Usage of Microscope Method for Detection of Aggregate Microtexture

AbstractA lot of methods have been developed for the detection of aggregate microtexture. The current development provides possibility to use microscopes that allow obtaining the three-dimensional high quality digital image of aggregate particle.The stereomicroscope method is presented in the paper. An aggregate particle was scanned by a stereomicroscope and the 3-D image of investigated aggregate was created using the software Nis Elements D. Aggregate particle profiles were prepared from the 3D image by interactive measurement tool of the software. Using these profiles, statistical characteristics of aggregate particle, such as mean arithmetic deviation of a profile (Ra), root mean square (Rq), asymmetry of the profile (Rsk) and kurtosis - index of flattening of the profile (Rku) were determined.The results of this method have shown variability of statistical characteristics among different profiles obtained from a single aggregate particle