TEAM Final Report 1985

Abstract

The last decade has seen rapid change in the way wool is marketed in an industry previously steeped heavily in tradition. Much of this change has been made possible by the introduction of innovative procedures, and this continues. Research into additional measurements of staple length, staple strength, etc., and their relevance to industry follows the success of coretesting for specification of value-determining characteristics of wool and the establishment of sale by sample as the preferred marketing method.

By 1980, research instruments for measuring staple length and staple strength separately had been adapted by CSIRO Division of Textile Physics for use by AWTA. Recently, prototypes of automated instrumentation for measuring these characteristics were developed; commercial production of the CSIRO instrument is now underway. Meanwhile, a mechanical-tuft-sampling machine to draw tufts of staples automatically from grab samples was developed by AWTA Ltd. Australian standards for all these instruments and procedures are nearly complete.

For three years the TEAM Project has provided industry with an opportunity for participation and debate, while developing an understanding of the potential application of additional measurements of greasy wool to wool processing and wool trading. Both conceptually and in practice, the TEAM Project has been an industry project. Many organisations and industry sectors have cooperated to permit the research to be planned, procedures to be designed and implemented, and data to be collected and analysed.

The involvement of the industry throughout this period reflects the awareness of the industry for the need to experiment, to refine strategies in trading and processing of wool, and to examine new technology and concepts which have the potential to improve efficiency in the industry.

In particular, the Australian Wool Corporation became committed to study the feasibility of Sale by Description, leading to its involvement in detailed planning and promotion for the introduction of Sale with Additional Measurement and, ultimately, Sale by Description into the industry.

The aim of the TEAM Project was to enable processors of Australian combing wools to evaluate the new measurements of staple length, staple strength, position of weakness and clean colour. In so doing, considerations included:

• the confirmation of the importance of raw wool characteristics on processing performance and fibre length characteristics of top;
• the development of formulae to predict processing performance and fibre length characteristics of top;
• the establishment of a database of greasy wool and processed wool characteristics which can expand the technical knowledge concerning factors influencing processing;
• the comparison of processing performance both within mills and between mills;
• an economic evaluation of benefits from raw wool specification; and
• the communication of TEAM research findings as they developed, which has given industry experience in the use of the new measurements.

The TEAM Project has been planned and executed jointly by Australian Wool Testing Authority Ltd and CSIRO Division of Textile Physics, maintaining close association with the Raw Wool Services Department of the Australian Wool Corporation. Officers from each of these groups formed a Management Committee.

Communication with the industry has been a feature of the work. Throughout the Project, frank and detailed discussions were held with the major participants, the combing mills. In January, 1984, an Interim report was released which summarised preliminary findings and trends. Over the three-year period of the Project, four progress reports were presented to the Wool and Technical Committees of the International Wool Textile Organisation, and several reports have appeared in industry journals. Committee members have presented papers to trade seminars in Australia and at international forums.

The operations of the TEAM Project are now complete. After 36 months, we have data on 232 consignments for analysis. This report is a summary of the principal findings relevant to industry; a more detailed technical report is in preparation. It will be a compilation of scientific papers dealing in detail with all aspects of the Project.

The principal conclusions of the TEAM Project are:

• In general, diameter, staple length, staple strength, and vegetable matter base are the most significant raw wool characteristics affecting fibre length in the top, and noil. The relative importance of each raw wool characteristic, or group of characteristics, is different for individual mills, and appears dependent upon the range and type of wools processed.
• It has been specifically demonstrated that the classification of wool soundness is significantly improved by using measured staple strength. Measurement overcomes the limitations associated with subjective assessment and enables wools of different processing potential to be detected.
• A general basis for the calculation of a theoretical Hauteur has been established. The formulae are based on the influence of important measured raw wool characteristics. While the formulae developed in TEAM and presented in this report can be seen as establishing the principle of theoretical values they can by no means be regarded as representing the ultimate relationship. Results from more mills and consignments should be included before any status is granted to such formulae. Meanwhile, the ones published here serve for guidance.
• In order to achieve a satisfactory general relationship across mills, it has been found preferable to group wools according to wool category (fleece or skirtings) and provide a separate formula for each category.
• The general formula to predict the Hauteur of consignments of fleece wool is: 

where H = Hauteur (mm)
          D = Mean Fibre Diameter by Coretest (um)
          L = Mean Staple Length (mm)
          S = Mean Staple Strength (Newtons/kilotex)

• The general formula to predict the Hauteur of consignments of skirtings is:

• Formulae can be established for individual mills, based on the measured raw wool characteristics of consignments combed at that mill. These formulae may generally provide a more accurate prediction for each mill than the general formula. They also provide the means for an overall comparison of a mill’s performance with the general theoretical formula.
• The Hauteur predicted by the formula derived for a mill is generally more accurate and precise than the mill expectations. A parallel economic study has clearly identified substantial gains to processors, from using additional measurements, through increased predictability. • Clean colour of Australian greasy wool has an indirect influence on the worsted processing performance through its association with wool type, but our work on its influence on top colour was inconclusive.
• Whilst topmakers may feel they are achieving optimum results with their present method of building processing batches, advances have been prevented by the lack of relevant specifications of the raw material. With the ability to use additional measurements, there is increased flexibility for the selection and manipulation of input material to provide best solutions for the end use.
• Understanding of the concepts and enthusiasm for their adoption have increased substantially as a result of the Project.

Citation

"TEAM Final Report 1985", Report to the Raw Wool Measurement Research Advisory Committee of the Australian Wool Corporation, January 1985