Surface roughness evaluation via ultrasonic scanning

The present study is concerned with an analytical and experimental evaluation of surface roughness measurement using focused ultrasonic beams. The characteristics of focused ultrasonic waves are analyzed first by using the impulse response method with a sine-modulated Gaussian pulse as source. Second, peak amplitudes of reflected waveforms from a flat surface are analyzed with various incident angles. Then, the peak amplitudes of the ultrasonic waves reflected from cusped surfaces are analyzed. The analysis shows good agreement between analytical and experimental results. The excellent correlation between the measurements from a profilometer and the proposed ultrasonic system demonstrates a good potential for surface roughness measurement by ultrasonic sensing