J. M. Li, L. Lu and M. O. Lai

Material Science Division

Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering

National University of Singapore

10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260

In modern measurement methods, image processing has become important basic pre-processing. Image processing provides many operations such as thresholding, enhancement, edge detection, filter and mathematical morphology. After these operations, the resultant image can be applied to quantitative analysis. The measurement methods have been classified into regular and irregular object measurements. In regular object measurements, measure is independent of ruler length. The stereology-based parameters and those used to describe special structures such as grains, secondary-phase particles, laminae, curvature have introduced. In irregular object measurements, a basic principle is that relationship between the measure and the ruler length obeys power law. The quantitative methods of 1D irregular boundaries, 2D irregular aggregates and 3D irregular surfaces have been introduced. Software of image processing, stereology, statistics and fractal theory has been developed for quantitative description of material microstructures, which were written using Visual C++. This software is identified as important progress in quantitative description of material microstructures.