AUTEX Research Journal, Vol.

7, No 1, March 2007 AUTEX

A STUDY ON SPINNING LIMITS AND YARN PROPERTIES WITH

PROGRESSIVE CHANGE IN YARN COUNT IN FRICTION SPINNING
R. Chattopadhyay and S. K. Sinha*
Department of Textile Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India,
*Department of Textile Technology, National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, India

Abstract:
The spinning limit for three different fibres (cotton, viscose rayon and polyester) on a
Dref-3 friction spinning machine has been investigated. The change in yarn properties
with progressive change in count has also been reported. The count range has been
seen to be dependent on fibre type. As one progresses from very coarse to fine counts,
the yarn tensile property remain fairly unaltered for cotton, but changes for polyester and
viscose yarns.

Key words:
spinning limit, Dref-3, friction spinning, yarn property, twist

Introduction
Every spinning system produces yarn over a certain count range, and the limit of this range varies
from system to system. As an example, in ring spinning the technologically possible range is 295 tex
(2s Ne) to 3 tex (200s Ne) and for rotor spinning 590 tex (1s Ne) to 10 tex (60s Ne). However, the
technologically possible count range differs from the economic or commercially viable count ranges.
The commercial count range is usually narrower, and is limited by quality and cost considerations.
The range of count that can be successfully spun and the type of fibres that can be processed
testifies to the capability of the spinning system and possibilities of its commercial success. Modern
machine manufacturers constantly aim to extend this count range so that it overlaps the medium
count range (between 20s Ne and 30s Ne) where maximum production takes place for better market
penetration. The following figure shows the economic count ranges of different spinning systems [5]:

The spinning limit usually refers to the production of the finest yarn count from a given fibre with
acceptable qualities and an end breakage rate below a tolerable threshold. The commercial value of a
fibre depends upon its spinning limit. It is important to know why a system fails to spin beyond a
certain count on both the coarser and finer sides. A clear understanding of the mechanism of yarn
formation and the way the fibre parameters interact with the spinning process can lead to further
improvement in the machine design with a view to widening the count range. Many people have
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worked on spinning limits for ring and rotor spinning [2-4,6,7,10,13]. had The focus of their studies
has been to determine the spinning limits and the influence of process and fibre parameters on
spinning limits. Similar work on friction spinning is limited [1].
According to the manufacturer [11,12], friction spinning (both Dref-2 & Dref-3), can produce yarn
within the following count range:
Dref-2:
Dref-3:

5905 tex - 98 tex

98 tex - 33 tex

(0.1s Ne 6s Ne)
(6s Ne 18s Ne)

It appears that Dref-2 is intended for coarse count and Dref-3 for coarse to medium count yarns.
However, no report exists which states the technologically possible count range or its dependence on
type of fibre. How do the yarn properties deteriorate as the count becomes finer? The aim of the
present work is to investigate the technologically possible spinning limits and to understand what
restricts the count range.

Materials and methods

In the present study, three types of fibres, polyester (1.2 den, 44 mm), viscose (1.3 den, 51 mm) and
cotton (4.1 micronaire, i.e.1.57 denier, 28 mm), were used to produce yarns on a Dref-3 friction
spinning machine using the Dref-3 mode. The drum and delivery speed were kept constant at 3000
rpm and 130 m/min respectively. The core/sheath ratio was kept constant at 70:30. For the production
of the yarns, one sliver was fed through drafting system 1 and an appropriate number of slivers were
fed through drafting system 2.
Determination of spinning limit
The machine was started, maintaining the feed rate at an arbitrary level so that a yarn can be
produced successfully for a period of at least 10 minutes without encountering breaks. The yarn was
collected and the count determined. Next, the feed rate was gradually changed in steps so as to
produce yarns which were either coarser or finer than the previously spun yarn count. The process
was continued until a count was reached both on the coarser and finer sides when spinning became
practically impossible, i.e. when 5 minutes of continuous spinning without any end break was
possible. These terminal yarn counts are termed as the spinning limits. In this way both the coarsest
and finest count limits were determined. All the yarns spun were collected and count values
determined. The yarns counts thus spun are shown below (Table 1):
Table1. Spun yarn counts

Spinning mode
Dref - 3

Yarn count (tex)

Polyester

Viscose

Cotton

148, 118, 98, 59, 42, 33,

31, 29, 28, 27, 25.

