Fractal dimension analysis and statistical processing of paper surface images towards surface roughness measurement

Abstract

In this paper we present a method for optical paper surface roughness measurement, which overcomes the disadvantages of the traditional methods. Airflow-based roughness measurement methods and profilometer require expensive special equipment, essential laboratory conditions, are contact-based and slow and unsuitable for on-line control purposes methods. We employed an optical microscope with a built-in CCD-camera to take images of paper surface. The obtained image is considered as a texture. We applied statistical brightness measures and fractal dimension analysis for texture analysis. We have found a strong correlation between the roughness and a fractal dimension. Our method is non-contact-based, fast and is suitable for on-line control measurements in the paper industry. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.