Transmitted Light Measurement to Determine the Local Structural Characteristics of Paperboard: Grammage, Thickness, and Fiber Orientation

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Cedric w. Sanjon - , Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging (Author)
  • Yuchen Leng - , Technische Universität Darmstadt (Author)
  • Marek Hauptmann - , Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging (Author)
  • Peter Groche - , Technische Universität Darmstadt (Author)
  • Jens-Peter Majschak - , Chair of Processing Machines/ Processing Technology, Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging (Author)

Abstract

This study presents a novel transmission-based method for characterizing local structural features, including the grammage, thickness, and fiber orientation, of paper materials. Some non-destructive techniques, such as micro-computed tomography ( (Formula presented.) -CT), microscopy, and radiation-based methods, are costly, time-consuming, and lack the ability to provide comprehensive local structural information within a single measurement. The proposed method utilizes a single light transmission measurement to assess local grammage and thickness through histogram matching with reference data obtained via (Formula presented.) -radiography and profilometry. The same light transmission images are also used to determine local fiber orientation, employing image analysis techniques. The structure tensor method, which analyzes gradients of light transmission images, provides detailed insight into the local fiber orientation. The results show that thickness and grammage measurements are independent of which side of the paper is evaluated, while the fiber orientation distribution varies between the front and back sides, reflecting differences in fiber arrangement due to manufacturing processes. Various distribution functions are compared, and the Pearson Type 3, log-normal, and gamma distributions are found to most accurately describe the grammage, thickness, and fiber orientation distributions. The study includes a variety of paper types, ensuring a robust and comprehensive analysis of material behavior, and confirms that the method can effectively infer the inhomogeneous features from a single light transmission measurement.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number113
Number of pages25
JournalFibers
Volume12
Issue number12
Publication statusPublished - 23 Dec 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85213461147

Keywords