Rieter

The proportion of short fibers

Index

The proportion of short fibers has a very substantial influence on the parameters listed under Section  "The influence of length". (except in the case of rotor spinning, where this influence is less). Besides this influence, a large proportion of short fibers also leads to considerable fly contamination (among other problems), and thus to strain on personnel, on the machines, on the workroom, and on the air-conditioning, and also to extreme drafting difficulties. Unfortunately, the proportion of short fibers has increased substantially in recent years in cotton available from many sources. This is due to mechanical picking and hard ginning. Schenek  [2] and Lord  [3] distinguish according to absolute short-fiber content and relative short-fiber content. In the great majority of cases, the absolute shortfiber proportion is specified today as the percentage of fibers shorter than 10, 11, 12 or 12.5 mm (1/2in.).

The short-fiber limit has not been standardized but may settle at around 12 or 12.5 mm. Rieter is using 12.5 mm as a standard. Since the short fibers cannot be measured easily, this value is seldom really accurate. If more exact values are required, the relative short-fiber content must be established as proposed by Lord. The procedure is, however, very demanding.