The introduction of controlled gradients in plastic properties is known to influence the resistance to damage and cracking at contact surfaces in many tribological applications. In order to assess potentially beneficial effects of plastic property gradients in tribological applications, it is essential first to develop a comprehensive and quantitative understanding of the effects of yield stren...

Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to model the dynamics of indentation and the resulting damage for a ( i i l ) surface of a (1 × 1) hydrogen terminated dmmond ttp interacting with the ( l i d surface of both a (I × 1) hydrogen terminated dmmond crystal and a non-hydrogen terminated dmmond crystal. In both cases, mdentation can result m a non-adhesive (~ e . elastic) or an adhesive ...

Indentation is a remarkably flexible mechanical test due to its relative experimental simplicity. Coupled with advances in instrument development, ease of implementation has made indentation a ubiquitous research tool for a number of different systems across size scales (nano to macro) and scientific/engineering disciplines. However, the exploration of different materials systems and the potent...

Load-depth curves of an unpoled Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) film composite as a function of temperature were measured by nanoindentation technique. Its reduce modulus and hardness were calculated by the typical Oliver-Pharr method. Then the true modulus and hardness of the PZT film were assessed by decoupling the influence of substrate using methods proposed by Zhou et al. and Korsunsky et al...

Atomic force microscope-(AFM-) based indentation tests were performed to examine mechanical properties of parallel singlecrystal silicon nanolines (SiNLs) of sub-100-nm line width, fabricated by a process combining electron-beam lithography and anisotropic wet etching. The SiNLs have straight and nearly atomically flat sidewalls, and the cross-section is almost perfectly rectangular with unifor...

This paper uses a new constitutive model developed recently by the authors to analyse the multi-phase transformations in mono-crystalline silicon when subjected to nano-indentation. The finite element method is employed to the integration of the stress–strain relationship. A very good agreement is reached with the experimental measurements, with an accurate prediction of the observed pop-in and...

The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyse the fracture toughness of yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) dental ceramics by means of the Vickers indentation technique. Fracture toughness was analysed under the following loads: 29.42 N, 49.03 N, 196.13 N, and 294.20 N. Cracks that had developed from the vertices of a Vickers indentation were measured and used ...

Mechanical properties and deformation of the vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays (VA-CNTs) has been examined with large-displacement indentation tests inside a scanning electronic microscope (SEM). The in-situ indentation allows for establishment of the load-depth responses and real-time observations of the deformation processes. Under a cylindrical, flat indenter, the VA-CNTs exhibit ela...

We introduce a novel method to correct for imperfect indenter geometry and frame compliance in instrumented indentation testing with a spherical indenter. Effective radii were measured directly from residual indentation marks at various contact depths (ratio of contact depth to indenter radius between 0.1 and 0.9) and were determined as a function of contact depth. Frame compliance was found to...

Multimillion-atom molecular dynamics simulation of indentation of nanocrystalline silicon carbide reveals unusual deformation mechanisms in brittle nanophase materials, resulting from the coexistence of brittle grains and soft amorphous grain boundary phases. Simulations predict a crossover from intergranular continuous deformation to intragrain discrete deformation at a critical indentation de...