Significance and Use
The purpose of this practice is to provide guiding principles for the use of evaluation cottons and evaluation samples for the qualification of cotton classification instruments.
The cotton classification instruments qualified under this practice shall be capable of testing the fiber properties of micronaire reading, upper half mean length, uniformity index, breaking tenacity (strength), Rd (color), +b (color), percent area (trash) and particle count (trash).
This practice provides guidelines for users of cotton classification instruments to perform standardized testing that will ensure that test results are within acceptable tolerances (see tables below) for the marketing of cotton bales.
A test of the upper half mean length, uniformity index and breaking tenacity (strength) shall consist of an average of two (2) specimens that are prepared by an automatic mechanical sampler.
A test of the color and trash shall consist of an average of four (4) measurements with a 90 degree rotation of the color evaluation fiber samples between measurements on each sample.
The micronaire test shall consist of a single measurement.
Scope
1.1 This practice provides two options for the qualification of cotton classification instruments: option 1, newly installed cotton classification instrumentation, or option 2, annual verification of cotton classification instrumentation using evaluation cottons, trash evaluation images, and color evaluation fiber samples for the fiber measurements of micronaire reading, upper half mean length, uniformity index, breaking tenacity (strength), Rd (color reflectance), +b (color yellowness), percent area (trash), and particle count (trash).
1.2 This practice covers the technical requirements to validate the consistency of data reported by a cotton classification instrument.
1.2.1 The practice can be used when new equipment is installed or it can be used to perform annual verification for consistency of reported data.
1.2.2 The practice can be used to qualify cotton classification instruments using evaluation cottons, trash evaluation images, and color evaluation fiber samples. These data can be used for fiber measurements of micronaire reading, upper half mean length, uniformity index, strength, color reflectance, and trash.
1.3 The values stated in English units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
