title: Optimum information in crackling noise.
abstract: The crackling noise due to scratching superhard nanocomposite coatings was investigated by using a simple stick-slip model. The optimum information extracted from statistical analysis, in terms of the Akaike information criterion, is in good agreement with real tests. As a nanocomposite coating approaches an optimal performance, the acoustic emission energy follows a power-law distribution and its behavior is likely to be independent of microscopic and macroscopic details. The results imply that a peculiar deformation behavior, due to the competition between different deformation mechanisms such as dislocation pile-ups in nanocrystalline grains and grain sliding-grain rotation within amorphous boundaries, plays a vital role in the nanostructure with superhardness.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Materials Technology (CAMT), School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering J07, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. chunsheng.lu@aeromech.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Chunsheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Yiu-Wing
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Mai
authors.forename: Yao-Gen
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Shen