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Abstract
A numerical study on the indentation and scratch responses of epoxy (EP) and its composites using finite element modeling is presented. This work is motivated by previous experimental results [Citation1], which show that the addition of silica nanoparticles can obviously increase the hardness and modulus and improve the scratch-resistance of the EP matrix. Simulation results are compared with these experimental ones and show very close agreements. The modification mechanisms of the nanoparticles are also presented. Stress analysis demonstrates that the load transferring from matrix to particles is the direct strengthening mechanism.