The atomic force microscope (AFM) enables the measurement of sample surfaces at the nanoscale. Reference standards with calibration gratings are used for the adjustment and verification of AFM measurement devices. Thus far, there are no guidelines or guides available in the field of atomic force microscopy that analyze the influence of input parameters on the quality of measurement results, nor has the measurement uncertainty of the results been estimated. Given the complex functional relationship between input and output variables, which cannot always be explicitly expressed, one of the primary challenges is how to evaluate the measurement uncertainty of the results. The measurement uncertainty of the calibration grating step height on the AFM reference standard was evaluated using the Monte Carlo simulation method. The measurements within this study were conducted using a commercial, industrial atomic force microscope.

The use of corrosion-resistant metal materials in highly aggressive environments contributes to the preservation of the environment because it reduces the use of protective agents and coatings. Most metal objects are produced by some metal-forming process. It is well-known that plastic deformation affects the corrosion resistance of different metal materials in different ways. As a rule, austenitic stainless steels show a positive impact of plastic deformation on corrosion resistance, especially when hot deformed with protective surface oxide layers. However, most research carried out on these metals involves a carefully prepared surface which is either finely ground or polished. This paper investigates the corrosion resistance of cold-formed (open die forged) austenitic stainless steel in three different surface states for three different degrees of deformation. In doing so, we simulate possible damage to the treated surface and evaluate the stability of the material with respect to corrosion. Good corrosion resistance is shown for all three stages of deformation and for all three surface states, with some differences in the obtained results. Although the polished surface shows the highest corrosion resistance, as expected, the other two surfaces also demonstrate good results when exposed to aggressive environments. All of the results were statistically processed and presented. The results demonstrate the high usability of such materials in corrosion-aggressive environments with minimal danger of corrosion and minimal need to include additional surface protection agents, even against possible surface damage.

The presence of dislocations significantly modifies the mechanical properties of crystalline solids. Severe plastic deformation (SPD) and the most used SPD process – the Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP), affect the multiplication and localized a...