Contribution of polarimetric imaging for the characterization of fibrous surface properties at different scales

The point in using polarimetric imaging for surface characterization is highlighted in this paper. A method for the evaluation of nonwoven surface properties at microscopic and macroscopic scales is described. This method is based on a polarimetric apparatus and various image processing operations are then performed depending on the studied scale. Polarimetric imaging applied to nonwovens, particularly degree of polarization imaging, highlights texture inhomogeneities. At both scales, image processing techniques were designed to analyze surface zones of different textures. At the macroscopic scale, a basic image processing was developed in order to detect the nonwoven manufacturing process defects. Moreover at the microscopic scale, i.e. at the fiber scale, image processing was adapted to evaluate fiber orientation within nonwovens, which is known to be an important information for mechanical behavior prediction.