Molecular Dynamics Simulation of a Rigid Sphere Indenting a Copper Substrate

Three-dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is used to study the atomic-scale indentation process of a spherical diamond tip in contact with a copper substrate. In the indentation simulations, the force-displacement curve is obtained and compared with a modified elastic solution of Hertz. The contact area under different indentation depths is also investigated. The force-displacement curve under different maximum indentation depths is obtained to investigate elastic-plastic deformation during the loading and unloading processes.