Multiscale simulations of nanoindentation and nanoscratch of single crystal copper

► A multiscale method is employed to study nanoindentation and nanoscratch processes of single crystal copper film. ► Load-depth curves obtained from both multiscale and full MD simulations match each other reasonably well. ► Indentation velocity has a great effect on the load-depth curve and hardness of single crystal copper film. ► The system size can be greatly expanded using the multiscale method without increasing computational cost.