Metallurgical Phases distribution detection through image analysis for simulation of laser hardening of carbon steels

This paper deals with an original method for detecting the topological distribution of the ferrite and pearlite phases concerning a medium carbon hypo-eutectoid steel. Starting from a digital metallographic image a computation algorithm is applied to the pixel grid and a text array is generated reproducing the actual position of every phase into the bulk of the material. This result could be very useful to technological processes FEM simulators, where a good knowledge of the starting material is a required condition in order to obtain reliable and accurate results.