The Advantage of Lower Half Mean Length in Characterizing Short Fibers

Short fibers reduce textile processing efficiencies and product quality. Currently a common parameter for characterizing short fibers is Short Fiber Content (SFC). We developed a new statistical parameter, Lower Half Mean Length (LHML), which is defined as the mean length of the fibers that are in the shorter half by weight of the fiber sample. In this paper we report the advantages of LHML compared to SFC, such as its much lower variation, its capability in predicting short fibers’ impact on yarn properties. We also discuss the approaches for obtaining LHML and results.