Finite element analysis of residual stress and interlayer in hard coating/interlayer/soft substrate system during nanoindentation

The mechanical properties of thin films are frequently evaluated using nanoindentation. The finite element method (FEM) is very effective for investigating the stress and strain fields of the film-substrate system during nanoindentation. However, the role of residual stress and the thin interlayer between the film and substrate is not well known, especially when the hard coating/interlayer/soft substrate are considered together. In this work, the FEM is used to investigate the load-displacement behavior of the hardness of the hard coating/ interlayer/soft substrate system. The load-displacement process is simulated, and the effects of different residual stresses and interlayer thicknesses are discussed. © 2008 Materials Research Society.