A numerical analysis of flexure induced cylindrical cracks during indentation of thin hard films on soft substrates

In this paper, the fracture behavior of a thin hard film, perfectly bonded to a soft substrate, containing circumferential (cylindrical) cracks subjected to spherical indentation is studied using the finite element method. These cracks emanate upwards from the film–substrate interface and are driven by the flexure of the film over the soft substrate under indentation. The film is taken to be linear elastic while the substrate obeys an elastic–plastic constitutive model with linear strain hardening. Three values for the substrate yield strength are considered in the analysis. The variation of energy release rate and mode mixity are examined as functions of crack length and load, for cracks located near and away from the indentation axis. The results show that, when the crack length is small, predominantly mode I conditions prevail due to tensile radial stresses near the interface. As the crack length increases, the mode mixity gradually changes from mode I to II. For cracks located near the axis, the crack growth process is stable over a range of crack lengths up to about a third of the film thickness and thereafter becomes unstable. The role of the substrate yield strength on the above issues is investigated.