Abstract: For a quantitative and better understanding of the stress and strain responses and their effects on interface debonding and crack initiation and propagation of alternative hard and soft multilayers under contact loading, to explore methodologies of optimum design of surface multilayers, large strain elasto-plastic finite element method is used to evaluate the mechanical behaviors of TiN/Ti/TiN/Ti… multilayer films on high speed steel substrate under hard asperity indentation. Calculations are conducted on different film systems from single to 16 layers to investigate the effects of layer numbers and film thickness. Based upon analysis of film deformation, maximum bending stress, interfacial shear stress, and surface tensile stress, the development of these parameters via layer numbers and the applied load was better understood, which is expected to provide sound basis for the optimum design of multilayer film structures.

Key words: Design, Finite element method, Interface, Multilayer films, Stress