Comparison of cotton fiber-to-fiber friction to fiber drafting measurements and relations to fiber quality and wax content

Fiber-to-fiber friction, an essential characteristic of cotton processing efficiency, is commonly determined by measuring the static or dynamic fiber-to-fiber cohesion with a tensile tester or with a cohesion meter. This study examined how fiber cohesion from an Instron tester agrees with that from a Draftometer on draw slivers. Comparison of Instron fiber friction between two load cell tests revealed a strong and significant relationship, and there was a significant positive correlation between Instron fiber friction and high-volume instrument (HVI) upper-half mean length (UHML). Meanwhile, there existed significant relationships between Draftometer drafting force and four HVI qualities positively but one HVI quality negatively. Overall, Instron fiber friction from two load cells exhibited strong, positive, and significant correlations with Draftometer drafting force. Further, cotton surface wax from attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) measurement was negative but insignificant related to both Instron fiber friction and Draftometer drafting force.