Mechanical Properties and Performance of Coated Structures
Summary
Coated structures encompass a wide range of engineering systems in which a surface layer is applied to enhance mechanical durability, resistance to environmental degradation and overall functional performance. The mechanical properties of interest include hardness, toughness, adhesion strength and elastic stiffness, all of which depend on the coating’s composition, microstructure and interface quality. Residual stresses arising during deposition or thermal cycling can either strengthen or compromise structural integrity, influencing fatigue life and crack propagation. Advances in multilayer architectures, composite reinforcements and functionally graded designs offer tailored stress distributions that mitigate stress concentrations and improve load transfer. Practical applications span oil and gas pipelines reinforced with spiral-wound composites, aerospace components protected by ceramic and metallic films, and wear-resistant bearings or optical filters in harsh environments. A comprehensive understanding of coating–substrate interactions under mechanical, thermal and chemical loading is key to optimising performance and ensuring reliable, long-term operation.
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Mechanical Properties and Performance of Coated Structures publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in mechanical properties and performance of coated structures across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Composite coating: A surface layer comprising two or more distinct materials, arranged to combine their mechanical properties and improve wear, corrosion and fatigue resistance.
Functionally graded coating: A coating in which composition or microstructure varies continuously through thickness to tailor stress distributions and reduce interfacial mismatch.
Stress intensity factor: A parameter characterising the intensity of the stress field near a crack tip, used to predict crack growth under applied loads.
Winkler model: A simplification treating an elastic substrate as an array of independent springs, each supporting the overlaying layer proportionally to its local displacement.
Residual stress: Locked-in stresses within a coating or at its interface, arising from deposition processes or thermal expansion mismatch, which influence strength and fatigue performance.
References
- Stress Analysis in Damaged Pipeline with Composite Coating. Applied Sciences (2021).
- Analytical Model of Deformation of a Functionally Graded Ceramic Coating under Local Load. Ceramics (2023).
- Optical and Mechanical Properties of Layered Infrared Interference Filters. Sensors (2022).
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