Mechanical property evaluation through sharp indentations in elastoplastic and fully plastic contact regimes

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Following the finite element simulations in our earlier work about the contact deformation regimes, mathematical formulations were derived to correlate hardness and the amount of pileup and sinking-in phenomena around sharp indenters with uniaxial mechanical properties. The formulations are applicable regardless of the deformation regime ruling the contact response of a strain-hardening solid. A methodology was devised where the use of these formulations in mechanical property assessments from indentation experiments was demonstrated. The current results make contact with existing methodologies using the II-theorem in functional analysis to extract uniaxial properties from instrumented indentation load depth of penetration curves. It is argued that since surface deformation is an essential feature of the contact response, it enters directly or indirectly in such existing methodologies. The paper considers how independent knowledge of surface deformation can be used to guide mechanical property assessments from load-depth of penetration curves. A discussion on the uniqueness of mechanical characterizations through indentation experiments is also provided.