Effect of correlating image threshold values with image gradient field on damage detection in composite structures

Abstract

Effect of image threshold level variation is studied and proved to be a critical factor in damage detection and characterization of impacted composite Reaction Injection Molding ((RIM) structures. The variation of threshold is used as an input to both gradient field algorithm and segmentation algorithm. The choice of optimum threshold for a tested composite type is achieved as a result of correlation between the resulted gradient field images and segmented images. Type and extent of damage is also analyzed using detailed pixel distribution as a function of both impact energy and threshold level variation. The demonstrated cascading based technique is shown to be promising for an accurate testing and classification of damage in composite structures in many critical areas such as medical, aerospace and automotive.