Scratching of Elastic∕Plastic Materials With Hard Spherical Indenters

Abstract

A mechanistic framework has been developed for interpreting scratch tests performed with spherical indenters on elastic∕plastic materials. The pertinent scaling relations have been identified through a plastic analysis and the model has been subsequently calibrated by finite element calculations. The results show that the ratio of scratch force to normal force (or apparent friction coefficient) can be partitioned into two additive components: one due to interfacial friction and another associated with plastic deformation. The plastic component scales parabolically with the normal force and depends only weakly on the true (elastic) friction coefficient. A simple formula for the scratch force, based on the plastic analysis and the numerical results, has been derived. Finally, experimental measurements on two material standards commonly used for nanoindenter calibration have been used to verify the theoretical results.