Morphological Characterization of ABS and PC-ABS Surfaces for Automotive Industry

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how to characterize ABS and PC-ABS surfaces using ISO 25178 morphological parameters, analyzing effects of chemical etching and proposing an analytical relationship between specific parameters.

Contribution

It introduces a method for surface characterization of ABS and PC-ABS using ISO 25178 parameters and proposes a new relationship between Sdq and Sdr parameters.

Findings

Chemical etching significantly alters surface morphology.

Confocal microscopy and SEM effectively measure micro/nano-scale surface features.

Proposed relationship between Sdq and Sdr enhances surface analysis accuracy.

Abstract

In the automotive industry, the measurement, control and reproducibility of certain morphological characteristics of surfaces are important to characterize, qualify, certify and optimize different physical properties, such as the degree of wear, the degree of adhesion by adhesives, glues or paints and optical properties. In this regard, this work is intended demonstrate how it is possible to characterize different surfaces in ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) and PC-ABS (PolyCarbonate/Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) through a set of morphological parameters defined according to the ISO 25178 standard. These surfaces have been subjected to different etching treatments performed with different chemicals, which can radically modify the morphology of the surface, making it more or less suitable according to the industrial purposes sought. Furthermore, in this work an analytical relationship between the hybrid parameters Sdq and Sdr defined in the ISO-25718 standard is also proposed, valid for many surfaces of general use. This study is based on the use of a confocal optical microscope and a SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), which allow surface morphology to be studied at the micro/nano scale and the measurements are analyzed with special imaging and three-dimensional scanning software that allows the precise measurement of morphological parameters of the standard ISO-25178.