389

A Comparison of the Hairiness and Diameter

of Ring and Open-End Yarns

M. H. MOHAMED, P. R. LORD, AND H. A. SALEH

School of Textiles, North Carolina State University, Rakigh, North Carolina 27607, U. S. A.

ABSTRACT
This paper presents a comparison between the hairiness and diameter of open-end and ring yams spun from various
polyester/cotton blends. The yarn hairiness and diameter were measured using an optical technique. The study
covered the effects of blend ratio, yarn count, and twist on the hairiness and diameter of open-end and ring yams.
The results show that the yams spun on the BD 200 machine had a diameter roughly 10% larger than correspond-
ing ring yams. The open-end yarns were also found to be less hairy than ring yams, but the hairiness was found to have
a higher coefficient of variation.

Introduction -

would give much difficulty during manufacturing or in

Hairiness of yam is important in a number of ways.
During manufacturing operations subsequent to yam
formation, any increase in hairiness usually leads to
increased production of fly. This can be especially
troublesome in warp knitting. In a warp, increased
hairiness increases the probability of entanglement of
adjacent ends, which frequently leads to end breakage;
indexed, one of the functions of warp sizing for weaving
is to reduce these entanglements. In the fabric itself
the degree of hairiness of the yam affects the visual and
tactile character of the fabric. Generally, the more
hairy the surface of the fabric, the softer it feels and the
more it tends to obscure the underlying fabric structure;
this is seen in the extreme with napped fabrics. With
an un-napped surface the hairiness of the fabric surface
is dependent on the hairiness of the yam and the ease
with which hairs may be raised by normal use. Pilling
performance of a fabric also depends on the degree of
hairiness of the fabric.
It is generally accepted that the lower the twist
multiple (TM) of a ring yam, the more the fabric pills, .
but this is because of the increased extent of the hairs
on the yarn surface.
I
final use; indeed, singeing is often used to reduce the
hair length (but not the number of hairs) for this very
purpose. Similarly, a singed fabric is not so prone to
pill as one with a multitude of relatively long surface
hairs. The surface softness of a fabric depends on the
hairiness, the denier, and type of the fibers forming the
hairs, as well as the geometry of the protruding fibers.
Ease of deformation of these hairs and loops determines
the feeling of surface softness. An outstanding fiber
does not perform in the same way as a loop, and the
deformation of the loop depends on its geometry.
It seems reasonable to suppose that the
hair mean
length loop height might be than
or
important more the
frequency of occurrence along the length of the yarn,
because in a normal staple yam, that frequency is so
high. In fact, Pillay [10] reported that the number of
hairs in a ring yarn is about equal to the number of
fibers in the element of yam, which is tantamount to
saying that, on average, every fiber has one end pro-
truding. If this were true for open-end - (OE) yam,
then the extreme diameter of the yam (or hair length
or loop height) would seem to be more
important than
the frequency of hairs along the yam length. Further-

Yam diameter and hairiness are important since they more, if this postulate is true, then differences in TM
can only alter the extent of the protrusions from the
,

affect the cover factor, limiting fabric constructions,

fabric basis weight, and structure. All these param-
eters are affected by twist and fiber type; it was judged
to be of interest to determine the diameter and the
hairiness of the yarn in the free state for a practical
range of twist levels for a series of various polyester/
cotton yarns.
&dquo;
’Hairiness
Hairiness can be defined in terms of the number of
hairs as well as their length and shape. For example,
it is unlikely that a yarn with very short surface hairs
body of the yam rather than their number; Barella,
Boswell, Townend, and Pillay [2, 3, 10] found this to
be true, but they found that the number of loops in a
ring yam decreased with twist. The number of loops
in ring yarn is thought to be associated with fiber
migration; i.e., when slack fibers migrate to the surface,
they are liable to form loops. This mechanism is un-
likely to be so frequent with OE yarns.
Consider the way in which hairs might be formed;
the fibers on the outside of an OE yarn are usually
bridging fibers, with one end buried in the yam and the
other wrapped round the outside of the yam. If the

