Analytic relations for two-dimensional indentations with surface tension

Abstract

Surface tension plays a significant role in micro- and nanoindentation tests. Based on the solution of a concentrated force acting on an elastic half-plane with surface tension, the two-dimensional indentations of an elastic half-plane by a cylindrical indenter, a wedge indenter and a flat-ended indenter are formulated, and by employing the Gauss–Chebyshev quadrature formula, the corresponding singular integral equations are numerically solved. For each indentation, the analytic solutions of two limit cases considering only bulk elasticity or surface tension are derived. Then through simple combinations of the results of two limit cases, the analytic relations between load and contact half-width or indent depth are formulated for the general case, and compared with the numerical results. The analytic relations established in this paper facilitate better characterization of mechanical properties of materials by micro/nanoindentation tests.