Surface Finish and Integrity

Surface Finish and Integrity

• Terminology (Codes)
• Effects of Surface Finish
• Measuring Methods and Instruments
• Brightness (Lightness, Gloss)

Terminology (Codes)
Surface
• A thin layer of material on the boundary between bulk material and environment
• Unique properties and characteristics
significant influence on performance
• Surface quality
surface integrity
surface texture
Surface Integrity
• Associated with mechanical and metallurgical alterations to the surface layer
induced by manufacturing
• Thermal damage for grinding
• Fatigue, fretting, corrosion, wear, residual stress, affected layer, surface plastic
flow (plastic deformation), etc.
Surface Texture (Finish)
• Microgeometry or topography of manufactured surfaces, usually characterized
by surface roughness
• Commonly measured by a stylus or optical instrument which traces the profiles
of the surface
Deviation (Irregularities, Errors)
• Roughness
results from manufacturing processes
tool mark left on turned surface
impression left by grinding or polishing
• Waviness
longer wavelength
caused by improper manufacture
effects caused by a vibration
• Form errors
very long waves
caused by errors in slideways, in rotating members of the machine, or in
thermal distortion
Lay
• Direction of the predominant surface pattern
• Determined by the production method used
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• In practice, measure across the lay rather than along it
Flaws
• Random irregularities
scratches cracks
holes depressions
overlaps seams
tears surface inclusions
Roughness Height
• Rt: peak-to-valley roughness, total height
distance between two lines parallel to the mean line and touching the profile at
the highest peak and the lowest valley
• Rmax:
the maximum value of the total height Rt of five subsequent sampling lengths
• Rtm: mean total height
The arithmetical mean of the total height Rt of five subsequent sampling lengths
• rms height: root-mean-square height
• Ra: CLA (center line average), arithmetical average roughness
average value of the ordinates (y1, y2, .... yn) from the effective profile to its
mean line (centerline) in each sampling length le
Relationship of Ra and Rt
• Rt should be substantially bigger than Ra.
• For a perfect sinusoidal profile, Rt is equal to πRa.
• For grinding, difference between Rt and Ra are considerably bigger. Rt is
typically 7~14 times Ra.
Waviness
• due to the poor performance of
an individual machine,
deflections of the tools,
dies and the workpieces during processing,
warping,
vibration,
non-uniformity in the lubrication, or
any mechanical & thermal instability in the system.
• measured in terms of the width and height of the wave

EFFECTS OF SURFACE FINISH

It is the surface of a component that has direct effects on the following properties:
• Friction Properties
• Wear Properties
• Lubricant
• Fatigue Strength
• Other Aspects

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Friction Properties
• Friction is the resistance to relative sliding between two bodies in contact under
a normal load.
• Relative motion and forces are always present between tools, dies, and
workpieces.
• Coulomb model states that friction is due to the mechanical interlocking of
rough surfaces. This interlocking will require some force to slide two bodies
against each other.
• Surface finish is one of the factors that affect friction properties, besides
temperature, environment, etc.
Wear Properties
• Wear has important technological and economical significance because it
changes the geometry of interfaces and may interfere with the overall operation
of machinery and equipment.
• Generally, wear is caused by the sliding of two surfaces, which is similar to that
of friction.
Lubricant
• To reduce friction and wear, surfaces should be held as far apart as possible.
This can be done by lubricants that can be solid, semisolids or liquid in nature.
• Roughness can serve to create local reservoirs or pockets for lubricants. The
lubricant can be trapped in the valleys of the surface.
• Fluids can support a substantial portion of the normal load because they are
incompressible. The pockets also supply lubricant.
Fatigue Strength
• Fatigue strength is affected most by the type of process used in generating the
surface, and its surface integrity.
• The decrease in fatigue strength is due not only to the roughness increase but
also to the surface residual stresses, possible damage from the severe gradients
of strain and temperature during processing.
Other Aspects
• Surface finish affects the appearance of the product and its role in subsequent
operations such as painting, spraying, etc. Some of these processes require clean
and rough surfaces for improved bond strength.
• The initiation of cracks due to surface defects could lead to rapid failure of a
component, particularly in notch-sensitive material.
• Thermal and electrical conductivity at the interface with another body, welding,
brazing, and soldering characteristics are also affected by the surface finish.