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 390
&dquo;mechanism postulated by Lord C4~ is correct, and
-the corners of the triangular prism fold over to make the
round shape (see Fig. 1), then there is a chance of the
free end being trapped by the folding. In this case the
loop length would be reduced.. ~ somewhat similar
folding action occurs in ring spinning, but it is lessis
likely that the fiber ends will become trapped. It
likely that there is a relationship between the fiber
migration levels and the hairiness; thus the TM is
likely to be an important parameter. Another prob-
able difference between OE and ring yam is that in
the former case the hairs are likely to be looped or
trailing as the yams emerge from the spinning machine,
whereas, it would be expected that with ring spinning
there would be a proportion of leading hairs; these
would be fairly easy to raise by rubbing over the traveler
,
or guides. Thus it would be expected that there would
be more single outstanding hairs with ring yam, and
the extreme diameter of the ring~yarn would be greater
in proportion to the diameter of the body of the yam.
Fto. 1. Yarn formation ;n open-end spinning.
Lord and Nichols [5] noticed that wet-spun yams,
-
whether they be ring OE yams, are usually very
or
smooth, but these when knitted or woven tend to give
an unsatisfactory fabric unless ,they are napped. The
of the material is accentuated to the detri-
topography
ment of the hand and appearance of fabric; the lack of
’
hair tends to make the fabric look lean and feel harsh.
In trying to measure twist by the Rockbank optical
twist tester, it was noticed that twisting or untwisting
these yarns led to an increase in’ hairiness; hairs were
seen to pop out as torque was applied. Similarly, it
. =
has been observed that rubbing wet- or dry-spun ring
and OE yarns over an edge increases hairiness; if this
,
is done at considerable tension, the effect is quite sig-
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nificant. This observation agrees with that of Barella
and Vigo [2] with respect to ring yams, where it was
noted that there was a within-package variation in
hairiness of ring yams which was ascribed to variations
in the position of the ring rail. This infers that the
traveler raises hair on the surface of the yam. The
importance oaf. these observations is that hairiness is a
transient state and there can be no absolute values for
ring or OE yarns. There can only be valid comparisons
between particular yarn-making machines using identi-
cal feed stock and identical post-spinning treatment
(the latter should be kept to a minimum if the machines
are to be assessed; Lord and Nichols [5] have shown
that extension of a yam affects its hairiness). In this
work, only one OE spinning machine (BD200) was
available; consequently, there can only be a comparison
between single members of the two classes of machine,
and no general result can be produced because differ-
ences in design of the yarn-forming, removal, and wind-
ing systems may well produce differences in hairiness.
°
Yarn Diameter
Yarn diameter is itself of considerable importance,
because not all yarns of given linear density have the
same diameter. Structural differences between ring
and OE yarns give differences in fiber packing density.
The OE yarns tend to have a hard twisted core and a
rather open surrounding sheath as compared to ring
yams. This affects the cover in both woven and
knitted fabrics, although as shown by Mohamed and
Lord [6] and [7], the diameter of the yarn in the free
state is not necessarily directly related to the cover
factor. This is because interlacing yarns exert pres-
sure on one another which causes the yam to squash,
and the magnitude of this deformation (which in part
determines cover factor) is dependent on the fabric
structure. Differences in yam diameter affect the
geometry of the yam in the fabric (~.g. crimp in woven
fabrics), and this in turn affects the properties, Once
again, however, the degree to which the yamsonsquash
plays an important part. Nevertheless, data yam
diameter in the free state is valuable, providing it is
used with discretion.
The diameter of the body of the yarn in the free
state (D in Fig. 2) has been investigated by other
workers. Peirce [9] suggested that
where ,
N, yam count
=
k a constant,
.
’
p bulk density of yam,
=
D = yam diameter.
 391

This suggests that Experimental Plan

Two factorial plans were designed [11]; the first to
test OE and ring yam for the effect of yam number
where K =
another constant (bulk factor). and blend ratio, and the second for the effects of twist,
yarn count, and blend ratio.
The first experimental plan was designed for three
factors at different levels, i.e.,

