Abstract
The anisotropic characteristics of a composite material are determined by the particle orientation distribution in it. In this paper, practical procedures are described for the stereological method which determines the spatial distribution of particle orientation from the distribution observed on cross sections. First, the distribution of needle-like particles on a plane is determined by counting the number of intersections with parallel probe lines. Next, the distribution of needle-like particles in the space is deterimined by counting the number of intersections with a cutting plane. Then, the distribution of disk-like paricles in the space is determined by counting the number of intersections with a probe line. Finally, the distribution of disk-like particles in the space is determined by measuring the total length of the cross sections on a cutting plane.
