The damage behaviour of materials depends strongly on the residual stresses generated inside the coatings realized under high energy beams. The purpose of the present work is to demonstrate the effect of intrinsic and geometrical parameters of the coated system on the stress level at the coating surface. The results of the elaborated phenomenological model show that the residual stress level depends, in particular, on the substrate and coating modulus ratio. It is then possible, based on the judicious choice of this ratio, to optimize the stress level.