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Effective length:

This value has been defined as the length of the main bulk of the longer fibres.
Staple length:
A quantity by which a sample of fibrous raw material is characterized as regards its
technically most important fibre length.
It is the average length of spinnable fibres.
For American cottons, from about 0.75 inch to 1.25 inches staple and classed on the
basis of American staple length standards, a simple conversion formula is
American staple = 0.91 X Effective length
The staple length of wool is usually taken as the length of the longer fibres in a hand
prepared tuft or 'staple' in its naturally crimped and wavy condition. With cotton, on the
other hand, the staple length corresponds very closely to the modal or most frequent
length of the fibres when measured in a straightened condition.
Span length:
The extent exceeded by a stated proportion of cotton fibres, eg, 2.5% span
length is the length exceeded by only 2.5% of fibres by number.

Micronaire
Micronaireisameasureoffiberfinenessandmaturity.Anairflowinstrumentisusedtomeasuretheair
permeabilityofaconstantmassofcottonfiberscompressedtoafixedvolume.Thechartbelowisaguideto
interpretingMicronairemeasurements.
Micronairecanbeinfluencedduringthegrowingperiodbyenvironmentalconditionssuchasmoisture,temperature,
sunlight,plantnutrients,andextremesinplantorbollpopulation.Fiberfinenessaffectsprocessingperformanceand
thequalityoftheendproductinseveralways.Intheopening,cleaning,andcardingprocesses,lowmicronaireor
finefibercottonsrequireslowerprocessingspeedstopreventdamagetothefibers.Yarnsmadefromfinerfiber
havemorefiberspercrosssection,whichresultsinstrongeryarns.Dyeabsorbencyandretentionareaffectedbythe
maturityofthefibers;thegreaterthematurity,thebettertheabsorbencyandretention.

The influence of fiber length on the processing properties and the quality of the yarns produced is less significant in
rotor spinning than in ring spinning, but should nevertheless not be underestimated. Fig. 69 shows the influence of
different fiber lengths on yarn tenacity and yarn irregularity.
Table 9 shows the relationship between staple lengths and the yarn counts produced from them. It should be noted
here, however, that this relationship is not governed solely by staple length, but that fiber count plays a role inasmuch
as shorter fibers are often quite coarse, but longer fibers are available in finer counts.
This table also shows clearly that cotton and cotton waste with a high short fiber content (<1/25.4 mm) can be
processed successfully using the rotor spinning principle. Cotton waste is therefore in demand as a raw material for
certain ranges of application. However, it should be borne in mind that yarn quality declines alongside staple length;
this affects yarn tenacity and yarn purity (imperfections) in particular. Yarns produced from shorter fibers usually also
have to be spun with higher twist multiplyers. However, physical textile properties such as tenacity and regularity play
only a subordinate role in the end products usually produced from these yarns, such as sheets, which are
subsequently napped, while the high number of fiber ends has an especially favorable impact on the napping effect of
the final fabrics (short fibers result in a high number, whereas longer fibers result in a lower number of fiber ends for
the same yarn length).
If the rotor diameter is too small for the intended fiber length, twist integration in the rotor groove is considerably
disturbed. However, the tolerance range is larger than is often described in the literature. As a rule of thumb, fiber
length (mm) should not significantly exceed rotor diameter (mm). However, in mill practice fibers with a staple length
of 40 mm, for example, are successfully spun in large quantities on rotors with a diameter of 30/32 mm.
Finally, it must be reiterated that in rotor spinning fiber length is not the dominant fiber characteristic it is in ring
spinning; in the rotor spinning machine, this role is assumed by fiber count.
Table 10 shows the yarn counts of man-made fiber yarns as a function of fiber length.
The influence of staple length compared to fiber count is also of secondary importance for man-made fibers. The
graduation of yarn count in accordance with fiber length results from the fact that, in contrast to cotton, shorter fibers
are supplied in finer counts and longer fibers in coarser counts.

Fig. 69 Relationship between staple length in inches (B) and yarn tenacity (A)

Table 9 Yarn counts for cotton yarns as a function of staple length

Table 10 Yarn counts of man-made fiber yarns as a function of staple length

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