Analysis and simulation of cracking patterns in coating under biaxial tensile or thermal stress using analysis/FEM strain-accommodation method

The cracking patterns in coatings under biaxial tensile or thermal stress are analyzed by the "analysis/FEM strain-accommodation method" that combines the strain of the substrate with a coating obtained from thermo-elastic analysis with the strain of the substrate calculated by a finite element method. The simulation using this method is effective not only for expressing the cracking patterns, observed in punch press tests of disk specimens with WC-Co cermet and Al2O3-TiO2 ceramic coatings but also predicting the cracking process for the coating deposited on a part with a complex shape under thermal stress. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.