Unveiling the deformation behaviors of single-crystal LuVO4 using nanoindentation and finite element analysis

• The mechanical responses of single-crystal LuVO 4 are investigated by nanoindentation and finite element method. • The nanoindentation-induced deformation area is observed by using SEM. • The dislocation loops in single-crystal LuVO 4 is estimated by classical dislocation theory. • FEM results are excellent agreed with the nanoindentation experimental shear stress to within an error of only about 4.2%. In this study, the mechanical responses of single-crystal LuVO 4 are investigated by means of nanoindentation technique and finite element method (FEM). The experimental results evidently showed the characteristic features of randomly distributed multiple “pop-in” events in the loading segment of the load-displacement curves, which are often attributed to the nucleation of dislocations and the formation of micro-crack. The hardness and Young’s modulus of single-crystal LuVO 4 obtained by using the continuous contact stiffness measurements are about 11 GPa and 190 GPa, respectively. Furthermore, FEM simulations successfully replicate most of the essential features of the nanoindentation experiments and the derived shear stresses being deviated from the experimental results only by about 4.2%.