approx. three times the mean staple length of the fibre.
Their frequency is dependent on the rawmaterial and the
setting of the drafting element. They are too frequent in
the yarn to be extracted by means of the electronic yarn
clearing.
Long thin places have lengths of approx. 40cms and
longer and a cross-sectional decrease with respect to the
mean yarn cross-section of approx.30 to 70%. They are
relatively seldom-occuring in short staple yarns, but
much more frequently-occuring in long staple yarns.
Long thin faults are difficult to determine in the yarn by
means of the naked eye. Their effect in the finished
product however, can be extremely serious.
The quite extensive application of electronic yarn
clearing has set new quality standards with respect to the
number of faults in spun yarns.
Winding 255
It is therefore necessary to evolve a method of yarn

fault classification before clearing the faults in winding.
The most important aspect is certainly the determination
of the fault dimensions of cross-sectional size and length.
With such a cross-section and length classification and by
means of the correct choice of the class limits, the
characteristic dimensions of the various fault types can be
taken into consideration, then a classification system will
result which is suitable primarily for satisfying the
requirements of yarn clearing and yet allows, to quite a
large extent, for a selection of the various types of faults.
The yarn faults are classified according to their
length and cross-sectional size, and this in 23 classes.
The cross-sectional deviations are given +% or -%
values. i.e theupper limit, respectively , lower limit
with respect to the mean yarn fault cross-section is
measure in %. The fault length is measured in cms.
The classes and their limits are set out according to
the following:
Short thick place faults: 16 classes with the limits, 0.1
em, 2cm, 4cm, and 8cm for the lengths and +100%,
+150%,+250%, and +400% for the cross-sectional sizes
are provided. The classes are indicated Al...D4. The
classes A4, B4,C4,D4 contain all those faults,
according to their length, whose cross-sectional size
oversteps +400%.
spinners doubles: This refers to a class (with the
indication E) for faults whose length oversteps 8cms
and whose cross-sectional size oversteps +100 ( open
to the right and upwards).
Long thick place faults and thick ends: The long thin
place faults are contained in 4 classes with the limits
8 cms and 32 cms for the lengths, and -30% , -45%

and -75% for the cross-sectional sizes. The classes are
designated Hl" ... .I2. The classes 11 and 12 are open to
the right. i.e they contain all those thin places having
a size between -30 and -45%, respetively, -45% and -
75% and whose lengths are longer than 32 cms. The
classification of the shorter thin places is of no
advantage in the analysis of the seldom-occuring
faults.
Types of Electronic Yarn Clearers
Electronic Yarn Clearers available in the market are

principally of two types -capacitive and optical. Clearers
working on the capacitive principle have 'mass'as the
reference for performing its functions while optical
clearers function with 'diameter' as the reference. Both
have their merits and demerits and are equally popular
in the textile industry. Besides the above basic difference
in measuring principle, the basis of functioning of both
the types of clearers are similar if not exactly same. Since
most of the other textile measurements like, U% / CV%,
thick and thin places etc., in various departments take
into account mass as the reference parameter, the
functioning of the capacitive clearer is explained in some
detail in the following sections.
Functioning Principle
The yarn is measured in a measuring field constituted by

a set of parallely placed capacitor plates. When the yarn
passes through this measuring field (between the
capacitor plates), an electrical signal is produced which is
Winding 257
proportional to the change in mass per unit length of the

yarn. This signal is amplified and fed to the evaluation
channels of the yarn clearing installation. The number
and type of evaluation channels available are dependent
on the sophistication and features of the model of the
clearer in use. Each of the channels reacts to the signals
for the corresponding type of yarn fault. When the mass
per unit length of the yarn exceeds the threshold limit set
for the channel, the cutting device of the yarn clearer cuts
the yarn.
Yam Clearer Settings
The yarn clearer has to be provided with certain basic

information in order to obtain the expected results in
terms of clearing objectionable faults. The following are
some of them:
a. Clearing Limit:
The clearing limit defines the threshold level for the yarn
faults, beyond which the cutter is activated to remove the
yarn fault. The clearing limit consists of two setting
parameters - Sensitivity and Reference Length.
i. Sensitivity - This determines the activating limit
for the fault cross sectional size.
ii. Reference Length - This defines the length of the
yarn over which the fault cross - section is to be
measured. Both the above parameters can be set
within a wide range of limits depending on
specific yarn clearing requirements. Here, it is
worth mentioning that the ' reference length' may
be lower or higher than the actual ' fault length'.
For a yarn fault to be cut, the mean value of the
yarn fault cross-section has to overstep the set

sensitivity for the set reference length.
b. Yarn Count
The setting of the yarn count provides a clearer with the
basic information on the mean value of the material
being processed to which the clearer compares the
instantaneous yarn signals for identifying the seriousness
of a fault.
c. Material Number
Besides the yarn count there are certain other factors
which influence the capacitance signal from the
measuring field like type of fibre (Polyester / Cotton /
Viscose etc.) and environmental conditions like relative
humidity. These factors are taken into consideration in
the Material Number'.
I
4.5polypropylene, poly ethylene50 to 80%

RH3.5polyester50 to 80%RH2.5polyvinyl chloride50 to
80% RH.
From the values given in the table it could be seen
that, for water absorbent fibres like cotton, the Material
Number is changed by 1 for a 15% change in Relative
Humidity. A reduction in material number results in a
more sensitive setting causing higher fault removal. For
blended yarns, the material number is formed from the
sum of the percentage components of the blend. For
instance, when a 67/33 Polyester / Cotton blend is run at
an RH of 65%, the Material umber should be set at (0.67
* 3.5) + (0.33 * 7.5) = 4.8.
d. Winding Speed
The setting of the winding speed is also very critical for
accurate removal of faults. It is recommended that,
Winding
instead of the machine speed, the delivery speed be set

by actual calculation after running the yarn for 2-3
minutes and checking the length of yarn delivered.
259
\
Setting a higher speed than the actual is likely to result in
higher number of cuts. Similarly a lower speed setting
relative to the actual causes less cuts with some faults
escaping without being cut. In most of the modern day
clearers, the count, material number and speeds are
monitored and automatically corrected during actual
running of the yarn.
Fault Channels
The various fault channels available in a latest generation

yarn clearer are as follows:
l. Short Thick places

2. Long Thick Places
3. Long Thin Places
4. Neps
5. Count
6. Splice
The availability of one or more of the above channels is

dependent on the type of the yarn clearer. Most of the
modern clearers have the above channels. Besides
detection of the various types of faults, with latest
clearers, it is also possible to detect concentration of
faults in a specific length of yarn by means of
alarms(cluster faults).
Contamination Clearing
Detection of contamination in normal yam has become a

requirement in recent times due to the demands by yam
buyers abroad. Therefore, some of the optical yarn
clearers have an additional channel to detect the
contamination in yam. This is mostly used while clearing
cotton yam. The various facilities available in the yam
clearers nowadays enable precise setting and removal of
all objectionable faults while at the same time ensure a
reasonably high level of productivity.
Splicing
A high degree of yam quality is impossible through knot,

