Effects of greige cotton lint properties on hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics

This study determined the effects of fiber length, the length uniformity index, micronaire (fineness), and strength of greige cotton lint on properties of nonwoven fabrics. Seven bales of pre-cleaned greige (non-bleached) cotton were procured from a US cotton producer and ginner. Each bale primarily had only one particular fiber quality parameter (e.g., length, length uniformity, micronaire, or strength) as a significant variable of interest, while other metrics remained subdued to the most practically possible extent. The fiber stock from each separate bale was processed into a lightly needlepunched substrate/fabric and then uniformly converted into a hydroentangled nonwoven fabric structure of the same nominal weight. All of the fibers and fabrics involved in the study were analyzed for their quality attributes. Although this study did not reveal any clear-cut, significant effects (obvious relations or correlations) of the fiber quality variables/metrics investigated, for the first time ever new informa...