Abstract
In the course of the development of an coating process of metallic powders, the dependence of the coated layer thickness on the process variables and on the initial particle size had to be determined. The initial, atomized powder particles in the 5-80 μm size range, were perfect spheres to a good approximation.We chose to employ a “particulate” approach according to which individual powder particles were repeatedly cross-sectioned and examined at known intervals, sufficiently close to allow the same spheres to be cross-cut more than once. Micrographs of selected particles were taken at each stage. Simple chord measurements taken from the micrographs, which provide two-dimensional information, and the measured spacing between the corresponding cross-sections, giving the third dimension, allows to calculate both the particle diameter and the coating thickness. The accuracy of the results depends critically on the accuracy of the spacing measurement. The present communication describes a simple, practical, and precise method for this measurement, eliminating the necessity for precision alignment and dedicated tools.
Published Version
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