Effect of coating thickness on crack initiation and propagation in nonplanar bilayers.pdfVIP

Materials Science and Engineering A 419 (2006) 189–195 Effect of coating thickness on crack initiation and propagation in non-planar bi-layers ∗ ´ Tarek Qasim, Chris Ford , Malika Bongue-Boma, Mark B. Bush, Xiao-Zhi Hu School of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway Crawley, WA 6009, Australia Received in revised form 15 December 2005; accepted 15 December 2005 Abstract Hertzian contact damage is studied in glass coatings (thickness range 160 m to 1 mm) on polycarbonate polymer substrates. Both planar and non-planar geometries are considered, subjected to indentation by fixed size spherical indenters of radius 4 mm. Finite element analysis is carried out to evaluate the stress distribution in the bilayer structure. Radial cracking initiating at the coating undersurface directly under the indenter is the primary focus of this investigation, and cone cracking at the top surface of the coating (inner and outer cone cracks) is also considered. It is concluded that crack propagation is facilitated in coatings of an intermediate thickness. Thick (1000 m) coatings resist deflection, decreasing tensile stresses at the coating undersurface, while thin (160 m) coatings deflect massively, causing a compression zone beneath the indenter which also limits undersurface tension. © 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V. Keywords: Finite element analysis; Indentation; Crack; Shape irregularity; Bilayer 1. Introduction