Quantitative Analysis of a Fracture Surface by Atomic Force Microscopy

TL;DR

This paper compares atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy for analyzing fracture surfaces of a Ti3Al alloy, revealing two fracture regimes and fractal characteristics across multiple lengthscales.

Contribution

It demonstrates the quantitative comparability of AFM and SEM in fracture surface analysis and identifies distinct fracture regimes and fractal properties.

Findings

Roughness index at small scales is 0.5

Large-scale fractal domain spans six decades

AFM and SEM results are quantitatively comparable

Abstract

The fracture surface of a Ti3Al-based alloy is studied using both an atomic force microscope and a standard scanning electron microscope. Results are shown to be quantitatively comparable. Two fracture regimes are observed. It is shown in particular that the roughness index characterizing the small lengthscales regime is equal to 0.5. Furthermore, the large lengthscales fractal domain is found to spread over nearly six decades of lengthscales.