Fabric Comfort: Prediction of the Fibre End Characteristics of Processed Wool from Currently Measured Raw Wool Parameters
Abstract
A Draft Test Method concerned with measurement of the Diameter of Fibre Ends (DFE) in Top was accepted recently by IWTO. This paper reports on the prediction of the fibre ends characteristics in 190 commercial Tops from the TEAM-3 project based on Raw Wool parameters of sale lots.
The DFE in a Top can be predicted from the Mean Fibre Diameter (MFD) of the Raw Wool with an R2 of 0.96. However, the prediction is improved marginally (R2 increases to 0.98; Standard Error (SE) of 0.3µm) with the inclusion of the Coefficient of Variation of Fibre Diameter (CVD), percentage of Tip-breaks (T) and the Mean Fibre Curvature (MFC). The Comfort Factor of fibre ends in a Top was best predicted by the Raw Wool Comfort Factor (R2 = 0.93; SE: prediction 0.35%; validation 0.24%). The prediction relationships quoted in this report are for information only. Further work is required before any prediction relationships are recommended.
Citation
"Fabric Comfort: Prediction of the Fibre End Characteristics of Processed Wool from Currently Measured Raw Wool Parameters", T.J. Mahar and J.M.A. O’Keefe, Paper 33, Wool Industry Science & Technology Conference, October 2002, Hamilton, Victoria, Australia