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Nature of contact deformation of TiN films on steel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

S. Bhowmick ,
Z-H. Xie ,
M. Hoffman ,
V. Jayaram  and
S.K. Biswas
S. Bhowmick
Affiliation:
Department of Metallurgy, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
Z-H. Xie
Affiliation:
School of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia
M. Hoffman
Affiliation:
School of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia
V. Jayaram*
Affiliation:
Department of Metallurgy, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
S.K. Biswas
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: qjayaram@met.iisc.ernet.in
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Abstract

Nanoindentation experiments were carried out on a columnar ∼1.5-μm-thick TiN film on steel using a conical indenter with a 5-μm tip radius. Microstructural examination of the contact zone indicates that after initial elastic deformation, the deformation mechanism of the TiN is dominated by shear fracture at inter-columnar grain boundaries of the TiN film. A simple model is proposed whereby the applied load is partitioned between a deforming TiN annulus and a central expanding cavity in the steel substrate. It is possible to obtain a good fit to the experimental load–displacement curves with only one adjustable parameter, namely the inter-columnar shear fracture stress of the TiN film. The implication of results in the context of the performance of TiN films in service is also discussed.

Keywords

NanoindentationThin filmFracture
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 19 , Issue 9 , September 2004 , pp. 2616 - 2624
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

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