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An improved energy method for determining Young’s modulus by instrumented indentation using a Berkovich tip

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Abstract

We previously proposed a method for estimating Young’s modulus from instrumented nanoindentation data based on a model assuming that the indenter had a spherical-capped Berkovich geometry to take account of the bluntness effect. The method is now further improved by releasing the constraint on the tip shape, allowing it to have a much broader arbitrariness to range from a conical-tipped shape to a flat-ended shape, whereas the spherical-capped shape is just a special case in between. This method requires two parameters to specify a tip geometry, namely, a volume bluntness ratio Vr and a height bluntness ratio hr. A set of functional relationships correlating nominal hardness/reduced elastic modulus ratio (Hn/Er) and elastic work/total work ratio (We/W) were established based on dimensional analysis and finite element simulations, with each relationship specified by a set of Vr and hr. Young’s modulus of an indented material can be estimated from these relationships. The method was shown to be valid when applied to S45C carbon steel and 6061 aluminum alloy.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10672185, 10432050, and 10572142).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Academy of Armored Forces Engineering, Beijing, 100072, People’s Republic of China

    Dejun Ma

  2. Department of Applied Physics and Materials Research Center, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

    Chung Wo Ong

  3. Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics (LNM), Beijing, 100080, People’s Republic of China

    Taihua Zhang

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  1. Dejun Ma
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  2. Chung Wo Ong
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  3. Taihua Zhang
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Correspondence to Chung Wo Ong.

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Ma, D., Ong, C.W. & Zhang, T. An improved energy method for determining Young’s modulus by instrumented indentation using a Berkovich tip. Journal of Materials Research 23, 2106–2115 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2008.0257

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2008.0257

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