ISSN: 0090-3973
Page Count: 6

Analysis of the Size Effect in Low-Load Hardness Testing of Metals
Atkinson, M
Senior Lecturer, University of Wollongong, NSW

Abstract

Recent accounts of Vickers hardness tests in which the variation of hardness values with indentation size was suppressed by lubrication are re-examined to elucidate the nature of the size effect. It is shown that a simple constant error in either the measured indentation size or the force actually exerted would not explain the effect. A good description of the effect is obtained by reference to an indentation-size-dependent load error which is sensitive to both friction conditions and the plastic properties of the test material.

Keywords:
indentation, hardness, Vickers hardness, indentation size effect, load sensitivity, friction, lubrication, analysis

Paper ID: JTE12588J
DOI: 10.1520/JTE12588J
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