U.S. HEMP FIBER CLASSIFICATION FOR TEXTILE APPLICATIONS ¿¿ CHARACTERIZING FIBER LENGTH

• Sponsoring Institution: Agricultural Research Service/USDA
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: USDA COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0445225
• Project Start Date: Sep 29, 2023
• Project End Date: Sep 28, 2028
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
KENT,OH 44240

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
(N/A)

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

10%

Applied

50%

Developmental

40%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
804	1730	2020	100%

Knowledge Area
804 - Human Environmental Issues Concerning Apparel, Textiles, and Residential and Commercial Structures;

Subject Of Investigation
1730 - Hemp;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;

Keywords

hemp

fiber

length

uniformity

quality

utilization

Goals / Objectives
To develop methods to characterize industrial hemp fiber which will lead to the establishment of a fiber classification system for industrial hemp fiber. Characterization of fiber length and length distribution within a natural fiber sample is important for the textile industry, and other end users, to establish economic value and determine how best to convert the raw material into finished goods. Natural fibers are inherently more variable in fiber length than manufactured fibers. Bast fibers, such as industrial hemp, are especially variable due to the impact of post-harvest processing such as retting and decortication and in-turn presents an even greater challenge for measuring fiber length. The accurate measurement of fiber length and length distribution is also a vital component of breeding and processing research: 1. Measure fiber length parameters of industrial hemp fiber samples. 2. Measure fiber length distribution of industrial hemp fiber samples.

Project Methods
The objectives will be achieved using a variety of methods. An automated instrument to measure the length and length distribution of a bundle of fibers will be assessed. The results from the automated method will be compared to reference techniques and standard methods used in other fibers. The Cooperator will apply analyses developed for the measurement of other natrual fibers to industrial hemp and adjust algorithms as needed to allow for the characterization of industrial hemp. Length parameters, such as Mean Length, Upper Half Mean Length, Upper Quartile Length, and Lower Half Mean Length will be assessed for appropriateness for use in characterizing industrial hemp fibers. Additionally, the distribution of fiber length within a sample of hemp will be characterized for skew and kurtosis as well as other descriptive values. Experimental design and statistical analysis will attempt to identify the amount of sample or measurements needed to accurately represent the values of a larger sample. All results will be compared against the techniques and methodologies established for use in characterizing cotton fiber samples.