GUIDELINE FOR THE CORRECT INTERPRETATION OF

STICKINESS GRADE IN CONTEST INSTRUMENTS

1. INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTION
2. DIFFERENT METHODS OF DETECTION
3. OFFICIAL RECOGNITION BY ITMF-ICCTM
4. THE STICKINESS THRESHOLD ISSUE
5. INFLUENCE OF EXTERNAL FACTORS ON MEASUREMENTS
6. STICKINESS GRADE & SPINNING RISK PROBABILITY
7. HOW TO DEAL WITH A LOT ANALYSIS
8. CALIBRATION & CHECK TEST
9. REFERENCES
INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTION
CONTEST-F and CONTEST-S are capable to simulate
the carding process like in real spinning conditions.
The operator feeds a 3.5 g sample which is processed into a 10 m fine fiber web, which is delivered to the Stickiness Tester
and pressed in between two heated drums. The sticky deposits adhering on the drum surface are optically inspected and
the drums are automatically cleaned. Concerning only CONTEST-F, the cotton web is recollected and sent to the
Micronaire and Maturity Tester, where these properties are measured by the airflow principle of double compression.

The whole process is automatically achieved in

only 30 sec for CONTEST-S and about 1 min for CONTEST-F.
The Stickiness Tester detects the stickiness content
affecting the spinning process, thus providing a Stickiness
Risk Probability on the basis of its grade, enabling spinners
to decide how to process and blend different cotton
bales. Simultaneous measurements of stickiness deposits
and fiber maturity on the same sample provide
comprehensive information on cotton stickiness profile.
 DIFFERENT METHODS OF DETECTION

Indeed, the high variation in stickiness within a sample, as well as within bale and within lot, makes only the thermo

mechanical methods suitably designed for daily testing in a trading context, thus overcoming the constrains of chemical and

physical methods concerning testing on limited portions of material.

In facts, among all the available methods for

stickiness detection (i.e., chemical, physical,
mechanical and thermo-mechanical), only
thermo-mechanical methods are recommended
(in production and trade) by the latest findings of
the ITMF International Committee on Cotton
Testing Methods (ICCTM), in cooperation with
CIRAD, Fiber Institute Bremen and ICA Bremen,
due to their highest correlation with processing
behaviour and yarn quality*.

(*) ITMF NEWS LETTER No.56 – September 2020: “Use of Stickiness Test Results for Trading Purposes” by Claudia Hagedorn, director marketing and retail, Bremen Cotton Exchange
OFFICIAL RECOGNITION BY THE ITMF-ICCTM

STICKINESS TESTING METHOD

embedded in CONTEST instruments recently received in April 2020 an official and full recognition by the

ITMF International Committee on Cotton Testing Methods (ICCTM)

The instrument manufacturer provided all relevant

information that allowed the ITMF ICCTM to
recognize the usefulness and benefits of the
Stickiness Tester in CONTEST instruments for the
complete cotton supply chain: it assists spinners to
achieve consistent yarn quality standards,
it sustains the monitoring of the stickiness in the
season crop for traders and suppliers and
it provides grading for research laboratories.

https://www.itmf.org/images/dl/icctm/recognition/Recognition_MESDAN_20200429.pdf
RECOGNIZED CONSISTENCY OF RESULTS

By virtue of strong correlation results and the lowest inter-laboratory CV%

shown in the ITMF-ICCTM Round Test, the Stickiness Tester manufactured by
Mesdan is the ideal method of choice for stickiness detection for trade
purposes, with full consistency of results with the other thermo-mechanical
(SCT, H2SD) and mechanical methods of reference (MINICARD).

The complete documentation now available on

the ITMF official web site contains:

• Inter-Laboratory Comparisons,
• Instrument Performance over time,
• Comparisons to Reference Methods,
• Instrument Performance between Operators,
• Many other analysis and functioning details…

https://www.itmf.org/images/dl/icctm/recognition/Recognition_MESDAN_20200429.pdf
THE STICKINESS THRESHOLD ISSUE
As experienced in spinning mills all over the world, stickiness affects both
productivity and quality parameters. The establishment of thresholds for spinning
sticky cotton would therefore be a great advantage to the spinning industry.
However, several studies demonstrated up to now that such a critical single
threshold is really unlikely to be achieved for worldwide spinning, since each mill
has its own typical machinery, knowledge and economical conditions that
enable different levels of tolerance.

