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.