Evaluation of local orientation for texture classification

The aim of this paper is to present a study where we evaluate the optimal inclusion of the texture orientation in the classification process. In this paper the orientation for each pixel in the image is extracted using the partial derivatives of the Gaussian function and the main focus of our work is centred on the evaluation of the local dominant orientation (which is calculated by combining the magnitude and local orientation) on the classification results. While the dominant orientation of the texture depends strongly on the observation scale, in this paper we propose to evaluate the macro-texture by calculating the distribution of the dominant orientations for all pixels in the image that sample the texture at micro-level. The experimental results were conducted on standard texture databases and the results indicate that the dominant orientation calculated at micro-level is an appropriate measure for texture description

Performance characterization of clustering algorithms for colour image segmentation

This paper details the implementation of three traditional clustering techniques (K-Means clustering, Fuzzy C-Means clustering and Adaptive K-Means clustering) that are applied to extract the colour information that is used in the image segmentation process. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the performance of the analysed colour clustering techniques for the extraction of optimal features from colour spaces and investigate which method returns the most consistent results when applied on a large suite of mosaic images

Morphology of polymeric powders in Laser Sintering (LS): from polyamide to new PEEK powders

In an attempt to expand the range of engineering polymers used for laser sintering, this paper examines the morphology, flowability and interparticle interactions of two commercially available Poly (ether ether) ketone (PEEK) powders, not yet optimised for the LS process, by comparison with the LS optimised Polyamide (PA) and Polyetherketone (PEK) powdered polymers. The effect of incorporating fillers and additives on the flow behaviour is also analysed. The Particle Size Distribution (PSD) results alone do not allow ranking the powder materials in relation to the flow behaviour. The particle morphology has a stronger influence on the flow characteristics for materials with similar PSDs. The work also provides additional characterisation parameters to be considered when analysing LS powders

The fabrication and mechanical properties of a novel 3-component auxetic structure for composites

Copyright © 2015 Elsevier. NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Composites Science and Technology. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Composites Science and Technology (2015), DOI: 10.1016/j.compscitech.2015.06.012Functional auxetic composite materials can be fabricated from conventional or from auxetic components. The helical auxetic yarn (HAY) is a very recently invented auxetic reinforcing component for composite materials. This paper investigates the Poisson’s ratio behaviour of a further development of the HAY, needed for many practical applications. The 3-component auxetic yarn is based on a stiff wrap fibre (the first component) helically wound around an elastomeric core fibre (the second component) coated by a sheath (the third component). The resultant structure can overcome problems such as slippage of the wrap and changes in wrapping angles previously encountered during the manufacture and utilisation of the two-component HAY. The mechanical performance of conventional and novel systems is investigated; with emphasis on the differences between the engineering and true Poisson’s ratio. The importance of the utilisation of a true tensile modulus and a true Poisson’s ratio is demonstrated. This is the first time reported in the literature that an experimental auxetic effect analysis of HAYs was carried out by comparing true and engineering Poisson’s ratio. We show that depending on the coating thickness of the third component, the 3-component auxetic system can demonstrate auxetic behaviour, and the coating thickness can be employed as a new design parameter to tailor both the Poisson’s ratio and modulus of this novel composite reinforcement for a wide range of applications.Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC

The manufacture and mechanical properties of a novel negative Poisson’s ratio 3-component composite

This paper was presented at the ICCM 20 Conference - 20th International Conference on Composite Materials in Copenhagen, 19-24 July 2015. Full conference proceedings are available via the link in this recordMaterials with a negative Poisson’s ratio known also as auxetic materials [1] exhibit unusual property of getting thicker when stretched and thinner when compressed. The helical auxetic yarn (HAY) is a recently invented auxetic reinforcing structure for composites [2]. A helical auxetic yarn (HAY) consists of two fibres: a low modulus elastomeric core and a high modulus wrap fibre in a double helix structure. When a tensile load is applied the core of the HAY becomes wider as the wrap straightens out, resulting in a lateral expansion of the core, and therefore a large negative Poisson’ ratio behaviour. The auxetic behaviour of the HAY can be tailored by altering fibre properties, the initial geometry and also the applied strain to comply with specific applications, such as composites [3, 4], blast mitigation, and filtration [5]. This paper introduces a further development to the current HAY by addition of a third component (a sheath). The presence of the sheath is expected to overcome problems such as slippage of the wrap and inconsistency in the initial wrap angle previously encountered during the manufacture of the HAY. The auxetic performance of conventional and novel systems is investigated and Poisson’s ratio data are presented.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Processability of PEEK, a New Polymer for High Temperature Laser Sintering (HT-LS)

