New Approach of the Fundamental Relations Used in the Nano-Indentation Analysis

The instrumented indentation technique is being widely used for the determination of elasto-plastic properties of metallic materials by analyzing located atomic force microscopy (AFM) image area and loading-displacement data of indentation imprints after testing. This data analysis is highly dependent on the method followed for interpretation the loading and unloading curves. We have detailed the two common methods, the Oliver&Pharr method based on a power law and the energetic approach method based on finite elements, in order of understanding the nano-indentation unloading behavior to determine the closer hardness and Young’s modulus of metallic materials..