RAFT: A program for area fraction measurement of digital micrographs

Area of Science:

• Materials science
• Image analysis
• Computational methods

Background:

• Accurate constituent volume fraction measurement is crucial in materials characterization.
• Area fraction in digital micrographs is a common proxy for volume fraction.
• Automated algorithms for area fraction analysis can be sensitive to imaging conditions, leading to uncertainty.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a robust point-counting algorithm for precise area fraction measurement.
• To create an open-source software tool (RAFT) for efficient sample size selection and analysis.
• To validate the algorithm's performance on diverse datasets.

Main Methods:

• Development of a user-specified precision point-counting algorithm.
• Implementation of the algorithm into the Robust Area Fraction Tool (RAFT) software.
• Quantitative performance evaluation using simulated and real digital micrographs.

Main Results:

• The developed algorithm achieves user-specified precision in area fraction measurements.
• RAFT software effectively facilitates sample size calculation and point-counting.
• The algorithm met or exceeded desired precision targets in nearly all test cases.

Conclusions:

• The new point-counting algorithm and RAFT software offer a reliable method for materials characterization.
• This approach enhances the efficiency and accuracy of area fraction analysis.
• The open-source nature of RAFT promotes accessibility and further development in the field.