Particle-sizing system fro scanning electron microscope images of solid-propellant combustion exhaust.

158 Pages·3.4 MB·en_US

by  Lee, Yeaw-Lip.;Powers, J. P.

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
Monterey, California
THESIS
m?,
PARTICLE-SIZING SYSTEM FOR
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE IMAGES OF
SOLID-PROPELLANT COMBUSTION EXHAUST
by
Yeaw-Lip Lee
March 1991
Thesis Advisor: John P. Powers
Approved forpublic release; distribution is unlimited
T253660

».,in IH.i..11II.ii
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2a SECURITYCLASSIFICATIONAUTHORITY 3 DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITYOFREPORT
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4 PERFORMINGORGANIZATIONREPORTNUMBER(S) 5 MONITORINGORGANIZATIONREPORTNUMBER(S)
6a NAMEOFPERFORMINGORGANIZATION 6b OFFICE SYMBOL 7a NAMEOF MONITORINGORGANIZATION
Naval Postgraduate School (Ifapplicable) Naval PostgraduateSchool
6c ADDRESS(City,State,andZIPCode) 7b ADDRESS(City,State,andZIPCode)
Monterey, CA 93943-5000 Monterey, CA 93943-5000
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ProgramElementNo ProjectNo WorkUnitAccession
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11 TITLE(IncludeSecurityClassification)
PARTICLE-SIZING SYSTEM FORSCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE IMAGES OFSOLID-
PROPELLANTCOMBUSTION EXHAUST
(U)
12 PERSONALAUTHOR(S) LEE.YEAW-LIP
13a TYPEOFREPORT 13b TIMECOVERED 14.DATEOFREPORT(year,month,day) 15 PAGE COUNT
Master'sThesis From To March 1991 149
16 SUPPLEMENTARYNOTATION
The viewsexpressed in this thesisarethoseoftheauthoranddo notreflecttheofficial policy ofthe Departmentof
Defenseorthe U.S. Government
17 COSATICODES 18 SUBJECTTERMS(continueonreverseifnecessaryandidentifybyblocknumber)
FIELD GROUP SUBGROUP Particle sizing, SEM, image digitization, image segmentation,
rocketmotor, u language
19 ABSTRACT(continueonreverseifnecessaryandidentifybyblocknumber)
Accurate measurementofparticle size distribution ofrocketmotor exhausts is essential
for predictingthe combustion efficiency and infrared plume signature. This thesis presents
an automated method forextractingparticle size distribution from scanning electron
microscope (SEM) images. The SEM images were taken offa filter paper placed at the end of
a collection probe inserted into the exhaustplume. The automateaSEM extraction system
consists ofan IBM AT-based computer system fitted with a 512 x 480 pixel frame grabber.
Photographic images taken offthe SEMare acquired via a vidicon camera. A C language
program was written to control the hardware and automate the extraction process. A
threshold is first applied to the digitized image and the resultingbinary image is subjected to
objectsegmentation. Each objectis then sized and the distibution from one ormore images
can be plotted. The main bulk ofthis thesis is to documentthe software specially written to
undertake this setoftasks. Results obtained were compared with that from a Malvern
20 DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITYOFABSTRACT 21 ABSTRACTSECURITYCLASSIFICATION
in UNCLASSIFIED/UNLIMITED ] SAMEASREPORT ] DTICUSERS Unclassified
22a NAMEOFRESPONSIBLE INDIVIDUAL 22b TELEPHONE(IncludeAreacode) 22c OFFICE SYMBOL
John P. Powers (408)-646-2679 EC/Po
DD FORM 1473.84 MAR 83APReditionmaybeuseduntilexhausted SECURITYCLASSIFICATIONOFTHIS PAGE
Allothereditionsareobsolete Unclasssified
Unclassified
SECURITYCLASSIFICATIONOFTHISPAGE
MasterSizer particle sizer and found to be favorable. Particles as small as 1/8 microns have
been successfully sized.
DD Form 1473,JUN 86(Reverse) SECURITYCLASSIFICATIONOFTHISPAGE
11
Unclassified
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Particle-Sizing System for
Scanning Electron Microscope Images
ofSolid-Propellant Combustion Exhaust
by
Yeaw-LipJ-.ee
Civilian, Singapore Ministry ofDefense
B.Eng. (Elect), National University ofSingapore, 1985
Submitted in partial fulfillment
ofthe requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
from the
NAVALPOSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
March 1991
CI
ABSTRACT
Accurate measurement of particle size distribution of rocket motor exhausts is
essential for predicting the combustion efficiency and infrared plume signature. This
thesis presents an automated method for extracting particle size distribution from
scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. The SEM images were taken off a
filter paper placed at the end of a collection probe inserted into the exhaust plume.
The automated SEM extraction system consists of an IBM AT-based computer
system fitted with a 512 x 480 pixel frame grabber. Photographic images taken off
the SEM are acquired via a vidicon camera. A C language program was written to
A
control the hardware and automate the extraction process. threshold is first
applied to the digitized image and the resulting binary image is subjected to object
segmentation. Each object is then sized and the distribution from one or more
images can be plotted. The main bulk of this thesis is to document the software
specially written to undertake this set oftasks. Results obtained were compared with
that from a Malvern MasterSizer particle sizer and found to be favorable. Particles
as small as 1/8 nm have been successfully sized.
IV