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Research on characteristic recognition and quantification of internal powder residue in LPBF porous structure based on image processing
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  • Published: 12 March 2026

Research on characteristic recognition and quantification of internal powder residue in LPBF porous structure based on image processing

  • Wentian Shi1,
  • Shangguo Cao1,
  • Qiujin Hou1,
  • Xiaoqing Zhang1,
  • Jian Li1 &
  • …
  • Haider Muhammad Usman1 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Engineering
  • Mathematics and computing

Abstract

To address the low efficiency and accuracy of residual powder detection in LPBF porous structures, an automated visualization and evaluation method is proposed. Based on CT images, it develops a dual-threshold ensemble grayscale segmentation algorithm on Matlab, integrating morphological processing and U-Net for batch residual powder identification and extraction, and then analyze, compare and recommend the post-processing process based on the residual powder information in the database. Validation shows this method is 20 time more efficient than Image J (12 min vs. 240 min for 1437 images) with accuracy improved to 86.42%-89.21%. Integrated with image quality evaluation and large models, it builds a “detection-recognition-post-processing” system, offering a scalable paradigm for LPBF quality control and defect-property correlation analysis.

Data availability

All data supporting the findings of this study are included within the main manuscript. For further inquiries or requests related to the study data, please contact the corresponding author atshiwt@th.btbu.edu.cn (W.S.)

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Funding

This research was supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFC2406000).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, 100048, China

    Wentian Shi, Shangguo Cao, Qiujin Hou, Xiaoqing Zhang, Jian Li & Haider Muhammad Usman

Authors
  1. Wentian Shi
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  2. Shangguo Cao
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  3. Qiujin Hou
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  4. Xiaoqing Zhang
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  6. Haider Muhammad Usman
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Contributions

Wentian Shi,Shangguo Cao :wrote the main manuscript text Qiujin Hou , XiaoqingZhang , Jian Li , Haider Muhammad Usman: reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wentian Shi.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics statements

We confirm that all samples and experiments in the trial have been conducted in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.

Ethical approval

All experimental protocols in this study, were reviewed and approved by the Ethical Review Committee for Experimental Research of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University.

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Shi, W., Cao, S., Hou, Q. et al. Research on characteristic recognition and quantification of internal powder residue in LPBF porous structure based on image processing. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40479-6

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  • Received: 30 August 2025

  • Accepted: 13 February 2026

  • Published: 12 March 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40479-6

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Keywords

  • Image processing
  • LPBF
  • Porous structure
  • Residual powder detection
  • CT image
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