Filament Crimp in Three Dimensions Measured by Image Analysis and Fractal Geometry

Abstract

Image analysis and fractal geometry are used to define the three dimensional structure of filament crimping. The images are formed using a single charge coupled device (CCD) camera and a single mirror. Placed near the filament and at 45 degrees to the viewing direction, the mirror allows the camera to collect two orthogonal views of he sample, which are combined to give the xyz coordinates of every point on the filament. The crimp ratio and fractal dimension can then easily be calculated from these data. Recasting the data in cylindrical polar coordinates immediately shows details of the crimp0 property, such as the size and planarity of the crimped structure.