197, 148, 118, 98,

59, 42, 33, 30, 28.

311, 148, 98,

59, 49, 42, 37, 33

(The bold figures indicate the count limits)

Yarn evaluation
The yarns spun with the three types of fibres mentioned above were evaluated for their physical and
mechanical properties.
Tensile properties
Single-yarn strength and breaking extension were measured on a Zwick universal testing instrument
using a 500-mm gauge length and a 150-mm/min extension rate. The tests were performed in the
standard atmosphere of 65 2% R.H. and at 270 20c temperature. A minimum of 35 observations
were made for each sample in order to obtain a 5% error of estimation. The tenacity and breaking
extension values were recorded, and then the average value and standard deviation were calculated.
The results were also tested for significance.

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Unevenness
The yarn unevenness was determined on an evenness tester using a test speed of 100 m/min for one
minute. Ten readings were taken for each sample, and the average values of U%, thin and thick
places and neps were calculated.
Twist
The yarns were evaluated for twist. The twist measurement was carried out following the twist-tobreak principle. A yarn of 254 mm length was gripped between the jaws of the twist tester and first
twisted in the direction of original twist of the yarn. Twisting was continued until the yarn broke; the
number of turns required to break the yarn (N1) was noted. The test was repeated with twisting in the
opposite direction to that of the original twist, and again the number of turns required to break the
yarn (N2) was noted. The yarn twist was then calculated by using the following relationship:
twist (turns / m) = (N2 N1) 39.37
At least 50 observations were made, in order to have a 5% error of estimation. The average of such
readings were taken as the twist value.

Result and discussions

Yarn unevenness and imperfection
The unevenness responds differently for the yarns spun from three different fibres. For polyester, it at
first reduces, and then increases as the count becomes finer. With viscose, a similar observation can
be made, although the rise beyond minimum is not as significant, and for cotton it increases with
count. The reason for such behaviour lies with the fibre separation process in drafting unit II, the
arrival of the separated fibres on the friction drum, and the irregularity generated in drafting unit I on
the fibres which form the core part of the yarn.
When the yarn is too coarse, fibre throughput rate is very high. The individualisation of fibres by the
opening rollers becomes difficult. Fibres therefore arrive on the friction drum in agglomerate form, i.e.
in clusters.
The individualisation action by
the opening rollers will also be
fibre-dependent.
Polyester
and viscose, which are long
and fine, are more difficult to
separate than cotton, which is
relatively short and contains
many short fibres. The kidney
bean-type cross section in
cotton prohibits close contact
between the fibres, and so
resistance
to
opening
becomes
less.
Between
polyester
and
viscose,
polyester would be more
difficult to open, as the
frictional
drag
between
polyester fibres can be
expected to be greater than that of viscose. The round cross-sectional shape of polyester facilitates
adherence among the fibres, resulting in increased frictional resistance to opening. Hence in the case
of polyester, clusters of unopened fibres are likely to land on the friction drum, especially when the
count is very coarse. The long length of polyester and viscose would cause them to land on the
friction drum in more deformed forms. This is why the very coarse polyester and viscose yarns are
highly uneven (Figure 3). The core part of the yarn will become progressively more irregular as the
yarn becomes finer, as more and more drafts will act on the fibres in drafting unit I. The influences of
the two factors of individualisation and drafting irregularity thus seem to counteract each other, and a
minimum is observed for polyester and viscose yarns. As cotton is easy to individualise, the coarse
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AUTEX Research Journal, Vol. 7, No 1, March 2007 AUTEX

count yarns are not

irregular,
and
the
irregularity generated by
drafting unit I dominates
the overall irregularity of
the yarn.
In
general,
the
imperfection level is found
to increase with yarn
fineness (Figure 4), which
is primarily due to the
increase in neps. The
exceptionally high value of
neps for the coarsest
polyester yarn may be
due to extremely poor
fibre
individualisation,
which also makes the yarn very irregular. However, this is not seen for viscose yarn. As the yarn
becomes more and more irregular, the imperfection level increases.
Twist
The twist is seen to
increase with yarn fineness
(Figure 5) for all the fibres,
and a similar observation
can be made with respect
to twist multiplier (Table-2).
The increase in twist with
the increase in yarn
fineness is due to the
progressive increase in the
ratio of the yarn tail to the
friction drum diameter. For
the same count, the twist is
maximum in cotton yarn,
followed by polyester and
viscose yarns. The twist is
dependent not only on the
diameter of the yarn tail but
also on the friction coefficient between the fibres and the drum, as well as the force with which the
fibres are pressed against the drum. Since the fibres are not positively gripped between the drums,
there is always a chance of slippage between the fibres and the drum surface.
Table 2. Values of twist multiplier for different yarns

