Journal of Materials Science, Vol.36, No.7, 1707-1716, 2001
Crack spacing statistics and spalling area fractions for indented silica-coated bismaleimide (BMI)
Indentation loading of thin, continuous silica coatings adhered to Bismaleimide (BMI) polymeric substrates induces a concentric array of cracks in the silica coating. For Vickers indentation, the array consists of diamond-shaped concentric cracks, while Hertzian indentation gives circular concentric cracks. This paper characterizes the indentation-induced crack damage in the coating in terms of: (1) f(s), the area fraction of the coating (within the indentation-cracked region) that spalls off the substrate due to the indentation and (2) the spacing between the cracks in the crack array. For a given indentation crack field, the crack spacing was uniform as a function of radial distance outward from the center of the indentation. One of the key results of this study was that the curing temperature for the coating dramatically affected both the coating spalling area fraction, f(S), and the manner in which the crack spacing changed as a function of the applied indentation load.