Modeling of a Microscale Surface Using NURBS Technique

Abstract

This article describes microscale surface modeling using the Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) surface interpolation technique. A three-dimensional surface model was generated on the basis of measured surface profile data. To validate this model, three brass specimens having different roughness values were used. Direct comparison between measured profiles and the curves modeled with NURBS was employed. It was identified that the proposed method allows the generation of microscale models similar to actual surfaces. Finally, a method to extract the Bearing Area Curve (BAC) from a 3D model was detailed. The proposed modeling will be useful for the characterization of bearing capacity of the surface and for contact analysis.