Copyright © 2015 Elsevier. NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in European Polymer Journal. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in European Polymer Journal (2015), DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2015.04.003Currently, the HT-LS sector is predominantly based around one commercial poly ether ketone (PEK) polymer. Although the combination of polymer and process works well, a lower melting temperature polymeric material, part of the same Poly Aryl Ether Ketone (PAEK) family would be preferable in certain applications. This study presents the optimisation and characterisation of Poly Ether Ether Ketone (PEEK), a polymer which is part of the PAEK family with a 30 ˚C lower melting temperature than PEK. The systematic characterisation of laser sintered samples of PEEK revealed a very good overall performance in comparison with the HP3 PEK material, with no change in storage modulus and only 25 % drop in tensile strength. The possibility of variable building configurations available within the HT-LS system, i.e. reduced, half and full chamber building modes, is examined in relation to the mechanical performances of the components. The effect of the post sintering time, an additional heating phase supplied to the powder bed at every layer, found only in the HT-LS system EOSINT P 800, is also examined

Identification of body fat tissues in MRI data

In recent years non-invasive medical diagnostic techniques have been used widely in medical investigations. Among the various imaging modalities available, Magnetic Resonance Imaging is very attractive as it produces multi-slice images where the contrast between various types of body tissues such as muscle, ligaments and fat is well defined. The aim of this paper is to describe the implementation of an unsupervised image analysis algorithm able to identify the body fat tissues from a sequence of MR images encoded in DICOM format. The developed algorithm consists of three main steps. The first step pre-processes the MR images in order to reduce the level of noise. The second step extracts the image areas representing fat tissues by using an unsupervised clustering algorithm. Finally, image refinements are applied to reclassify the pixels adjacent to the initial fat estimate and to eliminate outliers. The experimental data indicates that the proposed implementation returns accurate results and furthermore is robust to noise and to greyscale in-homogeneity

Unsupervised image segmentation based on the multi-resolution integration of adaptive local texture descriptions

The major aim of this paper consists of a comprehensive quantitative evaluation of adaptive texture descriptors when integrated into an unsupervised image segmentation framework. The techniques involved in this evaluation are: the standard and rotation invariant Local Binary Pattern (LBP) operators, multichannel texture decomposition based on Gabor filters and a recently proposed technique that analyses the distribution of dominant image orientations at both micro and macro levels. These selected descriptors share two essential properties: (a) they evaluate the texture information at micro-level in small neighborhoods, while (b) the distributions of the local features calculated from texture units describe the texture at macrolevel. This adaptive scenario facilitates the integration of the texture descriptors into an unsupervised clustering based segmentation scheme that embeds a multi-resolution approach. The conducted experiments evaluate the performance of these techniques and also analyze the influence of important parameters (such as scale, frequency and orientation) upon the segmentation results

Control and modelling of capillary flow of epoxy resin in aligned carbon nanotube forests

This paper examines the mechanism of infiltration by capillary flow of epoxy resin into vertically-aligned carbon nanotube forests. The resin viscosity during curing was characterized by rheometry. Carbon nanotube forests were brought into contact with resin at a range of times during curing, therefore at a range of viscosities. The penetration of the resin into the forests was measured using electron microscopy, X-ray micro-computed tomography and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, the latter relying on a chromium-complex dye additive which acts as a marker for the presence of resin. Experimental results were compared to a simulation based on the Implicit Lucas–Washburn equation for capillary flow. It was found that prior to the resin gel point, the resin penetrates through the full height of the forest. Close to the gel point, the flow into the forest ceases, leaving unwetted regions of nanotubes. Understanding the relationship between resin flow in nanotube structures and the resin viscosity and curing has important application in the fabrication of nanocomposite materials. This “partial wetting” effect is a key requirement for a previously proposed method for the fabrication of carbon nanotube composites by additive manufacture (AM) which would provide strong interlayer reinforcement combined with the versatility of AM.Airbus Corp. Ltd. (Airbus Group)University of Exete

Fabrication of Three Dimensional Layered Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Structures and their Potential Applications

This paper proposes a new technique for fabrication of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) structures, controlled in shape, height and functionality, through continuous successive growth of VACNT layers by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) combined with patterning strategies. This was achieved by vacuum deposition of additional catalyst material onto the original VACNT “forest” layer. A second forest layer is then observed to grow underneath the first by CVD. It is proposed that the new catalyst material diffuses through the porous nanotube forest to coat the growth substrate underneath. The enhanced height, coating, and vertical alignment of the nanotube forests were verified by electron microscope observation. By repeating this process, aligned nanotube bi-layers and tri-layers were grown, producing a “stack” of nanotube layers. By using a “shadow mask” patterning technique to screen areas of the original forest from catalyst deposition, the growth can be confined to specific areas of the substrate. Potentially, these multilayer nanotube structures would have diverse applications as long composite reinforcements, p–n junctions for electronic devices, or to allow the production of near net shape complex multilayer nanotube structures