Mechanical behaviour of hard PVD multilayered coatings

Abstract The aim of this work was to investigate the cracking behaviour and adhesion of tungsten–carbon-based multilayered coatings deposited on steel substrates by magnetron sputtering. Three-point bending experiments were performed on the coating-on-substrate systems until failure of the film. The systems were also strained uniaxially with a microtensile device adapted to a scanning electron microscope. The mechanical response is analysed from the evolution of the crack density in the coating and the fracture toughness. The results show that the rupture properties of the multilayered coatings are correlated to the film thickness and arrangement of the elementary layers. Scratch experiments on the systems revealed a strong adhesion of the multilayered coatings on steel substrates, and delamination at layer interfaces. Thus, graded coatings appear to be more attractive for mechanical applications.