Advanced Grain Size Analysis Compliant with ASTM E112

Transform your metallurgical images into precise, quantitative data. MicroVision Suite provides a comprehensive toolkit for performing automated grain size analysis, giving you repeatable and reliable results in minutes, not hours.

The Importance of Grain Size Measurement

In metallurgy and material science, grain size is a critical factor that directly influences a material’s mechanical properties, including its strength, ductility, and toughness. Accurate grain size measurement is essential for quality control, failure analysis, and research and development.

The industry standard for this process is ASTM E112, which outlines standardized procedures for determining the average grain size. However, performing this analysis manually using an ASTM E112 grain size chart can be subjective, tedious, and highly dependent on the operator’s skill.

A Faster, More Accurate Approach to ASTM Grain Size Analysis

MicroVision Suite digitizes and automates the entire grain size analysis workflow, providing a powerful and user-friendly alternative to manual methods. Our software guides you through a step-by-step process, from image preparation to final report generation, ensuring accuracy and consistency every time.

Step 1: Powerful Image Pre-processing

A successful analysis starts with a perfectly prepared image. Our software includes a suite of advanced tools to optimize your micrograph for segmentation:

  • Color-Optimized Analysis (Lab*): For colorful microstructures, our software can process the image based on its lightness channel, effectively ignoring color variations and focusing solely on the grain boundaries for a more accurate segmentation.
  • Contrast Enhancement (CLAHE): Automatically enhances local contrast, making faint or unevenly illuminated grain boundaries clearly visible.
  • Advanced Noise Reduction: Choose from Bilateral, Median, or Gaussian filters to smooth the image and remove digital noise while preserving critical edge details.

Step 2: Intelligent Grain Boundary Segmentation

This is the most critical step, and our software gives you multiple methods to achieve a perfect binary image of the grain boundaries:

  • Auto-Detect Boundaries: A one-click solution for high-contrast, colorful microstructures. The software intelligently analyzes the image in the L*a*b* color space to automatically identify and isolate grain boundaries.
  • Manual Segmentation Methods: For more challenging samples, you have full control with methods like:
    • Adaptive Threshold: Ideal for images with uneven lighting.
    • Black-Hat Transform: Specially designed to excel at segmenting complex textures like martensite.
    • Canny Edge & Global Threshold: Classic, reliable methods for a wide range of materials.
  • Manual Eraser Tool: Have ultimate control. If the automatic segmentation creates an unwanted connection or misses a spot, you can use the intuitive eraser tool to manually refine the binary image before analysis, ensuring 100% accuracy.

Step 3: Choose Your ASTM E112 Analysis Method

Once the boundaries are defined, MicroVision Suite allows you to perform the grain size measurement using several methods compliant with the ASTM E112 standard:

  • Planimetric Method (Watershed): This sophisticated method identifies and counts each individual grain within the image. It provides a detailed report including the total grain count, individual grain area and perimeter, and calculates the final ASTM G-number. All data can be exported to CSV for further analysis.
  • Intercept Methods: These methods involve laying a pattern of lines over the image and counting the number of times the lines intersect with grain boundaries. We offer several patterns:
    • Horizontal Lines
    • Grid (Horizontal + Vertical)
    • Circular Pattern (3 Circles)

These methods provide a fast and statistically robust calculation of the average grain size and the corresponding ASTM G-number.

Stop Guessing with an ASTM E112 Grain Size Chart

Leave the manual charts and subjective measurements behind. Embrace the speed, accuracy, and repeatability of digital grain size analysis. MicroVision Suite is the essential tool for any modern materials lab. Get your license today and elevate the quality of your analysis.