| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 617424 | Wear | 2013 | 7 Pages |
•A model for the weakening effect of very thin hard coatings in coated spherical contacts was developed.•The effect of mechanical properties of the coating and substrate materials on the extent of the coating thicknesses determining the weakening zone was studied.•A coating thickness associated with a maximum weakening was found and a universal dimensionless solution for the range of the detrimental coating thicknesses as well as for the maximum weakening thickness was presented.•Good qualitative agreement is found between the model and a few published experimental results.
It was observed in several studies involving coated spherical contact, that very thin hard coatings may have a weakening effect of reducing the resistance to yield inception compared to an uncoated case. A numerical approach is utilized in this paper to study the effect of various mechanical properties of the substrate and the coating on the range of thicknesses where this weakening effect is encountered. A coating thickness associated with a maximum weakening is found and a universal dimensionless solution for the range of the detrimental coating thicknesses as well as for the maximum weakening thickness is presented. Good qualitative agreement is found between the model and a few published experimental results.
