Indentation of Thin Coatings: Theoretical and Experimental Investigation

Abstract

An effective mathematical model is proposed for describing the experiment on indentation of samples with layered or functionally graded coatings. It is based on the solution of the contact problem of the theory of elasticity of indentation of a punch into elastic half-space with a coating. The results of mathematical modelling and experiments on indentation of the ZnO coating manufactured by the method of pulsed laser deposition on a silicon substrate are compared. The microgeometrical characteristics, as well as the chemical composition of the coating, were studied.