The characterization of cemented carbides by automated image analysis

In cemented carbides, important mechanical properties are influenced by the carbide grain size distribution. In this paper, an automated image analysis solution is described using a grain boundary reconstruction routine. In addition to size distribution, grain shape and contiguity were also measured. The largest grains found were validated by visual verification to confirm that they correspond to large individual tungsten carbide grains (and not to clusters of smaller grains). Cobalt percentage, which is also of interest, was also considered.