Summary

The lab is studying ways to improve the adhesion of hard, wear resistant coatings to surfaces.  The goal of this work is to help General Motors to develop protective coatings for machine tools and engine and  transmission components.

Efforts are currently concentrated in three areas: (i) Combined atomistic and discrete dislocation computations of crack nucleation at the  interface between a coating and its substrate; (ii) Discrete dislocation and continuum computations of crack propagation along bi-material interfaces; and (iii) Continuum simulations of coating delamination under contact loading.

Crack nucleation at interfaces

One way to improve adhesion between a coating and its substrate is to modify atomic bonding between the two materials.   It is therefore of great interest to relate the strength of an interface to its atomic structure.  The lab is studying this problem using a combination of atomistic and discrete dislocation simulations.
Learn More >>

Fracture toughness of bi-material interfaces

The fracture resistance of the interface between two materials is controlled by a complex interplay between bonding at the interface and inelastic deformation in the materials adjacent to the interface.  The lab is using discrete dislocation simulations to study this relationship.
Learn More >>

Coating delamination under contact loading

Hard coatings are often used to prevent wear and fatigue of surfaces that roll or slide against one another: Examples include machine tools, and components in automotive transmissions. The lab is using continuum finite element simulations to calculate the strength of coatings under contact loading.
Learn More >>