The bending-buckling coupled model for blistering behavior in anti-corrosion coatings

Anti-corrosion coatings are widely applied in marine engineering and marine equipment. Understanding their blistering failure mechanisms is vital for optimizing coating designs and extending their service life. This paper develops a bending-buckling coupled model and employs the Rayleigh-Ritz method to investigate the axisymmetric circular blister of coatings with initial deflections, with a special focus on the situation where the transverse load is opposite to the deflection. By incorporating the chemo-mechanical coupling, an analytical solution of the critical buckling load in terms of diffusion strain is well achieved, concisely explaining the impacts of transverse loads, initial deflections, and aspect ratios on the critical buckling load. The influence of these parameters on the post-buckling behavior of the coating is further discussed and the contour of the coating blister can be presented. The results should have theoretical guidance significance for predicting and analyzing the service behavior of anti-corrosion coatings.