Evaluation of component interface quality in 3D micro-CT images of metallurgical coke

Abstract

Metallurgical coke is a crucial component in the production of steel worldwide. It is a porous composite material, created by conversion of metallurgical coal in a coke oven. A key property of metallurgical coke is its strength, and there is evidence that poor interface quality between the two key components of coke can have deleterious effect on coke strength. Here we create small samples of coke and image them using high resolution 3D micro-CT, with pixel size of approximately \(8\,\mu\)m. We use a Gabor filter, combined with morphology techniques to isolate the different components in the samples. We then develop a measure, called excess porosity to quantify the quality of the interfaces between components. This measure enables us to highlight problem interactions between components.

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