*2.2. Post-Processing*

The results were visualized using the open-source software package Paraview [46]. In all of the visualizations, the buffer layers have been removed to avoid any confusion. All the results visualized correspond to a specific point in the loading history, i.e., when the average shear strain in the primary slip system in the PSBs equals ~1%. Therefore, PSB volume fractions of 50%~11% correspond to overall shear plastic strain ranges of approximately Δγpl = 1%~0.2%. Due to the presence of the coatings, the shear strain on the active slip system within the PSBs may vary depending on the distance to the coating–substrate interface. To assess the suppressive effect of coatings on the operations of PSBs, the plastic strain within the PSBs were plotted as a function of the x-coordinate. For this purpose, the PSBs were sliced into discrete bins of equal thickness along the x-direction. Average shear strain on the primary slip system was then obtained for each bin.
