Understanding the response of glasses to indentation (e.g., permanent densification or shear flow) is critical to developing new ultrahard glasses for cover screen applications. However, the linkages between the compositions of glasses and their response to indentation remain unclear.

Here, we conduct some peridynamic simulations to model the nanoindentation of silicate glasses with varying compositions. We show that the propensity for shear flow vs. permanent densification strongly depends on glass composition—wherein silicate glasses with a low packing density and low Poisson’s ratio (e.g., silica) favor permanent densification, whereas more compact silicate glasses with higher Poisson’s ration (e.g., calcium aluminosilicate) favor shear flow deformations. By offering a realistic description of indentation-induced deformations in glasses, the peridynamic technique could facilitate the design of novel glasses with enhanced mechanical properties.

Keywords: Nanoindentation, silicate glasses, peridynamics

Authors: Yuzhe Cao, Mathieu Bauchy