Fracture toughness measurements by nanoindentation
Nanoindentation has emerged as an effective method for measuring fracture toughness, particularly in small-scale or thin-film materials. By applying force to create controlled cracks and analyzing the resulting patterns, it allows toughness calculations in samples where traditional methods aren’t applicable, such as thin films and coatings.
Fracture toughness KIC, is a material’s ability to resist the propagation of cracks, a fundamental property for the design and reliability of structural materials. Conventional techniques for measuring fracture toughness often require large sample sizes and can be time-consuming and expensive. As material science increasingly explores micro- and nanoscale structures, traditional methods become impractical. Nanoindentation has gained prominence as a powerful technique for evaluating mechanical properties at these scales, including hardness, elastic modulus, and fracture toughness.
The principle of nanoindentation involves pressing a hard indenter tip into a material’s surface in order to measure hardness and elastic modulus. A derived method proposes to optically analyze crack patterns generated around the indentation imprint to quantitatively determine fracture toughness. This method has found applications in diverse fields, from thin-film coatings to complex sample geometries, especially where traditional fracture toughness methods are not feasible. This application report discusses the nanoindentation process for measuring fracture toughness and provide basic information to help understand the method.
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