The crack propagating behavior of composite coatings prepared by PEO on aluminized steel during in situ tensile processing

▶ Composite coatings on the aluminized steel were prepared by the plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) technique, which comprised of Fe-Al layer, Al layer and Al2O3 layer. ▶ The evaluation method of the crack critical opening displacement δc was introduced to describe quantitatively the resistance of Al layer to the propagation behavior of cracks and evaluate the fracture behavior of composite coatings. ▶ The crack propagating model was established.