Contribution of the Nanoindentation to the Study of HCP Metals

Abstract

This study combines nanoindentation experiments, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) topographic measurements to investigate the material anisotropy contribution to the indentation behaviour of individual grains of various hexagonal-close packed (HCP) polycrystals with different axial ratio (zinc, magnesium and titanium). The grain size was much larger than the indents size to ensure quasi-single-crystal indentation and when, combined with an EBSD mapping, a wide variety of crystal orientations can be probed, which provides mechanical characterization of materials at the micro/nanoscale. Experimental curves can be used to determine the mechanical properties of the indented material. Furthermore, by using data issued from AFM topographic measurements, one can analyze the dislocations arrangements below and around the indentation print, and thus characterize the most probably activated deformation systems.