3D Image Feature Extraction and Characterisation of Fibres in Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete

Fibres are an important component in many materials ranging from biological materials such as elastin and collagen right up to materials used to build houses and other structures such as steel fibre reinforced concrete. The geometry and other physical quantities such as the dimensions of these fibres play an important role in characterising the properties of these materials in their important roles. This project aimed to develop and apply image processing techniques and novel feature extraction techniques to help in the characterisation of the fibres in steel fibre reinforced concrete. Novel 3D Image processing techniques were developed and applied to X-ray Computer Tomography (XCT) 3D images of steel fibre reinforced concrete. Simulations were also performed to provide an initial validation of the developed algorithms. Results provided some insight into the orientations and distributions of the steel fibres.