Peridynamic simulations of damage in indentation and scratching of 3C-SiC

The cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) has broad application prospects due to its excellent properties. The modeling of damage in 3C-SiC due to contact loads is important yet challenging. In this paper, simulations based on peridynamics theory are proposed to model damage of 3C-SiC in indentation and scratching. In indentation, the pop-in phenomenon of load-depth curve and initiation and propagation of cracks are observed. During scratching, the specific cutting energy (energy consumed per unit volume of material removed) increases nonlinearly with the decrease of scratching depth. Initiation and propagation of radical cracks on both sides of the groove are found. In addition, for scratching with double indenters, the volume of material removal is more than twice that of scratching with an indenter when indenter interval is less than the threshold. This paper demonstrates that peridynamics is a powerful tool to investigate damage in indentation and scratching of brittle materials. Graphical abstract