National Cotton Council of America
Beltwide Cotton Conferences
January 8-11, 2008
Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center
Nashville, Tennessee
The Cotton Foundation

Recorded Presentations

Friday, January 11, 2008 - 10:30 AM

A New Approach to Measuring Cotton Spinnability Limits

Pelin Z. Altintas, Mourad Krifa, and Mario G. Beruvides. Texas Tech University, Box 43061, Lubbock, TX 79409

Yarn quality is important for end users like knitters and weavers. The fiber properties and process parameters play a great role in determining yarn quality. Performance of spinning cotton is also mainly affected by process parameters and fiber properties. Predicting the degree of spinnability of cotton is crucial. Spinning limits of cotton refers to the finest yarn number that can be spun satisfactorily from a given cotton under constant spinning conditions. Traditionally, this is measured by monitoring the end-breakage rate while spinning increasingly finer yarns. This method of measuring spinnability of cotton requires running long tests in order to assess accurate cotton spinning performance. This research aims to develop a methodology that determines spinning limits which relies on yarn quality criteria that will substantially shorten spinning tests. The new methodology will enable prompt and valid determination of spinnability limits and potential end-uses of cotton.