Stress analysis for multilayered coating systems using semi-analytical BEM with geometric non-linearities

Abstract

For a long time, most of the current numerical methods, including the finite element method, have not been efficient to analyze stress fields of very thin structures, such as the problems of thin coatings and their interfacial/internal mechanics. In this paper, the boundary element method for 2-D elastostatic problems is studied for the analysis of multi-coating systems. The nearly singular integrals, which is the primary obstacle associated with the BEM formulations, are dealt with efficiently by using a semi-analytical algorithm. The proposed semi-analytical integral formulas, compared with current analytical methods in the BEM literature, are suitable for high-order geometry elements when nearly singular integrals need to be calculated. Owing to the employment of the curved surface elements, only a small number of elements need to be divided along the boundary, and high accuracy can be achieved without increasing more computational efforts. For the test problems studied, very promising results are obtained when the thickness of coated layers is in the orders of 10−6–10−9, which is sufficient for modeling most coated systems in the micro- or nano-scales.