Blog Post #2- Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute: Visit 2

Fiber Haze 

            A few days ago I attended a field trip to the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute in Lubbock, Texas. Walking into the doors of FBRI, you couldn’t avoid the fiber in the air, and you couldn’t help, but deal with the upcoming of allergies. With FBRI’s motives to change the fiber quality, their goal in doing so, is serving the research needs of manufacturers, cotton breeders and public agencies.

            Once cotton is picked, it has to go through a process, where it is then tested. The cotton is tested in a multiple of ways, so it is one hundred percent positive to be used for any type of fabric. One of the testing processes caught my eye, in which I’m going to go over. Once the fabric has been through the cleaning process and everything other process, it is then brought to the Break Force and Elongation of Textile Fabrics.

            The Break Force and Elongation of Textile Fabrics machine, determines the breaking force and elongation of the fabrics, using a grab sample, and another way of testing the fabric is determining its bursting strength. This machine can be programmed to do skein breaks of yarn and other fiber strengths.

With the different accessories and load cells being used, this type of method is not required for knitting fabrics due to its stretching ability. When testing the strength of knitting fabrics, a machine called the Ball Bursting Strength is used. When dealing with the two methods of strip strength test, the raveled strip test, tests woven fabrics and the cut strip test, test non-woven fabrics, felted fabrics and dipped or coated fabrics. Once they are both set in their lengths of  one inch wide by six inches  in length, the specimen is prepared for warp and filling direction.

The grab test procedure determines the strength of the fabric, but the breaking force of the grab test is not a reflection of the strength of the fabrics. When using the Testometric machine it is set for varying speed depending on what type of fabric is being used. The results can be reported in either inch- pound units, or SI units. The values of the breaking force and elongation of the test specimens are gathered from the computer, which is then interfaced with the testing machine.

The tedious work put into cotton to find the quality and strength is a long process, but with the FBRI’s motive to change the way cotton is processed, brings a positive outlook of what will make of the future.


Fiber and biopolymer research institute. (2011, September 15). Retrieved from http://www.itc.ttu.edu/