Objective evaluation of Polar fleece fabric appearance

A new fractal analysis method, Extended Morphological Fractal Analysis, aims at characterising Polar fleece fabric appearance after abrasion. Image analysis techniques, instead of human evaluation, have been utilised in textile manufacture in various applications. Multiscale Fractal Vector provides the additional advantage of characterising a wider variety of fabric textures by collecting all fractal dimensions at different scales. Mathematical morphology as developed by Matheron and Serra is examined and the necessary formulae included and explained. In the experimental approach, 15 commercially available polar fleece fabrics with different solid colours and pilling resistant abilities were used, divided into five grades with eight texture features selected for subjective evaluation by nine experienced judges. A digital camera was used and the process of evaluation described mathematically. Final results showed that good correlation could be achieved between calculated objective grades and subjective grades.