Fiber Immaturity

           Fibre maturity (in case of Cotton Fiber) is a fibre characteristic which expresses

the relative degree of thickening of the fibre wall. In other words, it is the

measure of primary and secondary wall thickness.

The fibre maturity is usually estimated by several indirect tests which are foten

used to find out the proportion of fibres containing a maturity greater than

some selected level.

A fiber will be matured if a high degree of wall thickening took place into the

fiber content during cotton growth.

Things upon which the textile fiber maturity depends: There are several

factors upon which the fibre maturity is basically depends. By changing these

factors you can also measure that which factors is working behind to be a fibre

matured or which not.

The factors are –

1. Weather: If the weather doesn’t favor, the fiber gets less chance to be

matured.

2. Types of Soil: It is proved that, in some country the fibers grows well and

becomes well matured and on some other country; due to the soil, fibers don’t

be so much matured and grows low quality fibres.

3. Plant Diseases: If proper care is not taken to the fibres, these become less

matured due to several diseases.

4. Pests: Some pests is good for Plants and some are bad. So be careful to

apply any pesticides on any plants.

5. Dead Fibers: It is natural that the dead fibers will be immature.

Importance of maturity:

1. Nep formation:

The immature thin walled fibres are more flexible than thick walled fibre. So

they blend and tangle more easily forming neps. If these neps appear in the

dyed cloth they show up as spechs of lighter shade.

One of the main troubles caused by the presence of these thin walled

immature fibres is nepping. It is created during processing, starting at the

gin. It also occurs for some natural causes like fragments of seed pods

which attached to fibre. Where rubbing between surfaces occurs e.g. during

carding, minute knots of tangled fibre are caused.

2. Dyeing faults:

 Immature fibres can not be dyed evenly. If in a fabric there is yarn of

immature fibres, shade variation will occur. The thinner the secondary cell

wall, the lighter the shade will be.

3. Fineness:

 The immature fibres can not produce fine fabric and yarn. Immaturity

decreases the wt. of unit length of fibre and thus reduces fineness. As a

result the accuracy of the test is badly affected.

4. Less yarn strength:

 Due to immaturity, yarn strength reduces and for that breakage of yarn

occurs during spinning.

 

5. Less production:

 Ends down is increased due to immaturity. As a result production is less.

6. Fabric quality:

Immature fibres are less absorbent and have uneven surface. So they are

uncomfortable in handle and weaving.

7. Yarn hairiness:

 Immature fibre leads to yarn hairiness.

8. Problem in spinning:

 The immature fibre, the fragments of seed pod attached to a fibre, which

creates great problem during spinning.

Effect of immaturity in Textile Processing:

. Nep formation.

. Problem in spinning.

. Uneven dyeing shade.

. Problem in fineness measuring.

. Less yarn strength.

. Less production.

 Types of fibres:

1. Normal fibre.

2. Thin walled fibres.

3. Dead fibres.

1. Normal fibre:

Normal fibres with a well-developed cell wall and pronounced convolutions in

the raw state and become rod-like after swelling. It is denoted by ‘N’. In normal

fibres no empty spaces are seen in longitudinal section.

2. Thin walled fibres:

Thin walled fibres having the structure and characteristics lying between

normal and dead fibres. It is denoted by ‘T’ 

3. Dead fibres:

Dead fibres appear ribbon like even after swelling. They are extremely

immature fibre. If the cell-wall is less than one-fifth of the total width of the

fibre is termed as dead fibre.

Maturity ratio:

Maturity ratio of a method of numerically expressing the maturity of a sample

of cotton fibre. It is the ratio of actual degree of wall thickening to a standard

degree of wall thickening.

 So, Maturity ratio =

g thickenin wallcell of degree Standardg thickenin wallcell of degree Actual

In other words, Maturity ratio is the ratio which expresses the actual fibre wt.

per centimeter H, in relation to a standard fibre wt. per centimeter Hs.

Degree of cell wall thickening:

The degree of wall thickening may be expressed as the ratio of the actual cross-

sectional area of the wall to the area of the circle with the same parameter.

It is denoted by ‘.’.

Assess of the fibre maturity:

One of the troubles caused by immature fibres was faulty dyeing. This

difference between the dyeing properties of mature and immature fibres is

employed in the Goldthwaite test to give a visual indication of the maturity of a

sample of cotton. Two dyes are used on the same bath, a red and a green dye,

mature fibres are stained red and immaturity fibres green, the red colour being

developed in the cellul0ose of the secondary wall. Hence little or no secondary

wall thickening – no red.

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Writer and editor SABBIR

I am Nur Mohammed From comilla,Bangladesh.I studied in Textile Engineering and very much fond of blogging; so try to write about Textile