Densification effects on the fracture in fused silica under Vickers indentation

This study investigates the effects of densification on the deformation and fracture in fused silica under Vickers indentation by both the finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental tests. A refined elliptical constitutive model was used, which enables us to investigate the effects of the evolution of yield stress under pure shear and elastic properties with densification. The densification distribution was predicted and compared with experiments. The plastic deformation and indentation stress fields were used to analyze the initiation and morphology of various crack types. The formation mechanism of borderline cracks was revealed for the first time. This study reveals that the asymmetry of the densification distribution and elastic-plastic boundary significantly influences the cracking behavior. Under the Vickers indentation, conical cracks have the largest penetration depth. When these cracks emerge from a region far from the impression, they extend with constant radii to form circles on the sample surface. Otherwise, they tend to be initiated at the centers of the indenter-material contact edges before propagating towards the impression corners with increasing radii. Therefore, the borderline cracks consisting of successive partial conical cracks can form at a low load and makes them the first type of crack to appear.