Deformation and fracture analysis of coating-substrate systems

Abstract

The paper presents the deformation and fracture analysis of coating-substrate systems during spherical indentation. CrN and TiN ceramic coatings with a thickness of 1-5 μm were tested using 10 to 200 μm tip radius spherical indenters. The typical results of indentation tests i.e. force-penetration depth curves were transformed into stress-strain curves using an algorithm developed by the author. The test results are compared with the results of numerical analysis conducted using FEM modelling. Such a complex analysis allows users to determine the level of tensile stress leading to the formation of cracks observed using SEM and TEM microscopy, and to define the failure maps for the coating substrate-systems.