Quantitative Characterization and Representation of Global Microstructural Geometry

Abstract

It is the central precept of materials science that processing governs microstructure and the microstructure influences the properties and performance of materials. Consequently, quantitative characterization and mathematical representation of microstructure are of considerable importance in materials science. The discipline of quantitative characterization of microstructural geometry is called quantitative metallography or stereology. The objective of quantitative metallography/stereology is to describe the geometric characteristics of the features (for example, grains, voids, precipitates, dislocations) present in the microstructure in quantitative terms, such as amounts (how much?), numbers (how many?), and sizes (how large?). Three occurrences of 6061.