Individual fibre inclination segmentation from X-ray computed tomography using principal component analysis

This study presents a holistic segmentation procedure, which can be used to obtain individual fibre inclination angles from X-ray computed tomography. The segmentation approach is based on principal component analysis and was successfully applied for a unidirectional and an air-textured glass fibre-reinforced composite profile. The inclination results show a weighted mean fibre inclination of 2.1 degrees and 8.0 degrees for the unidirectional and air-textured profile, respectively. For the air-textured composite, fibre inclinations of up to 55 degrees were successfully segmented. The results were verified by comparative analysis with equivalent results obtained from structure tensor analysis - showing no notable deviation. The comparable characteristics in combination with the distinct differences of the two material systems make this case study ideal for verification and validation of idealized models. It is shown how this approach can provide fast, accurate and repeatable inclination estimates with a high degree of automation.

Automated summary

This study introduces a holistic segmentation procedure for obtaining individual fiber inclination angles from X-ray computed tomography, successfully applied to both unidirectional and air-textured glass fiber-reinforced composite profiles. The results show accurate and automated inclination estimates with no notable deviation when compared to results from structure tensor analysis.