Y = Yam type (OE and ring),

N, - Yam count (36/1, 30/1, 24/1, 20/1, and 16/1),
B = Blend (100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75, and 0/100:
% polyester/% cotton).
The TM was kept constant (within experimental
limits) at 4.0.
The second experimental plan was designed for four
FtG. 2. Yam dimensions measured. factors at different levels, i.e.,

Y =
Yam type,
A list of K values for ring yarns determined by other
workers is given in Table I. However, it should be l1’, = Yam count (16/1 and 36/1 only),
B =
Blend,
noted that the photographic method mentioned en-
T =
Twist multiple (3.5, 4.0, 4.5, and 5.0).
tailed the continuous passage of yam during the ex-
posure of the photograph, which integrates over a length In plan 1, yam number was predominant, and in plan 2
of yam, but in so doing tends to blur the boundaries of
the twist was predominant.
D and is likely to cause an overestimate of the true
diameter. Peirce [9] and Onion et al. [8] made their Open-end yarns were spun on a BD 200 machine,
and in the case of 100% cotton yarns, the combing
measurements under compression arising from the
roller recommended for that fiber was used; for the
fabric, and their results (K) are likely to be low. fibers containing polyester, the combing roller recom-
mended for synthetics was used. The yams were spun
.
TABLE I. Constants for calculating yarn diameter. from 30 grain/yd sliver. The ring yarns were spun on
a Saco-Lowell S-1 spinning frame from double creeled
2.0 hank roving.
The slivers for both the OE and ring yams were
made by blending at the draw frame and the fibers were:

Cotton; combed peeler of 3.83 #£gm/in., and 1.47 in.

staple length.
Polyester; Celanese T310, 1.5 denier, 1.7 in. staple
length. ,

As a preliminary,a thorough investigation was made of

Van Issum et al. [12] pointed out that tension and
twist affect yam diameter; they suggested the form
which can be translated to:
where r =
twist multiple. This suggests that a plot
of D vs. N ,-I should have an intercept, and this has to
be considered. This implies that the values of K
quoted in Table I are not independent of twist and
tension; therefore they should not be regarded as ab-
solute values. This may, to some minor degree, explain
some of the differences.
the 16/1, 75/25 polyester/cotton OE yarn of 4.0 TM;
in this case over 200 observations were made for each
variable. By allowing 10% error with a probability of
0.95, it was determined that 34 observations only were
needed for the required precision; this was rounded up
to 50. A total of 400 different bobbins of both OE
and ring yarns were tested for plan 2, and of these, 125
were also used for plan 1. Because there was only one
bobbin for each cell in the factorial plans 1 and 2, no
replication was used and the appropriate method for
factorial experiments was used. Three- and four-factor
interactions were used for plans 1 and 2, respectively.
This avoided tedious replication, which was subse-
quently justified by the lack of serious differences be-
tween OE and ring yams.

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 392
’

Method of Measurement The measurements inevitably include a variety of

Yam diameter can be measured in the free state or
determine the
by methods which utilize compression tohairiness as well
~bulk. Clearly, when trying to measure
as the diameter of the body of the yam, the former
method is to be preferred. To prevent transverse pres-
sure, optical methods are usually used, and because
of
the variations normal with staple yarns, the methods
should not be unduly tedious so that a sufficiency of
data can be obtained. Furthermore, it was already
known ~ that OE and ring yams respond to pressure in
different ways. A projection microscope is one of the
most convenient ways of fulfilling the requirements,
therefore it was decided to use such an instrument.
A Projectina instrument was used in such a way that
lengths of yarn could be pulled from the spinning pack-
age through a system of smooth guides. At the desired
lengthwise position, one ’ end of the yam could be
clamped and a 3.25-gm deadweight attached to the
other end. A microscope stage was used so that the
image could be moved laterally with respect to a hori-
zontal hairline which was parallel to the yam axis. By
this means it was possible to measure directly the
distance between boundaries of the body of the yam
and the extremities of the hair and loop protrusions.
errors, some of which can be allowed for and others
which cannot. The latter include the effects of vari-
ability in linear density and in twist. The latter is
difficult to measure in OE yarns, and it is debatable
what means of measurement should be used. In this
case the Rockbank method (which measures twist at
the yam surface) was chosen, because it was felt that
the major portion of the bulkiness arose in the loose
outer sheath. To minimize the correctable errors, a
system of iterative multiple regression was used. For
the first approximation, linear regressions were made
between two parameters using averages of the third
parameters. These were then used as correction curves
to adjust the primary data for deviations in twist, yam
count, and blend proportion as appropriate. The iter-
ation was found to converge rapidly, and the final
results are presented in Figures 3, 4, and 5. These
results suggest nonlinear curves. This is not too sur-
prising in the case of twist variation, it being conceivable
that the shape of the curve might be related to the
obliquity curve as used in respect to yam tenacity,
since the resolution of fiber tensions plays a part in
both. The nonlinearity with respect to yam count
may reflect the neglect of the intercept mentioned