as the knot itself is objectionable due to its physical
dimension, appearance and problems during downstream
processes. The knots are responsible for 30 to 60% of
stoppages in weaving.
Splicing is the ultimate method to eliminate yam
faults and problems of knots and piecing. It is universally
acceptable and functionally reliable. This is in spite of the
fact that the tensile strength of the yam with knot is
superior to that of yarn with splice. Splicing is a
technique of joining two yam ends by intermingling the
constituent fibres so that the joint is not significantly
different in appearance and mechanical properties with
respect to the parent yam. The effectiveness of splicing is
primarily dependent on the tensile strength and physical
appearance.
Splicing satisfies the demand for knot free yarn
joining: no thickening of the thread or only slight
increase in its normal diameter, no great mass variation,
Winding 261
visibly unobjectionable, no mechanical obstruction, high

breaking strength close to that of the basic yarn under
both static and dynamic loading, almost equal elasticity
\
in the joint and basic yarn. No extraneous material is
used and hence the dye affinity is unchanged at the joint.
In addition, splicing enables a higher degree of yarn
clearing to be obtained on the electronic yarn clearer.
Splicing technology has grown so rapidly in the
recent past that automatic knotters on modern high speed
winding machine are a thing of the past. Many
techniques for splicing have been developed such as
Electrostatic splicing, Mechanical splicing and Pneumatic
splicing. Among them, pneumatic splicing is the most
popular. Other methods have inherent drawbacks like
limited fields of application, high cost of manufacturing,
maintenance and operati~ns, improper structure and
properties of yarn produced.
Pneumatic Splicing
The first generation of splicing systems operated with

just one stage without proceeding to trimming. The yarn
ends were fed into the splicing chamber and pieced
together in one operation. Short fibres, highly twisted
and fine yarns could not be joined satisfactorily with
such method. Latest methods of splicing process consist
of two operations. During the first stage, the ends are
untwisted, to achieve a near parallel dT"!'angement of
fibres. In a second operation the prepared ends are laid
and twisted together.
Principle of Pneumatic Splicing
The splicing consists of untwisting and later re-twisting

two yarn ends using air blast, i.e., first the yarn is
! 262 Textile Technology
opened, the fibres intermingled and later twisted in the

same direction as that of the parent yarn. Splicing
proceeds in two stages with two different air blasts of
different intensity. The first air blast untwists and causes
opening of the free ends. The untwisted fibres are then
intermingled and twisted in the same direction as that of
parent yarn by another air blast.
Structure of Splice
Analysis of the longitudinal and transverse studies

revealed that the structure of the splice comprises of
three distinct regions/elements brought by wrapping,
twisting and tucking / intermingling.
Wrapping
The tail end of each yarn strand is tapered and

terminates with few fibres. The tail end makes a good
wrapping of several turns and thus prevents fraying of
the splice. The fibres of the twisting yarn embrace the
body of the yarn and thus acts as a belt. This in turn
gives appearance to the splice.
Twisting
The two yarn ends compnsmg the splice are twisted

around the body of the yarn, each yarn strand twists on
the body of the yarn on either side of the middle of the
splice. The cross-section of this region distinctly shows
the fibres of the two yarn strands separately without any
intermingling of the fibres.
Winding
Tucking I Intermingling
263 \
The middle portion of the splice is a region (2-5 mm)
with no distinct order. The fibres from each yarn end
intermingle in this splice zone just by tucking. The
studies on quantitative contribution of splice elements
showed that intermingling/tucking contributes the most
to the strength of splice (52%), followed by twisting
(33%) and wrapping (about 15%). The lower strength of
the splice is attributed to the lower packing coefficient of
the splice zone. Spliced yarn has a lower breaking
elongation than normal yarn. Breaking elongation is
mainly affected by intermingling. Wrapping and twisting
provides mainly transverse forces. The absence of fibre
migration gives lower breaking elongation to splice.
Effect of Variables on the Properties of the Spliced
yarn. Several studies have been conducted on the effect
of various variables on the properties of the spliced yarn.
Effect of Fibre Properties and Blend
Fibre properties such as torsional rigidity, breaking twist

angle and coefficient of friction affect splice strength and
appearance. The lower torsional rigidity and higher
breaking twist angle permit better fibre intermingling.
Higher coefficient of friction of fibres generates more
inter-fibre friction to give a more cohesive yarn. Thus,
these properties of fibre contribute to better retention of
splice strength. In blended yarn, usually the addition of
polyester to other fibre blend like P /W, P /e both for
ring and rotor spun yarn increases splice strength.
! 264
Effect of Yarn Fineness

Textile Technology
Several studies on cotton, polyester and wool report that

coarser yarns have higher breaking strength but a
moderate extension. The coarse yarn cross section
contains more fibres and provides better fibre
intermingling during pre-opening, hence the splice is
stronger than that of finer yarns.
Effect of Yarn Twist
An increase in the twist significantly increases the

breaking load and elongation, even at higher pneumatic
pressure. This could be due to better opening of the
strands at higher pneumatic pressure. Splicing of twisted
ply yarn is more complicated than single yarn due to the
yarn structure having opposing twists in the single and
doubled yarns. Twisted yarns also require a relatively
longer time for complete opening of the yarn ends.
Effect of Different Spinning Methods
Yarn produced with different spinning methods exhibit

different structure and properties. Therefore, these yarns
show significant differences in splice quality. The ring
spun yarn lent best splicing but the potential of splicing
is affected by the spinning conditions. The breaking
strength percentage of ring spliced yarns to a parent yarn
is 70% to 85% for cotton yarn. However, the breaking
strength and extension of splice vary with fibre and yarn
properties. Rotor spun yarns, due to the presence of
wrapper fibres, make it difficult to untwist and the
disordered structure is less ideal for splicing. The
Winding 265
\
breaking strength retention varies from 54% to 71% and
is much lower compared to the splice of ring spun yarns.
In case of friction spun yarns, the highest relative tensile
strength obtained at the spliced joints can be above 80%,
but a number of splicing failures occurs due to
unfavourable yarn structure. The air-jet-spun (MJS) yarn
and the cover spun yarn are virtually impossible to
splice. Only very low tensile strengths and elongation
values can be attained due to the inadequate opening of
the yarn ends during preparation of the splicing. The
coefficient of variation of these properties is also
generally high.
Effect of Opening Pressure
A study on 50/50 polyester cotton, 25 tex ring spun yarn

shows a rise in tensile strength up to a certain opening
pressure. However, long opening time deteriorates the
strength. An increase in pressure up to 5 bar caused
release of fibre tufts and fibre loss from the yarn ends in
p /e blend which is due to intensive opening, but
beyond this pressure, drafting and twisting in the
opposite direction may also occur.
Effect of Splicing Duration
With a given splicing length, when the splicing is

extended for a long period of time, the breaking strength
of the spliced yarn and also their strength retention over
the normal value of the basic yarn increases because of
increased cohesive force resulting from an increased
number of wrapping coils in a given length. The effects
are more pronounced at higher splicing lengths. It is
desirable however, that splicing duration be as short as

possible. The splicing duration alone has no conclusive
effect on elongation properties of splice yarn. It has also
been observed that, for maximum splice strength,
different materials require different durations of blast.
These are between 0.5 to 1.8 seconds.
Effect of Splicing Length
Studies on splicing of flyer and wrap spun yarns spun

