How Interfaces Limit Nanoscale Stress Concentrations and Prevent Catastrophic Failure in Single-Asperity Contacts

How Interfaces Limit Nanoscale Stress Concentrations and Prevent Catastrophic Failure in Single-Asperity Contacts | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article How Interfaces Limit Nanoscale Stress Concentrations and Prevent Catastrophic Failure in Single-Asperity Contacts Michael Meindlhumer, Juraj Todt, Markus Alfreider, Asma Medjahed, and 12 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8367602/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Contact between materials occurs through microscale asperities, where stress evolves under highly localized, multiaxial deformation. Despite the significant importance to numerous scientific fields, to date, direct experimental quantification of these stress fields across the materials in contact remained elusive. Here we combine in situ scanning synchrotron X-ray nanodiffraction with 80 nm spatial resolution and a custom indentation setup to resolve nanoscale stress fields developing at the contact between a diamond indenter and both single-layer ZrN and multilayered ZrN–ZrCu thin films. We introduce a nanomechanical probe comprising a single-crystalline diamond wedge coated with nanocrystalline diamond to simultaneously probe stress accumulation within the indenter. X-ray scattering and scanning electron microscopy, micromechanical testing, analytical and elastic-plastic finite element modeling corroborate the nanoscale stress maps obtained for both sides of the tip-surface contact region. The individual interfaces along the projected load paths diffuse stresses in both the tip and the multilayer, thereby controlling the overall mechanical response at the asperity. Consequently, the stored elastic energy is reduced by 30% in the multi-layered film in comparison with the monolithic ZrN. Finally, the measured nanoscale stress distributions elucidate the fundamental mechanisms by which artificial and biological multi-layered materials effectively dissipate energy and prevent catastrophic failure. Physical sciences/Materials science/Structural materials/Mechanical properties Physical sciences/Materials science/Techniques and instrumentation/Characterization and analytical techniques Physical sciences/Materials science X-ray nanodiffraction contact mechanics thin films fracture micromechanics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files indentedZrNCuZrsupplementaryr1v01marked.pdf Supplementary Material - Marked up indentedZrNCuZrsupplementaryr1v01clean.pdf Supplementary Material - Clean Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8367602","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":620217958,"identity":"54d92f61-7545-42ae-8873-4bad8c2445d2","order_by":0,"name":"Michael Meindlhumer","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3837-9955","institution":"Montanuniversität Leoben","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michael","middleName":"","lastName":"Meindlhumer","suffix":""},{"id":620217959,"identity":"e02eb874-35c5-4e13-a822-f971da36608f","order_by":1,"name":"Juraj Todt","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Montanuniversität Leoben","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Juraj","middleName":"","lastName":"Todt","suffix":""},{"id":620217960,"identity":"c860da55-e06d-4608-93b8-6810a9b003ad","order_by":2,"name":"Markus Alfreider","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9562-4497","institution":"Montanuniversität Leoben","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Markus","middleName":"","lastName":"Alfreider","suffix":""},{"id":620217961,"identity":"ec6145eb-213c-4f9a-886f-433d8aa638df","order_by":3,"name":"Asma Medjahed","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"ESRF - The European Synchrotron","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Asma","middleName":"","lastName":"Medjahed","suffix":""},{"id":620217962,"identity":"3fc175b4-ed8d-4d8d-b4c4-b3ad4dee2638","order_by":4,"name":"Jakob Grau","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4037-5952","institution":"Technische Hochschule Augsburg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jakob","middleName":"","lastName":"Grau","suffix":""},{"id":620217963,"identity":"179aac09-2b3c-4fea-b583-a3dbf9d58ca0","order_by":5,"name":"Michal Zitek","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Montanuniversität Leoben","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michal","middleName":"","lastName":"Zitek","suffix":""},{"id":620217964,"identity":"e4ae6113-7d01-4465-8c6b-77cb4dd2e286","order_by":6,"name":"Antje Dollmann","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Karlsruhe Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Antje","middleName":"","lastName":"Dollmann","suffix":""},{"id":620217965,"identity":"a3c3e826-b013-49d7-a32a-037ebc914b08","order_by":7,"name":"Fatih Uzun","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Oxford","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fatih","middleName":"","lastName":"Uzun","suffix":""},{"id":620217966,"identity":"f9f439c8-4673-413b-8103-ab5518619f45","order_by":8,"name":"Rostislav Daniel","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Leoben","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rostislav","middleName":"","lastName":"Daniel","suffix":""},{"id":620217967,"identity":"fdb4a377-b42b-4e01-9f97-cb789bb782a4","order_by":9,"name":"Doris Steinmüller-Nethl","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Carbon Competence GmbH","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Doris","middleName":"","lastName":"Steinmüller-Nethl","suffix":""},{"id":620217968,"identity":"0420ba5b-c74d-482e-a209-3d246136ed36","order_by":10,"name":"Hadwig Sternschulte","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Technische Hochschule Augsburg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hadwig","middleName":"","lastName":"Sternschulte","suffix":""},{"id":620217969,"identity":"75423670-d529-4385-825c-e6e6e525f33d","order_by":11,"name":"Manfred Burghammer","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2262-3431","institution":"European Synchrotron Radiation Facility","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Manfred","middleName":"","lastName":"Burghammer","suffix":""},{"id":620217970,"identity":"64100dc3-7f17-4e0b-a59f-0fbbea7d9d35","order_by":12,"name":"Petr