Deep Learning-based Semantic Image Segmentation Techniques for Corrosive Particles of Aluminum Alloy AA 7075

Semantic image segmentation has been a key topic in applications involving image processing and computer vision. Owing to the success and continuous research in the field of deep learning, there have been plenty of deep learning-based segmentation architectures that have been designed for various tasks. In this thesis, deep-learning architectures for a specific application in material science; namely the segmentation process for the non-destructive study of the microstructure of Aluminum Alloy AA 7075 have been developed. This process requires the use of various imaging tools and methodologies to obtain the ground-truth information. The image dataset obtained using Transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) consists of raw 2D image specimens captured from the projections at every beam scan. The segmented 2D ground-truth images are obtained by applying reconstruction and filtering algorithms before using a scientific visualization tool for segmentation. These images represent the corrosive behavior caused by the precipitates and inclusions particles on the Aluminum AA 7075 alloy. The study of the tools that work best for X-ray microscopy-based imaging is still in its early stages.

In this thesis, the underlying concepts behind Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and state-of-the-art Semantic Segmentation architectures have been discussed in detail. The data generation and pre-processing process applied to the AA 7075 Data have also been described, along with the experimentation methodologies performed on the baseline and four other state-of-the-art Segmentation architectures that predict the segmented boundaries from the raw 2D images. A performance analysis based on various factors to decide the best techniques and tools to apply Semantic image segmentation for X-ray microscopy-based imaging was also conducted.