Recent advances in Digital Image analysis applied to metal forming

Digital Image analysis is used, among other things, to see how an object's surface changes over time. This technology can be applied to metal forming. A complete literature review of the recent advances in the application of such image analysis to metal forming processes is presented. We analyze how researchers apply the technique to different tests (tensile, bending, or fatigue tests), observing the advantages it presents compared to conventional methods, as well as the advances that have been made regarding the methodology used throughout the last years, including an analysis of the different existing patterns and their application procedures. We found that the image analysis has great applicability and that, in addition, the data obtained through it have high reliability when compared with numerical results. In the paper, the advantages of using Digital Image analysis applied to metals characterization are reviewed, and some examples of using this technique are also presented.