with different materials, showed that regardless of the
splicing material, the breaking strength and strength
retention of both yarn types increase with the splicing
length because of the increased binding length of the "CWo
yarn ends. Elongation at break and retention of
elongation of both flyer and wrap spun spliced yarns
increase with the splice length. Compared to the splicing
duration, the splicing length has more pronounced effect
on the load-elongation properties of the spliced yarn. It
can be therefore be stated that the splices made on longer
lengths and for longer period of time have more uniform
strength.
Comparison of Dry and Wet Splicing
The comparative studies on dry and wet splicing with

water showed that the breaking load retention for wet
spliced yarns are significantly greater than dry spliced
yarns. In fact, wet splicing is more effective for yarn
made from long staple fibres and for coarse yarn. This
may be due to higher packing coefficient resulting from
wet splicing.
Winding 267
Effect of Splicing Chamber
The factors like method and mode of air supply and

pressure along with type of prism affect the splicing
quality. It was observed that irregular air pressure has
advantages over constant pressure for better
intermingling in the splicing chamber, which varies with
different staple fibres, filament yarns, and yarns with S
and Z twists. It is not possible to make a general
comment regarding potential of the splicing chamber due
to the multiplicity of factors influencing splicing.
Assessment of Yarn Splice Quality
The two important characteristics of a splice are

appearance and strength. Although quality of splice can
be assessed by methods like load-elongation, work of
rupture, % increase in diameter and evaluation of its
performance in down stream process etc., the appearance
can be assessed either by simple visual assessment or by
comparing with photograph of standard splice.
Characteristics of Bobbin Formation
Strectch length: It is the length of the yarn deposited

on the bobbin tube during each chase (one up and
down movement of ringrail ) of ring rail. The length
should be around 3.5 to 5 meters. It should be
shorter for coarser yarns and longer for fine yarns.
Winding ratio:1t is the ratio of the length of yarn
wound during the upward movement of the ring rail
and the length wound during the downward
movement of the ring rail.
I
Bobbin taper: The ratio of the length of the upper

taper of the cop (bobbin with yarn) to the diameter of
the bobbin must be 1:2 or greater.
Winding Speed
It depends upon the following factors:

count
type of yarn, (type of fibre, average strength and
minimum strength)
type and charactersitics of bobbin
package taper
final use of package
The best winding speed is the speed which allows the

highest level of production possible for a given type of
yarn and type of package, and with no damage
whatsoever to the yarn.(abrasion and breaks due to
excessive tension)
Winding production: It depends upon the following
factors:
Winding speed
time required by the machine to carry out one
splicing operation
bobbin length per bobbin( both bobbin weight and
tpi to be considered, because TPI will affect the
bobbin length). This decides the number of bobbin
changes
the number of faults in the yarn and the clearer
settings, this decides the clearer cuts
Winding 269
count
the number of doffs. It depends upon the doff
weight. Higher the doff weight, lower the number of
doffs
the time taken for each doff either by the doffer or by
an operator
Down time due to red light. It depends upon,
number of red lights, number of repeaters setting for
red lights, clearer settings like off count channel,
cluster setting which will result in red lights and
others
bobbin rejections, it depends on weak yarn, wrong
gaiting, double gaiting, bobbin characteritics etc.
Winding package defects: Following are some of the

package defects which will result in complaints
Yarn waste in the cones. This is due to loose yarn ends
that are wound on to the cone
Stitch, drop over, web: Yarn is visible on the small or
on the big side of the cone either across the side ,
around the tube, or going back in the cone
Damaged edges or broken ends on the cone: The yarn is
broken on the edges or in the middle of the cone.
Ring formation: The yarn runs in belt formation on to
the package, because it is misguided
Without transfer tail: The desired transfer tail is
missing or too short
Ribbon formation: Pa ttern or ring forma tion are made
by the drum when rpm are stying the same
Displaced yarn layers: yarn layers are disturbed and

are sliding towards the small diameter of the cone
Misguided yarn : The yarn is not equally guided over
the hole package
Cauliflower: On the smaller side of the package, the
yarn shows a wrinkle effect
Soft and Hard yarn layer: Some layer of yarn are
pushed out on the small side of the cone
Soft and Hard cones: Great difference in package
density from one winder head to another.
\
14
Spinning Geometry
From Roving bobbin to cop, the fibre strand passes

through drafting arrangement, thread guide,
ballooncontrol rings and traveller. These parts are
arranged at various angles and distances relative to each
other.The distances and angles together are referred to as
the spinning geometry,has a significant influenceon the
spinning opeartion and the resulting yarn. They are:
• yarn tension
• number of end breaks
• yarn irregularity
• binding-in of the fibres
• yarn hairiness
• generation of fly etc.
Spinning Triangle
Twist in a yarn is generated at the traveller and travel

against the direction of yarn movement to thefront roller.
Twist must run back as close as possible to the nip of the

rollers, but it never penetrates completely to the nip
because, after leaving the rollers, the fibres first have to
be diverted inwards and wrapped around each other.
There is always a triangular bundle of fibres without
twist at the exit of the rollers, this is called as SPINNING
TRIANGLE. Most of the end breaks originate at this
point. The length of thespinning triangle depends upon
the spinning geometry and upon the twist level in the
yarn.
The top roller is always shifted 3 to 6 mm forward
compared to bottom roller. This is called top
rolleroverhang.This gives smoother running and smaller
spinning triangle. The overhang must not be made too
large, as the distance from the opening of the aprons to
the roller nip line becomes too long resulting in poorer
fibre control and increased yarn irregularity.
Continuous variation of the operating conditions
arises during winding of a cop.The result is that the
tensile force exerted on yarn must be much higher during
winding on the bare tube than during winding onthe full
cop, because of the difference in the angle of attack of the
yarn on the traveller. When the ring rail is at the upper
end of its stroke, in spinning onto the tube, the yarn
tension is substantially higher than when the ring rail is at
its lowermost position. This can be observed easily in the
balloon on anyring spinning machine.
The tube and ring diameters must have a minimum
ratio, between approx. 1:2 and 1:2.2, in order to ensure
that the yarn tension oscillations do not become too
great.
Yarn tension in the balloon is the tension which
finally penetrates almost to the spinning triangle and
Spinning Geometry 273
which is responsible for the greater part of the thread

breaks. It is reduced to a very small degree by the
deviation of the yarn at the thread guide. An equilibrium
of forces must be obtained between the yarn tension and
balloon tension.
RINGS & TRAVELLERS
In most cases, the limit to productivity of the ring

spinning machine is defined by the traveller in
interdependence with the ring, and yarn. It is very
important for the technologist to understand this and act
on them to optimise the yarn production. The following
factors should be considered
• materials of the ring traveller
• surface charecteristics
• the forms of both elements( ring and traveller)
• wear resistance
• smoothness of running
• running-in conditions
• fibre lubrication
TRAVELLER
Traveller imparts twist to the yarn. Traveller and spindle

together help to wind the yarn on the bobbin. Length
wound up on the bobbin corresponds to the difference in
peripheral speeds of the spindle and traveller. The
difference in speed should correspond to length delivered
at the front rollers. Since traveller does not have a drive
on its own but is dragged along behing by the spidle.
High contact pressure (upto 35 N/square mm)is

generated between the ring and the traveller during
winding, mainly due to centrifugal force. This pressure
leads to generation of heat. Low mass of the traveller
does not permit dissipation of the generated heat in the
short time available. As a result the operating speed of
the traveller is limited.
Heat produced when by the ringtraveller is around
300 degree celcius. This has to be dissipated in
milliseconds by traveller into the air.
Parts of a traveller
Height of bow: It should be as low as possible for stable

running of traveller. It should also have sufficient yarn
pasage.
Yarn passage: According to count spun the traveller
profile to be selected with required yarn passage.
Toe gap : This will vary according to traveller
number and flange width of the ring
Wire section: It plays an important role for yarn
quality, life of traveller.
Ring contact area: This area should be more,
uniform, smooth and continuous for best performance.
Inner width: This varies according to traveller
profile and ring flange.
SALIENT FEATURES OF A TRAVELLER
• Generate less heat

