Microscopic photometry and its parameterization for objective evaluation of aesthetics of woven fabrics

Abstract

One of the most important end-use performance parameters for fabrics and other textile products are the fabric hands and fabric aesthetics. Our previous research attempted to elucidate the factors that affect the fabric aesthetics using factor analysis and identified two principal factors tentatively labelled as ‘lustre and depth sensation’ and ‘surface roughness sensation’. The focus of the second step in the study of fabric aesthetics is on the investigation of the objective trends in the performance evaluation of textiles. In this study, we developed our own experimental equipment based on microscopic goniophotometric principles and its parameterization method. Subsequently, we attempted to define an index based on the distribution of the reflection intensity of woven fabrics and its characterization in order to evaluate the principal factors governing fabric aesthetics. On the basis of the results, we infer that microscopic goniophotometry and its parameterization is a more viable approach than conventional macroscopic goniophotometry for the quantitative evaluation of the principal factors governing fabric aesthetics.