Evaluating the impact of fiber processing on cotton fiber tensile properties

Date
2014-12
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Abstract

Cotton fiber tensile properties impact the processing performance of the fibers and the quality of the final product. Among the main tensile properties, fiber strength is considered as the dominant tensile property while fiber elongation has generally been neglected. The presence of a negative correlation between bundle tenacity and elongation is a main reason for the lack of interest in elongation. In this study, a positive correlation was detected between individual fiber strength and elongation measured by FAVIMAT, whereas negative correlations were observed between bundle tenacity and elongation measured by both Stelometer and HVI. The negative relationship between bundle tenacity and elongation can be explained by the variation in individual fiber elongation of the constituent fibers of a bundle. Impact of fiber processing on the tensile properties was assessed employing two levels of processing, namely light processing and aggressive processing. Light processing does not cause enough fiber breakage to reveal an impact of processing. Yet, during aggressive processing higher elongation fibers tend to show better performance. Therefore, with the increasing processing speeds in the textile industry, the importance of elongation will be more prominent. The importance of elongation suggested at the earlier stages of the study, was further assessed employing samples which represented a wide range in elongation. All other fiber properties except elongation were constant within a family. The results indicated the better performance of higher elongation fibers. Thus, in order to achieve better processing performance of fibers, elongation should be given more consideration in the breeding programs.

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Keywords
Cotton fiber tensile properties, Fiber processing
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