A New Image Analysis Technique to Quantify Particle Angularity

Abstract

Angularity is a fundamental morphological descriptor of a particle; it determines the aggregate performance in asphalt and concrete works. This paper introduces an innovative matlab based image analysis technique to quantify the angularity of an aggregate. The algorithm is based on application of two successive b-spline smoothing techniques around the aggregate profile. The first b-spline smoothing curve is generated by joining the mid-points of the adjacent segments; and the second smoothing curve is generated by a smoothing function upon the first b-spline. Then the distribution of the perpendicular distance between these two-b-splines is evaluated, which provides an excellent estimate to the aggregate angularity. In this paper the angularity index of six aggregate samples is determined using our new technique. Then we compared the index obtained with an existing Aggregate Imaging Measurement System (AIMS) and the measurement from the two methods revealed good similarity. Therefore our new method can be considered as a useful alternative in the aggregate industry for distinguishing the angularity of the samples obtained from different sources.QS201