Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Relationship between scratch hardness and yield strength of elastic perfectly plastic materials using finite element analysis

  • Published:
Journal of Materials Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

With thin solid film usage expanding in numerous technologies, reliable measurements of material properties such as yield strength become important. However, for thin solid films the measurement of yield strength is not readily available, and an alternative method to obtain this property is to measure hardness and convert it to yield strength. Tabor suggested dividing hardness by ∼3 to obtain yield strength, which has been used extensively, despite its shortcomings. Since the pioneering work of Tabor, researchers have performed numerical and experimental studies to investigate the relationships between hardness, yield strength, and elastic modulus, using the indentation technique. In this study, finite element analysis was performed to simulate the nanoscratch technique. Specifically, the nanoscratch finite element analysis was used to validate a previously developed analytical scratch hardness model. A full-factorial design-of-experiments was performed to determine the significant variables for the ratio of calculated scratch hardness to yield strength and a simple analytical prediction model for the ratio of hardness to yield strength was proposed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

FIG. 1
FIG. 2
FIG. 3
FIG. 4
TABLE I.
TABLE II.
TABLE III.
FIG. 5
TABLE IV.
TABLE V.
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
FIG. 8
FIG. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. W.C. Oliver, G.M. Pharr: Improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments. J. Mater. Res. 7, 1564 1992

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. N. Yu, W.A. Bonin, A.A. Polycarpou: High-resolution capacitive load-displacement transducer and its application in nanoindentation and adhesion force measurements. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 76, 045109 2005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. K.M. Lee, C-D. Yeo, A.A. Polycarpou: Nanomechanical property and nanowear measurements for sub-10 nm thick films in magnetic storage. Exp. Mech. 47, 107 2007

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. X. Li, B. Bhushan: Measurement of fracture toughness of ultra-thin amorphous carbon films. Thin Solid Films 315, 214 1998

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. J. Goddard, H. Wilman: A theory of friction and wear during the abrasion of metals. Wear 5, 114 1962

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. N. Tayebi, T.F. Conry, A.A. Polycarpou: Determination of hardness from nanoscratch experiments: Corrections for interfacial shear stress and elastic recovery. J. Mater. Res. 18, 2150 2003

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. H. Bückle: The Science of Hardness Testing and Its Research Applications American Society for Metals Metals Park, OH 1973

    Google Scholar 

  8. N. Tayebi, A.A. Polycarpou, T.F. Conry: Effects of the substrate on the determination of hardness of thin films by the nanoscratch and nanoindentation techniques. J. Mater. Res. 19, 1791 2004

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. M.A. Haque, M.T.A. Saif: In-situ tensile testing of nano-scale specimens in SEM and TEM. Exp. Mech. 42, 123 2002

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. S. Cho, I. Chasiotis, T.A. Friedmann, J.P. Sullivan: Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio and failure properties of tetrahedral amorphous diamond-like carbon for MEMS devices. J. Micromech. Microeng. 15, 728 2005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. D. Tabor: Hardness of Metals Clarendon Press Oxford 1951

    Google Scholar 

  12. Y.T. Cheng, C.M. Cheng: Scaling approach to conical indentation in elastic-plastic solids with work hardening. J. Appl. Phys. 84, 1284 1998

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. M. Mata, M. Anglada, J. Alcala: Contact deformation regimes around sharp indentation and the concept of the characteristic strain. J. Mater. Res. 17, 964 2002

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. L.J. Vandeperre, F. Giuliani, W.J. Clegg: Effect of elastic surface deformation on the relation between hardness and yield strength. J. Mater. Res. 19, 3704 2004

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. N. Yu, A.A. Polycarpou, T.F. Conry: Tip-radius effect in finite element modeling of sub-50 nm shallow nanoindentation. Thin Solid Films 450, 295 2004

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. J.L. Bucaille, E. Felder, G. Hochstetter: Mechanical analysis of the scratch test on elastic and perfectly plastic materials with the three-dimensional finite element modeling. Wear 249, 422 2001

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. G. Subhash, W. Zhang: Investigation of the overall friction coefficient in single-pass scratch test. Wear 252, 123 2002

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. E.R. Kral, K. Komvopoulos, D.B. Bogy: Hardness of thin-film media: Scratch experiments and finite element simulations. J. Tribol.—Trans. ASME 118, 1 1996

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. J. Boussinesq: Application of Potentials to the Study of Equilibrium and Motion of Elastic Bodies. Gauthier-Villars Paris, France 1885

    Google Scholar 

  20. N. Tayebi, T.F. Conry, A.A. Polycarpou: Reconciliation of nanoscratch hardness with nanoindentation hardness including the effects of interface shear stress. J. Mater. Res. 19, 3316 2004

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. B. Bhushan: Chemical, mechanical and tribological characterization of ultra-thin and hard amorphous carbon coatings as thin as 3.5 nm: Recent developments. Diamond Relat. Mater. 8, 1985 1999

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. R.E. DeVor, T. Chang, J.W. Sutherland: Statistical Quality Design and Control: Contemporary Concepts and Methods. 2nd ed. Prentice Hall, NJ 2006

    Google Scholar 

  23. B. Bhushan, X.D. Li: Micromechanical and tribological characterization of doped single-crystal silicon and polysilicon films for microelectromechanical systems devices. J. Mater. Res. 12, 54 1997

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. X.D. Li, B. Bhushan, K. Takashima, C.W. Baek, Y.K. Kim: Mechanical characterization of micro/nanoscale structures for MEMS/NEMS applications using nanoindentation techniques. Ultramicroscopy 97, 481 2003

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the Information Storage Industry Consortium (INSIC) Extremely High Density Recording (EHDR) Program and the National Science Foundation under grant number CAREER CMS-0239232. Also, this work was supported by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications under TG-MSS05005N and used the IBM P690 (Copper) computing resources (where all the FEA simulations using ABAQUS were performed).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Ki Myung Lee

    Present address: Seagate Technology LLC, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA

    Ki Myung Lee, Chang-Dong Yeo & Andreas A. Polycarpou polycarp@uiuc.edu

Authors
  1. Ki Myung Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chang-Dong Yeo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Andreas A. Polycarpou polycarp@uiuc.edu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lee, K.M., Yeo, CD. & Polycarpou polycarp@uiuc.edu, A.A. Relationship between scratch hardness and yield strength of elastic perfectly plastic materials using finite element analysis. Journal of Materials Research 23, 2229–2237 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2008.0279

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2008.0279

Search

Navigation