Roughness measurements using optical coherence tomography: a preliminary study

To determine the roughness is an important aspect in both industrial and biomedical applications. We propose and utilize for roughness evaluations, a non-destructive evaluation methods, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). For the metallic surfaces investigated from this point of view, the Ra and Rz parameters are utilized, according to ISO 4287/1988. Also, according to ISO 4280 and ISO 3274 standards, the measurements have been made on 12.5 mm portions. In order to accommodate such evaluations with the specific OCT field-of-view, four consecutive OCT images have been made for each sample, and an appropriate processing of the data collected from the surface profiles has been made. A validation of the results obtained with OCT has been completed with the gold standard for such evaluations, using a contact mechanical method, with a Mitutuyo profiler.