Three-dimensional visualization of microstructures

This case study describes a technique for the three-dimensional analysis of the internal microscopic structure ("microstructure") of materials. This technique consists of incrementally polishing through a thin layer (approximately 0.2 m) of material, chemically etching the polished surface, applying reference marks, and performing optical or scanning electron microscopy on selected areas. The series of images are then processed employing AVS and other visualization software to obtain a 3D reconstruction of the material. We describe how we applied this technique to an alloy steel to study the morphology, connectivity, and distribution of cementite precipitates formed during thermal processing. The results showed microstructural features not previously identified with traditional 2D techniques.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1998
• Where: VISUALIZATION
• Authors: Marco Lanzagorta, Milo V. Kral, J. Edward Swan II, George Spanos, Robert Rosenberg, Eddy Kuo
• Keywords: Internal Microscopic Structure, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Traditional 2D Techniques, Visualization, VISUALIZATION 1998