• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.35-42
• /
• 2008

Instrumented sharp indentation test is a well-directed method to measure hardness and elastic modulus. The sharp indenter such as Berkovich and conical indenters have a geometrical self-similarity in theory, but the self-similarity ceases to work in practice due to inevitable indenter tip-blunting. In this study we analyzed the load-depth curves of conical indenter with finite tip-radius via finite element method. Using the numerical regression data obtained from Kick's law, we first confirmed that loading curvature is significantly affected by tip radius as well as material properties. We then established a new method to evaluate Young's modulus, which successfully provides the value of elastic modulus with an average error of less than 2%, regardless of tip-radius and material properties of both indenter and specimen.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.38 no.9
• /
• pp.943-951
• /
• 2014

The tip geometries of the pyramidal and conical indenters used for micro/nano-indentation tests are not sharp. They are inevitably rounded because of their manufacturability and wear. In many indentation studies, the tip geometries of the pyramidal indenters are simply assumed to be spherical, and the theoretical solution for spherical indentation is simply applied to the geometry at a shallow indentation depth. This assumption, however, has two problems. First, the accuracy of the theoretical solution depends on the material properties and indenter shape. Second, the actual shapes of pyramidal indenter tips are not perfectly spherical. Hence, we consider the effects of these two problems on indentation tests via finite element analysis. We first show the relationship between the Poisson's ratio and load-displacement curve for spherical indentation, and suggest improved solutions. Then, using a possible geometry for a Berkovich indenter tip, we analyze the characteristics of the load-displacement curve with respect to the indentation depth.