Discussion of Results
Table II shows the initial regression equations re-
lating the diameter D with N; ~, and it will be seen
that no obvious pattern emerges. A slight tilt in the
line affects both K and the intercept. The irregularity
off the intercept is likely to be caused by involuntary
changes in TM (which was nominally a constant). It
was felt to be more convenient and sufficiently accurate
to consider the origin as a point on the curve, since this
appeared to be roughly the mean value of the intercept;
this made it possible to use the parameter D4N-. = K..
. .
TABLE II. Regression equations relating yam FIG. 3. Yarn diameter vs. twist multiple; values adjusted to
’

diameter and count. 60/40 polyester/cgtton, 16s and 36s N,.

’ Fro. 4. Yam diameter III. count; values adjusted to 60/40

Average TM-4.1t polyester/cotton, 4.0 TM.

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FIG. 5. Yarn diameter vs. blend ratio; values
to 4.0 TM ; 20s N..
earlier; on the other seems to be litt)4e
hand, there
reason to suppose unless the line is perfectly
linearity
horizontal. The result agrees reasonably well with
Peirce’s value. Also, there seems to be some suggestion
of maximum bulk at a yam count of 30s Ne for OE
and 24s Ne for ring yarn, but only weak reliance should
be placed on this. It would be expected that the yam
would be slightly more bulky as the percentage cotton
is increased, and it was a little surprising to see the
slight drop at 100% cotton. At first it was thought
that this might be due to the use of different combing
wire for 100% cotton with the OE yarn, but this does
not explain the drop for the ring yarn. It is possible
that the use of square-cut polyester staple affected the
issue. The cut affects the number of ends per unit
mass of fiber, possibly the fiber migration level, and
possibly the blend homogeneity (or lack of it).
The hairiness results are given in Figures 6, 7, and 8.
Each of the curves for ring yams shows a minimum
hairiness, whereas the OE curves do not. The minima
obtained with the ring yams confirm results obtained
by other workers [12~ using a different method of
measurement. In every case the ring yarns have higher
FIG. 6. Hairiness ratio tis. twist multiple.
I
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393
FtG. 7. Hairiness ratio
-
vs. count.
adjusted
FIG. 8. Hairiness ratio tis. blend rstio.
hairiness ratio than the OE yams. This is thought to
be due in part to the different mechanisms of fiber
migration that occur with the two systems of spinning.
Also, the hairiness in ring yam is increased by the
rubbing of the yam over the traveler. In the case of
OE yarn, it is known that fiber crimp, denier, length,
and fiber finish play important parts in determining the
spinning efficiency and yam characteristics. Generally,
low crimp and slick finishes are required to reduce fiber
coherence within the rotor and thus permit easy with-
drawal of the trailing ends of the bridging fibers. This
is likely to affect the hairiness. Also; the fiber charac-
teristics interact with the design of the yarn withdrawal
tube in such a way as to materially affect hairiness.
The importance of these interactions individually are
not yet known, but these experiments indicate that
increasing the percentage of the longer-staple polyester
increased the hairiness of the OE yarn. The fiber
denier finish and crimp were the same for both the ring
and OE yams.
Microscopical inspection of yarn suggest that the
maximum diameter for a ring yarn is determined by
the extent of protrusion of single hairs, whereas with
OE yarn it is more frequently determined by the extent
of protrusion of loops (see examples in Fig. 9). This
helps to explain differences in character of the curves