• dissipate heat fastly

• have sufficient elasticity for easy insertion and to
retain its original shape after insertion
• friction between ring and traveller should be minimal
• it should have excellent wear resistance for longer life
• hardness of the traveller should be less than the ring
When the spindle speed is increased, the friction work
between ring and traveller (hence the build up) increases
as the 3rd power of the spindle rpm. Consequently if the
spindle speed is too high, the traveller sustains thermal
damage and fails. This speed restriction is felt
particularly when spinning cotton yarns of relatively
high strength.
If the traveller speed is raised beyond normal levels
, the thermal stress limit of the traveller is exceeded, a
drastic change in the wear behaviour of the ring and
traveller ensues. Owing to the strongly increased
adhesion forces between ring and traveller, welding takes
place between the two. These seizures inflict massive
damage not only to the traveller but to the ring as
well.Due to this unstable behaviour of the ring and
traveller system the wear is atleast an order of magnitude
higher than during the stable phase. The traveller
temperature reaches 400 to 500 degrees celcius and the
danger of the traveller annealing and failing is very great.
The spinning tension is proportional
• to the friction coefficient between ring and traveller
• to the traveller mass
• to the square of hte traveler speed and inversely
proportional
• to the ring diameter and the angle between the

connecting line from the traveller-spindle axis to the
piece of yarn between the traveller and cop.
In order to maintain the same friction or spinning tension
with different coefficients of friction, different traveller
weights must be used. The coefficient of friction is
determined by the fiber lubrication and is subject to
fluctuation. Dry cotton means higher coefficient of
friction. For manmade fibres depending upon the
manufacturer, lower to medium coefficient of friction.
The coefficient of friction with fiber lubrication can
vary from 0.03 and 0.15.
R = Co efficeint of friction x N
where
R - traveller friction in mN
N = Normal force >= (Fc x ML x V xV)/(R)
Fc - centrifugal force
ML - mass of the traveller in mg
V - traveller speed in ml s
R - radius of the ring (inside)
The yarn strength is affected only little by the spinning

tension. On the other hand the elongation diminishes
with increasing tension, for every tensile load of the
fibres lessens the residual elongation in the fibres and
hence in the yarn. Increasing tension leads also to poorer
Uster regularity and IPI values.
If the spinning tension is more, the spinning triangle
becomes smaller. As the spinning triangle gets smaller,
there is less hairiness.
SHAPE OF THE TRAVELLER
The traveller must be shaped to match exactly with the

ring in the contact zone, so that a single contact surface,
with the maximum surface area is created between ring
and traveller. The bow of the traveller should be as flat
as possible, in order to keep the centre of gravity low and
thereby improve smoothness of running. However the
flat bow must still leave adequate space for passage of
the yarn. If the yarn clearance opening is too small,
rubbing of the yarn on the ring leads to roughemng of
the yarn, a high level of fibre loss as fly, deterioration of
yarn quality and formation of melt spots in spinning of
synthetic fibre yarns.
WIRE PROFILE OF THE TRAVELLER
Wire profile influences both the behaviour of the traveller

and certain yarn characteristics, they are
• contact surface of the ring
• smooth running
• thermal transfer
• yarn clearance opening
• roughening effect
• hairiness
MATERIAL OF THE TRAVELLER
The traveller should

• generate as little heat as possible
• quickly distribute the generated heat from the area

where it develops over the whole volume of the
traveller
• transfer this heat rapidly to the ring and the air
• be elastic, so that the traveller will not break as it is
pushed on to the ring
• exhibit high wear resistance
• be less hard than the ring, because the traveller must
wear out iT' use in preference to the ring.
In view of the above said requirements, traveller
manufacturers have made efforts to improve the running
properties by surface treatment. "Braecker" has developed
a new process in which certain finishing components
diffuse into the traveller surface and are fixed in place
there. The resulting layer reduces temperature rise and
increases wear resistance.
Traveller mass determines the magnitude of
frictional forces between the traveller and the ring, and
these in turn determine the winding and balloon tension.
Mass of the traveller depends upon
• yarn count
• yarn strength
• spindle speed
• material being spun
If traveller weight is too low, the bobbin becomes too soft
and the cop content will be low. If it is unduly high, yarn
tension will go up and will result in end breaks. If a
choice is available between two traveller weights, then
the heavier is normally selected, since it will give greater
cop weight, smoother running of the traveller and better

transfer of heat out of traveller.
When the yarn runs through the traveller, some
fibres are liberated. Most of these fibres float away as
dust in to the atmosphere, but some remain caught on
the traveller and they can accumulate and form a tuft.
This will increase the mass of traveller and will result in
end break because of higher yarn tension. To avoid this
accumulation , traveller clearers are fixed close to the
ring, so that the accumulation is prevented. They should
be set as close as possible to the traveller, but without
affecting its movement. Exact setting is very important.
For the rings two dimensions are of primariy
importance. 1.internal diameter 2. flange width.
Antiwedge rings exhibit an enlarged flange inner
side and is markedly flattened on it upper surface. This
type of profile permitted to use travellers with a lower
centre of gravity and precisely adapted bow (elliptical
travellers), which in turn helped to run the machine with
higher spindle speeds. Antiwedge rings and elliptical
travellers belong together and can be used in
combination.
Low crown profle has the following advantage. Low
crown ring has a flattened surface top and this gives
space for the passage of the yarn so that the curvature of
the traveller can also be reduced and the centre of gravity
is 10wered.In comparison with antiwedge ring, the low
crown ring has the advantage that the space provided for
passage of the yarn is somewhat larger and that all
current traveller shapes can be applied, with the
exception of the elliptical traveller. The low crown ring is
the most widely used ring form now.
The ring should be tough and hard on its exterior.

The running surface must have high and even hardeness
in the range 800-850 vikcers. The traveller hardness
should be lower (650-700 vickers), so that wear occurs
mainly on the traveller, which is cheaper and easier to
replace. Surface smoothness should be high, but not too
high, because lubricating film can not build up if it too
smooth.
A good ring in operation should have the following
features:
• best quality raw material
• good, but not too high, surface smoothness
• an even surface
• exact roundness
• good, even surface hardness, higher than that of the
traveller • should have been run in as per ring
manufacturers requirement
• long operating life
• correct relationship between ring and bobbin tube
diameters
• perfectly horizontal position
·it should be exactly centered relative to the spindle
In reality, the traveller moves on a lubricating film which
builds up itself and which consists primarily of cellulose
and wax. This material arises from material abraded from
the fibres.If fibre particles are caught between the ring
and traveller, then at high traveller speeds and with
correspondingly high centrifugal forces, the particles are
partially ground to a paste of small, colourless,
transparent and extremely thin platelets.
The platelets are continually being replaced during

