Quantitative Assessment of Concrete Surface Topography: Effects of Mechanical Treatment and Measurement Resolution

Surface morphology strongly influences the performance and durability of concrete structures, yet the combined effects of mechanical preparation and measurement scale remain insufficiently quantified. This study analyzes three surface conditions, patched, ground, and shot-blasted, using 3D laser scanning measurements acquired at five spatial resolutions. Mechanical surface preparation was found to be the dominant factor shaping morphology: grinding reduced amplitude- and volume-related parameters by approximately 40-70%, while shot blasting increased them by 50-90%, producing highly textured surfaces with an expanded developed area. Measurement resolution additionally affected parameter magnitudes, with coarser sampling intervals reducing scale-sensitive descriptors such as Sdr and Sdq by more than 80-90%. In contrast, parameters including Ssk, Sku, Smr1, and Smr2 varied by less than 5% across scales, demonstrating strong robustness. Patched surfaces exhibited the largest variability (coefficients of variation often exceeding 20-30%) due to manual finishing, whereas mechanically treated surfaces showed more uniform profiles. These quantitative results highlight the coupled influence of preparation method and measurement scale and provide practical guidance for reproducible surface characterization in engineering and material research.