Specifies manual methods of making measurements for the determination of grain size of fine ceramics (advanced ceramics, advanced technical ceramics) using photomicrographs of polished and etched test pieces.

This part of ISO13383 describes manual methods of making measurements for the determination of grain size of fine ceramics (advanced ceramics, advanced technical ceramics) using photomicrographs of polished and etched test pieces. The methods described in this part do not yield the true mean grain diameter, but a somewhat smaller parameter depending on the method applied to analyse a two-dimensional section. The relationship to true grain dimensions depends on the grain shape and the degree of microstructural anisotropy. This part contains two principal methods, A and B. Method A is the mean linear intercept technique. Method A1 applies to single-phase ceramics, and to ceramics with a principal crystalline phase and a glassy grain-boundary phase of less than about 5%by volume for which intercept counting suffices. Method A2 applies to ceramics with more than about 5%by volume of pores or secondary phases, or ceramics with more than one major crystalline phase where individual intercept lengths are measured, which can optionally be used to create a size distribution. This latter method allows the pores or phases to be distinguished and the mean linear intercept size for each to be calculated separately. NOTE A method of determining volume fraction(s) of secondary phase(s) can be found in ISO13383:2 ; this will provide a means of determining whether Method A1 or Method A2 should be applied in borderline cases. Method B is the mean equivalent circle diameter method, which applies to any type of ceramic with or without a secondary phase. This method may also be employed for determining grain aspect ratio and a size distribution. Some users of this part of ISO13383 may wish to apply automatic or semiautomatic image analysis to micrographs or directly captured microstructural images. This is permitted by this part provided that the technique employed simulates the manual methods (see Clause4 and 8.4).