536
regain, the prehistory of the fabric before the change of
moisture regain, and fiber fineness. The effect of the
fineness is demonstrated in Figure 1. The difference
between the minimum value and the equilibrium value of
the wrinkling angle (deformation time 60 min,
recovery
time 20 min) was less for the coarse wool ( 10° ) than
the difference between the corresponding values obtained
with the Merino wool fabric (30°).
Fig. 1. Wrinkling angle vs steeping time
before deformation.
The dynamic fiber rigidity modulus varies in the same
way with the above mentioned factors ; hence, the fiber
properties are probably of the greatest importance for
the wrinkling behavior of wool fabrics, and the results
of the experiments may be taken to support the hypothe-
. .
The Prediction of Cotton Yarn
’ ’
February 15, 1967
Dear Sir:
A method for characterizing the yarn strength poten-
tial of cotton by the use of a single parameter is de-
scribed~ this method was used to construct reference
tables for the skein breaking strength of a wide range
of yarn numbers, twists, and cotton quality levels.
The prodtiction of a uniform, coherent yarn is the
prime essential of a textile staple fiber ; without this
quality, it has only limited use. The spinning of fibers
into yarns is a craft that has its roots in empirical tra-
dttion. Spinners choose their cottons largely on their
suitability for processing, with few end breaks, into
yarns of acceptable breaking-strength levels. Before
1
Bogdan’s Yarn Strength Tables, PB174212, Federal
Clearing House of Scientific and Technical Information,
Springfield, Virginia 22151, $3.00.
Downloaded from trj.sagepub.com at Freie Universitaet Berlin on July 1, 2015
sis about the dependence of wrinkling behavior on the
change of rigidity. It is, in fact, highly probable that the
same hypothesis holds also for other
hygroscopic fibers
[1, 7]. To improve the wrinkling properties for a given
structure of a wool fabric, the sensitivity of the fibers
to changes in moisture regain must be One
possible method would be cross-linking reactions. It is, diminished.
therefore, interesting to observe that Katz [3] found a
reduted wrinkling after a treatment with mercuric ’
acetate.
Literature Cited
1.Farrow, B., J. Textile Inst. 42, T534-536 (1951).
2.Haly, A. R. and Feughelman, Textile Res. J. 31,
131-134 (1961).
3. Katz, H. J., Textile Res. J. 36, 874-887 (1966).
4. Lindberg, J., Textile Res. J. 31, 695-696 (1961).
5. Mackay, B. H. and Downes, J. G., J. Appl. Polymer
Sci. 2 , 32-38 (1959).
6. Nordon, P., Textile Res. J. 32, 560-568 (1962).
7. Silén, G. and Lindberg, J., Textile Res. J. 35, 1053-
1054 (1965).
8. van der Valk, T., Textil och Konfektion 23, 16-17
(1966).
Vibeke Køpke and
H. K. Dalen
Norwegian Textile Research Institute
Forskningsveien 1, Oslo 3
_
1
Strengths
control of spinning quality can be obtained, means must
’
be available for fixing a fiber quality level in a quanti-
tative way, so that fibers can be chosen and modified
intelligently.
Cotton spinning laboratories throughout
I
the world
spin cotton yarns using only a twist level that gives
maximum yarn strength. These results, while valuable,
are of little help to those interested in the
strength of
other yarn constructions, such as the low-twisted knit-
ting yarns or yarns used for weaving into industrial
fabrics. Data on groups of cotton varieties remain little
more than a mass of facts, giving guidance, but no rules
for the .improvement of cotton quality.
F. T. Peirce [1] first suggested a method for analysis
of yarn strength when he proposed the correlation of
yarn strength with three parameters. A thorough de-
scription of the contribution of any fiber to the strength
of its yarns can be obtained by the application of four

parameters [2], from which the general equation for
skein breaking strength of any yarn wasdeveloped.
where k =
obliquity and conversion
correction for fiber
to single thread breaking length,
fiber obliquity parameter); P
1 + B + 160 BM
(B is the
intrinsic strength
=
parameter; C cotton system yarn number; M
= =
twist multiplier; T ineffective twist parameter; and
=
F =
drafting parameter. ,
In cotton fiber, strength parameters have systematic
interrelationships that permit the ultimate in a yarn
strength method: description by a single parameter.
Equation 1 contains two independent variables, yarn
number and twist, and four parameters. A prediction
of the strength of any yarn can be made from this
relationship only after the values for the parameters
have been established, and this would require the spin-
ning and testing of a minimum of four yarns processed
from the one lot of fiber.
The analysis for cotton yarns expresses the parameters
in terms of one, the intrinsic strength parameter P; this
parameter, when it is used alone to describe cotton
is calleq Q, the quality index.
quality,
The fiber angle parameter B is found to be relatively
constant for all cottons at a value of 0.014, so the allow-
ance for loss in yarn strength due to fiber angularity
with conversion to breaking length units of hanks per
thread becomes for cotton
Long, fine cottons, from which very strong yarns can
be spun, reach their optimum strengths at lower twist
multipliers than do short, coarse cottons that yield low
levels of yarn strength. As a consequehce, the value
for the ineffective twist parameter T decreases as the
Q value increases. The dependence of I’ on Q is found ’
to be fitted by
The relationship between yarn tenacity and yarn
number is linear. In cotton spinning practice, it is
recognized that strong cottons lose yarn tenacity with
increasing yarn number at a lower rate than do the weak
cottons. It is this characteristic that raises the spin-
ning limit of long, fine, and strong cottons and permits
them to he spun into very fine yarn numbers. The
drafting parameter F has been fitted in terms of Q
Downloaded from trj.sagepub.com at Freie Universitaet Berlin on July 1, 2015
537
the to give
Replacing k, T, and F in Equation 1 with their con-
verted valuesgives the prediction equation for the skein
breaking strength in pounds of any carded cotton yarn
spun from a mix to which a Q number has been
assigned. ,
Thisexpression for the strength of cotton yarns has
two independent variables, yarn number and twist multi-
plier, and only one grand parameter Q.
Prediction tables have been constructed from this
relationship for the strength of carded cotton yarns
ranging in number from 4&dquo; to 80&dquo; (in increments of one
number) for twist multipliers from 2.5 to 5.5 (in incre-
ments of 0.1 T M) and cotton quality indexes from 18
to 35 (in increments of one index number).
The quality index for a cotton mix is fixed by having
the breaking strength of only one yarn of known size
and twist. With this identification, any yarn number,
spun at any twist, can be estimated from the tables.
The strength of combed yarns has been found to in-
crease above that of carded yarns at the rate of 0.8%
for each 1 ~o increase in the amount of comber waste
removed. This relationship is used to adapt the cotton
yarn strength tables to the analysis of combed yarn
strengths. It is for this reason that the strength values
in the tables were extended to include yarn numbers as
high as 80&dquo;, a fineness that exceeds the commercial
spinning limit for carded cotton yarns.
Acknowledgment
Appreciation expressed to The Textile and Applied
is
Technology Program of the Institute for Applied Tech-
nology, National Bureau of Standards, U. S. Depart-
ment of Commerce, whose support through Contract
Cc6235 made this work possible.
’
Literature Cited ,
1. Peirce, F. T., Textile Forum (2) : 2, 22-23
3 (May
1946).
2. Bogdan, J. F., Textile Res. J. , 9, 720-730 (1956).
26
J. F. Bogdan
School of Textiles
North Carolina State University at Raleigh