Determination of Pore Size, Porosity and Pore Size Distribution of Woven Structures by Image Analysis Techniques

Abstract

Due to the complexity of fabric structure, modeling of pore structure and predicting the pore parameters are difficult. This paper presents a novel approach to determine textile pore size, porosity and pore size distribution by the application of the image analysis techniques. In this study, it has been attempted to establish a theoretical model for both the pore size and porosity of woven fabrics. For this purpose, a theoretical model of porous systems based on Poiseuille's law was used to predict the pore size of woven fabrics. Also a theoretical model was created to predict the porosity of a woven fabric depending on the geometrical parameters. The two characteristics of pore opening size and porosity were determined from image analysis and were compared to the results from laboratory tests. The validity of which was confirmed by experimental results using cotton plain woven fabrics produced from different yarn linear density and tightness. A new and accurate method of image analysis for pore size distribution (PSD) determination of woven fabrics is presented in this paper. The tested fabric sample could be ranked in a decrease order successfully.