The finite element method was used to determine whether load and depth sensing indentation with spherical indenters may be useful in the measurement of residual stresses in materials. The spherical indentation process for a wide range of elastic/ideal-plastic materials to which compressive and tensile biaxial stresses were applied was simulated using standard finite element techniques. The elastic moduli and yield stresses of the materials were varied systematically to model the behavior of a wide variety of metals and ceramics. Elastic-ideal-plastic materials were considered in the study with residual stress levels varied from zero up to the yield stress. All three indentation regimes - elastic, elastic-plastic, and plastic - were examined, with emphasis given to the elastic and the early part of the elastic-plastic regimes, where differences in the load-displacement characteristics caused by residual stress were found to have a significant effect. Systematic examination of the relationships among residual stress, contact pressure, and elastic recovery revealed a simple, measurable indentation parameter which correlates well with the residual stress. Using this parameter, an experimental technique is proposed by which residual stresses can be estimated from measurements of the load of an indentation in the elastic-plastic regime, the yield stress, and the elastic modulus of the material, all of which can be determined by load and depth sensing indentation methods. Based on a critical examination of the technique by finite element simulation, the technique appears promising.

Spherical indentation with continuous load and depth measurement is a useful technique for characterizing thin film mechanical properties. With this technique, the initial loading is in the elastic range. Therefore the elastic-plastic transition can be observed. However, the calibration of spherical indenters presents special problems. First, the radius of the indenter at the point of contact must be determined, and any deviation from a spherical radius must be evaluated. The shape of the indenter also causes mounting difficulties that can create a relatively large and nonlinear compliance in the testing machine. The calibration of spherical indenters is further complicated, because asperities on the indenter and surface roughness add to the uncertainty in locating the surface of the sample. In addition, spherical indenters are generally made of anisotropic single crystals, and the calculation of their elastic responses must include this anisotropy. To address these issues, a methodology has been developed for the calibration of spherical indenters, whereby indentation experiments are conducted on multiple ceramic materials in the elastic range. The method was used to determine the local radius of synthetic sapphire spherical indenters. The accuracy of this measurement was verified using confocal microscopy. The method was successfully applied to an indenter with a nonlinear machine compliance. Further results involving indentation in the plastic regime are also presented.

To investigate the fumdamentals of the behavior of the friction of surfaces, nanotribological experiments have been performed on coated systems with thin glass films (SiO2-structure) and bulk fused silica, increasing the load on a Berkovich indenter oriented in edge or face-forward direction, respectively. The results depend strongly on the normal load and the contact area. For interpreting these results a new method of data analysis is presented, which explains the load dependence of the friction coefficient comprehensively. Particular attention is also focused on the effect of adhesion forces between the moving pairs. The good agreement between theory and experiment and the reasonable values of the material parameters obtained by fitting prove the validity of the presented analytical model.