Finite-element evaluation and improvement of a test procedure for coating shear bond strength determination

In the research and development of thermal spraying coating systems for wea r-resistance applications, it is essential to determine coating/substrate b ond strength with a proper test procedure, This article describes mechanica l evaluations of a widely adopted coating sheer bond strength test procedur e conducted via the finite-element method, Analyses of the stress distribut ions on the coating/substrate interface indicate that significant errors wi ll be introduced if the standard test procedure is used to determine coatin g sheer bond strength. A new test procedure with modified specimen geometry is proposed and then, verified for effectiveness.