AUTOMATED MEASUREMENT OF FIBER ORIENTATION IN SHORT FIBER COMPOSITES.

The automated method of analyzing fiber images presented in this paper is a convenient and accurate alternative to previously developed methods. By recording an image of fibers with a video system and analyzing the Fourier transform, the orientation of the fibers in that image may be rapidly determined. The method can accurately and rapidly determine the degree of alignment and the primary direction of orientation in a short fiber composite. Applications of this method include verifying fiber orientation prediction models and calculating the physical properties of short fiber composite parts.