Dynamics simulation of burnishing of a thin steel layer beneath an indenter applied with a constant force and then moving with a constant velocity was performed by the finite element method in the...

The operating characteristics of machine parts and units are defined in many respects by the physical and mechanical properties of their surface layers. Unfortunately, it is still not quite clear what parameters and mechanisms are responsible for one or another modification of surface layer properties. In this context, computer modeling techniques can be a useful tool in studying the variation of surface properties in contact interaction and run-in. Of fundamental importance is the possibility to consider the processes occurring on nanoscales and scales of individual atoms. In the work, loading conditions in plastic surface deformation was reproduced on the macroscale (traditional approach), atomic scale, and mesoscale by computer modeling with the finite element method, movable cellular automata method, and molecular dynamics method. The modeling results are in good qualitative agreement with data of experimental measurements.

It is well known that the final stage of macroscopic fracture develops as a catastrophe in a superfast blow-up mode. However, the specific features of this stage are well studied only on large scales...