Field Trip, FBRI, Fiber Testing



            Before fibers can be made into yarn, they must go through a series of tests first to see if the fibers are the right quality and strength to be made into yarn. Different types of tests include the “mic”, the color light flash test, the hairiness test, the tax techno test, the abrasion tester, the advanced fiber information system, and several more. The fiber that was presented to these series of tests was cotton.

            Small tufts of cotton fibers are used to do the tests. One of the first tests is the mic which is a high volume instrument. This instrument is a low chamber where 10 grams of cotton is put in and a gives a reading of the fibers. The color light flash test determines what kind of cotton it is and what the pricing of the cotton would be. Other tests, such as using the Statement DS machine, are done to determine how strong the cotton fiber is, as well as the evenness and how thick or how thin the fiber is. The hairiness tester tests the “fuzzies” on the fiber or yarn. The Advanced Fiber Information System gives a trash reading and a lint sensor of the cotton fiber.

            The Martindale Abrasion Tester determines the abrasion resistance of textile fabrics, or the wear ability of textile fabrics. This test is used with a machine called ASTM D 4966. An abrading fabric made up of a plain weave, crossbred, or worsted wool fabric is used for the abrasion along with a felt fabric.

The Tearing Strength Elemendorf Method used with an instrument called ASTM D 1424. This instrument computes the average tearing force of a cut specimen from the energy of a falling pendulum.

The shrinkage test is done using a little washing machine. This test is called Dimensional Changes of Fabric Accelerated (Quickwash). First a piece of fabric is conditioned to the indoor climate settings, and then one measures how far apart the dots are on the fabric. Then the fabric is washed and dried. Afterward the dots are measured again and the difference between the first and second measurement is the shrinkage of the fabric.

Another test measures how much UV rays penetrate through the fabric. Other tests determine the strength of the fabric and how thick or how thin it is. The pilling tester is another one that shows how much lint comes off the fabric.

All these tests listed helps to ensure that the fabric we use everyday for different reasons are durable and of quality.