Mechanical Modeling of Thin Films and Cover Plates Bonded to Graded Substrates

In this study, the contact problems of thin films and cover plates are considered. In these problems, the loading consists of any one or combination of stresses caused by uniform temperature changes and temperature excursions, far field mechanical loading, and residual stresses resulting from film processing or welding. The primary interest in this study is in examining stress concentrations or singularities near the film ends for the purpose of addressing the question of crack initiation and propagation in the substrate or along the interface. The underlying contact mechanics problem is formulated by assuming that the film is a “membrane” and the substrate a graded elastic continuum, and is solved analytically by reducing it to an integral equation. The calculated results are the interfacial shear stress between the film and the graded substrate, the Mode II stress intensity factor at the end of the film, and the axial normal stress in the film. The results indicate that grading the material properties of the substrate helps to decrease the film stresses and the stress intensity factors at the free edges and to lower the axial normal stresses at the midsection where the film is most likely to crack.