Characterization of mar/scratch resistance of coatings with a Nano-indenter and a scanning probe microscope

Mar/scratch resistance characterization techniques are presented in this paper, in which a Nano-indenter and a scanning probe microscope (SPM) are used to measure the micro mar resistance (MMR), different responses of coatings to the marring stress, and critical forces for rough trough, cracking, delamination, and chipping, quantitatively. It provides a full spectrum of the mar/scratch resistance behavior of the tested samples. To comprehensively evaluate a coating/material in a specified application, introduction of a quantitative index is very useful. The concept of the index and the procedure to calculate it are described in the paper, too. In addition, to meet the variety of coatings/materials properties and the requirements in their applications, some complementary test methods are discussed.