Zeman","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of West Bohemia in Pilsen","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Petr","middleName":"","lastName":"Zeman","suffix":""},{"id":620217971,"identity":"ba89f339-a51b-4a9b-b764-b83d15276e9e","order_by":13,"name":"Verena Maier-Kiener","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Montanuniversität Leoben","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Verena","middleName":"","lastName":"Maier-Kiener","suffix":""},{"id":620217972,"identity":"cae66d8c-adb7-49ed-8045-dd2356b8da44","order_by":14,"name":"Alexander M. Korsunsky","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Oxford","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alexander","middleName":"M.","lastName":"Korsunsky","suffix":""},{"id":620217973,"identity":"2084ced8-31e5-423b-9f34-63f3e37bb01a","order_by":15,"name":"Jozef Keckes","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4770-4331","institution":"Montanuniversität Leoben","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jozef","middleName":"","lastName":"Keckes","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-15 14:56:03","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8367602/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8367602/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108979595,"identity":"dfadf241-c347-46bf-b116-c69878aaad7f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-11 12:00:08","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2074895,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"IndentedZrNCuZrmanuscriptr1v04clean.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8367602/v1_covered_7dc364f6-a255-437b-9f37-3fba43578914.pdf"},{"id":108976983,"identity":"7e86b43c-f9dd-4969-a086-c8d200323238","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-11 11:29:48","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":5844382,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Material - Marked up","description":"","filename":"indentedZrNCuZrsupplementaryr1v01marked.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8367602/v1/90df72130e84e6b2912e8c68.pdf"},{"id":108041543,"identity":"626986ce-adb0-403f-92d6-28919e0301b0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-28 18:19:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":5836222,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary Material - Clean","description":"","filename":"indentedZrNCuZrsupplementaryr1v01clean.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8367602/v1/09eb873f132bc5185e5aa2ed.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"How Interfaces Limit Nanoscale Stress Concentrations and Prevent Catastrophic Failure in Single-Asperity Contacts","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":true,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"X-ray nanodiffraction, contact mechanics, thin films, fracture, micromechanics","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8367602/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8367602/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eContact between materials occurs through microscale asperities, where stress evolves under highly localized, multiaxial deformation. Despite the significant importance to numerous scientific fields, to date, direct experimental quantification of these stress fields across the materials in contact remained elusive. Here we combine \u003cem\u003ein situ\u003c/em\u003e scanning synchrotron X-ray nanodiffraction with 80 nm spatial resolution and a custom indentation setup to resolve nanoscale stress fields developing at the contact between a diamond indenter and both single-layer ZrN and multilayered ZrN\u0026ndash;ZrCu thin films. We introduce a nanomechanical probe comprising a single-crystalline diamond wedge coated with nanocrystalline diamond to simultaneously probe stress accumulation within the indenter. X-ray scattering and scanning electron microscopy, micromechanical testing, analytical and elastic-plastic finite element modeling corroborate the nanoscale stress maps obtained for both sides of the tip-surface contact region. The individual interfaces along the projected load paths diffuse stresses in both the tip and the multilayer, thereby controlling the overall mechanical response at the asperity. Consequently, the stored elastic energy is reduced by 30% in the multi-layered film in comparison with the monolithic ZrN. Finally, the measured nanoscale stress distributions elucidate the fundamental mechanisms by which artificial and biological multi-layered materials effectively dissipate energy and prevent catastrophic failure.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"How Interfaces Limit Nanoscale Stress Concentrations and Prevent Catastrophic Failure in Single-Asperity Contacts","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-28 18:19:24","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8367602/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"communications-materials","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"commsmat","sideBox":"Learn more about [Communications Materials](https://www.nature.com/commsmat/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Communications Materials","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Communications Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"bf1e276e-52c9-44c1-b12b-df04b4e0a966","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 28th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"revise","date":"2026-05-08T08:23:30+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"This content is not available.","date":"2026-05-06T01:30:17+00:00","index":1,"fulltext":"This content is not available."}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":66001439,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science/Structural materials/Mechanical properties"},{"id":66001440,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science/Techniques and instrumentation/Characterization and analytical techniques"},{"id":66001441,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-08T08:28:03+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-28 18:19:24","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8367602","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8367602","identity":"rs-8367602","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}