Multiphase Analysis
This module enables you to determine phases based on both the size of the individual particles of a phase as well as the percentage of the area they represent. It is possible to determine up to 32 phases. One important use case is the investigation of the porosity in various samples e.g. aluminum castings, 3d printed samples, thermal sprayed coatings and powder metals.
See also
The Concept
The operating concept of the Multiphase Analysis module is designed to make it possible to achieve a reproducible result with as little interaction as possible. The performance of a measurement can be automated to such an extent that only the project data need to be entered and the entire analysis process can run automatically.
To automate a measurement completely, you need extensive knowledge of systems engineering and the respective application. Carelessly made alterations of a setting can promptly lead to faulty measurement results. It is important, therefore, to prevent users not having such knowledge from changing the basic settings. This is achieved by dividing up the tasks involved into the definition of an analysis and the performance of an analysis. For this reason, the operation of the module sticks to the general operating concept of the software:
- Creating and Managing Jobs (Supervisor)
- Create job templates for multiphase analysis, manage templates, view job results, sign & release jobs (with GxP module only). Note that under Job Mode you will find a sample workflow within a pre-defined job template for multiphase analysis.
- Running Jobs (Operator)
Performing multiphase analysis using pre-defined job templates.
See also
General Preparations
Two pre-defined job templates are included in the software, when you have licenced the Multiphase Analysis module. The job template can be adapted individually. In this documentation we will explain the method according to the existing, pre-defined job templates.
As a Supervisor you can access/edit the job template under Manage Templates. On the left side in the Categories list under Material Modules select Multiphase Analysis.
In the templates list you see the available job templates. When you double-click on an entry in the list, the corresponding job template will be opened. The job templates always contain three major tasks (display can differ for a specific method):
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1 |
Filling out an Input Form In this step the operator has to fill out the input form with user and sample specific information, e.g. Sample Information, User Name, etc. |
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Performing the Analysis In this step the analysis will be performed according to the selected method. The detailed workflow will be described in the following chapters. |
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Creating a Report After the analysis a report will be generated containing the job results (images, measurements, etc.). |
General Analysis Workflow for Multiphase
The analysis steps of the workflow contain the following substeps to be executed. In this example the substeps are created within a Loop Task (1), meaning all included steps will be repeated depending on the loop settings. Regarding this you can easily fulfill the normative requirements of repeating the identical steps of an analysis for several times.
Note that greyed out task icons are set to Run silent. The tasks will not be shown when the workflow is executed. To activate them, right-click on the icon and deactivate Run silent.
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Workflow Step |
Description |
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Loading an Image (2) |
Enables you to load your image you want to analyze. The workflow can be adapted to perform image acquisition tasks here as well. |
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Processing the Image (2) |
Enables you to process the image, e.g. change brightness, contrast and/or gamma. |
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Performing the Analysis (3) including: |
This step is the heart of each method. Each analysis can be saved as Analysis Settings File. In the Load Settings Tool, you can directly load a predefined setting, e.g. one that you have created from an Intellesis or AI model. In this case some parameters are pre-defined in the setting based on the model and cannot be changed in the next steps, e.g. the number of classes and the segmentation method. Depending on the selected method, the software provides specific parameters. |
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Setting Up the Classes |
Enables you to set up classes. For the sample workflow all necessary classes are pre-defined. This step is set to run silent because of that. |
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Setting Up the Measurement Frame/Pattern |
Enables you to adjust the region/area which has to be analyzed. |
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Segmenting the Image |
Enables you to segment the image automatically by clicking inside the image, or manually by changing the parameters, or by choosing a machine learning model. |
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Defining Region Filter |
Enables you to define region filter conditions for which an object should be measured. |
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Interactively Adjust the Segmentation Results |
Enables you to edit the segmentation result interactively. |
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Setting up the features |
Enables you to select specific measurement features. |
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Viewing the Measurement Data |
Displays the segmented image and tables including measurement results. |
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Defining the Settings for the Multiphase Histogram |
This step is another interactive step. You have to define the settings for creating the Multiphase histogram. |
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Showing the Results View (4) |
The Results View is displayed containing the analysis results and statistics. |
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Multiphase Analysis with AI
This section explains the specific image analysis part of the Multiphase Analysis - AI job template which is delivered with the software. We recommend that you read General Preparations and General Analysis Workflow to make yourself familiar with the general workflow. This job template uses the machine learning functionality of Intellesis or a deep learning AI model to perform the multiphase analysis. The idea is to use the Intellesis semantic segmentation or functionalities of deep learning AI models (e.g. instance segmentation) to distinguish different phases inside the image.