working. The traveller smoothes these out to form a
continuous running surface. The position, form and
structure of lubricating film depends on
• yarn fineness
• yarn structure
• fibre raw material
• traveller mass
• traveller speed
• heigh of traveller bow
Modern ring and traveller combination with good fibre
lubrication enable traveller speeds upto 40m/ sec.
Technological Gttideeliness
• When the ring diameter is less, balloon diameter will

be small. This leads to more yarn tension. Hence use
lighter travellers.
• When the ring diamter is bigger, balloon diamter
will be more. This leads to less yarn tension and the
balloon touches the separator. Hence use heavier
travellers
• When the tube length is short, the yarn tension will
be more. Hence use lighter travellers
• When the tube length is long, the yarn tension will
be less, hence use heavier travellers
• When the yarn contact area and ring contact area in
traveller is closer, fibre lubrication is better especially
in cotton. For this use heavier travellers • When
spindle speed is increased use lighter traveller with

low bow height. At higher speeds, lighter travellers
give lesser yarn tension. When low bow height
travellers are used centre of gravity will be closest to
the ring which aids in running of traveller. • Use
lighter travellers on new rings. This is done to reduce
end breakages by reducing the yarn tension. • Use
heavier travellers on old rings. This is done to avoid
bigger balloons • Heavier travellers reduce hairiness
• When using lighter travellers, yarn stretch will be
less. It helps for better yarn elongation • During
running-in the endbreakage rate should be kept
minimum, hence use lighter travellers.
• The shorter the balloon, the lighter the traveller to be
used, the higher traveller speeds can be achieved.
• The ring traveller, together with the yarn as a pull
element, is set into motion on the ring by the rotation
of the spindle. If the direction of pull deviates too
much from the running direction of the traveller
(spinning angle less than 30 degrees) the tension load
will be too high.
Preconditions for good operating results
The maximum ability of the ring/traveller system to

withstand occuring stress situation during operation
determines the performance limit of the ring spinning
and twisting machine. Traveller wear does not only
depend on traveller material; problems of heat
dissipation are of crucial importance, too. The heat
generated between ring and traveller must be reduced as
quickly as possible to avoid local temperature in the
traveller wear zones. The ability of the traveller to resist

to stress is determined by several factors. Investigations
regarding improvements of rings and travellers aimed at
a further increase of performance should above all make
sure that all other conditions with a certain influence on
the spinning process are optimal.
Therefore make sure that:
the rings are correctly centered with regard to the
spindles
the yam guide eyelet is well centered with regard to
the spindle
the spindle bearing is in good condition, thus
preventing spindle vibrations
the ratio between bobbin diameter and ring diameter
is correct
the concentricity of the ballon control ring with
regard to the spindle is correct
the fibre tufts which accumulate on flange travellers
are reni.ov~d by means of suitable traveller cleaners
the climatic conditions (temperature and relative air
humidity) are favourable for the spinning process
the air in the mill is free from disturbing particles
that influence efficient performance of the traveller
It has to be stressed that a smooth and well run-in track
is of most importance.
Concentricity of spindle, ring, yarn guide and
balloon control ring
Especially at high spindle speeds concentric
positioning of ring, spindle, yarn eyelet and balloon
control ring is required for keeping the ends down rate at

low level. Spindles and rings must be aligned and
centered absolutely parallel. Ring rails or ring holders
should, therefore, be installed absolutely horizontally
compared to the vertically fitted spindles. Ring and
traveller form the main elements in ring spinning and
twisting. They determine to a large extent performance
and operating conditions of the machine.
The traveller accomplishes two main tasks while
running on the ring at high speeds:
a) It gives the roving supplied by the feed rollers the
necessary twist.
b) It assists in winding the yarn onto the bobbin in the
form of a cop with a correct tension.
During this operation the ring guides the traveller, which
is essential for the perfect positioning of the yarn and the
formation of the cop. The traveller is pressed against the
ring track by centrifugal forces.
The resulting frictional forces reduce traveller speed,
which is dragged along by the passing-through yarn, and
provide the yarn with the tensile forces necessary for
assembling the individual fibres into the spun yarn as
well as for limiting the yarn balloon.
Steel travellers are hardened to a certain degree and
polished to a mirror finish. They can be adapted in
shape, weight and surface finish to the ring, yarn type
and yarn count. Nylon travellers of standard quality (for
HZ and J rings) are made of highly wear-resistant
polyamide.
Extremely aggressive yarns are processed with glass-
fibre-reinforced a Super Nylon travellers. Twisting and
winding carried out by the traveller must be performed

with appropriate yam tension. The ratio between spindle
speed and the speed at which the yarn is supplied
determines yam twist. Any change of this ratio is easily
compensated by the traveller without having an influence
on twisting, winding and tensioning.
On flange rings, the gliding speed of travellers
having a suitable shape can be as rapid as 130 ftls (88
MPH) or 40 mls (140 km/h); on- OIA-OUR coated rings
the speed can to some extent reach 147 ftls (100 MPH) or
45 ml s (160 km/h)
Having an average life span of 200-300 operating
hours the traveller covers a distance of more than 18.000
miles (30.000 km) • a tremendous task for a small part of
wire weighing only a few milligrams. These standards
can even be surpassed by nylon travellers used on HZ
rings, if operating conditions are favourable.
These high traveller speeds involve pressures of up
to 35 N/mm 2 . But even if high-quality materials with
an optimum of hardness and resistance to wear are used,
these standards can only be reached if
- in the case of flange rings, a film of lubricating
fibres is produced continuously,
-in the case of HZ and J rings, a sufficient amount
of lubricant is consistently provided..,.,
\
Spindles operating without vibrations contribute a

great deal to a smooth operation of the traveller. Non-
concentric spindles and spindles not running smoothly
cause constant changes in yam tension, because the
traveller cannot run around the ring without being
shaken.
Vibration-free movement of ring rail and ring holder
The ring rail should move smoothly without jerking.

Vibrations and hard jolts at the reversing points of the
ring rail disturb the operation of the traveller. Repeated
changes in yarn tension cause the traveller to flutter. This
results in increasing yarn breaks and in accelerated wear
of ring ~and traveller.
Correct ratio between bobbin diameter, bobbin
length, ring diameter and spindle gauge
Ratio bobbin length (H) : Inside ring diameter (D)
Thread tension increases with growing bobbin
length. In view of the limited thread tension, the total
bobbin length should not exceed 5 times the ring
diameter. Only when using balloon control rings or
similar devices this value can be exceeded.
H:D=5:1
Ratio bobbin diameter (d) : Inside ring diameter (D)
The bobbin diameter d is equivalent to the mean
outer bobbin diameter d 1 + d 2
The following values are recommended:
for spinning: d : D = 0.48 - 0.5 (a = 29°-30°),
(minimum value a = 26°)
for twisting d : D = 0.44 - 0.5 (a = 27°-30°), (minimum
value a = 22°)
For light and heavy bobbins, the values for light bobbin
types are decisive for calculating d : D. If the ratio d : D
is reduced thread tension increases.
Correct surface smoothness, i.e. optimum peak-to-
valley height and evenness of the ring track .
The traveller contact surfaces must be smooth and

even. Only then a smooth operation of the traveller will
be possible. The contacted surfaces should be clean and
preferably without traces of wear. In addition, they
should be designed in such a way that they offer
sufficient adherence for potential lubricants (e.g. fibres,
oil, grease).
Once the sliding surfaces have lost their original
quality, even the best ring traveller will not be able to
run smoothly. For maintaining the surface of the running
track in a good condition, it is very important - besides a
certain degree of maintenance - to run the ring well in.
Balloon control rings
The influence of balloon control rings is quite

considerable, especially at long cops. A reduction of the
yarn balloon is advantageous or may even be the
prerequisite for optimum performance. If balloon control
rings are mounted at correct distance (the yarn balloon
should be restricted as long as possibleduring one lift of
the ring rail) then a marked performance increase is
possible. The balloon control rings are removed when
sensitive materials are processed and sufficiently long
separators are installed to avoid many yarn breaks and to
prevent fibre fly from accumulating on the adjacent
spindles.
Traveller cleaners
Traveller cleaners are an excellent method for removing

all fibre fly that accumulates on the outer part of C and
El travellers. The traveller cleaner should have the right
distance to the outside ring flange. A distance of about

