Measuring In-Plane Liquid Spread in Fabric Using an Embedded Image Processing Technique

A new technique based on the embedded image processing principle is described to measure the in-plane liquid spread in fabric as a function of time. The water spreading area recorded with a digital camera and the picture analysing process was automated by use of an image segmentation algorithm: background subtraction. Where commercial image analysing software fails due to the specific porous structure of textiles, the algorithm developed succeeds in calculating the wicking area automatically. The speed and accuracy of area calculation are also improved by using a 32bit embedded Digital Signal Processor. The in-plane spreading of an area for ring, compact yarn of different counts and different combinations of doubled yarn produced from ring, compact & ring/compact yarn was carried out. It was found that the yarn count and doubling combinations influence the liquid spread behaviour of the fabric significantly.