AMP - Advanced Manufacturing Park

Surface Integrity Analysis

The term surface integrity is used to describe the quality and condition of the surface region of a component. The combination of stress and elevated temperatures generated during machining can lead to defects, or alterations of the microstructure, microhardness, cause surface cracking, craters, folds, inclusions, plastic deformation and residual stresses in the finished part.

The extent of these defects depends on the interaction of the mechanical and thermal energy produced on the work piece’s material properties. The defects produced from different machining procedures can significantly affect the performance of the final component. Therefore, it is critical for industries, like aerospace, to know and understand the effects of changing operating parameters before new machining strategies are accepted.

AMRC engineers examine

• Surface texture (roughness and lay)
• Macrostructure (macrocracks and surface defects)
• Microstructure (microcracks, plastic deformation, phase transformation, recast layers and selective etching)
• Microhardness

Surface integrity analysis is performed at the AMRC