Recent Advances in Instrumented Scratching

The instrumented scratch test, which has the advantages of simple sample preparation, high test efficiency, and low cost, has become an effective technique to investigate contact mechanisms (e.g., contact-induced surface deformation, single-asperity contact, sliding contact, reciprocating sliding, elastic recovery, stick-slip behaviors, damage/cracking, buckling failure of films, mechanical glass frosting, abrasive machining mechanism, cutting, wear, grinding and polishing) and a large quantity of mechanical properties (e.g., scratch resistance, tribological behavior, friction coefficient, structural integrity, hardness, strength, and fracture toughness) of various solids (e.g., multilayer coatings, single crystals, bones, gels, polymers, ceramics, glasses, semiconductors, metals, concreates, shales, rocks, and composites) based on the measured scratch variables such as penetration depth and lateral force. The application of instrumented scratch to characterization of mechanical properties of materials based on the quantitative relationships linking macroscopic mechanical properties of materials with characteristic values of measured variables during scratching under different conditions (e.g., different geometries of indenters) has great potential in the fields of materials science and engineering, and mechanical engineering, and has significant advantages over conventional methodologies, especially when micromechanical properties and their distributions of small specimens and multi-scale composites of heterogeneous microstructures are of interest. This Special Issue aims to cultivate and promote the development and application of advanced scratch technique, and the Special Topic is intended to include, but not limited to, scratch-based characterization and application, mechanics and modeling of scratch, scratch-induced deformation/ damage/fracture/phase transformation, single-abrasive scratch test, single-asperity sliding, interfacial strength of coatings, and machine/deep learning from scratch tests. Successful application of scratch test to investigate all kinds of materials such as polymers, metals, coatings, and composites are highly encouraged.

The exploration of surfaces, interfaces, nanostructures and thin films using:

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Guest Editors

Ming Liu, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350108 Fujian, China

Jianwei Zhang, School of Mechanics and Safety Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China

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