Automated tool to determine geometric measurements of woven textiles using digital image analysis techniques

An automated geometric characterization tool for woven textiles is presented. This tool is used to obtain the in-plane geometry of woven textiles in a fast and efficient method. These measurements can be used to provide a better understanding of the textile geometry and can be used in further applications such as quality assurance and textile modeling for prediction of material properties. Unique to this tool is that the use of morphological operations has been avoided, resulting in a significantly more robust image analysis procedure, enabling the analysis of a greater range of textiles with reduced user input. This procedure is coupled with a simple image acquisition technique. The image of the textile is captured using a standard office scanner, eliminating the need for a complex setup or specialized equipment. The tool’s capability is demonstrated for a variety of textiles; an in-depth description of the techniques used is also given. The resulting geometric information obtained using the tool highlights the importance of analyzing the textile sample of interest: significant geometric variations were captured in each sample, which are not ordinarily communicated through the material data sheets provided by manufacturers.