Search results for "Nanoindentation"
showing 4 items of 54 documents
Viscoelastic recovery behavior following Atomic Force Microscope nanoindentation of semi-crystalline poly(ethylene)
2007
The residual imprint left behind by the AFM nanoindentation of polymers has been seldom studied in the past. In this work, the evolution of indentations at room temperature performed on a semicrystalline poly- (ethylene) in a broad range of experimental conditions is presented. The study shows that the recovery after 24 h is substantial, although not complete. Moreover, the dynamics of the recovery process is not seen to depend on the magnitude of the applied load for the nanoindentation, but instead on the rate of the indentation used. This points out that viscoelastic processes are minimized when performing fast nanoindentations, while at low loading rates there seems to be a residual vis…
Modification of the Structure and Nano-Mechanical Properties of LiF Crystals Under Irradiation with Swift Heavy Ions
2011
The modifications of the structure and hardness of LiF crystals under high-fluence irradiation with MeV- and GeV-energy Au ions have been studied using nanoindentation and atomic force microscopy. The formation of ion-induced dislocations and bulk nanostructures consisting of grains with nanoscale dimensions (50 nm - 100 nm) has been observed. The structural modifications are accompanied by a strong ion-induced hardening which is related to dislocation impeding by assemblies of defect aggregates, dislocation loops of vacancy and interstitial types and grain boundaries. For MeV ions, the modifications are localized in a thin surface layer (few mm) where much higher density of deposited energ…
Nanoscale mechanical characterization of polymers by atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentations: Viscoelastic characterization on a model material
2009
The Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), apart form its conventional use as a microscope, is also used for the characterization of the local mechanical properties of polymers. In fact, the elastic characterization of purely elastic materials using this instrument can be considered as a well assessed technique while the challenge remains the characterization of the viscoelastic mechanical properties. In particular, one finds the mechanical behavior changing when performing indentations at different loading rates, i.e., on different time scales. Moreover, this apparent viscoelastic behavior can also be due to complex contact mechanics phenomena, with the onset of plasticity and long-term viscoelast…
Local mechanical properties by Atomic Force Microscopy nanoindentations
2008
The analysis of mechanical properties on a nanometer scale is a useful tool for combining information concerning texture organization obtained by microscopy with the properties of individual components- Moreover, this technique promotes the understanding of the hierarchical arrangement in complex natural materials as well in the case of simpler morphologies arising from industrial processes. Atomic Force Microscopy, AFM, can bridge morphological information, obtained with outstanding resolution, to local mechanical properties. When performing an AFM nanoindentation, the rough force curve, i.e., the plot of the voltage output from the photodiode vs. the voltage applied to the piezo-scanner, …