Scratch behavior of reinforced HDPE through molecular dynamics simulations

To better understand the tribological behavior of polymer-based materials under scratching, we studied the effect of including a second phase in the form of liquid-crystalline (LC) islands in an amorphous matrix emulating high-density polyethylene. We employ molecular dynamics computer simulations with a coarse-grain model. The effects of the indenter diameter and force magnitude on the tribological properties (scratch resistance) were evaluated. The LC islands have a significant effect on the scratching depth, more significantly from 10 to 20% than from 0 to 10% concentration, and that the influence of the second phase is more pronounced for larger indenters and lower forces. Graphic abstract