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Physical Properties of Cotton Fiber and Their Measurement

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Book cover Cotton Fiber: Physics, Chemistry and Biology

Abstract

Cotton fiber is a highly variable natural product. The economic and industrial value of cotton is directly related to the physical properties of the fibers. In marketing cotton, the length, strength, color grade, and micronaire of the fiber are of paramount importance. Researchers need to understand the market impact of fiber properties as well as the performance impact of these and additional properties such as fineness, maturity, neps, length distribution, and fiber cohesion. Additionally, it is important to understand the variability of these properties within a cotton sample. The distribution of the fiber properties also has an important role in the performance of a cotton. There are many ways to measure each of the properties of cotton fiber ranging from tedious manual methods, which often serve as the references for other methods, to high-speed instrumental methods. The advantages and disadvantages of the methods must be understood to properly apply the test methods and to interpret the results.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cotton Structure and Quality Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Christopher D. Delhom

  2. Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

    Brendan Kelly

  3. Texas A&M Agrilife Research, Lubbock, TX, USA

    Brendan Kelly

  4. Cotton Incorporated, Cary, NC, USA

    Vikki Martin

Authors
  1. Christopher D. Delhom
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  2. Brendan Kelly
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  3. Vikki Martin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher D. Delhom .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cotton Fiber Bioscience Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA, USA

    David D. Fang

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© 2018 This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply

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Delhom, C.D., Kelly, B., Martin, V. (2018). Physical Properties of Cotton Fiber and Their Measurement. In: Fang, D. (eds) Cotton Fiber: Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00871-0_3

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