Three dimensional fractal analysis of sheet metal surfaces

Abstract The analysis of a sheet metal surface is an essential part to describe phenomena like friction, lubrication or wear. Several studies have shown that the concept of fractal dimension may be applied to characterise technical surfaces. As 2D measurements are not sufficient for a full description of the surface structure. 3D image analysis methods are performed to characterise the topography of rough sheet metal surfaces. In this paper some investigations are presented concerning the 3D fractal analysis of a St 14 sheet surface. To take into account the relevant aspects for metal forming, these characterisations have been also performed with elongated and loaded sheets.