FOLD PROFILER: A MATLAB®—based program for fold shape classification

FOLD PROFILER is a MATLAB code for classifying the shapes of profiles of folded surfaces. The classification is based on the comparison of the natural fold profile with curves representing mathematical functions. The user is offered a choice of four methods, each based on a different type of function: cubic Bezier curves, conic sections, power functions and superellipses. The comparison is carried out by the visual matching of the fold profile displayed on-screen from an imported digital image and computed theoretical curves which are superimposed on the image of the fold. To improve the fit with the real fold shape, the parameters of the theoretical curves are changed by simple mouse actions. The parameters of the mathematical function that best fits the real folds are used to classify the fold shape.FOLD PROFILER allows the rapid implementation of four existing methods for fold shape analysis. The attractiveness of this analytical tool lies in the way it gives an instant visual appreciation of the effect of changing the parameters that are used to classify fold geometry.