0.5 mm between cleaner and traveller (in operating
position) is recommended. When adjusting the distance
between outside ring flange and cleaner, the size of the
traveller should be taken into consideration.
Room climate
Constant temperature and air humidity have positive

effects on the operation of the traveller. Changes of the
room climate, such as raised air humidity will increase
wear by friction. Besides the regular exchange of air, the
purity of the air is of great importance for the traveller.
Any dust (also dust from unsuitable floors) or other
impurities may impair traveller operation and lead to
more ring/traveller wear.
Flange width and ring height
Optimal operating results are reached when the ideal

flange width is chosen for flange rings and the ideal ring
height is obtained for self-lubricating HZ and J rings,
dependent on yarn count range, yarn quality and
traveller type.
Ring profile and traveller shape
Determining the most favourable ring and traveller

shapes is a precondition for obtaining the optimal
individual performance. If ring profile and traveller
shape match well, the traveller will adopt a stable
position in the ring. It should have sufficient tolerance of
movement, so that any obstacles which may occur
especially when the machine is started are avoided. A

satisfactory large yarn clearance counteracts yarn breaks
and yarn damage.
Running-in of rings
Normally the running-in procedure is decisive for the

future positive/nega tive behaviour of the ring and the
length of its service life. Every ring requires a certain
degree of running-in time if it is to maintain high
traveller speeds with as little ring and traveller wear as
possible. During running-in the use of steel travellers
without surface treatment is recommended. After the
termination of the running-in process, steel travellers
with surface treatment or nylon as well as bronze
travellers can be used.
The running-in process, beginning with the starting
phase, consists of improving the initial running
properties of the metallic running surface up to the
optimal values by smoothing and passivation(oxidation)
as soon as possible. In this way, together with fibre
lubrication, constant minimum mixed friction conditions
and minimum thermal stressing can be attained for the
ring traveller. A careful running-in process will improve
the lifetime of the rings.
In order to keep the stress on the traveller as low as
possible during the starting phase, it is advisable to
always change the traveller in the upper third part of the
cops. Further advantages are brought with the use of a
traveller running-in program(reduction of the speed by
about 10% for 10 to 20 minutes, only available on modern
spinning machines).
Spindle speed should be reduced atleast for the first

10 traveller changes. If final speed is higher than 32m/
sec, reduce by atleast 20%. If final speed is lower than
32m/ sec, reduce by at least 10%.
New rings should not be degreased, but only
rubbed over with a dry cloth.
In general, the running in should be done with the
same traveller type which is used for normal operation
with the 10 to 20% less than normal speed. It is not
advisable to do running with the same speed but with
1to 2 numbers lighter travellers than usual.
The first traveller change should be carried out after
15 min
The second traveller chage should take place after 30
min
The third traveller change should be made after 1 to
1.5 hours.
The fourth traveller change should be made after the
first doff.
Further traveller changes are to be made according
to the manufacturers recommendations
HAIRINESS
Following are the reasons for higher yarn hairiness due

to ring and travellers
Poorly centered spindles, anti balloon rings and yarn
guides lead to inconsistent yarn tension.
Rough surfaces roughen the yarn (due to damaged
parts)
Open anti balloon ring

The clearance between ring and cop should not be
too small. Traveller will cut the fibres protruding
from the cop.
The fibres get electrostatically charged
Poor twist propagation to the spinning triangle due
to lighter travellers
Heavy friction of the balloon on the anti-balloon ring
respectively impact on the balloon separator( due to
lighter traveller)
Poor ring centering
Crooked tubes
Yam getting roughened in narrow yam passage in
the traveller
Scratched up yam passages catch the yarn and
roughen it (due to very high traveller running time)
Friction of the yam due to very high traveller weight
Rough gliding surface of the ring ( due to worn out
rings)
COM-4 AND ELITE YARNS
With the ComforSpin technology a new yarn with

perfect yarn structure - the COM4 yarn - has been
established in the market. With the help of a microscope
the structure of the yams can easily be compared: The
conventional ring yam shows to be far less perfect than
commonly assumed. The long, protruding fibres cause a
number of problems in downstream processing. COM4
yarn shows a very compact structure with highly parallel

fibres and much less disturbing hairiness.
The air current created by the vacuum generated in
the perforated drum condenses the fibres after the main
draft. The fibres are fully controlled all the way from the
nipping line after the drafting zone to the spinning
triangle. An additional nip roller prevents the twist from
being propagated into the condensing zone. The
compacting efficiency in the condensing zone is
enhanced by a specially designed and patented air guide
element. Optimal interaction of the compacting ele-ments
ensures complete condensation of all fibres. This results
in the typical COM4 ® yarn characteristics.
The ComforSpin technology allows aero-dynamic
parallelization and condensation of the fibres after the
main draft. The spinning triangle is thus reduced to a.
minimum. The heart of ComforSpin machine is the
compacting zone, consisting of the following elements:
• perforated drum
• suction insert
• air guide element
The directly driven perforated drum is hard to wear and
resistant to fibre clinging. Inside each drum there is an
exchangeable stationary suction insert with a specially
shaped slot.
THE ELITE YARN
The operating method of the SUESSEN EliTe Spinning

System is well-known.After the fibres leave the drafting
system they are condensed by an air-permeable lattice
apron,which slides over an inclined suction slot.The

fibres follow the outer edge of this suction slot and at the
same time they perform a lateral rolling motion.
Above the front bottom roller of the drafting
system, the fibre band influeI).ced by high draft is
spreading.In the area of the suction slot,which is covered
by the lattice apron, the fibre band is
condensed.Commencing from the semi-dotted clamping
line of the EliTe Q Top Roller,twist is being•
inserted.There is no spinning triangle.
The improvement achieved is shown in Fig .The left
side displays the fibre triangle at the exit of a
conventional ring frame drafting system. The twist
imparted by the spindle cannot flow up to the clamping
line.The outer fibres spread out and are thus more highly
tensioned than those on the inside. The right side of the
picture does not show a spinning triangle.The yarn twist
flows right up to the clamping line.The yarn is round and
smooth.
Since the spinning triangle is very very small, the
end breaks will be very less and therefore the fly
liberation will also be less.
Condensing of the fibr bundle,which follows the
drafting process,can already be seen as a significant
development of the ring spinning technology. Condensed
ring yarn is more than a speciality.ln view of its
manifold advantages.
It is of technological importance that the suction leve
I relevant for the condensing operation is exactly the
same for all spinning positions. To fulfil this
criteria,individual motors combined with suction units
for 6 spinning positions,have been arranged
accordingly.This provides short air-flow distances with

identical negativ pressures at all spinning points .
During yarn formation all fibres are perfectly
condensed and gathered parallel to each other in the
compacting zone. Consequently all fibres are twisted in
and contributing to the superior fibre utilisation rate
compared to conventional ring yarn. The result is
exceptionally low hairiness combined with higher yarn
tenacity and elongation. These are the unique
characteristics of these yarns.
Advatages
• higher fibre utilisation

