Development and evaluation of handy jute fibre bundle strength tester

Abstract

Jute is traditionally tested for bundle strength by breaking the fibers in the hand and using a manual bundle strength tester. Hand method is subjective and grade may vary from grader to grader. The manual bundle strength tester requires a lot of time for sample preparation and manual calculation of the strength of the fibre. In the present study, the goal was to develop an accurate and quick tester for measuring the strength of jute fibre bundles. The unit consists of a handle, fibre holder with clamp, pointer with an analog indicator, body, and a chain. The analog indicator has a colour code to indicate the strength of the fibre. This instrument has an overall dimension of 350 × 185 × 90 mm. Randomly twenty samples were selected from the bale sample to perform the test. The results of the developed instrument were compared with the results of a manual bundle strength tester. The T-test result showed that there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference between results from the handy type bundle strength tester and mechanical instrument. Strength of the jute measured from a handy jute fibre tester was almost on par with manual type instrument. The repeatability of the handy bundle strength tester at 95% confidence level is 3.02 and 2.90 g/tex, respectively for Corchorus olitorius and Corchorus capsularis. The instrument readings are repeatable since the difference between two readings is less than the r_p (repeatability) value at 95% confidence level. The study concluded that the time taken to measure bundle strength of jute was shorter than with a manual tool. In contrast to manual instruments, this instrument is easy to operate and can provides reliable results.