An experimental and numerical study of the scratch test on polymers near their surface is presented. The elastoplastic response of three polymers is compared during scratch tests at large deformations: polycarbonate, a thermosetting polymer and a sol-gel hard coating composed of a hybrid matrix (thermosetting polymer-mineral) reinforced with oxide nanoparticles. The experiments were performed using a nanoindenter with a conical diamond tip having an included angle of 30 deg and a spherical radius of 600 nm. The observations obtained revealed that thermosetting polymers have a larger elastic recovery and a higher hardness than polycarbonate. The origin of this difference in scratch resistance was investigated with numerical modelling of the scratch test in three dimensions. Starting from results obtained by Bucaille (J. Mat. Sci., 37, pp. 3999–4011, 2002) using an inverse analysis of the indentation test, the mechanical behavior of polymers is modeled with Young’s modulus for the elastic part and with the G’sell-Jonas’ law with an exponential strain hardening for the viscoplastic part. The strain hardening coefficient is the main characteristic parameter differentiating the three studied polymers. Its value is equal to 0.5, 4.5, and 35, for polycarbonate, the thermosetting polymer and the reinforced thermosetting polymer, respectively. Firstly, simulations reveals that plastic strains are higher in scratch tests than in indentation tests, and that the magnitude of the plastic strains decreases as the strain hardening increases. For scratching on polycarbonate and for a penetration depth of 0.5 μm of the indenter mentioned above, the representative strain is equal to 124%. Secondly, in agreement with experimental results, numerical modeling shows that an increase in the strain hardening coefficient reduces the penetration depth of the indenter into the material and decreases the depth of the residual groove, which means an improvement in the scratch resistance.
Skip Nav Destination
e-mail: eric.felder@ensmp.fr
Article navigation
April 2004
Technical Papers
Experimental and Three-Dimensional Finite Element Study of Scratch Test of Polymers at Large Deformations
J. L. Bucaille,
J. L. Bucaille
Centre for Materials Forming, UMR 7635 du CNRS, Ecole des Mines de Paris, 06904 Sophia Antipolis, France
Search for other works by this author on:
E. Felder,
e-mail: eric.felder@ensmp.fr
E. Felder
Centre for Materials Forming, UMR 7635 du CNRS, Ecole des Mines de Paris, 06904 Sophia Antipolis, France
Search for other works by this author on:
G. Hochstetter
G. Hochstetter
Essilor International, 94106 Saint Maur des Fosse´s, France
Search for other works by this author on:
J. L. Bucaille
Centre for Materials Forming, UMR 7635 du CNRS, Ecole des Mines de Paris, 06904 Sophia Antipolis, France
E. Felder
Centre for Materials Forming, UMR 7635 du CNRS, Ecole des Mines de Paris, 06904 Sophia Antipolis, France
e-mail: eric.felder@ensmp.fr
G. Hochstetter
Essilor International, 94106 Saint Maur des Fosse´s, France
Contributed by the Tribology Division for publication in the ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY. Manuscript received by the Tribology Division August 29, 2002; revised manuscript received June 24, 2003. Associate Editor: Q. J. Wang.
J. Tribol. Apr 2004, 126(2): 372-379 (8 pages)
Published Online: April 19, 2004
Article history
Received:
August 29, 2002
Revised:
June 24, 2003
Online:
April 19, 2004
Citation
Bucaille , J. L., Felder, E., and Hochstetter, G. (April 19, 2004). "Experimental and Three-Dimensional Finite Element Study of Scratch Test of Polymers at Large Deformations ." ASME. J. Tribol. April 2004; 126(2): 372–379. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1645535
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Leakage Control Mechanisms and Strategies for Hydraulically Driven Controllable Rod Seals
J. Tribol (April 2025)
Flow Characteristics of Asymmetric Plunger Pairs in High-Pressure Plunger Pumps
J. Tribol (April 2025)
Related Articles
Characterization and Modeling of Large Displacement Micro-/Nano-Indentation of Polymeric Solids
J. Eng. Mater. Technol (October,2008)
Relationship Between Rockwell C Hardness and Inelastic Material
Constants
J. Eng. Mater. Technol (April,2002)
Determination of Critical Strains in Isotactic Polypropylene by Cyclic Loading-Unloading
J. Eng. Mater. Technol (January,2009)
Modeling Damage Evolution in Friction Stir Welding Process
J. Eng. Mater. Technol (April,2008)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Processing/Structure/Properties Relationships in Polymer Blends for the Development of Functional Polymer Foams
Advances in Multidisciplinary Engineering
Data Tabulations
Structural Shear Joints: Analyses, Properties and Design for Repeat Loading
Subsection NB—Class 1 Components
Companion Guide to the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Codes, Volume 1 Sixth Edition