• higher tenacity with same twist factor, or
• same tenacity with reduced twist factor for higher
production
• lowest hairiness (highest reduction in hairs longer
than 3 mm)
• fewer weak points
• better imperfections (IPI) values
• higher abrasion resistance
• greater brilliance of colour
• intensive dye penetration
• no singeing befor~ printing
Due to better utilization of fibre substance it is possible to
reduce yarn twist of these Yarns, particularly of knitting
yarns,by up to 20%,maintaining the yarn strength of
conventional ring yarns.This increases yarn production.
The ends-down rate in spinning these Yarns is reduced

hy 30 to 60%,which imp~oves machine efficiency.
Applying the same winding speed as with
conventional ring yarns, there are less raised points in
these Yarns and the increase in yarn imperfections is
reduced because they have a better resistance to shifting.
Higher winding speeds are therefore possible with
compact yarns Yar ns .
In accordance with up to 20%twist reduction in
spinning compact yarns ,the twisting turns can be
reduced for certain types of yarn.As a result,production
of twisting frame is increased and twisting costs are
reduced.
Owing to the lower hairiness and higher tenacity of
compact Yarns, the ends-down rate in beaming is reduced
by up to 30%.Higher beamer efficiency,higher produc
tion and fewer personnel for repair of ends-down in
beaming are the consequence.
Compact Warp yarns help to save up to 50%of
sizing agent,while the running behaviour of weaving
machi-nes is the same or even better. Cost can be saved
in sizing and de sizing processes.
Owing to the better work capacity of compact Yarns
,ends down can decreased by up to 50% in the warp and
by up to 30%in the weft. Efficiency is consequently
increased by 2 to 3%, production is increased and
weaving costs are reduced. In practice, the average ends-
down rate is reduced by 33% per 100,000 weft insertions
of compact Yarns on rapier weaving machines and by
45% on air-jet weaving machines. Instead of a weft
insertion of 500 -600 m/min with conventional ring
yarn,700-800 m/min is possible with compact Yarns on
air-jet weaving machines.
Due to reduced Yarn hairiness,singeing can

sometimes be dispensed with,or it can be carried out at a
higher cloth advance speed.As a result, production costs
are considerably reduced. Fibres upto 7% can be saved
because singing can be avoided
Dyeing and Printing Improved structure of compact
Yarns and their reduced twist favours the absorption of
colour pigments and chemical finishing agents.5aving of
dyestuff is possible.
Owing to the improved yarn strength, compact
Yarns are well suited for non-iron treatment of woven
fabrics. In the course of such treatment, the strength of
fabrics made from conventional ring yarns can decrease
by up to 25%,with frequent problems in the manufacture
of clothes. compcat Yarns make up for this loss in
strength.
Knitting
Compact Yarns with their increased yarn strength and
reduced formation of fluff permit to achieve higher
machine efficiency and therefore production on knitting
machines at a reduced ends-down rate,less interruptions
and less fabric faults. Production costs therefore decrease.
The enormously low hairiness of compact Yarns often
permits to dispense with usual waxing. Considerable cost
saving is achieved because of this.
In knitting fibre abrasion reduced by 40% due to low
hairiness. Fewer defects/ yarn breaks and better quality.
Less contamination on all machines by foreign fibres.
Less wear of needles, guide elements and sinkers due to
less dust in the compact Yarn . Low hairiness has
positive impact on loop structure. L Low pilling values

get more and more important. In many cases single
compact Yar.ns substitute conventional ply yarns.
Waxing can be reduced or completely dispensed with.
Compact Yarns are much more suitable for warp
knitting than conventional ring yarns,because of their
higher work capacity and lower hairiness. They are
predestined to bear the high load due to numerous
deflecting points with high friction in the warp knitting
machine.
• Due to better embedding of fibres (including short
ones)in compact Yarn,approx.6%fewer combing
noils are possible.
• Cheaper carded qualities instead of combed qualities
can be spun with the Compact Spinning ystem.
• In many cases single EliTe ® Yarns can substitute
conventional ply yarns
• new qualities can be developed, opening up a new
creative scope for products
Hairiness Testing of Yarns
Hairiness of yarns has been discussed for many years,but

it always remained a fuzzy subject. With the advent of
compact yarns and their low hairiness compared to
conventional yarns, the issue of measuring hairiness and
the proper interpretation of the values has become
important again.Generally speaking,long hairs are
undesirable, while short hairs are desirable (see picture ).
The picture shown below just give a visual impression
of undesirable and desirable hairiness at the edge of a
cops.
There are two major manufacturers of hairiness

testing equipment on the market,and both have their
advantages and disadvantages. Some detail is given
below.
USTER
USTER is the leading manufacturer of textile testing

equipment. The USTER hairiness H is defined as follows
H =total length (measured in centimeters) of all the hairs

within one centimeter of yarn .
(The hairiness value given by the tester at the end of the
test is the average of all these values measured, that is,if
400 m have been measured,it is the average of 40,000
individual values) . The hairiness H is an average
value,giving no indication of the distribution of the
length of the hairs.
ZWEIGLE
Zweigle is a somewhat less well known manufacturer of

yarn testing equipment. Unlike USTER,the Zweigle does
not give averages. The number of hairs of different
lengths are counted separately, and these values are
displayed on the equipment. In addition, the S3 value is
given,which is defined as follows:
SC3 =Sum (number of hairs 3 mm and longer)
In the above example,the yarns would have different S3
values:
S3yarn 1 =2 .
S3yam 2 =4.
A clear indication that yam 2 is "more hairy "than yam
1. The CV value of hairiness is given a histogram
(graphical representation of the distribution of the
hairiness) is given.
The USTER H value only gives an average,which is
of limited use when analyzing the hairiness of the
yam. The Zweigle testing equipment gives the complete
distributionof the different lengths of the hairs. The S3
value distinguishes between long and short hairiness,
which is more informative than the H value.
RULES FOR OPERATION OF ELITE RING

