Optical method for the determination of the roughness profile of woven fabrics

Abstract

Surface properties are important characteristics of textile fabrics. Apart from the tactile characteristics of the fabric, these properties can affect aspects of the fabric behaviour both in use and during further production processes. Fabric tactile characteristics and friction properties are just two of the properties connected to surface roughness. Typically surface roughness is determined using the KES-F system. This research paper proposes an innovative optical method for the measurement of fabric surface roughness based on image processing of photos of fabric cross-sections obtained through the stereoscopic microscope. Thirty parametric cotton woven fabrics were tested both in the warp and weft direction and the surface roughness for each fabric was obtained as a percentage of the void areas on the surface of the fabric.