Metallographic Image Analysis for Quality Assurance of Metals: A Review

Metallographic analysis is crucial in the study of metallic materials because it provides information about properties (yield strength, tensile strength, elongation), which has a direct impact on material. An ultramicroscope is a valuable tool in particle characterization due to its direct measurement of particle size and morphology. An ultramicroscope, i.e., microscope with resolutions greater than 100x, has an illumination system that allows viewing of tiny particles. The basic aim of the research work is to develop ultramicroscopy-based metallographic image analysis for quality assurance of metals quantifying microstructural characteristics of metals such as aluminum, cast iron, and steel alloy. Literature survey observes that image processing is widely used in the metallographic microstructure analysis. Morphological and counter-based image processing techniques are applied, and grain size is calculated. There is major need to progress the efficiency of analysis to great extent.