This work addresses the development of a novel user-interactive image analysis computed technique to determine the main characteristics of the cellular structure of cellular materials with any density, morphology, and/or cell size from micrographs obtained from any source—scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, etc. The specific analyzed parameters are cell size (mean cell diameter), cell anisotropy, cell size distribution, and cell density. A comparison with several conventionally used methods is also presented in this work. The development of such application offers a quick (<3 min per micrograph) and complete characterization of the cellular structure, with reproducible results and good agreement with the typical manual measurement methods.
Gibson LJ and Ashby MF. Cellular solids: Structure and properties. 2nd ed. Cambridge: UK, Cambridge University Press, 1997.
2.
Rodriguez-Perez MA, Lobos J, Perez-Muñoz CA, et al. Mechanical behaviour at low strains of ldpe foams with cell sizes in the microcellular range: advantages of using these materials in structural elements. Cell Polym 2008; 27: 347–362.
3.
Rodriguez-Perez MA. The effect of chemical composition, density and cellular structure on the dynamic mechanical response of polyolefin foams. Cell Polym 2002; 21: 117–136.
Goel SK and Beckman EJ. Generation of microcellular polymeric foams using supercritical carbon dioxide. II: Cell growth and skin formation. Polym Eng Sci 1994; 34: 1148–1156.
14.
Pourdeyhimi B. Imaging and image analysis applications for plastics. William Andrew Publishing/Plastics Design Library, 1999, pp.241–248.
15.
LewisKMKijakIReuterKB. An image analysis method for cell-size and cell-size distribution measurement in rigid foams. J Cell Plast1996; 32: 235–235.
16.
Torres MC. Generation of heterogeneous cellular structures by sonication. PhD thesis, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, 2008.
17.
SchwartzNVBombergMT. Image analysis and the characterization of cellular plastics. J Build Phys1991; 15: 153–153.
18.
Landers R, Venzmer J and Boinowitz T. Methods for Cell Structure Analysis of Polyurethane Foams. In: Proceedings of the polyrethane conference (API), Houston, Texas, 17–19 October 2005.
19.
Kumar V. Process synthesis for manufacturing microcellular thermoplastic parts. PhD Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 1988.
20.
GosselinRRodrigueD. Cell morphology analysis of high density polymer foams. Polym Test2005; 24: 1027–1035.
21.
Weller JE and Kumar V. Solid-state microcellular polycarbonate foams. I. The steady-state process space using subcritical carbon dioxide. Polym Eng Sci 2010; 50: 2160–2169.
22.
RegleroJADumonMPintoJ. Low-density nanocellular foams produced by high-pressure carbon dioxide. Macromol Mater Eng2011; 296: 752–759.
23.
SahagianDLProussevitchAA. 3D particle size distributions from 2D observations: stereology for natural applications. J Volcanol Geotherm Res1998; 84: 173–196.
24.
RhodesMBKhaykinB. Foam characterization and quantitative stereology. Langmuir1986; 2: 643–649.
25.
MontminyMDTannenbaumARMacoskoCW. New algorithms for 3-D imaging and analysis of open-celled foams. J Cell Plast2001; 37: 501–501.
26.
FettermanMRTanEYingL. Tomographic imaging of foam. Opt Express2000; 7: 186–186.
27.
MonnereauCVignes-AdlerM. Optical tomography of real three-dimensional foams. J Colloid Interf Sci1998; 202: 45–53.
28.
ThomasPDDartonRCWhalleyPB. Resolving the structure of cellular foams by the use of optical tomography. Ind Eng Chem Res1998; 37: 710–717.
29.
MaireEColomboPAdrienJ. Characterization of the morphology of cellular ceramics by 3D image processing of X-ray tomography. J Eur Ceram Soc2007; 27: 1973–1981.
30.
MaireEFazekasASalvoL. X-ray tomography applied to the characterization of cellular materials. Related finite element modeling problems. Compos Sci Technol2003; 63: 2431–2443.
31.
AbramoffMDMagalhaesPJRamSJ. Image processing with ImageJ. Biophotonics Int2004; 11: 36–42.
