Approaches of Using the Beard Testing Method to Obtain Complete Fiber Length Distributions of the Original Cotton Sample

Devices such as HVI can rapidly measure a cotton sample’s fiber length by scanning a fiber beard.  But present devices that use the beard testing method only report a limited number of length parameters, instead of the complete length distribution of the sample, which is important for better evaluating a cotton sample and suiting the customers’ different needs.  The presentation reports our research in this area, including the statistic descriptions of cotton fiber length distributions, the partial least squares method, the staple diagram method, and the experimental procedures and data.  Results indicate that the models and procedures provide a very good potential for obtaining the original cotton fiber length distribution from measuring a beard, and thus improve the current beard methods and devices.