Engineering Fracture Mechanics 00 (2000) 1-25 Author prepared preprint
Fracture mechanics analysis of coating/substrate systems Part II: Experiments in bending
Sung-Ryong Kima, John A. Nairnb, aSam Yang R&D Center, 63-2 Whaam-Dong, Yusung-gu, Taejon, South Korea bMaterial Science and Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA Received 30 December 1998; received in revised form 2 December 1999; accepted 7 Decemeber 1999
Abstract
A series of coating/substrate systems with typical automotive nishes as coatings were loaded in four- point bending. The coatings in these specimens usually failed by multiple cracking; we recorded the density of coating cracks as a function of bending strain. These experimental results were t to a new fracture mechanics theory of coating failure that predicts the next coating crack forms when the energy released by that fracture event exceeds the toughness of the coating. This tting procedure led to experimental result for coating fracture toughness. We found that coating toughness continually dropped as the coatings were baked for longer times. There was also a profound substrate e ect which means that coating fracture toughness must be regarded as an in situ toughness property. The toughness of polymeric coatings on steel substrates was more than an order of magnitude lower than the toughness of the same coating on polymeric substrates. The in situ coating toughness was also weakly dependent on coating thickness; it increased as the coating got thicker. c 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Fracture Mechanics, Variational Mechanics, Coatings, Paints
1. Introduction
When coated or painted structures are subjected to short-term or long-term loads, or to thermal or moisture cycling, the rst form a failure is often cracking of the coating layer [1–4]. Such cracking typically does not lead to structural failure, but it can represent functional failure of the coating. Coatings are usually intended to provide some function such as decoration (for paints), protection (for barrier coatings), or electrical properties (e.g. for insulation). Cracks in such coatings may ruin appearance (for paints), cease to protect (for barriers), or alter electrical properties. When designing coated structures and optimal coatings, it is important to be able to predict the conditions for which coating cracks form. It is also important to be able to characterize coatings to determine which coatings on which substrates will be the most resistant to cracking. In some coating/substrate systems, coating cracks that form under axial loading become arrested at the coating/substrate interface. Continued loading leads to additional coating cracks or multiple cracking. Eventually, a roughly periodic array of coating cracks perpendicular to the loading direction develops [1–4]. In a previous paper [5] we analyzed coating fracture in straight-sided specimens subjected to axial loads using tensile loading or four-point bending. We proposed that multiple cracking failures under such loading can be analyzed by assuming that the next coating crack forms when the energy released due to the formation of that crack exceeds the fracture toughness of the coating [5]. We used a variational stress analysis to calculate the change in stresses due to formation of coating cracks and the energy released by such cracks. By equating the energy release rate to coating toughness and solving for strain, it is possible to predict the number or density of coating cracks as a function of applied strain.