A new hardness formula incorporating the effect of source density on indentation response: A discrete dislocation plasticity analysis

Planar discrete dislocation plasticity (DDP) calculations that simulate thin single crystal films bonded to a rigid substrate indented by a rigid wedge are performed for different values of film thickness and dislocation source density. As in prior studies, an indentation size effect (ISE) is observed when indentation depth is sufficiently small relative to the film thickness. The dependence of the ISE on dislocation source density is quantified in this study, and a modified form of the scaling law for the dependence of hardness on indentation depth, first derived by Nix and Gao, is proposed, which is valid over the entire range of indentation depths and correlates the length scale parameter with the average dislocation source spacing. Nano-indentation experimental data from the literature are fitted using this formula, which further verifies the proposed scaling of indentation pressure on dislocation source density.