Examination of the Relationships Between Individual Fibers Tensile Properties and Bundle Tensile Properties

Our main objective is to provide the textile industry with a raw material that processes more efficiently and makes better textile products, this without compromising the cotton crop yield. Increasing demands for better cotton fiber quality are being made at every stage of textile processing. Therefore, continued improvement of fiber properties, particularly strength and maturity, is necessary to keep cotton fiber competitive with man-made fiber and to allow the U.S. cotton to compete more effectively with foreign crops.
One main hypothesis is that HVI bundle strength does not reflects the intrinsic fiber strength. Throughout fiber processing (from the gin to the textile mill) the mechanical devices interact with individual fibers or small tuft of fibers not with fiber bundles. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the relationship between individual fiber strength and HVI strength. In a previous project we created a set of reference cottons for maturity measurements. Broad ranges of fiber perimeter and fiber maturity were obtained. In addition, we also had a wide range of HVI strength and elongation. These cottons are perfect candidates for the determination of individual fiber tensile properties and to study the relationships between these measurements and fiber maturity, HVI strength and elongation.