A comparative study of the physical properties of Chinese and American Cottons

In this study, 36 chinese cottons were investigated for their physical properties using U.S. standard test methods (ASTM). Conventional methods using Stelometer, Fibrograph, Arealometer, and Micronaire instrumentation are compared with the more integrated High Volume Instrumentation (HVI), where both provide physical properties of tenacity, elongation, length, fineness, and maturity. A "laser reflected light method" for single fibers was used to determine the convolution of cotton and was shown to compare favorably with Meredith's microscopic method.

The results of the chinese cottons were compared with 34 american cottons. For each variety of chinese cotton, simple regression analyses between physical properties of one to the other and multiple regression analyses for individual fiber property contributions to yarn strength were explored. Finally, the T-test was used to specify differences between the chinese and american cottons.

This study shows that cotton physical properties are interrelated. This is especially true for fineness and maturity. Furthermore, fiber tenacity, length, and fineness strongly influence yarn strength. At the test systems level, the HVI and individual instruments mostly give similar results. Regionally, american cottons are stronger, shorter, more mature, and have lower elongations than do chinese cottons. American cottons have higher length uniformity than do chinese cottons.