Advanced Surface Texture Analysis of Metal Additive Components for Innovative Part Qualification Concepts in the Aerospace Industry

The surface texture of AM parts, particularly thoseused in load-bearing applications, significantlyimpacts their fatigue performance. Traditional 2Dsurface texture characterisation methods, e.g.contact stylus, are inadequate for representing thecomplex 3D surfaces produced by AM processeslike laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). This limitationis highlighted by the inability of standard 2Dparameters, such as Ra and Rt, to distinguishbetween surfaces with different functionalbehaviours. Consequently, there is a need for novelcharacterisation methods that consider the uniquefeatures of 3D surfaces, e.g. the watershed methodfor feature-based analysis, which can provide morerealistic and relevant data. This work highlights thelimitations of 2D and 3D height-based surfacetexture characterisation. Feature-based options andtheir potential applications, specifically in thecontext of metal PBF, are presen