Yarn count (tex)

311
200
148
98
59
42
33
28
25

Polyester yarn
13.3
12.5
14.8
15.5
16.9
15.9
16.6

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Twist multiplier (tpcm tex )

Viscose yarn
12
12.9
11.1
10.1
13.0
15.9
12.9
-

Cotton yarn
19.8
16.4
21.9
30
30.1
37.7
-

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For the same mass of fibres, the cotton with the highest density (1.54 g/cc) will occupy the minimum
volume, and therefore the diameter of the yarn tail will be minimum, resulting in the highest twist. As
the viscose fibres are too long and flexible in comparison to cotton, most of the sheath fibres will be
highly deformed, and the overall diameter of yarn tail on the friction drum will be larger than that of
cotton. Hence viscose yarns show lesser twist than cotton. Polyester will occupy the maximum
volume as the density is minimum (1.38 g/cc), and should have minimum twist. However, the spin
finish on polyester usually leads to very high friction against the friction drum which probably causes
less slippage of the yarn tail on the friction drum, and hence the twist observed in it is greater than
that of viscose.
Tensile property
The tensile properties of any
spun yarn depend upon the
properties of its constituent
fibres, the arrangements of
these fibres within the yarn
(i.e. on the yarn structure),
and the mass distribution of
yarn along its length. The
structure
is
primarily
decided
by
the
yarn
formation mechanism and
the process parameters.
Dref-3 yarn has a coresheath type structure. The
core, consisting of straight
and parallel fibres, is falsetwisted between the friction
drums and the sheath fibres
are wrapped around it. Part
of the false twist in the core
remains trapped by the
sheath
fibres.
The
proportion of core fibres,
tightness and density of
sheath fibre wrapping and
its proportion play a decisive
role on the overall strength
and extension of the yarn.
The change in tensile
properties with count for
polyester,
viscose
and
cotton yarns spun is shown in Figures 6 and 7. The three fibres can be seen to respond in different
ways. For polyester yarns, the tenacity initially rises and then reduces as the count becomes finer.
The optimum for the present polyester fibre is seen to be around 60 tex (i.e. 10s Ne). For viscose
fibre, the tenacity remains constant over the range of counts produced; and for cotton, a slow steady
rise in yarn fineness can be observed. The breaking extension for polyester and viscose yarns
decrease significantly with yarn fineness (from 12% to 8%), and the maximum value is observed at
148 tex (4 Ne). However, the coarsest polyester yarn showed a reduction in extension in comparison
to 148 tex yarn. Nevertheless, for cotton, a marginal decrease in extension with fineness is observed.
Therefore, one can broadly state that in the cases of cotton and viscose, the tenacity is not affected
much as continuously finer yarns are made. But for polyester, there is an optimum count where
tenacity reaches the maximum. The breaking extension remains fairly similar for cotton, but for
polyester and viscose it gradually reduces with fineness.

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AUTEX Research Journal, Vol. 7, No 1, March 2007 AUTEX

