Channel cracking in inelastic film/substrate systems

Studies on channel cracking are generally limited to elastic films on elastic or inelastic substrates. There are important applications were the cracking process involves extensive plasticity in both the film and substrate, however. In this work steady-state channel cracking in inelastic thin-film bilayers undergoing large-scale yielding from thermal or mechanical loading is studied with the aid of a plane-strain FEA. The plasticity of the film and substrate, represented by a Ramberg-Osgood constitutive law, each increases the energy release rate (ERR) relative to the linearly-elastic case. This effect is more pronounced under mechanical loading where the entire bilayer undergoes large-scale yielding. To help assess the analytic approach some fragmentation tests are performed using a well-bonding epoxy/aluminum system. The analysis reproduced well the observed dependence of crack initiation strain on film thickness. Ultra-thin films may be well represented by an elastic-perfectly plastic response. For such films on a flexible support the ERR remains fixed as the applied strain exceeds the yield strain of the film. Accordingly, a critical coating thickness exists below which no channel cracking is possible. The explicit relations and graphical data presented may be used for optimal design of such structures against premature failure as well as for determining fracture energy of ductile thin films. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.