An energy approach to the adhesion of coatings using the scratch test

Abstract A model for the scratch test is described which introduces an energy description of coating removal. In this model the compressively stressed coating in the region ahead of the indenter is considered to reduce its stored energy by peeling or spalling from the substrate at a critical applied load. This approach which is applicable to both ductile and brittle coatings is used to calculate the adhesion energies for some selected materials and leads to energy values similar to those found from critical condensation experiments.