It has been reported that the individualisation action accomplished by the opening roller teeth causes
fibre damage, and thus a loss in fibre tenacity and elongation [8,9] due to the vigorous abrasive action
of its teeth on the fibres. It has been found that the loss of tenacity and extension is maximum for
cotton (7.6% and 8.1% respectively). The extension loss is significant for viscose rayon. A similar loss
in breaking extension and tenacity was also reported by researchers [8]. Inadequate opening and
long fibre length can considerably reduce the sheath fibres extent on the drum surface, which makes
it difficult for the friction drum to wrap the core with sheath fibres effectively.
For a yarn spun from a given fibre, an increase in tenacity is usually associated with an increase in
breaking extension, that is, the tenacity and extension are expected to respond together in a similar
fashion. This is observed for polyester yarn. The initial rise in tenacity with count can be ascribed to
better yarn formation due to the reduced number of fibres in the yarn formation zone and the arrival of
increasingly well-individualised fibres to form the sheath. This is also reflected by the reduction of
unevenness values of the yarns. Besides, more wrapping twist will also have a beneficial effect on
tenacity. The fall in tenacity beyond the optimum count for polyester could be due to the increased
unevenness of the polyester yarn.
Viscose yarns should behave like polyester yarn, but too long a length (51 mm) of viscose fibres and
its low modulus might caused the sheath fibres to descend on the friction drum in a more deformed
state. As a result, the sheath fibres become wrapped in a deformed state restricting the reinforcing
effect. Thus the tenacity does not rise, even though the yarn becomes regular and twist increases.
The reduction in yarn extension with yarn fineness may be due to progressively greater loss in
extension in fibres due to the reduced throughput in the finer yarns.
Although the cotton yarn becomes more irregular as the count becomes finer, the tenacity does not
decrease because the concomitant increases in twist multiplier (see Table 2) compensate the loss,
and cause a slow but steady increase in tenacity. However, the increased twist multiplier does not
increase the breaking extension as the possibility of fibre damage due to the opening action increases
with fewer throughputs for finer yarns. Hence the breaking extension of cotton yarn reduces with
fineness.
Spinning limit
The range of yarn counts which were successfully produced under identical process conditions from
three different fibres are shown in Figure 2. A strict comparison between three fibres is not possible
as they are not exactly identical in their physical parameters, i.e, length and fineness. Cotton has the
widest possible count range, followed by viscose rayon and polyester.

Polyester

Vscose
Cotton

50

100

150

200

250

Yarn Count (tex)

Figure 2. Representation of possible yarn counts produced
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300

350

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The coarse count limit is different for the three fibres. For cotton it is around 300 tex, and for viscose
rayon & polyester they are 197 tex and 118 tex respectively. The fine count limits are close to each
other for all the yarns (i.e. around 30 tex).
As already stated, when we go to produce coarser yarns, the fibre throughput rate increases. which
causes fibre separation to suffer. This will be manifested more for long and fine fibres, as well as
fibres with higher coefficient of friction since frictional resistance to opening will increase. Long fibres
are likely to deform more as they land on the drum and experience sudden deceleration. As a result
the sheath fibre extent reduces. It is more difficult to have effective wrapping by deformed unopened
fibres. Cotton, which is easier to open and has many shorter length fibres (which causes them to
deform less), can continue to produce yarn up to the count of 300 tex. Polyester and viscose in
comparison suffer, due to their insufficient opening and more deformation.
It appears that the number of fibres in the yarn cross-section plays a dominant role in deciding the
fine count spinning limit. Once the total number falls below a critical value (200), spinning becomes
impossible due to a lack of adequate cohesion between the core fibres and effective wrapping by a
few sheath fibres (60) .
The finer count spinning limit for all the fibres is relatively low, as much finer yarns can be produced
from the same fibres on a ring spinning system. The presence of deformed fibre shapes, wrapping
under low spinning tension and insufficient interlayer migration do not allow a friction yarn to be spun
as fine as ring yarn. The possibility of the accumulated fibre mass passing through the nip aperture of
the two drums and the low twist efficiency may also limit the finest spinnable count. On the coarser
side, too much accumulation of fibres in the nip area may cause suction force to be ineffective on
many fibres, as many of them would be away from the suction slot position. This will make
consolidation and wrapping or twisting action difficult. Therefore furthering the coarse count limit may
also be difficult.

Conclusions
From the study the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. For polyester and viscose fibres, there is an optimum count range where most uniform yarn
can be produced. For cotton, however, coarser yarns are more regular.
2. Imperfections usually increase as the yarn becomes finer.
3. Twist values increase with yarn fineness.
4. The response of tenacity to change in count is little for cotton and viscose yarn, but for
polyester an optimum count is observed where the tenacity maximises.
5. Spinning limit is widest for cotton followed by viscose and polyester yarn.
6. Fine count limits are fairly similar. However, the coarse count limits differ from each other.

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