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Abstract
An account is given of an experimental study conducted specifically to examine the effects of large variations in the staple strength of greasy wool on subsequent performance in combing and spinning by means of pilot-scale processing techniques. Batches were processed for two levels of mean fibre diameter (20 and 22 μm), each at four levels of staple strength (nominally 20, 30, 45, and 60 N/ktex), and there was close control over other raw-wool properties. Three comb settings were used for each batch. Yarns were spun to five counts selected to include the normal commercial range and the limiting situation. The SAWTRI mean-spindle-speed test was employed to assess spinning performance.
The resultant fibre length and its distribution for tops were found to be closely dependent on the staple strength and the comb setting. Differences in Hauteur of 11–14 mm were observed between the batches from the low- and high-staple-strength categories within each comb setting and fibre-diameter grouping. Differences in spinning performance were observed between the batches of the weakest wools and those of the other batches for which there were no marked trends in performance despite the differences in the fibre length of the tops.