Engineering surface analysis by bidimensional empirical mode decomposition

It is well known that an engineering surface is composed of a large number of wavelengths of roughness that are superimposed on each other. Because these multi-scale features are related to different aspects of the processes the surface has undergone and closely related to the friction and wear properties of a surface, the analysis and characterization of these features becomes an important aspect of manufacture. The challenge is how to use them for acquiring knowledge and for aid to analysis. In this paper, a method for surface topography analysis is proposed based on bidimensional empirical mode decomposition (BEMD), which can provide good adaptive separation of surface texture into multiple hierarchical components known as bidimensional intrinsic mode functions (BIMFs). Applications are conducted by using a simulated surfaces to demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of using the bidimensional empirical mode decomposition method in the analysis of engineering surfaces.