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3.4 Methods of Measurement: Direct Methods: I Wire

Direct methods of measuring individual fiber length involve manually stretching fibers alongside a ruler or microscope slide to determine their length. This process is slow and tedious. The WIRA fiber length machine was developed to automate individual fiber measurement. It uses a rotating shaft with a spiral groove to steadily draw fibers through a pressure plate, maintaining a standard tension. A wire detects the end of each fiber to stop the shaft and increment the counter, grouping fiber lengths in 0.5 cm intervals. While faster than manual methods, the WIRA machine's detector wire is delicate and it is difficult to set up.

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72 views2 pages

3.4 Methods of Measurement: Direct Methods: I Wire

Direct methods of measuring individual fiber length involve manually stretching fibers alongside a ruler or microscope slide to determine their length. This process is slow and tedious. The WIRA fiber length machine was developed to automate individual fiber measurement. It uses a rotating shaft with a spiral groove to steadily draw fibers through a pressure plate, maintaining a standard tension. A wire detects the end of each fiber to stop the shaft and increment the counter, grouping fiber lengths in 0.5 cm intervals. While faster than manual methods, the WIRA machine's detector wire is delicate and it is difficult to set up.

Uploaded by

Ajay Kumar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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3.

4 Methods of measurement: direct methods


The problems encountered when measuring fibre length are very similar to
those encountered when measuring fibre fineness. In both cases a large
number of fibres have to be measured in order to provide a statistically
accurate answer. Furthermore any method that involves the handling of
individual fibres is very time consuming. The methods used to measure fibre
length fall into two main types: the direct measurement of single fibres
mainly for research purposes and methods that involve preparing a tuft or
bundle of fibres arranged parallel to one another. In this case the fibres can
be grouped for measurement or ultimately the measurement can be completely
automated.
The simplest direct way of measuring single fibres is by hand. Each
end of the fibre is grasped by a pair of tweezers and the fibre stretched
alongside a rule. The tension applied when holding the fibres must be
just sufficient to remove any crimp but not enough to stretch the fibre. In
order to have a more even tension during the measurement a weight may
be hung on the end of the fibre but the method then becomes slower still.
The British Standard BS 6176 [13] describes the use of a glass plate with a
millimetre scale engraved on it. This is smeared with a small amount of
liquid paraffin or petroleum jelly and the fibre is stretched along the scale
using tweezers. The oil on the glass helps to control the fibres. Alternatively
a number of fibres can be mounted on an oiled slide and viewed at
a magnification of 5X or 1Ox using a projector. The length of the fibre,
even though it does not follow a straight path, is then measured by an
opisometer. These methods, however, are slow and tedious and are used
mainly for research.
3.4.1 WIRA fibre length machine
The WIRA fibre length machine [13] is an attempt to automate the process
of single fibre measurement and is intended mainly for measuring wool
fibres. The equipment shown in Fig. 3.11 involves a rotating shaft with a
spiral groove machined in it. One end of the fibre to be measured is gripped
by a pair of tweezers whose point is then placed in the moving spiral. This
has the effect of moving the tweezers to the right and so steadily drawing
the fibre through the pressure plate. This ensures that the fibre is extended
under a standard tension. A fine wire rests on the fibre and is arranged so
that when the far end of the fibre passes under the wire it allows it to drop
Glass plate Detector
i wire
Pressure
arm
Forceps
Keyboard
of
counter
Fibre Lead screw
Velvet
board
3.11 The WIRA fibre length apparatus.
into a small cup of mercury and thus complete an electrical circuit. This
causes the shaft to stop moving, so halting the tweezers; at this point the
tweezers are then raised to lift the counter immediately above where it has
stopped. The counters are arranged in 0.5 cm sections and each time one is
lifted it adds a unit to the appropriate length group so contributing to a
cumulative total.
The advantage of the apparatus is that it gives a standard tension to
the fibres, it involves less operator fatigue and it gives semi-automatic
recording of the results to 0.5 cm intervals. The apparatus is claimed to be
able to measure up to 500 fibres per hour. However, the detector wire
that is used to sense the end of the fibre is very delicate and it is difficult
to set up.

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