Frame Setup
Setting up a frame for the multiphase analysis is an optional step. If you want to, you can add a specific measurement frame (e.g. rectangle area in the center of the sample) which then will be used for the analysis only. If you want to use a measurement frame is depending on your sample and individual processes. The tool offers everything you need to setup the frame properly. With the tool parameters you can adjust the frame individually.
Image Segmentation
In this step the software segments the structures with the segmenter. In the Image Segmentation tool you can adapt the segmentation result according to your needs. The available phases are directly derived from the Intellesis or deep learning AI model and reflect the classes used inside the model for segmentation. Depending on your model type, additional post-processing options allow you to further refine or narrow down the results of the segmentation.
Interactive Image Segmentation
In this step you can correct the segmentation result interactively. By using the tools under Edit Regions you can interactively edit the segmented areas.
Result View
At the end of each analysis the Result view is displayed. It shows all images and results of the analysis performed. Additionally, the original images are displayed as well. In the Image Selection tool on the left side you can exclude images you do not want to have displayed within the result. If you click on the Statistics section within the tool, you can display all results of the analysis in a clearly structured table view.
See also
Multiphase Histogram Tool
With this tool you define the histogram in Multiphase Analysis and Multiphase Porosity Analysis. In the Center Screen Area, a table with the calculated measurement values is displayed. The histogram is displayed in the next step in the Multiphase Analysis - Results view.
The tool is available only in Job Mode.
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Parameter |
Description |
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Classification Column(s) |
Activates the measurement feature results for which the frequency distribution is calculated. For Multiphase Analysis, only 2: Area [µm2] is available. For Multiphase Porosity Analysis, the following measurement feature results are available:
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Class Boundary Type |
Specifies how to establish the interval for the classification. |
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<=,...,< |
A numerical value falls into the histogram class if it is greater than or equal to the lower class boundary and less than the upper class boundary. |
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<,...,<= |
A numerical value falls into the histogram class if it is greater than the lower class boundary and less than or equal to the upper class boundary. |
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Class Count |
Specifies the number of classes that shall be created. |
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Class Boundaries |
Determines the class boundaries of the calculated histogram. Note that if Use open Boundaries is activated, the value range of the classes is from -∞ in the first class to ∞ in the last class. |
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Use equidistant Boundaries |
Activated: Distributes class boundaries evenly. |
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Use open Boundaries |
Activated: Specifies that the first class begins in the value range of -∞ and the last class ends at ∞. |
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Logarithmic Boundaries |
Activated: Classes with a low number of elements are emphasized against classes with a high number of elements. |
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Aggregate function |
Specifies the algorithm to calculate the histogram values. |
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Count |
The number of elements in each class is displayed. |
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Count Cumulative |
For each class, the added up count from zero to this class is displayed. |
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Count Percentage |
The number of elements in each class is displayed as a percentage of the total count of elements. |
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Count Percentage Cumulative |
For each class, the added up percentage from zero to this class is displayed. |
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Sum |
The sum of the values of the elements in each class is displayed |
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Sum Cumulative |
For each class, the added up sum from zero to this class is displayed. |
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Percentage Sum |
The sum of values of the elements in each class is displayed as a percentage of the total sum of all values. |
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Percentage Sum Cumulative |
For each class, the added up sum from zero to this class is displayed as a percentage of the total sum of all values. |
See also
Multiphase Histogram Workbench
With this workbench you define the histogram in Multiphase Analysis and Multiphase Porosity Analysis.
The workbench is available only in Job Mode.