Quantitative evaluation of morphological characteristics of road coarse aggregates based on image processing technology

To quantitatively characterize and evaluate the morphological features of coarse aggregate particles, 2D images of coarse aggregate particles were processed by using Image Pro-Plus software in this paper. Through image enhancement, correction, segmentation, and retrieval, six morphological indicators such as axial coefficient, rectangularity, roundness, roughness, angular parameters, and fractal dimension were obtained. Further statistical analysis of the distribution pattern of each morphological characteristic parameter was carried out in a large sample to provide a basis for the quality control of coarse aggregates processing. What’s more, further statistical analysis of the distribution pattern of each morphological characteristic parameter was carried out in a large sample to provide a basis for the quality control of coarse aggregates processing. The axial coefficient of coarse aggregates of different particle sizes, decreases with increasing particle size. The roundness decreases with increasing particle size, and the fractal dimension decreases with increasing particle size; the axial coefficient and rectangularity can be used to characterize the shape of coarse aggregates without the influence of angles. Roughness and fractal dimension can be used to characterize coarse aggregate angles independent of shape; angular parameters, roughness or angular parameters, and fractal dimension can be chosen when characterizing angles only. This study can provide a fast and efficient quantitative basis for the optimization of the coarse aggregate processing and process control of incoming quality.