The Effect of Processing on Cotton Fiber Properties

Abstract

In order to ascertain the effect of several processing steps on cotton uber mechanical properties, six cottons in one-bale quantities were manufactured under identical conditions into a standard construction sheeting Samples were removed at several processing stations including the original bale, the yarns, the scoured fabrics, the bleached and mercerized fabrics as well as resin-finished fabrics. The mechanical properties of fibers taken from these stages were determined and the effect of each processing step was examined. It was noted that cotton fiber properties are altered by processing and that the magnitude of the changegs in these properties is not constant for all cottons. In many cases the changes in fiber properties are functions of the original other properties. It was also shown that the changes in fiber properties are reflected in the changes of the fabric characteristics, thus indicating the validity of the premise that fiber properties influence the bahavior of cotton fabrics.