Study of the contact permeability between rough surfaces from confocal microscopy

In this paper, we present a study of the contact permeability between rough surfaces by means of 3-D image processing. Three-dimensional images of the surfaces were acquired from confocal microscopy. We first give two methods of image processing in order to correct the drift introduced in images through confocal microscopy. Algorithms to bring surfaces into contact and 3-D propagation between the surfaces are then described. The results obtained by experiments on ceramic joints, under the form of minimal path and minimal time of propagation in the surfaces, are also presented.