Contribution of statistical methods to the study of worn paint coatings surface topography

A surface morphology can be described by numerous roughness parameters. Making the most of the power of modern computers, the relative relevance of a hundred surface roughness parameters is assessed in this investigation with regard to the relationships between the morphological texture, the low wear damage and the gloss of polymer coatings. The relevance of each roughness parameter is quantitatively determined by statistical indexes of performance defined and calculated by combining the two-way ANalysis Of VAriance (ANOVA) and the Computer Based Bootstrap Method (CBBM). The fractal dimension is shown to be the most relevant parameter for characterising the different morphological textures of studied coatings and the average curvature radius of peaks for characterising the effect of wear. A linear relationship is found between the reduction of gloss and the reduction of the average curvature radius of peaks due to wear. Besides, it is also shown that angles of 85° and 20° are the most relevant for characterising, respectively, the effects of the morphological texture of polymer coatings and wear on the gloss measurements.