A New Method Developed for Brittle and Ductile Materials to Evaluate Mechanical Properties of a Lump Specimen in the Use of Indentation Test

Abstract

In this study, the load-depth (P‐h) relationships matching the experimental results of the nanoindentation tests exhibited at the subregions of small and large depths are obtained, respectively. The relationships associated with these two subregions are then linked by the hyperbolic logarithm function to attain a single expression that is applied in the evaluation of the specimen’s elastic recovery ability, as shown in the unloading process. A new method is developed in the present study to evaluate both Young’s modulus and the yield strength of either a ductile or brittle material through the uses of the appropriate P‐h relationships developed in the load and unloading processes. The results of the Young’s modulus and the yield strength achieved by the present method are compared to those obtained from the conventional material tests for a lump material. The scattering of the experimental data shown in the loading and unloading processes are also interpreted by different causes.