Using Neural Networks and NIR Spectrophotometry to Identify Fibers

A qualitative nondestructive technique for fiber identification was developed using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. A neural network was trained to identify 17 different fiber types using the NIR absorbance spectra from a library of 390 samples. The neural network model was verified by testing untrained samples. It was not only able to identify single fibers, but was also able to correctly identify blends of fibers from fabrics for which it had not been trained.