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Experiment No: 7 Date:
Identification of Surface Pattern & Measurement of
Surface Roughness

Part- 7A
Aim: Identification of surfaces using optical flat/interferometers

Apparatus:
1) Monochromatic Light Apparatus,
2) Optical Flats,
3) Standard Specimen etc.

Theory:
An optical flat is an optical-grade piece of glass lapped and polished to be
extremely flat on one or both sides, usually within a few thousands of
millimetres (about 25 nanometres). They are used with a monochromatic light
to determine the flatness of other optical surfaces by interference. When an
optical flat is placed on another surface and illuminated, the light waves reflect
off both the bottom surface of the flat and the surface it is resting on. This
causes a phenomenon similar to thin-film interference. The reflected waves
interfere, creating a pattern of interference fringes visible as light and dark
bands. The spacing between the fringes is smaller where the gap is changing
more rapidly, indicating a departure from flatness in one of the two surfaces,
in a similar way to the contour lines on a map. A flat surface is indicated by a
pattern of straight, parallel fringes with equal spacing, while other patterns
indicate uneven surfaces. Two adjacent fringes indicate a difference in elevation
of one-half wavelength of the light used, so by counting the fringes differences
in elevation of the surface can be measured to thousands of millimetres.

Principle of Working:
The apparatus required is a monochromatic light source and optical flat. If
optical flat is placed on slip gauge, it will not form an intimate contact, but will
be at some angle '' making an inclined plane. If the optical flat is illuminated
by monochromatic light and eye if placed in proper position will observe
number of bands. They are produced by interference of light rays reflected from
lower plane of optical flat and top surface of slip gauge.
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As shown in Figure, if 'S' is monochromatic light source. At 'C' ray is reflected
in direction CDE. The two reflected components are combined by eye, having
travelled path whose wavelengths differ by an amount ACD. If path lengths
differ by odd number of /2 then interference is said to have occurred. If surface
is perfectly flat then the surface will be crossed by the pattern of alternate light
and dark bands which will be straight and dark line is seen passing at C. The
next line occurs at 3/2 alternate dark and bright fringes are seen and variation
from the straightness of the bands measure the error in the flatness of slip
gauge. The pitch of the bands depends on the angle of the wedge and it can be
easily seen that increase in this angle reduces the pitch.
The orientation of the bands depends on the orientation of the wedge. The
spherical surface can be concave or convex and a little pressure on the optical
flat at the centre will spread the bands outwards in a convex way. Figure shows
interference band patterns on various surfaces. This fact can be used for
drawing various conclusions about the nature of the surface by applying
pressure on the optical flat at various points and observing the change in the
pattern of bands.

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Procedure:
1) For testing purpose switch on monochromatic light source.
2) Sufficiently polish the surface to be tested so that it will reflect light & place
it below the monochromatic light source.
3) The optical flat is placed on the surface to be tested and gently pressed on
the surface.
4) Observe fringe pattern and draw sketches in observation table.
5) Interpret the nature of surface from observed fringe pattern by making use
of given diagrams.

Observation Table:
Sample No Observed Fringe Pattern Nature of surface






























Conclusion: Optical flats are useful to compare the flatness of given surface
using monochromatic light source. We have studied various fringe pattern
observed and the nature of surface.
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Experiment No: 7 Date:
Identification of Surface Pattern & Measurement of
Surface Roughness

Part- 7B
Aim: To measure surface roughness using surface roughness tester.

Apparatus:
1) Surface roughness tester,
2) Standard Specimen,
3) Slip Gauge.

Theory:
Surface roughness, often shortened to roughness, is a component of surface
texture. It is quantified by the vertical deviations of a real surface from its ideal
form. If these deviations are large, the surface is rough; if they are small, the
surface is smooth. Roughness is typically considered to be the high-frequency,
short-wavelength component of a measured surface. However, in practice it is
often necessary to know both the amplitude and frequency to ensure that a
surface is fit for a purpose.
Roughness plays an important role in determining how a real object will
interact with its environment. Rough surfaces usually wear more quickly and
have higher friction coefficients than smooth surfaces. Roughness is often a
good predictor of the performance of a mechanical component, since
irregularities in the surface may form nucleation sites for cracks or corrosion.
On the other hand, roughness may promote adhesion.
Although roughness is often undesirable, it is difficult and expensive to control
in manufacturing. Decreasing the roughness of a surface will usually increase
exponentially its manufacturing costs. This often results in a trade-off between
the manufacturing cost of a component and its performance in application
Evaluation of Surface Roughness
1) C.L. A. Index: (Ra)
The C.L.A index (Ra) means Centre Line Average index. To calculate the value
of Ra, from a graph, it is necessary to have a mean line. The mean line can be
drawn along the direction of the surface profile and dividing the profile in such
a way that the area above the line should approximately equal to the area under
the line. Then suitable length L is selected which is called sampling length for
the given surface. Then average height Ha is calculated as follow,
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E
u
=
Summnotion o oll orco oob:c onJ bclow linc
Sompling Icngt

E
u
=
A
I

Then the C.L.A index can be calculated by considering horizontal and vertical
magnification as,
C.I.A.inJcx =
E
u
I E
1000pm
Where, V = Vertical Magnification,
H = Horizontal Magnification
Consider a surface having following surface profile,








The average height E
u
=
A
L
=
(A1+A2+A3)+(B1+B2)
L

Then C.L.A. index R
u
=
(A1+A2+A3)+(B1+B2)
L
1000 microns

2) R.M.S. Average: (Rq)
R.M.S. average means Root mean square- number. It is the geometrical average
of the ordinates of the profile about the mean line. The mean line or centre line
is located such that the sum of the areas above the line is approximately equal
to sum of the areas below the line. If n measurements are made from the mean
line above and below to the points on the surface profile, which are denoted by
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Yi. Then the RM.S. Value is the positive square root of the arithmetic mean of
the squares of the Yi values in the set.
R
ms
=
_
y

2
n

For the surface profile given below, the R.M.S value can be calculated as,






R
ms
=
_
y

2
n

R
ms
=R
q
=
_
y
1
2
+y
2
2
+y
3
2
+...+y
n
2
n

The R.M.S value is slightly greater than the Ra value for same profile. The
ratio of two depends upon the shape of the profile. In general R.M.S value is
equal to 1.11 times the Ra value.
Rq= 1.11 Ra


Observations:
1) Ra value of Standard Specimen= 2.94 m
2) Measuring force= 4 mN
3) Stylus tip radius= 5 m
4) Cut-off Length=

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Observation Table:
Sr.
No
Reading Over
Actual Value
(Ra)
Experimental
value (Ra)
Experimental
value (Rq)
1 Standard Specimen 2.94 m

2
Standard Specimen
(Lapped Surface)
0.012- 0.16

3 Slip Gauge 0.012- 0.16

Conclusion:
Hence, we have studied surface roughess measurement, various devices used
for surface roughness measurement and evaluation of surface roughness. The
results of measuremnet are given in observation table.