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Scanning electron microscopy shows that the microstructure, in particular the overall grain size, of chemical vapor deposited silicon carbide coatings depends on the deposition temperature. So far, the influence of the microstructure on the mechanical properties of such coatings is not well described in literature. To investigate the influence of the deposition temperature on the mechanical properties of the coating, nanoindentation is used in this work. Since the measurement results of nanoindentation can be affected by the substrate material, the contribution of the substrate material is taken into account utilizing a finite element model. The model is then employed to generate information about elastic and plastic properties of the coating by inverse simulation. To evaluate the fracture toughness of the coating, the generated material model is used in a cohesive-zone based formulation of the fracture process during indentation at higher loads. The results of this model allow determining the fracture toughness of silicon carbide coatings deposited at different temperatures.


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Experimental and FEM based investigation of the influence of the deposition temperature on the mechanical properties of SiC coatings

Show Author's information Thomas SCHLECHa( )Siegfried HORNbCharles WIJAYAWARDHANAcArash RASHIDIa
SGL Carbon GmbH, Werner-von-Siemens-Strasse 18, 86405 Meitingen, Germany
Experimental Physics II, Institute of Physics, University of Augsburg, 86135 Augsburg, Germany
SGL Carbon GmbH, Drachenburgstrasse 1, 53170 Bonn, Germany

Abstract

Scanning electron microscopy shows that the microstructure, in particular the overall grain size, of chemical vapor deposited silicon carbide coatings depends on the deposition temperature. So far, the influence of the microstructure on the mechanical properties of such coatings is not well described in literature. To investigate the influence of the deposition temperature on the mechanical properties of the coating, nanoindentation is used in this work. Since the measurement results of nanoindentation can be affected by the substrate material, the contribution of the substrate material is taken into account utilizing a finite element model. The model is then employed to generate information about elastic and plastic properties of the coating by inverse simulation. To evaluate the fracture toughness of the coating, the generated material model is used in a cohesive-zone based formulation of the fracture process during indentation at higher loads. The results of this model allow determining the fracture toughness of silicon carbide coatings deposited at different temperatures.

Keywords: finite element analysis, coatings, nanoindentation, ceramics, fracture mechanics

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 26 February 2020
Revised: 12 October 2020
Accepted: 15 October 2020
Published: 18 January 2021
Issue date: February 2021

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2020

Acknowledgements

This work was founded by SGL Carbon GmbH. The experimental part of the study was conducted at Department of Experimental Physics II, University of Augsburg. Special thanks to Wolfgang Müller and Michael Schulz for supporting the experimental works.

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