Measuring Methods and Instruments

Touch method
• The feeling of the human being is very sensitive.
• Surface finish can be tested by touching it with fingers.
• Whether the surface is rough or smooth, etc., must be judged in comparison with
specimens having standard surface roughness.

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Sight Method
One can visualize and differential between surfaces having a roughness variation
of not less than 5% due to the fact that the brightness of these surfaces varies
proportionally.
Brightness Angle Method
• When a beam of light falls on a smooth surface, it will be reflected according to
the law of reflection. The reflected light will have a certain direction in which
the maximum intensity of light can be measured.
• A smooth and polished surface will show a sudden increase in the intensity of
the reflected light at an angle equal to the angle of reflection.
• When the roughness of the surface increases, the intensity of the reflected light
spreads over a larger angle.
Microphotometry
The quality of a surface can be measured when the surface is placed under a
microscope and the intensity of the reflected light is measured with a photocell,
once with a bright and then a dark field illumination.
Comparison Microscope
• Observations of the surface irregularities can be made under a normal
microscope.
• The judgment whether the surface is smooth or rough can be easily made when
the surface under test is compared with a standard specimen.
Cross-Section Method
• By cutting the component perpendicular to its surface, the surface texture will be
destroyed due to deformation that takes place during the cutting operation.
• This can be avoided when a protective layer of approximately the same hardness
is applied to the surface before cutting, either by chrome plating or by casting of
a thin player of white metal on the surface.
• After cutting, the specimen has to be polished and the actual surface texture can
be observed under a measuring microscope.
Interference Method
• Interference microscopes enable the depths of the surface irregularities to be
measured in terms of wavelengths of monochromatic light.
• A beam of monochromatic light of known wavelength is used together with an
optical flat placed over the test surface. When interference occurs between the
incident and reflected rays of light, the contour pattern or interference fringes
can be observed through the microscope.
• From the shape of the interference fringes the maximum depth of roughness of
the surface can be measured.
Stylus Method
• The stylus method is widely used for measuring the surface texture by using a
very fine needle that can trace the actual surface texture and penetrate to the full
depths of its valley.
• The vertical movement of the needle is highly magnified and can be read off on
the instrument indicator or on a recorder graph whose horizontal movement can
also be magnified.
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Pneumatic Measuring Method
• The stylus measuring instrument cannot be used for measuring the surface
texture on soft materials, as the stylus tends to scratch the surface under the
measuring force applied.
• The pneumatic method can solve this problem and the measurement can be done
by allowing compressed air to flow under constant pressure from a measuring
nozzle placed on the test surface.
Perthen Condenser Method
• A condenser consists of two isolated plates and the surface under test can be
considered as one plate.
• When the roughness of the test surface increases, the volume of air under the
measuring electrode increases and its mean height correspondingly increases.
• The effective distance between the condenser plates will be increased and the
capacitance of the condenser will be proportionately reduced.
• The variation of the capacitance can be taken as a measure of the smoothness
value of the surface.
Other Advanced Methods
• Scanning Electron Microscopy
• Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
• Atomic Force Microscopy
• Nanostep / Talystep / Form Talysurf Analysis
• Scanning Probe Microscopy
• Magnetic Force Microscopy
• 3D Imaging Surface Structure Analysis
• X-Ray Stress Analysis
• Interferometry

BRIGHTNESS (LIGHTNESS)
• Brightness (lightness) is an achromatic dimension necessary to describe the three
dimensionality of colour, the other two dimensions being hue and saturation.
• Hue and saturation taken together is called chromacity.
• Chroma Meters provide highly accurate measurements of both lightness and
chromacity.
• One specific advantage of the Chroma Meter is that it is able to distinguish
between two surfaces having the same roughness value.
GLOSS
• Gloss is a subjective term used to describe the relative amount and nature of
mirror-like reflection.
• Sometimes gloss too could be a good indicator of surface characteristics.

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