Modelling of the indentation response of coatings and surface treatments

Many coatings and surface treatments have been developed to enhance component performance and, increasingly, coating architectures are becoming more complex as multilayer, superlattice and graded coating systems are becoming widely available. There are so many potential coating variants that it is almost impossible to test all the possibilities to optimise performance. Therefore the need for predictive performance models is increasing but model development has generally lagged behind the introduction of new coatings. For tribological coatings, the mechanical response to contact is particularly important if performance is to be understood. This paper briefly reviews developments in numerical simulation and extends recent modelling developments in an energy-based predictive model for the hardness and Young’s modulus of a coated system. The model can be applied to single layer of multilayer coatings successfully. Model predictions can be improved by considering the through-thickness fracture behaviour of the coating.