Colour Etching and Coloured Image Analysis-A Way of Characterising the Microstructures of Innovative Cast Materials.

摘要

In the automotive respectively in the energy sec-tors new materials for modern light construction and high temperature applications are introduced. So many new types of microstructures are appearing as a result of the changes being made to existing alloy systems or to the use of new and innovative methods of manufacture. In this article the microstructures of such materials are examined, taking into account both their methods of manufacture and the requirements demanded. The visualisation of the microstructures are revealed using colour etching techniques in con-junction with polarising microscopy. The colour coding of the microstructures thus achieved provides an additional parameter for digital image analysis to separate and to characterise the microstructures observed. New microstructural parameters are determined yielding additional information about the properties of these materials, which would otherwise be innaccessible by using conventional black and white contrasting.