The Influence of the Degree of Tension and Compression of Aluminum on the Indentation Size Effect (ISE)

Abstract

The presented work deals with the relationship between the degree of cold plastic deformation (up to 84.5% in the tensile test and up to 83.5% in compression) and the parameters of the Indentation Size Effect (ISE). The tested material was 99.5% aluminum. Testers Hanemann (Carl Zeiss, Jena, Germany) and LECO 100 (LECO Corporation, St. Joseph, MI, USA), were used for the measurement of micro- and tester Agilent G200 (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA) for nano-hardness; which was used to determine the inhomogeneity of deformation. Applied loads in the micro-hardness test ranged between 0.09807 N to 0.9807 N. The influence of the load and degree of the on micro-hardness and at the same time on the ISE, expressed by Meyer’s index n is significant. The influence of the load on the parameters of ISE was also evaluated by Meyer’s index n, PSR method, and Hays–Kendall approach. In the undeformed sample, Meyer’s index is close to 2, with the increase in the degree of tensile deformation increasing its “normal” character (n < 2), and with the increase in the degree of compressive deformation increasing its “reverse” character (n > 2).