Design Statement
The proposed design solution is to be able to obtain strain measurements of small scale tissue samples in the range of centimeters while being cost-effective, robust, and having a relatively simple ease of operation. We plan to use digital imaging correlation in order to track two markers being displaced on the sample specimen while it is being incrementally loaded and unloaded by 10 grams.
The final device consists of three primary components. A wooden base for attachment of the specimen and for weights. A holder arm for the camera, and the microscope camera. Minimalistic design allows for cheap and quick reproduction.
Parts of the MATLAB code were extracted online while we had it adjusted to our needs.
Video Recording with Camera
Frames collected and converted to TIF format for every load applied
Images were then greyscaled, cropped, and rotated
Grid Selection
Selected either the rectangular or two-point marker
Testing the selected Grid
Image Processing
Contrasting and peak coloring of markers vs background
Calculation of strain through comparison of deformed marker to the reference marker
Tracking of Markers: Creep test of chicken breast with the creation of an appropriate grid. (Reference markers: green, Deformed markers: red)
Leader: Lawrence Sun