AN INVESTIGATION INTO DEPTH SENSNING OF HARDNESS MAPS BY MEANS OF IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES

摘要

Depth sensing is a novel technique to obtain useful information about mechanical properties of materials. To measure depth of indents, two methods can be employed: in situ depth sensing and residual penetration depth sensing. In this paper, a novel image processing technique is utilized by authors to estimate depth of residual indents, made by a scanning hardness tester. In this quick and simple technique, instead of using depth sensing instruments, microscopic images of scanned areas were analyzed by image analysis software. The profiles of light intensity obtained by the software were correlated by the hardness values and consequently penetration depths. The depth values obtained were in complete agreement with standard depth given for certain values of Vickers hardness.