High power laser shocks with a 0.6 ns pulse duration have been used to study the debonding
of coatings electrolytically deposited on the opposite face of the substrate than the one
shocked. Experiments have been carried out on various substrate/coating systems such as
stainless steel/copper or nickel and hastelloy X/platinum. Experimentally, a lower intensity
debonding threshold has been determined for each of these systems. On the other hand, an
upper threshold above which a systematic removal of the coating is obtained has been
evidenced. By the numerical simulation of these experiments, a traction range for debonding
at the interface has been determined for the three systems. A significant difference for the
adhesion levels of these systems has been evidenced using this method. Thus, the possibility
to use the laser shock technique as a non destructive adhesion test for coatings of some tens
microns is clearly demonstrated.