This thesis presents molecular dynamics simulations of nanoindentation and nanoscratching simulations on a number of oxide. materials. In particular, the oxides studied are used as thin films in optical coatings. These films provide a variety of different functionalities, including reducing infra-red transmission through the glass to lower the heating and cooling costs for buildings. Simulations are performed initially on magnesium oxide, which is studied as a test material due to the simple structure. Simulations are then performed on the rutile and anatase polymorphs of titanium dioxide, which are used in the anti-reflective and self-cleaning part of the coatings, respectively. Finally, simulations are performed into zinc oxide and a silver layer sandwiched between two zinc oxide layers. This multi-layered stack represents the typical structure of the energy saving part of the coatings. Mechanical properties of the thin films have been calculated and compared with experiment. Generally, there is a good level of agreement between the modelling and the experiments. Deformation mechanisms in the different systems have been identified so as to help understand the failure mechanisms in these coatings.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:539450 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Gheewala, Ismail |
| Publisher | Loughborough University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/34987 |
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