SPINNING MACHINES
1. Elite Q Spinning Machines produce yam of supreme

quality and come up to the expectations. Installation of
the machine in the spinning mill EliTe Q Spinning
Machines have a considerable air flow rate -a machine
with .1008 spindles sucks in about 60 cubic meter of air
per minute,i.e. it has the effect of a vacuum cleaner. The
ambient air is sucked into machine and most of the fly
and dirt contained in it is deposited on the EliTe Q
Machine. Although EliTe Spinning Machines generate
considerably less fly than standard ring spinning
machines, they are soon covered with dust and fly if they
are installed in the same room as conventional spinning
machines. The fly has a negative effect on the yam in the
condensing zone and the smooth running of the lattice
apron. As a result,the yam is of substandard quality.
Rulel: EliTe Q Spinning Machines must be separated
from conventional spinning machines.
Spinning room conditions: The fibres in the

condensing zone are exposed to the room conditions
without any protection. Our recommendations on the
room conditions suitable for processing cotton and man-
made fibres should be followed, therefore. If the air
humidity is too high, there will be a higher tendency
towards roller laps. If the air is too dry,t here will be
more fly. If the room temperature is too high, there will
be higher friction values and premature wear.
Rule 2:maximum room temperature:33.C humidity
should be max ... ,5 g water/kg air for cotton min.9,O g
water /kg air for cotton max .. O,O g water/kg air for
synthetics min.9,O g water/kg air for synthetics
3.Position of the Eli Top in relation to the front
bottom roller of the drafting system: If the setting is
correct, the top edge of the suction slot in the Eli Tube is
precisely set at the nip line of the delivery top roller. If
the nip line cuts the slot, condensation is impaired. The
hairiness of the yarn increases and the tearing strength is
reduced. If the nip line is behind the slot, part of the
spinning torsion may get into the condensation zone,
resulting in an increased ends-down rate and damaged
lattice aprons.
Rule 3:The front top roller is precisely 3.5 mm offset
towards the operator in relation to the front bottom roller
of the drafting system.
4.Traverse mechanism: The roving must run over
the slot in such a way, that, from the operator's view,
the fibres move from the top right to the bottom left. If
the fibres run over the slot top from the L.H. side,they
make an S-shaped movement causing a certain
unsteadiness in the condensing zone. This has a negative
effect on the yarn values.
Rule 4:The traverse mechanism for the sliver should

be adjusted in such a way that the traverse motion at the
front of the drafting system does not exceed 4 mm,and
that the l.h.limit position of the sliver is level with the
L.H .. edge of the top of the slot.
5.Cleaning the Eli Tubes and lattice aprons :Eli
Tubes and lattice aprons are the most important
components of the EliTe Q Condensing System. Careful
maintenance is an important prerequisite for optimum
yarn values. In the centre area, where the suction is
active, a permanent air flow keeps the lattice aprons
clean. To the left and right of this area, the lattice apron
can be clogged by fine dust. With the time, this results in
a considerable increase of the friction between the lattice
aprons and the EliTube. If this friction is too high, erratic
running of the lattice apron and substandard yarn quality
is the result. Therefore,lattice aprons and Eli Tubes
should be removed from the machine from time to time
and cleaned. This can be done when the machine is
running. The time needed per box length is 5 min. The
expenditure of time necessary for changing the EliTubes
with lattice aprons is about 90 minutes for a machine
with .1008 spindles, which corresponds to a loss of
production of 90' minutes. For yarn count Ne 40, the
production loss involved is less than 370 g. The cleaning
frequency varies depending on the portion of fine dust of
the cotton. As an average value, 500 operating hours may
be taken into account. The aprons are cleaned in a
washing machine or in an ultrasonic cleanint; device. The
EliTubes are cleaned using a damp piece of cloth.
Damaged lattice aprons must be replaced. On EliTubes
with considerable traces of wear, the inserts must be
replaced.
Rule 5:Lattice aprons and Eli Tubes must be cleaned

from time to time.
6.Measures to be taken in the case of laps at the
front top roller Laps may occur in the case of unsuitable
room conditions or damaged or inappropriately buffed
cuts, or if the fibre material used is prone to the
formation of laps. Large laps may block the delivery and
front rollers and damage the cot of the blocked roller. If
spinning is continued with damaged cots,periodic yarn
faults will be the result. Consequently, a blocked Eli Top
must be replaced by a new Eli Top and repaired in the
service room. For this purpose,all operators should carry
a spare Eli Top with them.
Rule 6:EliTops with blocked top rollers must be
replaced by new top rollers.
7.Buffing the EliTe Q Top Rollers: The cots of the
EliTe Q Top Rollers are subject to wear and should be
buffed from time to time.The tension draft in the
condensing zone -6 %as a general rule depends on the
difference in diameter between the front top roller and
the delivery top roller. Changed tension drafts may result
in changed yarn parameters.
Rule 7:Make sure that the difference in diameter of
the front top roller and the delivery roller corresponds
precisely to the desired tension draft.
8.Checking the partial vacuum As a general
rule,continuous control of the vacuum pressure is not
necessary. When the whole machine is cleaned, we
recommend, however,to remove also the connecting
hoses between the suction tubes and the fans and to
clean them.
Rule 8:Clean the connecting hoses with regular

frequency.
9.Maintenance of the fans: Fans may be clogged
after a time/which has a negative effect on the suction.
Rule 9:The fans should be removed from the
machine and cleaned once a year.
lO.spinning speed: In the case of EliTe Q Spinning
Machines, return on investment is not based on higher
production, but on the production of yarn of supreme
quality. The Suessen recommendations concerning
traveller speeds and running-in speeds for rings and
travellers should be followed, therefore. Not the ultimate
increase in speed, but the yarn quality leads to success.
Rule lO:Yarn quality is more important than
quantity.

A Practical Guide To Fibre Science (PDFDrive)

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What are the primary and secondary properties of textile fibers?

What are the primary and secondary properties of textile fibers?

What are the four major natural fibers?

What are the four major natural fibers?

N. S.

Printed at Mehra Offset, Daryaganj, Delhi - 110002

Fibers are natural or chemical structures that can be spun

floorcoverings, furnishings, beddings, and other textiles

Length; length-width ratio

Resistance to solvents, corrosive chemicals, micro-

PROPERTIES DESIRED FOR TEXTILE FIBERS

Apparel and Domestic application:

Modulus of elasticity: 80 grams/denier or more

KEY FIBER PROPERTIES DETERMINED BY

Apparel - essentially every form of clothing, dresses,

- Soft and comfortable

Major End Uses

Apparel - Blouses, dresses, jackets, lingerie, linings,

that all rayons are washable. Anytime a rayon garment,

Manufactured Fiber - cellulosic-based, made from wood

Wide range of colors; dyes and prints well

Major End Uses

Apparel- Blouses, dresses, linings, special occasion

Light-weight, soft, warm with a wool-like hand Dyes

Major End Uses

Apparel : sweaters, socks, fleece, circular knit apparel,

Major End Uses

Apparel - dresses, suits, sportswear, pants, jackets,

Major End Uses

Apparel - hosiery, blouses, dresses, separates, sportswear,

Major End Uses

Apparel - swimwear, activewear, intimate apparel,

The most popular fiber blend used in swimwear

ELAST ANE FIBERS:(LYCRA)

Elastane fibres, better known under their trade names,

Elastane combines its good properties with both

High performance and easy care.

Major End Uses

Apparel - articles where stretch is desired: athletic

Soft or crisp hand

Major End Uses

Apparel - dresses, blouses, skirts, jackets, pants, pants,

Home Fashion - curtains, draperies, upholstery.

Major End Uses

Apparel - Wide range of wearing apparel: blouses, shirts,

Some reasons of blending are:

Abrasion resistance strength

The first generation of man-made fibresneeded

What a microfibre is:

lower)and drawn at high draw ratio. However, more

Properties and applications

The tightly woven microfibre fabrics impede water

Due to their fineness, the total surfacearea of microfibre

larger quantity of size need to be applied to

The difficulty in processing microfibrescan be overcome

microfibrefabrics. Emerising treatment must always be

finer filaments than nylon.Raised fabrics from polyester

Mixing is the first and important process in the spinning

under pressure to improve their design continuously to