Simulation of the creep damage behavior of thin film/substrate systems by bending creep tests

The purpose of this paper is to understand the creep damage properties of thin film/substrate systems by bending creep tests. To this aim, a numerical study has been performed on the creep damage development of the thin film/substrate systems by implementing the Kachanov–Rabothov damage law into finite element models. The work may shed some light on the influence of the modulus ratio of the substrate to the thin film, the thickness of the thin film and the bending load. Finite element method (FEM) results show that three obviously damaged zones are found. The first is at the edge of the loading pin, the second is at the interface between the film and the substrate ahead of the loading pin edge, the last is at the edge of the supporting pin A. The influence of the modulus ratio of the substrate to the thin film on the bending creep damage is not obvious at the preliminary stage of creep time. However, with the lapse of time, the damage rate decreases with the increase of modulus ratio of the substrate to the thin film. The change of the thickness of the thin film and the bending load also influence the creep damage behavior of the thin film/substrate systems.