Nanoindentation has become a widely used technique to measure the mechanical properties of materials. Due to its capability to deform materials in micro- and nano-scale, nanoindentation has found more applications in characterizing the deformation behavior and determining the mechanical properties of thin films and coatings. This research deals with the characterization of samples received from Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD) and Integran Technologies Inc., Toronto, Canada and the objective of this investigation was to utilize the experimental data obtained from nanoindentation to determine the deformation behavior, mechanical properties of thin films on substrates and bulk materials, and the effect of geometrically different indenters (Berkovich, cubecorner, and conical). X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis were performed on these materials to determine the crystal orientation, grain size of the material, and also to measure any substrate effects like pile-up or sin-in respectively. The results indicate that indentation size effect (ISE) strongly depends on shape of the indenter and less sensitive to penetration depth where as the hardness measurements depends on shape of indenter and depth of penetration. There is a negligible strain rate dependency of hardness at deeper depths and a significant increase in the hardness due to the decrease in grain size and results also indicate that there is no significant substrate effect on thin films for 10% and 20% of film thicknesses. Nanocrystalline material could not validate a dislocation based mechanisms deformation for indentation made by cubecorner and conical indenters in depths less than 1mm.

The objective of this work is to enhance the understanding of the delay observed in the early stages of E-coat deposition. E-coat deposition has been widely used by industries such as the automotive industry to form the primary protective coating against corrosion. Currently, models that are used to find the best conditions under which the desired coating coverage for the entire auto body can be achieved do not accurately predict the coating coverage in recessed areas. The accuracy of large-scale models can be improved by enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the observed delay. To accomplish this, experiments are performed to define the processes that control deposition initiation and then a model is developed to describe those processes. Simulation results are compared with experimental measurements for a range of conditions to assess the validity of the results. The delay before the onset of deposition is influenced by the type of substrate and properties of the E-coat solution. The impact of the substrate type on the onset of deposition was experimentally investigated. The results of experiments indicated that surface characteristics such as adhesion of bubbles to the surface and the formation of an initial coating increase the local current density on the surface. Investigations of the morphology of the initial coating on different types of substrates indicated that deposition began at areas where the local current density was higher. Increasing the local current density due to the adhesion of bubbles to the surface resulted in a 40% reduction in the time required for the onset of deposition on galvanized steel compared to bare steel. The processes in the solution adjacent to the surface were also investigated to understand the mechanisms responsible for the onset of deposition. Convection was used as a tool to determine the impact of the accumulation of hydroxide ions on the onset of deposition. The results of rotating disk electrode (RDE) experiments showed that the observed delay before deposition was not due to the time required for accumulation of hydroxide ions at the surface. The results of additional experiments showed that the accumulation of micelles was critical to the deposit initiation. The impact of micelle accumulation on the deposit initiation was further explored by developing a mathematical model of the physical processes in the solution adjacent to the surface. The model was evaluated at different conditions and was found to agree with experimental results at different current densities and bulk micelle concentrations. The model and the experimental results from this study help to explain the observed delay in the early stages of E-coat deposition and provide a basis for improving large-scale simulation of E-coat deposition.