Analysis of the mechanical properties of TiN/Ti multilayer coatings using indentation under a broad load range

In this study, physical vapor deposition was used to prepare TiN/Ti multilayer coatings as well as the corresponding monolithic coatings for comparison. Nanoindentation using a large load range (5–4800 mN) and finite element method (FEM) simulations were conducted to investigate the influence of various multilayer structures on the mechanical behavior of multilayer coatings. The nanoindentation results show that the TiN/Ti multilayer coating has the maximum hardness and Young's modulus while retaining good crack resistance and fracture toughness. The FEM results show that increasing the number of layers in the multilayer coatings reduced the hardness and Young's modulus as well as the maximum stress, while it increased the equivalent plastic strain. As the layer thickness ratio increased, both the hardness and Young's modulus gradually increased, and the stress in the coating reached its maximum at the highest thickness ratio. In addition, to consider the effect of the indentation depth on the coating, the influence of the number of layers and the layer thickness ratio on the multilayer coating is combined into the indentation response of the multilayer coating. Therefore, we establish an expression describing the relationship between the number of layers and the ratio of the layer thickness to the mechanical properties of TiN/Ti multilayer coatings.