A MATLAB-based image processing algorithm for analyzing cupping profiles of two-layer laminated wood products

This study developed a MATLAB-based image processing algorithm for calculating the cupping of two-layer laminated wood specimens made of densified and undensified balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.). A six-week moisture cycling treatment followed by an oven-drying treatment was conducted to produce cupping. Two series of images, recording the undeformed and deformed shapes of each specimen, were scanned using a computed tomography (CT) scanner. The algorithm developed in the study accurately detected the two end points and the top point at the bottom edge of deformed specimens and then calculated the cupping using a quadratic curve fitting method.