By: V. Srinivasan & S.

Balamurugan

Hair Severity: A New Yarn Hairiness Parameter Part II

By: V.Srinivasan & S.Balamurugan

Yarn hairiness is a complex subject, which has not been truly defined by the existing parameters. Hair Severity represents the severity of the long length hairs, thereby reflecting True Hairiness. Hair Severity shows a good co-relation with critical raw material characteristics and is a significant indicator of the process health.

Introduction Hairiness is a key parameter that affects the yarn performance in the subsequent processes and degrades fabric appearance. This necessitates a precise yarn hairiness measurement and control. Yarn hairiness measurement has been discussed for several years, but it still remains a complex subject, which requires further in-depth understanding. The distribution of hair length is one of the most important characteristics of the yarn. To an extent, hairiness is required for further processing and to give a soft feel to the fabric. At the same time more number of long hairs on the yarn surface leads to pilling and fuzzy fabric appearance.

Hair Severity (HS) represents the severity of the long length hairs, which is measured by Premier iQ QualiCenter.

Hair Severity shows a good correlation with key raw material characteristics What are the cotton parameters to be considered? What is the relationship between Raw material properties and Hair Severity? What are the statistical levels achieved by mills?

To address all the above questions and to gain a better understanding of the effect of Raw material characteristics on Hair Severity, quantitative studies have been conducted for different count and material. The following are the critical raw material quality parameters which have been considered:

Uniformity Index(UI) Micronaire (Mic) Short Fibre Index(SFI)

Hair Severity (HS) Vs Uniformity Index (UI) Cotton fibre is a highly variable material whose intrinsic quality cannot be changed after harvesting. The variability in fibre length plays a crucial role in the process performance, as reflected in UI. The Uniformity Index contributes significantly towards Hair Severity (as observed in various count and material). Lower the Uniformity Index, Higher will be the Hair Severity

In all the graphs illustrated in this article, the following format is used: X1 represents the statistical level achieved by mills who have participated in the study X2 represents the count and material Y1 represents the raw material property/process parameter ( e.g. Uniformity Index in the above graph) Y2 represents the Hair Severity

It is clear from the above graph that, lower the uniformity Index, higher will be the Hair Severity. For a detailed understanding, please refer to the Table 1.

TABLE - 1

Hair Severity (HS) Vs Micronaire (Mic) Fibre fineness is considered as Coarser Micronaire leads to the most important parameter higher impacting the yarn quality. The Hair Severity number of fibres in the cross section determines the yarn irregularity. For a given yarn count, yarn irregularity comes down when there is an increase in no. of fibres. Similarly finer micronaire also result in increased level of yarn neps which leads to dyeability issues. Studies carried out in various count and material reveals that the Micronaire has a high influence on Hair Severity.

Coarser Micornaire leads to higher Hair Severity. However, the reverse trend observed in 60s CW is due to the imported cotton used by mills.

Hair Severity (HS) Vs Short Fibre Index (SFI) Traditionally, Short Fibre Content (SFC) is an indication of cotton Lower the SFI, Lower is the Hair quality: defined as a percentage of fibres less than 12.7mm. Raw Severity material with higher SFC is inferior as it leads to high waste % in the process and yarn produced from this cotton will have low strength, more unevenness and high hairiness. Studies conducted for various count and material shows that SFI has a good correlation with Hair Severity.

However Premier recommends using only True Short Fibre - TSF, instead of SFI and SFC (n) because two different raw materials will have similar SFI/SFC (n), but the TSF is more representative of the short fibre as illustrated in Table 2. TABLE 2

TABLE 3

Hair Severity is a significant indicator of critical process parameters In general, the preparatory machines do not contribute towards hairiness except in a few cases where fibre rupture takes place, thereby increasing the short fibres. Other process parameters such as Draw Frame settings and passages, Hank selection in Roving Frame, Spacer size in Ring Frame, TM applied in Ring frame, Spindle speeds, combination of Rings and Ring travellers affects yarn Hairiness. Among all the above, following are the critical process parameters which shows a significant impact on Hair Severity. TSF at Draw Frame stage Spacer size in Ring frame Ring Frame Spindle speed

Hair Severity (HS) Vs TSF at Draw Frame stage

TSF is a new parameter which represents the most appropriate short fibre against the fixed length of 12.7 mm. TSF is a relative measure of short fibre length based on the Fibre length distribution. This provides a true representation of the Short Fibre as compared to the existing absolute measurement, as shown in Table 2. TSF has a bearing on yarn strength, evenness and Hairiness. TSF influences Hair Severity as substantiated by studies conducted for various count and material.

HS increases when the TSF at Draw Frame stage increases

Hair Severity (HS) Vs Spacer size in Ring Frame Spacer size plays a Optimum Spacer size delivers yarn significant role in the with the lowest HS value reduction of Hair Severity. In general, there is a tendency to use thin spacers in order to reduce Imperfections and Unevenness. An optimum spacer delivers the yarn with a least Hair Severity. Any smaller spacer used beyond a limit increases the Hair Severity due to the excessive force applied on the fibre fleece.

Table 4 provides the statistical levels for Hair Severity for various spacer sizes.

Hair Severity (HS) Vs Spindle speed at Ring Frame Yarn hairiness is greatly influenced by the increased Lower the Spindle speed, lower tension created by the balloon. the Hair Severity Higher spindle speed exerts higher load on the yarn, which increases hair severity. The trend between Ring Frame spindle speed and Hair Severity is well brought out by the studies done for various count and material.

Table 4 provides the statistical levels for Hair Severity for different spindle speed. TABLE - 4

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