Measuring the roughness of surfaces

[jam21]

hello

I am currently working on a finial year project. I need a way of measuring the roughness of surfaces, I think its best to use ultrasonic`s and back-scattered echoes????

But I am not to sure???

Can anybody help with any ideas, link, or schematics???

Thanks for looking

 

[4electros]

link!

try this link:
www.ieee.org/discover

or search with google:
www.google.com

At least you could do that now, but later I don't know, take your time in search

 

[JimB]

You dont define roughness.
Are we talking about the microscopic asperities on finely machined piece of metal or the surface of a ploughed field?

To see if ultrasonics would work, I think you need to consider the wavelength of the sound and compare it with the size of the "humpy bumpy bits" you are trying to measure. The wavelength will need to be small in comparison.

Hint, do a google search for "tallysurf".

JimB

 

[DirtyLude]

You also need to define some requirements of the sensor. Can it actually touch the surface? I think a sliding sensor dragged along the surface would be pretty decent.