previously discussed.
394
i ic. 9. fiulk and hairiness of open-endand ring yams.
(a) 16s Yam number; (b) 36s Yam number.
It be postulated that fiber ends exist at various
can
depths below the surface of the yarn which can be
raised above that surface by rubbing against machine
parts. The fiber crimp, degree of convolution, and
cross-sectional shape as well as the coefficient of friction
will determine the limiting depth beyond which fibers
cannot be raised. Ring yarns tend to have more hairs
raised th’an OE yarns, and this is consistent with the
above observations. Where a blend of fibers are used
with differing cohesiveness, then the hairiness would be
expected to be a function of blend proportion. Also,
differences in fiber length alter the population of fiber
ends. Thus as the percentage polyester is increased,
there should be fewer fiber ends, but in the present
case those ends could be more easily removed. The
opposing trends led to a curve with a distinct minimum
for the ring yam. Such an argument does not apply
to the OE, inasmuch as loops are more important in
’
that case.
The effect of twist was to slightly reduce the hairiness
ratio of OE yams, whereas the ring curve showed a
minimum at about 4 TM. It should be noted that the
absolute hairiness (i.e. maximum diameter) declines
with twist in both cases. The reduction in the hairiness
of the OE yam with increased twist is thought to be
due to the increase in migration, which affects how
tightly the surface loops are pulled into the yam struc-
ture. The effect.of yam count is generally to increase
hairiness as the yam gets finer. This is due to the
reduction in the number of fibers in the yarn cross
section, which increases the probability of these fibers
projecting from the body of the yarn. OE yams
showed, on average, higher variation in the hairiness
ratio, as shown by Figure 10.
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FiG. 10. Hairiness ratio CV vs. count.
Once again it has to be pointed out that the measured
hairiness relates to the yarn immediately after spinning,
and this hairiness can and will change during processing.
Many of the fibers forming the sheath of OE yam are
wrapped around the body of the yam emerging from
the spinning rotor with the ends trailing. It was felt
that the hairs could be raised more easily by rubbing in
the one direction rather than the other. Experiments
showed that the average hairiness ratio changed during
rewinding, as shown in Table III. This shows that
there is indeed a directional effect, and hairiness ratios
of OE yarn are of limited value unless it is stated
whether the yam is newly spun or rewound. In this
work (except for the results shown in Table III) the
figures relate to newly spun yarn. Furthermore, the
outstanding loops, which are more prominent in OE
yarns, are susceptible to damage. Consequently, the
lower hairiness in OE yams herein reported should not
necessarily be taken to indicate that the final hairiness
in the fabric is similar, or that processing dithculties
will be in proportion to the stated values.
TABLE III. Change of OE yam hairiness
by rewinding.
.
Conclusions
It has been shown that OE yarns are more bulky but
less hairy than corresponding ring yams. Apart from
the differences in magnitude, the yam diameters were
. similar in form with respect to twist, count, and blend
proportions, but the hairiness ratios were found to be
dissimilar. The latter is thought to be due to differ-
ences in the nature of the surfaces of the two sorts of
yam, loops being more prominent in OE yams.
Care has to be taken in applying the results, because
the yarn diameters and hairinesses as measured are not
the same, as will be found when the yarns are assembled
 395

