Indentation and Hardness of Materials: An Inherently Multiscale-Dependent Problem

The method of indentation of an indenter into a material or substrate is widely utilized to characterize one of the mechanical properties of a material, namely hardness. This method is performed on different scales of indenting force, indenter size/dimensions, and size/dimensions of the indented mat...

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Main Authors: Luo Li, Tariq Khraishi, Yu-Lin Shen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Metals
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/3/265
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author Luo Li
Tariq Khraishi
Yu-Lin Shen
author_facet Luo Li
Tariq Khraishi
Yu-Lin Shen
author_sort Luo Li
collection DOAJ
description The method of indentation of an indenter into a material or substrate is widely utilized to characterize one of the mechanical properties of a material, namely hardness. This method is performed on different scales of indenting force, indenter size/dimensions, and size/dimensions of the indented material/substrate. The different scales do not always yield the same hardness output or reading due to material length scales. One of the length scales in a material is related to its heterogeneity, such as in reinforcing particles or second phases. This work performs 3D non-linear finite element analysis using a purely elastic indenter on a composite material. In addition to the scales above that could affect the results, the parameters of particle size, shape, spacing, and volume fraction are all shown to affect the hardness readout in the current work. One of our new findings is that the length scale effect is more phenomenal, especially at scales when the size of the indenter is comparable to any characteristic length in the material beneath the indented surface.
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spelling doaj-art-d838b3a2b1c64f079f35d67cca78628d2025-08-20T02:42:27ZengMDPI AGMetals2075-47012025-02-0115326510.3390/met15030265Indentation and Hardness of Materials: An Inherently Multiscale-Dependent ProblemLuo Li0Tariq Khraishi1Yu-Lin Shen2Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USAThe method of indentation of an indenter into a material or substrate is widely utilized to characterize one of the mechanical properties of a material, namely hardness. This method is performed on different scales of indenting force, indenter size/dimensions, and size/dimensions of the indented material/substrate. The different scales do not always yield the same hardness output or reading due to material length scales. One of the length scales in a material is related to its heterogeneity, such as in reinforcing particles or second phases. This work performs 3D non-linear finite element analysis using a purely elastic indenter on a composite material. In addition to the scales above that could affect the results, the parameters of particle size, shape, spacing, and volume fraction are all shown to affect the hardness readout in the current work. One of our new findings is that the length scale effect is more phenomenal, especially at scales when the size of the indenter is comparable to any characteristic length in the material beneath the indented surface.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/3/265indentation tests3D FEAcomposite materialsmaterial length scales
spellingShingle Luo Li
Tariq Khraishi
Yu-Lin Shen
Indentation and Hardness of Materials: An Inherently Multiscale-Dependent Problem
Metals
indentation tests
3D FEA
composite materials
material length scales
title Indentation and Hardness of Materials: An Inherently Multiscale-Dependent Problem
title_full Indentation and Hardness of Materials: An Inherently Multiscale-Dependent Problem
title_fullStr Indentation and Hardness of Materials: An Inherently Multiscale-Dependent Problem
title_full_unstemmed Indentation and Hardness of Materials: An Inherently Multiscale-Dependent Problem
title_short Indentation and Hardness of Materials: An Inherently Multiscale-Dependent Problem
title_sort indentation and hardness of materials an inherently multiscale dependent problem
topic indentation tests
3D FEA
composite materials
material length scales
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/3/265
work_keys_str_mv AT luoli indentationandhardnessofmaterialsaninherentlymultiscaledependentproblem
AT tariqkhraishi indentationandhardnessofmaterialsaninherentlymultiscaledependentproblem
AT yulinshen indentationandhardnessofmaterialsaninherentlymultiscaledependentproblem