A method of estimating the single flax fibre fineness using data from the LaserScan system

This paper establishes a new method for estimating the single flax fibre diameter using the LaserScan instrument. The method is based on the mathematical modelling of the experimental fibre and fibre bundle width distribution and enables the flax fibre sample composition to be analysed in terms of proportions of single fibre and fibre bundles. The method can also be applied for the analysis of flax fibre fineness distribution produced by the Optical Fibre Diameter Analyser (OFDA) instrument. This method can be used as a tool for classification of flax accessions according to the estimated single fibre diameter, for evaluation of the efficiency of chemical and biochemical treatments aimed at the modification of flax fibre, and for evaluation of the suitability of flax fibre for spinning and manufacture of composites. The method was applied for the characterisation of 83 accessions from the Linum core collection produced by CGN at Wageningen, The Netherlands. The mean and standard deviation of single fibre diameter and proportion of single fibre and fibre bundles in the sample was estimated. Experimental results were in good agreement with theoretically expected relationships between the estimated mean diameter of single fibre and characteristics of fibre width distribution such as the mode and the overall average.