into fabric. The extent to which the yam will squash
and the hairs will raise will play a significant role.
These latter are determined by the fabric structure and
the manufacturing processes and cannot be taken into
account here. There seems to be probability that OE
yams are more prone to surface damage, which may
lessen the differences between the yarns with respect to
hairiness and processability.
Literature Cited
1. Barella,A. and Viaplana, A., Yarn Hairiness: A Survey of
Recent Literature and a Description of a New Instrument
for Measuring Yarn Hairiness, J. Textile Inst. 61, 438-
447 (1970).
2. Barella, A. and Vigo, J. P., The Variability of Hairiness in
Conventional and Open-End-Spun Yarns, J. Textile
Inst. 64, 440-442 (1973)
3. Boswell, H. R. and Townend, P. P., Some Factors Affecting
the Hairiness of Worsted Yarns, J. Textile Inst. 48, T135-
142 (1957).
4. Lord,P. R., The Structure of Open-End Spun Yam, Textile
Res. J. 41: 778-784 (1971).
5. Lord, P. R. and Nichols, L. D., Modifying the Character-
istics of Ring and OE Yarns, Textile Res. J. 44, 783-791
(1974).
6. Lord, P. R., Mohamed, M. H., and Ajgaonkar, D. B., The
Performance of Open-End, Twistless, and Ring Yarns in
Weft-Knitted Fabrics, Textile Res. J. 44,
405-414 (1974).
7. Mohamed, M. H. and Lord, P. R., Comparison of Physical
Properties of Fabrics Woven from Open-End and Ring-
Spun Yarns, Textile Res. J. 43, 154-166 (1973).
8. Onions W. J., Oxtoby, E., and Townend, P. P., Factors
Affecting the Thickness and Compressibility of Worsted-
Spun Yams, J. Textile Inst. 58, 293-315 (1967).
9. Peirce, F. T., The Geometry of Cloth Structure, J. Textile
Inst. 28, T45-96 (1937).
10. Pillay, K. P. R., A Study of the Hairiness of Cotton Yams,
Textile Res. J. 34, 663-783 (1964).
11. Saleh, H. A., Bulk and Hairiness of Open-End Spun Yarns,
M.S. thesis, North Carolina State University, Raleigh,
N. C., 1972.
12. Van Issum, B. E. and Chamberlain, N. H., The Free Diameter
and Specific Volume of Textile Yarns, J. Textile Inst. 50,
T599-623 (1959).
Manuscript received December J. 1973.

Edge Abrasion of Durable-Press Cotton Fabric During Laundering

with Phosphate- and Carbonate-Built Detergents

M. A. MORRIS AND H. H. PRATO

Department of Consumer Sciences, Universily of California, Davis, California 95616, U. S. A.

ABSTRACT
The edge abrasion of durable-press cotton and the deposit build-up on the cotton and a nylon fabric were determined
after repeated launderings with phosphate and carbonate detergents and builders. When soft water was used there were
no differences in amount of abrasion or deposit. The use of hard water with carbonate products resulted in accelerated

edge abrasion on the cotton, and a heavy calcium deposit on both fabrics was indicated from weight change, spectro-
photometer analyses, and SEM examination. Fabrics laundered with phosphate products in hard water had less abra-
sion and deposit than those washed with carbonate detergent or builder, but more than samples laundered in aoft water.
Detergents and builders of the same type resulted in similar amounts of fabric deterioration, but detergents formed more
deposit than the corresponding builder.

Introduction laundering with phosphate detergents in hard water.

The formation of either of these deposits on fabric
Considerable edge abrasion may occur on durable-
during laundering could effect the amount of abrasive
press cotton fabrics during the laundry process [9]. damage.
~

Any factors that increase this type of abrasive damage
may appreciably shorten the wear life of fabrics.
Several papers have reported that a deposit formed
on fabrics during the laundering process when deter-
gents containing carbonate builder were used in moder-
ately hard water [3, 6, 10]. This deposit was due to
the build-up of insoluble calcium carbonate. Brysson
[2] had earlier suggested that deposits of another type,
insoluble calcium phosphates, may build up during
The purpose of this study was to compare the effects
of detergents and builders on edge abrasion and the
build-up of a deposit on fabrics during repeated launder-
ings. Two detergents--~ne phosphate and one carbon-
ate-a phosphate builder, and a carbonate builder were
each used in combination with soft water and hard
water. The influence of an artificial soil in the wash
solution on fabric abrasion and deposit build-up was
also examined.

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