The Application of Log Normal Distributions to the Comparison of the Inclusion Content in Standard, REDOX and Clean Melt NiTI Alloys

The normal distribution is often assumed to describe the random variation in properties of materials in the natural world. However, most measurements particularly in the physical sciences show a skewed distribution with low mean values, large variance, no negative values and a few large maxima. These phenomena are better described by a log-normal distribution.

The log-normal distributions of inclusions in standard VIM-VAR, REDOX and Clean Melt NiTi alloys will be characterized and compared to parameters derived from other statistical analyses. This will yield a reassessment of inclusion maxima for NiTi alloy products.