Numerical analysis of tensile bifurcation phenomenon of a film bonded to a substrate

To study the mechanical properties of the film/substrate structure, the finite element code ABAQUS v6.9-1 is adopted to simulate the tensile mechanical behavior of the nanoscale thin film bonded to a substrate. The bifurcation phenomenon of the structure under uniaxial tension is found: the single-neck deformation, the multiple-neck deformation and the uniform deformation. The substrate and the film are regarded as power-hardening materials obeying the J 2 deformation theory. Firstly, the influence of material hardening match on tensile bifurcation mode is analyzed under perfectly well-bonded interface condition. Then, the effects of interfacial stiffness and other superficial defects surrounding the imperfection on bifurcation mode are investigated. It is concluded that under the well-bonded interface condition, if the stress of the substrate is larger than the film, the film will uniformly deform with the substrate; if the stress of the substrate is smaller than the film, the film will form a single neck, except the case that a weakly-hardening film is bonded to a steeply-hardening substrate when multiple necks can be formed. With the decrease of interfacial stiffness, the uniform deformation mode can transform into the multiple-neck deformation mode, and further transform into the single-neck deformation mode. And other defects surrounding the imperfection can influence the wavelength of deformation and neck number.