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Adhesion Test On Metallic Coating

This document describes standard test methods for evaluating the adhesion of metallic coatings on various substrates. The tests are qualitative and require only simple tools. The tests include bend tests, burnishing tests, chisel-knife tests, draw tests, file tests, grind-saw tests, heat-quench tests, impact tests, peel tests, and push tests. The appropriate test method depends on factors like the end use of the coated article and its method of fabrication. Interpreting adhesion test results, especially for cases of marginal adhesion, requires agreement on what is considered acceptable.

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384 views2 pages

Adhesion Test On Metallic Coating

This document describes standard test methods for evaluating the adhesion of metallic coatings on various substrates. The tests are qualitative and require only simple tools. The tests include bend tests, burnishing tests, chisel-knife tests, draw tests, file tests, grind-saw tests, heat-quench tests, impact tests, peel tests, and push tests. The appropriate test method depends on factors like the end use of the coated article and its method of fabrication. Interpreting adhesion test results, especially for cases of marginal adhesion, requires agreement on what is considered acceptable.

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get5rajesh
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Designation: B 571 84e1

Standard Test Methods for


Adhesion of Metallic Coatings1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation B571; the number immediately flowing the designation indicates the year of original
adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A superscript
epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
E1

Note-In section 11, reference to paragraph 3.7 was changed to 9.3 editorially in October 1985.

1. Scope
1.1 This document describes methods for evaluating the
adhesion of metallic coatings on various substrates. The
methods are qualitative and require only simple tools or
instruments and moderate skill.
1.2 This standard may involve hazardous materials,
operations, and equipment. This standard does not purport
to address all of the safety problems associated with its use. It
is the responsibility of whoever uses this standard to consult
and establish appropriate safety and health practices and
determine he applicability of regulatory limitations prior to
use.

2.7 When this guideline is used for acceptance inspection,


the method or methods to be used must be specified. Because
the results of tests of cases of marginal adhesion are subject to
interpretation, agreement shall be reached on what is
acceptable.
2.8 If the size and shape of the item to be tested precludes
use of the designated test method, equivalent test panels may
be appropriate. If permitted, test panels shall be of the same
material and have the same surface finish as the item to be
tested and shall be processed through the same preplating,
electroplating, and postplating cycle with the parts they
represent.

2. Significance and Use


2.1 Test Methods are useful for production control and
for acceptance testing of products.
2.2 Interpreting the results of qualitative methods for
determining the adhesion of metallic coatings is often a
controversial subject. If more than one test is used, failure to
pass any one test is considered unsatisfactory. In many
instances, the end use of the coated article or its method of
fabrication will suggest the technique that best represents
functional requirements. For example, an article that is to be
subsequently formed would suggest a draw or bend test; an
article that is to be soldered or otherwise exposed to heat
would suggest a heat-quench test. If a part requires baking or
heat-treating after plating, adhesion tests should be carried
out after such posttreatment as well.
2.3 Several of the tests are limited to specific types of
coating, thickness ranges, ductilities, or compositions of the
substrate. These limitations are noted generally in the test
descriptions and are summarized in Table 2 for certain
metallic coatings.
2.4 Perfect adhesion exists if the bonding between the
coating and the substrate is greater than the cohesive
strength of either. Such adhesion is usually obtained if good
electroplating practices are followed.
2.5 For many purposes, the adhesion test has the objective
of detecting any adhesion less than perfect. For such a
test, one uses any means available to attempt to separate the
coating from the substrate. This may be prying, hammering,
bending, beating, heating, sawing, grinding, pulling, scribing,
chiseling, or a combination of such treatments. If the coating
peels, flakes, or lifts from the substrate, the adhesion is less
than perfect.
2.6 If evaluation of adhesion is required, it may be
desirable to use one or ore of the following tests. These tests
have varying degrees of severity; and one might serve to
distinguish between satisfactory and unsatisfactory adhesion
in a specific application. The choice for each situation must
be determined.

3. Bend Tests
3.1 Bend the part with the coated surface away, over a
mandrel until its two legs are parallel. The mandrel diameter
should be four times the thickness of the sample. Examine
the deformed area visually under low magnification, for
example, 4x, for peeling or flaking of the coating from the
substrate, which is evidence of poor adhesion. If the coating
fractures or blisters, a sharp blade may be used to attempt
tolift off the coating. With hard or brittle coatings, cracking
usually occurs in the bend area. Such cracks may or may not
propagate into the substrate. In either case, cracks are not
indicative of poor adhesion unless the coating can be peeled
back with a sharp instrument.
3.2 Bend the part repeatedly, back and forth, through an
angle of 180 until failure of the base metal occurs. Examine
the region at low magnification, for example, 10x, for
separation or peeling of the coating. Prying with a sharp
blade will indicate unsatisfactory adhesion by lift-off of the
coating.
4. Burnishing Test
4.1 Rub a coated area of about 5cm2 with a smooth-ended
tool for approximately 15 s. A suitable tool is a steel rod
6mm in diameter with a smooth hemispherical end. The
pressure shall be sufficient to burnish the coating at each
stroke, but not so great as to dig into it. Blisters, lifting, or
peeling should not develop. Generally, thick deposits cannot
be evaluated successfully.
5. Chisel-Knife Test
5.1 Use a sharp cold chisel to penetrate the coating on the
article being evaluated. Alternatively the chisel may be
placed in the back of an overhang area of the coating or at a
coating-substrate interface exposed by sectioning the article
with a saw. A knife may be substituted for the chisel with or
without hammering or light tapping. If it is possible to
remove the deposit, the adhesion is not satisfactory. Soft or
thin coatings cannot be evaluated for adhesion by this
method.

