Study of Fe-W-P Coating Performance Under Scratch Test: Modeling and Experiments

Fe-W-P coating was deposited on stainless steel 316 L using electrodeposition process. An experimental and numerical evaluation of the adhesion strength between this coating and the stainless steel was studied with a scratch test using Rockwell indenter and progressive load from 0 to 165 N. Scanning electron microscopy and 3D profilometry were used to determine the morphology of the scratch track and the indenter penetration, respectively. The main experimental result shows the propagation of cracks inside and outside of the scratch track which increase with the increasing of the normal applied load. Moreover, a pile-up phenomenon was detected in the border. The obtained numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental one. In fact, a stress concentration was observed in the center and the border of the track due to the pile-up phenomenon which is the origin of the creation of the crack network. Besides, the cross sectional numerical profile in the maximum penetration area show clearly a pile-up phenomenon. A good agreement was found when comparing the numerical and the experiemental results prouve the robustness of the model.