Surface wrinkling of a film coated to a graded substrate

• Published in: Journal of the mechanics and physics of solids Vol. 186; p. 105603
• Main Authors: Liu, Rui-Cheng, Liu, Yang, Goriely, Alain
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Asymptotic analysis; Film/substrate structures; Graded materials; Nonlinear elasticity; Stroh formulation; Surface wrinkling; WKB method; Film/substrate structures; Stroh formulation; Graded materials; Nonlinear elasticity; Asymptotic analysis; Surface wrinkling; WKB method
• ISSN: 0022-5096
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmps.2024.105603

We study the surface wrinkling of a stiff thin elastic film bonded to a compliant graded elastic substrate subject to compressive stress generated either by compression or growth of the bilayer. Our aim is to clarify the influence of the modulus gradient on the onset and surface pattern in this bilayer. Within the framework of finite elasticity, an exact bifurcation condition is obtained using the Stroh formulation and the surface impedance matrix method. Further analytical progress is made by focusing on the case of short wavelength limit for which the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin method can be used to resolve the eigenvalue problem of ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients. An explicit bifurcation condition is obtained from which the critical buckling load and the critical wavelength are derived asymptotically. In particular, we consider two distinct situations depending on the ratio β of the shear modulus at the substrate surface to that at infinity. If β is of O(1) or small, the parameters related to modulus gradient all appear in the higher-order terms and play an insignificant role in the bifurcation. In that case, it is the modulus ratio between the film and substrate surface that governs the onset of surface wrinkling. If, however, β≫1, the modulus gradient affects the critical condition through leading-order terms. Through our analysis we unravel the influence of different material and geometric parameters, including the modulus gradient, on the bifurcation threshold and the associated wavelength which can be of importance in many biological and technological settings.