Determination of fiberglass lengths: Sample preparation and automatic image analysis

The optimization of end product properties of fiberglass reinforced engineering thermoplastics must be based upon knowledge of the constituents, including the fiber length distribution. This paper presents the techniques developed for the recovery, dispersal and length distribution analysis of glass fibers recovered from filled engineering resins. An automatic image analyzing computer system is used for the determination. The tedious manual method of measurement from optical photomicrographs is replaced by a rapid, quantitative and reproducible analysis.