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Nanoindentation

Simulation of defect nucleation in a crystal

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Abstract

Nanoindentation is the penetration of a surface to nanometre depths using an indenting device. It can be simulated using the Bragg bubble-raft model1, in which a close-packed array of soap bubbles corresponds to the equilibrium positions of atoms in a crystalline solid. Here we show that homogeneous defect nucleation occurs within a crystal when its surface roughness is comparable to the radius of the indenter tip, and that the depth of the nucleation site below the surface is proportional to the half-width of the contact. Our results may explain the unusually high local stress required for defect nucleation in nano-indented face-centred cubic crystals.

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Figure 1: Dislocation nucleation during nanoindentation.

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Author notes

  1. Andrew Gouldstone

    Present address: Physiology Program, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA

    Andrew Gouldstone, Krystyn J. Van Vliet & Subra Suresh

Authors
  1. Andrew Gouldstone
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  2. Krystyn J. Van Vliet
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  3. Subra Suresh
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Correspondence to Subra Suresh.

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Gouldstone, A., Van Vliet, K. & Suresh, S. Simulation of defect nucleation in a crystal. Nature 411, 656 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35079687

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