On this basis, it is difficult to accurately evaluate the

economic impact of stickiness on the spinning
industry, as well as a determination of discounts that
should be applied to sticky cottons in a rational
manner. Nevertheless, a reasonable way seems to be
a threshold classification which should be set
by every customer on the basis of his own experience
and ability to process fibers of a given stickiness.
Therefore,
it is important to remark that the scale
given in this presentation should be
intended only as a starting suggestion,
since it depends on various factors,
which will be explained in the next slides.
 INFLUENCE OF EXTERNAL FACTORS ON MEASUREMENTS
25°C / RH40% 20°C / RH65% 30°C / RH80%
1. The stickiness of cotton is highly affected by the moisture content and the
atmospheric condition during testing. In order to compare results between
different laboratories, it is mandatory that samples are tested at
standard atmosphere according to ASTM D1776*

2. Since the stickiness phenomenon is highly affected by variability, a single test or

few samples are unsuitable to achieve precise evaluation; such a problem is
thoroughly connected
* with the sampling, as well as the within-variability of the
material to be tested, which requires a certain own experience by the user's
side. However, for limited samples (<200 g), 3 - 6 tests** are recommended for
reliable evaluation of the stickiness content.

500

STICKINESS GRADE
3. Furthermore, the stickiness module must be kept calibrated. A periodic full 400
300
maintenance of the instrument (once a year, especially recommended in case 200

of intensive processing of sticky samples) is the suitable way to maintain the 100
0
inter-instrument variability within 25%. 1 2 3 4 5
Intrument No.

(*) Pre-condition of samples in standard atmosphere according to ASTM D1776 (21 ± 1°C and 65 ± 2% RH) for at least 24 hours.
(**) The number of tests is depending on the level of stickiness: higher the level of stickiness, lower the number of tests and vice versa.
 STICKINESS GRADE & SPINNING RISK PROBABILITY
The grading of stickiness is based on a linear
LEGEND:
SG = Stickiness Grade
combination of the sticky counts/gr and their class sizes
SC = Stickiness Total Count/gr
in such a way to provide a dimensionless parameter,
Si = Stickiness Count/gr for Class i
namely Stickiness Grade, which is tuned to represent
i = Stickiness Class Size (1 = small, 5 = big sticky points)
the probability that a decrease of efficiency may
5 5
occur in spinning due to stickiness.
𝑆𝐶 = 𝑆𝑖 ; 𝑆𝐺 = (𝛼𝑖 ∙ 𝑆𝑖 )
𝑖=1 𝑖=1

* Sample A Sample B

Count/gr

Count/gr
Stickiness Class Size Stickiness Class Size

STICKINESS CLASS SIZE

EXAMPLE 1
STICKINESS STICKINESS
COTTON COUNT/GR GRADE
1 2 3 4 5

Sample A 18 12 6 4 2 42 86
Extremely High Sample B 2 4 6 12 18 42 166
(*) Pre-condition of samples in standard atmosphere according to ASTM D1776 (21 ± 1°C and 65 ± 2% RH) for at least 24 hours.
 STICKINESS GRADE & SPINNING RISK PROBABILITY
The grading of stickiness is based on a linear
LEGEND:
SG = Stickiness Grade
combination of the sticky counts/gr and their class sizes
SC = Stickiness Total Count/gr
in such a way to provide a dimensionless parameter,
Si = Stickiness Count/gr for Class i
namely Stickiness Grade, which is tuned to represent
i = Stickiness Class Size (1 = small, 5 = big sticky points)
the probability that a decrease of efficiency may
5 5
occur in spinning due to stickiness.
𝑆𝐶 = 𝑆𝑖 ; 𝑆𝐺 = (𝛼𝑖 ∙ 𝑆𝑖 )
𝑖=1 𝑖=1

*
* Sample C Sample D

Count/gr

Count/gr
Stickiness Class Size Stickiness Class Size

STICKINESS CLASS SIZE

EXAMPLE 2
STICKINESS STICKINESS
COTTON COUNT/GR GRADE
1 2 3 4 5

Sample C 65 36 15 4 1 121 203

Extremely High Sample D 23 17 28 24 29 121 382
(*) Pre-condition of samples in standard atmosphere according to ASTM D1776 (21 ± 1°C and 65 ± 2% RH) for at least 24 hours.
 STICKINESS GRADE & SPINNING RISK PROBABILITY
The grading of stickiness is based on a linear
combination of the sticky counts/gr and their class sizes
in such a way to provide a dimensionless parameter,
namely Stickiness Grade, which is tuned to represent
the probability that a decrease of efficiency may
occur in spinning due to stickiness.

