Nanometric cutting mechanism of silicon carbide

Ductile to brittle transition is critical to achieve nanometric surfaces in the ultraprecision diamond cutting of silicon carbide. Although atomic simulations have long been used to better understand this mechanism, the extremely small model scale limits its capability in matching the actual cutting process. To overcome this serious issue, an enhanced molecular dynamics method is proposed in this study, which successfully predicts and clarifies the onset of brittle regime machining, and indicates the essential roles of dislocation and the shear band. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of this modelling approach.