Measurement of Pore Characteristics in Nonwoven Fabrics Using Image Analysis

Abstract

In evaluating the performance of nonwoven fabrics, pore characteristics provide important information concerning fluid permeability, filtration and mechanical properties of the fabrics. This paper reports new approaches of measuring pore characteristics using image analysis. The image processing techniques for identifying pore regions are addressed. The image analysis techniques are presented for pore characterization from four aspects: size, shape, orientation and placement. A new approach to estimate parameters of a theoretical model proposed by Lombard, et al. (1989) for prediction of pore size distribution is also introduced. Two sets of nonwoven fabrics with different fiber contents and different weights per unit area are investigated using these techniques.