1

TET 213: TEXTILE TESTING

PART TWO: PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF TEXTILE MATERIALS
Fibre length test
Fibre length simply means the distance from one end to the other of a straighten fibre. The length
of fiber is an important aspect of raw material classification. It is also essential for quality
assessment, fiber breakage study, machine settings, combing efficiency, etc. Natural fibers do
not have the same length in a single tuft and are distributed according to their length. The
classification of fibers according to their length is called the length distribution.
Fiber length can be classified as staple length (STPL), mean length (ML), upper quartile length
(UQL), effective length (EL), modal length (ML), span length (SL), and upper half-mean length
(UHML). The other parameters that can be used to estimate fiber length variations include the
uniformity index (UI), uniformity ratio (UR), short fiber content (SFC), and floating fiber index
(FFI).
The staple length is defined by USDA as “the normal length of typical portion of staple fibers
having relative humidity of 65% and temperature of 70°F.
The mean length of the fibers is defined as “the average length of all fibers in the test specimen
based on weight–length data”. It can also be calculated by number–length data as an alternative.
Upper quartile length: According to ASTM international standards, UQL is defined as “the
fiber length which is exceeded by 25% of fibers by weight in test specimen”.
The effective length is longer than the average length and is a measure of the length of the
majority of longer fibers in a sample. The effective length is described statistically as the upper
quartile of the fiber length distribution obtained by ignoring short fibers whose length is less than
half of the effective length of fibers.
The modal length is the staple length of the high frequency fiber in the sample obtained from
the fiber length frequency diagram. The modal length of long staple cotton is higher than the
mean staple length due to the progressive increase in skewness with increasing staple length in
the fiber length distribution.
The span length is the length of fibers at a distance spanned by a specific percentage of fibers (it
can be by number or by weight) in the test beard, considering the reading as 100% at the starting
point of scanning. Different span length reference points are considered. The most common span
lengths (t) used commercially are 2.5% and 50% span length (S.P). The 2.5% span length is
defined as the length of fiber at which only 2.5% of long fibers are excluded. It provides the
reference length for roller drafting ratchet settings to be adjusted so that few, if any, fibers are
broken.
The upper half-mean length (UHML) as defined by ASTM standards is the average length by
number (respectively by weight) of one-half of the longest fibers when they are divided on a
weight basis (respectively number basis)
The uniformity index (UI%) is the ratio of the mean length to the upper half-mean length. It is a
measure of the uniformity of fiber lengths as a percentage of the sample.
The uniformity ratio (UR %) is the ratio of the 50% span length to the 2.5% span length. It is a
smaller value than the uniformity index by a factor close to 1.8.
Short fiber content (SFC %) is the percentage by weight of fibers having a length less than half
of an inch. It can also be measured in percentage by number of fibers having a length less than
half of an inch, with the respective short fiber content percentage in number. The presence of
short fibers in the cotton increases the cost of processing, waste and also contributes to weaker
 2

yarn and less efficient spinning. Long fibers are mostly preferred due to the reduced number of
fiber ends with higher yarn strength in the same length.
Floating Fiber Index (FFI) is an alternative to short fiber content. It explains the number of
short fibers which are not clamped between the nips of a pair of rollers in the drafting system.
These fibers are floated on long fibers to pass through the drafting zone without the influence of
the applied drafting mechanism.

Measurement of fibre length

The fiber length is measured by a number of techniques including the Suter- Webb fiber array,
the fibrograph, advance fiber investigation system (AFIS), and high volume instrument (HVI)
systems. Each technique has its own advantages. Commercial fiber testing has been done using
an HVI instrument which is a fast measurement technique but with less accuracy as compared to
Suter-Webb.

Fiber length measurement

As single fiber measurement takes time and hand stapling requires experience, alternative
methods have been developed. There are two methods for laboratory analysis used to measure
fiber length.
1. Fibers sorter method/Array method-is much slower but results are more accurate.
2. Fibrograph– is the more rapid test but results are not detailed or accurate.

Fiber sorter method

The fiber sorter is an instrument which enables the sample to be fractionalized into length
groups. The Baer sorter, the Shirley comb sorter, and the Suter-Webb sorter are the most popular
method of the fiber sorter. Basically, the operation involves four main steps:

1. Preparation of a fringe or tuft with all fibers aligned at one end.

2. The separation or withdrawal of fibers in order of decreasing length.
3. The preparation of a sorter diagram by laying the fibers on a black velvet pad in
decreasing order of length, the fibers parallel and their lower ends aligned along a
horizontal base line.
4. The analysis of the sorter diagram.

Suter-Webb array (SW)

This method consists of a bed of upright and parallel combs which control the fibers and
arranged it in the form of an array of uniform density in the descending order of length. In this
way enable the sample (fibers) to be fractionated into length groups for determining cumulative
fiber length distribution phentermine online by weight in parameters upper quartile length
(UQL), mean length (ML) and % short fibers (SFC) as illustrated in Fig. and dispersion
percentage which is expressed as (CV%). The disadvantages of this device are time-consuming
(2 hrs. per sample) and calls for considerable operator skill in sampling and preparing the
diagram (Fig.).
 3

The Shirley comb sorter Method

Principle: A sample of fibers is arranged in the form of an array in the descending order of
length, and from a tracing of this array some fiber length parameters are calculated.
Apparatus
a) Two set of combs
b) Fiber grip
c) Teasing needle
d) Aluminum depressor
e) Velvet pad, and
f) Rectangular perspex scale (160 x 80 mm) marked in 5 mm squares.

Construction:
1) This instrument consists of a two set of combs (top & bottom) arranged at fixed intervals to
hold the fibers and keep them straight.
2) Here 8 top combs and 9 bottom combs are used, each comb are spaced 6 mm (¼ inch) apart
except the first two bottom comb which is 3/16 inch apart.
3) The distance from a row of bottom needles to a row of top needles is 3mm (1/8 inch).
4) An aluminum depressor, grip, teasing needles, velvet pad etc. are also used.

Procedure:

1. A bundle of fibers prepared by one of the zoning methods is straightened by hand and
pressed into the lower set of combs is impaled in the combs with the ends of fibers
protruding.
2. The end of the bundle is straightened by gripping the ends of the outermost fibers with a
wide clamp and withdrawing them a few at a time.
3. The whole sample is then transferred in this way, a few fibers at a time, to position B at
the other end of the combs and placed there so that the fiber ends coincide with the first
comb.
4. The sample is pressed down into the bottom combs and the top combs are then lowered
onto the sample.
5. The rear combs are moved out of the way one at a time until the ends of the longest fibers
are exposed.
6. The exposed fibers are then removed by the grip and laid on a black velvet pad. The next
comb is then removed, so exposing the fibres which constitute the next length group and
these are removed and laid next to the first set of fibres, making sure that all the fibres are
laid with a common base line.
7. Then trace the outline of the fiber array prepared on a sheet of translucent paper