6. Draw Test
6.1 Form a suitable sample about 60mm in diameter into a
flanged cap approximately 38mm in diameter, to a depth of
up to 18mm, through the use of a set of adjustable dies in an
ordinary punch press.2 Penetration of the male die may be
continued until the cap fractures. The adhesion of the
coating may be observed directly or evaluated further by
techniques described in Section 5 for detachment from the
substrate. If there is peeling or flaking of the coating or if it
can be detached, the adhesion is not satisfactory.
6.2 Results from this technique must be interpreted
cautiously, because the ductilities of both the coating and the
substrate are involved.
7. File Test
7.1 Saw off a piece of the coated specimen and inspect it
for detachment at the deposit/substrate interface. Apply
coarse mill file across the sawed edge from the substrate
toward the coating so as to raise it, using an approach angle
of approximately 45 to the coating surface. Lifting or
peeling is evidence of unsatisfactory adhesion.
7.2 This technique is not suitable for thin or soft coatings.
8. Grind-Saw Test
8.1 Hold the coated article against a rough emery wheel
so that the wheel cuts from substrate toward the deposit in a
jerky or bumpy fashion. A hack saw may be substituted for
the wheel, making sure to saw in the direction that tends to
separate the coating from the substrate. Lifting or peeling is
evidence of unsatisfactory adhesion.
8.2 This technique is especially effective on hard or brittle
coatings but is not suitable for thin or soft coatings.
9. Heat-Quench Test
9.1 Heat the coated article in an oven for a sufficient time
for it to reach the temperature shown in Table 1. Maintain
the temperature of the oven within 10C of the nominal.
Coatings and substrates that are sensitive to oxidation should
be heated in an inert or reducing atmosphere or a suitable
liquid. Then quench the part in water or other suitable liquid
at room temperature.
9.2 Flaking or peeling of the deposit is evidence of
unsatisfactory adhesion. Blisters may erupt during the heat
and quench test when plating solution is entrapped in
substrate surface pits or pores which are bridged by the
deposit. If the deposited coating cannot be peeled or lifted
from the substrate in an area adjacent to the blister(s),the
appearance of blisters should not be interpreted as evidence
of inferior adhesion.
9.3 Diffusion and subsequent alloying of metals may
improve the bond strength of electrodeposits. In some cases,
a brittle layer may be created by the materials involved,
causing peeling due to fracture rather than poor adhesion.
This would not give a correct indication of the as-plated
bond strength.
9.4 This test is nondestructive if the procedure does not
create unwanted effects on parts.
10. Impact Test
10.1 Use a hammer or impact device coupled with a
suitable backing block to support the article to be tested to
deform the sample. Reproducible results are more easily
obtained by the use of a suitably modified impact tester
where the force is reproducible and the impact head contour
is in the form of a 5mm diameter ball, shock loaded by a
falling weight or swinging pendulum weight. The severity of

the test may be altered, by changing the load and diameter


of the ball. Exfoliation or blisters in and around indentations
are evidence of inadequate adhesion.
10.2 This test is sometimes difficult to interpret. Soft and
ductile coatings are generally not suited for evaluation.
11. Peel Test
11.1 Bond a strip of steel or brass about 1.5mm thick and
20mm wide by solder or suitable adhesive to a properly flat
are of the coated surface of the article. Adhesive-backed tape
may be considered as a possible alternative. Heat curing of
the adhesive may be employed, keeping in mind
considerations noted in 9.3. The angle of pull shall be 90 to
the surface. For reproducible results, the rate of pull, the
thickness and width of the strip, and deposit thickness must
be standardized. Failure in the coating/substrate interface is
evidence of inadequate adhesion.
11.2 The tensile and shear strengths of the adhesives and
solders limit the range of adhesions strengths that can be
evaluated. A quantitative analysis of the factors involved has
been published.3
12. Push Test
12.1 Drill a blind hole 0.75cm in diameter from the
underside until the point of the drill tip comes within
approximately 1.5mm of the deposit/substrate interface on
the opposite side. Supporting the material on a ring about
2.5cm in diameter, apply steady pressure over the blind hole
using a hardened steel punch 0.6cm in diameter until a
button sample is pushed out.4 Exfoliation or peeling of the
coating in the button or crater areas is evidence of
inadequate adhesion.
12.2 Soft, very ductile, and thin deposits are generally not
suited for this technique.
13. Scribe-Grid Test
13.1 Scribe two or more parallel lines or a rectangular
grid pattern on the article using a hardened steel tool ground
to a sharp (30) point with a distance between the scribed
lines of approximately ten times the nominal coating
thickness, with a minimal distance of 0.4mm. In scribing the
lines, use sufficient pressure to cut through the coating to the
substrate in a single stroke. If any portion of coating between
the lines breaks away from the substrate, the adhesion is
inadequate.
13.2 Generally, thick deposits are not suitable for
evaluation unless a chisel or other sharp instrument is used to
pry the exposed coating/substrate interface, in which case
this technique becomes a variant of Section 5.
14. Test-Coating Systems
14.1 Recommended adhesion tests for a variety of coating
systems are given in Table 2.
15. Precision and Bias
15.1 No statement is made about the precision or the bias
of Test Method B 571 for measuring adhesion since the
result merely states whether there is conformance to the
criteria for success specified in the procedures.

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