*
*

Therefore, the manufacturer suggests an interpretation

of the stickiness grade in terms of spinning risk probability for
a blend of 100% cotton (not mixed).

The Spinning Risk Scale should be considered as a starting

advice for the final customer, in which the risk can be
reduced below the critical spinning threshold by mixing sticky
cottons with non-sticky cottons according to climate,
Extremely High machinery, speeds, etc…

(*) Pre-condition of samples in standard atmosphere according to ASTM D1776 (21 ± 1°C and 65 ± 2% RH) for at least 24 hours.
THE STICKINESS THRESHOLD ISSUE

Different options are commonly recognized as appropriate methods to decrease the stickiness level:
• Adjusting the blend ratio of a sticky cotton with non-sticky cottons in order to obtain an acceptable level of stickiness;
• Reducing the relative humidity of the air during the spinning;
• Possible treatment of rollers with chemicals;
• Heat lamps in combing.

To determine the proportions of blending or the deviations

from the standard conditioning parameters for each type of
cotton, it is essential to quantify the potential stickiness of the
contaminated cotton, which depends on the Stickiness
Grade (i.e. the number of sticky points contained in the
cotton, as well as the size distribution of these sticky points).

Among the competitors, CONTEST-F and CONTEST-S make the

difference in the working principle, since both the sticky points
counting per gram and their size evaluation are provided by
simulating the carding process like in a real spinning process.
HOW TO DEAL WITH A LOT ANALYSIS

When an entire lot has to be tested (e.g. composed by 100 bales)

it is useful to determine a proper number of tests in order to achieve a
good balance between the testing time and a spinning risk
evaluation, which can be statistically significant.

In this case, the approach of performing a complete evaluation for

each bale could be extremely time consuming!

According to a suitable selection of bales within the lot

(in such a way to be homogeneous in terms of the
origin), it is possible to achieve a reliable spinning risk
evaluation which is referred only to the whole lot
by performing 1-3 tests per bale for a minimum number
of bales (e.g. at least 25%).

On the basis of the stickiness grade average and

variance of such analysis, the set of measurements can
thus provide a survey for stickiness within the lot.
CALIBRATION & CHECK TEST

The HarCoStiC project* has been currently the only task force involved in the research of reference materials for stickiness.

Nevertheless, certified cottons, on the basis of which it should be possible to calibrate every stickiness detector with a single

common scale, are not available yet. In this situation, it is unfeasible any calibration of any instrument by the customer and only

the manufacturer can guarantee the reliability of the detector during time. Mesdan supports their customers by means of the

Official Assistance Service within its periodical maintenance program, as well as the additional Remote Internet Check Service

on the instruments (free of charge).

Check Tests are however suggested to keep monitored

the instrument stability in time by using internal check

materials, which should be significant for the stickiness level

(i.e. similar to those that are generally tested by the customer

and tuned with the critical threshold of the spinning process).

(*) HarCoStiC (Harmonization of Cotton Stickiness Characterization) started in 2016 under the conduction of J.P. Gourlot

and it was designed for the creation of universal reference materials for harmonization of cotton stickiness characterization.
REFERENCES

For more information concerning the Stickiness Testing Method about additional
features, principle of operation, benefits, application range of testing or
maintenance information, refer to the complete documentation recognized by the

ITMF International Committee on Cotton Testing Methods (ICCTM)

by clicking on the following link:

https://www.itmf.org/images/dl/icctm/recognition/Recognition_MESDAN_20200429.pdf

For more information about the effects of stickiness during spinning and the
ways to deal with such an issue, a comprehensive investigation can be found in:

J. P. Gourlot and R. Frydrych,

Final Report of the Project CFC / ICAC / 11
“Improvement of the Marketability of Cotton Produced in Zones Affected by Stickiness”,
Technical Paper No. 17 (2001)
CONTEST
HIGH VOLUME COTTON TESTING EQUIPMENT

www.mesdan.it