Composite characterization of fractal engineering surfaces

Many types of engineering surfaces are observed to exhibit fractal characteristics. This means the surfaces possess the properties of statistical self-similarity and self-affinity. To realize the comprehensive and multi-scale characterization of the engineering surfaces, a composite surface assessment approach is presented. In this approach, a zooming index term is established based on the fractal dimensions that are shown to be the intrinsic parameters of the surfaces. Based on the zooming index, composite wavelet models for the surfaces are established. The form errors, the waviness and the roughness can then be obtained and assessed. The results of the composite assessment of the surfaces obtained from the simulation tests demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.