Assessment and validation of SPH modeling for nano-indentation

Nano-indentation tests are important techniques in material science. Over the past two decades, many numerical approaches have been proposed to model and simulate the nano-indentation process. In this paper, the possibility of modeling the process using a meshless numerical technique, known as smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH), is explored. In particular, the SPH modeling of nano-indentation is conducted using the ANSYS/LS-DYNA software using three different published studies as benchmarks. More specifically, SPH results reported by Guo et al. (J Semicond 36:083007, 2015) when nano-indenting a KPD crystal were used first to verify the validity of the SPH model established in this work. Following this, the outcomes of further SPH simulations were found to compare well against finite element modeling and experimental results reported in Dao et al. (Acta Mater 49:3899–3918, 2001) and Karimzadeh et al. (Comput Mater Sci 81:595–600, 2014) for both micro- and nano-indentation, respectively. These observations suggest that SPH is a technique with the potential to be considered more widely by researchers investigating high strain, or strain rate, deformation phenomena on the nanoscale. For example, the presented research on the development of a SPH-based nano-indentation model lays the foundations toward formulating a comprehensive model for the accurate simulation of nanoscale tool-based machining processes.