Anisotropic microstructures in ceramic green bodies result in nonuniform dimensional changes during sintering. Quantitative characterization of particle orientation together with processing/orientation relationships in these ceramic components are essential to control the dimensional variations during sintering. In this report, we discuss some practical aspects of measuring edge orientation in microstructures obtained by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy. Edges in the scanning direction were found to be less sensitive to the edge detection operator. Various edge sharpening algorithms were used to improve the edge contrast and hence achieve unbiased edge detection. Edges were detected using the Laplacian of Gaussian operator. Edge orientation polargrams were obtained by computing the intensities of detected edges with a 5×5 Prewitts operator convolved with a Gaussian. The computed edge orientation polargrams from the edge sharpened images were found to be internally consistent. Quantitative measure of particle orientation in tape cast ceramic microstructures was used for the first time to explain nonuniform sintering shrinkages.
