The document describes an automatic wrinkle recovery tester that uses image sequence analysis to measure a fabric's ability to recover from wrinkling over time. It records changes in the crease angle as a fabric specimen unfolds under a load for a set duration. The system fully automates the folding, pressing, imaging and analysis to avoid human interference. Testing found that fiber content, weave structure and folding method can impact wrinkle recovery performance. It also showed fabrics stabilize at different rates, challenging standardized test durations. A new video-based system was developed to dynamically measure wrinkle recovery angles over the full recovery process for more accurate and efficient evaluation.

1. Automatic Wrinkle Recovery Tester
Wrinkle Recovery Tester
Applications:
AATCC Wrinkle Recovery Tester is used to determine a fabric's ability to recover after wrinkling under a
predetermined load for a set period of time.
Crease recovery is one of the most important performance properties of fabric that needs to be evaluated
frequently for quality improvement and product development. It is often measured by tracking changes in
crease angle of a folded specimen in a certain period of time. This paper presents a new automated crease
recovery testing system and the trial tests on fabrics with different fiber materials, different weave structures,
and different folding methods. The system was designed to record and measure changes of the crease angle in
the entire recovery process by using image sequence analysis techniques. Thus, both instantaneous and
stable recoveries of the crease angle can be quantified. The system also fully automates the folding, pressing,
reading, and other operations on the specimen so that human interferences can be avoided. It was found that
the fiber content of a fabric is a determinant factor for crease recovery performance and the weave structure
can affect this performance to some extent. Crease recovery also varies with the way of folding the specimen.
The recoveries of fabrics with different fiber materials tend to stabilize in different durations, proving the
universal testing time set in the current standard test methods is unsuitable for some fabrics.
Wrinkle recovery is a dynamic process in which a folded fabric specimen continues to be unfolded by it,
and is often evaluated by angle changes between two folded fabric wings. Inspired by the advantages of
video sequence in dynamic measurement, we developed a video capturing and processing system for
dynamic measurements of fabric wrinkle recovery angle. In the experiment stage, a wrinkled specimen is
first compressed by a pneumatic presser for certain duration, and then videoed using a charge-couple
device camera during its entire recovery process. Each image frame in the video sequence is processed
to detect the free wing of the wrinkled specimen. To calculate the recovery angle accurately,
image-processing algorithms, such as finalization, thinning operation and Hough transform, are
implemented subsequently. Finally, the Wilcox on rank-sum test is carried out to evaluate the difference
between the data measured using the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC)
66-2008 method and this proposed method. Experimental results indicate that the data calculated by our
proposed method are consistent with those ones measured by the AATCC 66-2008 method. Compared
with the existing fabric wrinkle recovery measurement devices, such as the SDL-M003 wrinkle recovery
tester, the developed measurement system has made three important contributions: (1) it automates the
entire testing procedure so that human interference is eliminated; (2) it records the complete change of
the wrinkle angle so that the recovery property can be analyzed dynamically; and (3) it uses video
sequence analysis to calculate recovery angles so that the measurement is more accurate and efficient.