The effects of particle morphology on the analysis of discrete particle dispersion using Delaunay tessellation

Particle-reinforced composites and nanocomposites can contain a wide range of discrete particles, of various morphologies (e.g. spherical, fibre, and tube). Two-dimensional micrographs of the material are used to assess whether the particles are well- or poorly-dispersed, but typically use the assumption that all particles are identical and spherical. However we show, by considering elliptical particles, that the sizing and shapes of the discrete particles can change the overall appearance of the system, without the underlying mechanisms changing. Thus our interpretation of particle dispersion is obtained by comparing our measurements to a reference system, which takes into account the particle morphologies, and demonstrates that discrepancies are brought on by oversimplification. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.