Indenter

The Computation of Polymeric Material s Viscoelastic Properties by Dynamic Indentation Method. 

The paper discusses the application of dynamic indentation method and apparatus for the evaluation of viscoelastic properties of polymeric materials. The three-element model of viscoelastic material has been used to calculate the rigidity and the viscosity. Using a measurements of the indentation as a function of a current velocity change on impact with the material under test, the contact force and the displacement diagrams as a function of time are plotted. Experimental results of the testing of polyvinyl chloride cable coating by dynamic indentation method and data of the static tensile test are presented. 

The radiation and temperature dependent mechanical properties of viscoelastic materials (modulus and loss) are of great interest throughout the plastics, polymer, and rubber from initial design to routine production. There are a number of laboratory research instruments are available to determine these properties. All these hardness tests conducted on polymeric materials involve the penetration of the sample under consideration by loaded spheres or other geometric shapes [1]. Most of these tests are to some extent arbitrary because the penetration of an indenter into viscoelastic material increases with time. For example, standard durometer test (the "Shore A") is widely used to measure the static "hardness" or resistance to indentation. However, it does not measure basic material properties, and its results depend on the specimen geometry (it is difficult to make available the identity of the initial position of the devices on cylinder or spherical surfaces while measuring) and test conditions, and some arbitrary time must be selected to compare different materials. 

More informative and precision instruments are devices based on the dynamic methods of indentation. The impedance of a vibrating probe perturbing the medium is related to the... 

After obtaining a set of fitted velocity versus time data for a particular test specimen, we can extract the contact force and depth of indentation by mathematical operations. The differentiation of the indenter velocity gives the equation for contact force while impact ... 

Figure 2 shows a typical example of the row data measured by this method The data exhibit a classic curves, namely velocity, contact force and depth of the indenter intrusion, obtained on polyvinyl chloride sample. 

Fig. 2 Typical depth indentation (1), indenter velocity (2), contact force (3) curves obtained on polyvinyl cWoride sample.

Fig. 3. The dependence of contact force versus depth of indentation.

The point t, on the abscissa denotes the end of the active stage of the impact, or time of the indenter intrusion The break of the contact of indenter with material tested is designated by Xk Analyzing the curves V(t), a(t) and F(t), it is seen that the maximum of the contact force does not coincide in time with the moment of achievement of the maximum intrusion and zero... 

Obtained results allow to conclude that the dynamic indentation method can be applied to periodical express evaluation of polymeric material state being exposured to the radiation or temperature aging on purpose to early diagnostic of products to avoid emergency situations. 

The technological importance of thin films in snch areas as semicondnctor devices and sensors has led to a demand for mechanical property infonnation for these systems. Measuring the elastic modnlns for thin films is mnch harder than the corresponding measurement for bnlk samples, since the results obtained by traditional indentation methods are strongly perturbed by the properties of the substrate material. Additionally, the behaviour of the film under conditions of low load, which is necessary for the measnrement of thin-film properties, is strongly inflnenced by surface forces [75]. Since the force microscope is both sensitive to surface forces and has extremely high depth resolntion, it shows considerable promise as a teclnhqne for the mechanical characterization of thin films. 

A first step towards a systematic improvement over DFT in a local region is the method of Aberenkov et al [189]. who calculated a correlated wavefiinction embedded in a DFT host. However, this is achieved using an analytic embedding potential fiinction fitted to DFT results on an indented crystal. One must be cautious using a bare indented crystal to represent the surroundings, since the density at the surface of the indented crystal will have inappropriate Friedel oscillations inside and decay behaviour at the indented surface not present in the real crystal. 

Vapours which can be readily condensed e.g., chloroform, aniline, nitro-benzene, etc.) are readily detected by the device shown in Fig. 5 i(b). It is essentially a cold finger with a deep indentation or weU at the lower end. In this way two or three drops of liquid can easily be collected and removed by a capillary tube for qualitative tests. 

Indentations may be made, if desired, in the lower portion of the column, but this is usually unnecessary. For packing of i" size (and occasionally for the size), two or three cylinders of the same material as the smaller size will be found to provide a suitable support. 

In discussions of the surface properties of solids having a large specific surface, it is convenient to distinguish between the external and the internal surface. The walls of pores such as those denoted by heavy lines in Fig. 1.8 and 1.11 clearly comprise an internal surface and equally obviously the surface indicated by lightly drawn lines is external in nature. In many cases, however, the distinction is not so clear, for the surfaces of the primary particles themselves suffer from imperfections in the forms of cracks and fissures those that penetrate deeply into the interior will contribute to the internal surface, whereas the superficial cracks and indentations will make up part of the external surface. The line of demarcation between the two kinds of surface necessarily has to be drawn in an arbitrary way, but the external surface may perhaps be taken to include all the prominences and all of those cracks which are wider than they are deep.,The internal surface will... 

When it is desired to evaluate the specific surfaces of a set of closely related samples of solid, however, only one of the samples needs to be calibrated against nitrogen (or argon), provided that all the isotherms of the alternative adsorptive can be shown to have indentical shape. A simple device for testing this identity, by use of the a,-plot, is described in Section 2.13 by means of the a,-plot it is also possible to proceed directly to calculation of the specific surface without having to assign a value to or to evaluate the BET monolayer capacity, of the alternative adsorptive. 

Knoop developed an accepted method of measuring abrasive hardness using a diamond indenter of pyramidal shape and forcing it into the material to be evaluated with a fixed, often 100-g, load. The depth of penetration is then determined from the length and width of the indentation produced. Unlike WoodeU s method, Knoop values are static and primarily measure resistance to plastic flow and surface deformation. Variables such as load, temperature, and environment, which affect determination of hardness by the Knoop procedure, have been examined in detail (9). 

Testing. Chemical analyses are done on all manufactured abrasives, as well as physical tests such as sieve analyses, specific gravity, impact strength, and loose poured density (a rough measure of particle shape). Special abrasives such as sintered sol—gel aluminas require more sophisticated tests such as electron microscope measurement of a-alumina crystal si2e, and indentation microhardness. 

Hardness. The resistance of a fabricated mbber article to indentation, ie, hardness, is influenced by the amount and shape of its fillers. High loadings increase hardness. Fillers in the form of platelets or flakes, such as clays or mica, impart greater hardness to elastomers than other particle shapes at equivalent loadings. 

Hardness. Glass hardness tests usually measure the resistance to abrasion by grinding or grit-blasting, resistance to scratching, or penetration by an indenter. The method to be used depends on expected service conditions. Knoop hardness (Table 4) is commonly used, because other methods usually fracture the glass. 

Hardness is a measure of a material s resistance to deformation. In this article hardness is taken to be the measure of a material s resistance to indentation by a tool or indenter harder than itself This seems a relatively simple concept until mathematical analysis is attempted the elastic, plastic, and elastic recovery properties of a material are involved, making the relationship quite complex. Further complications are introduced by variations in elastic modulus and frictional coefficients. 

A hardness indentation causes both elastic and plastic deformations which activate certain strengthening mechanisms in metals. Dislocations created by the deformation result in strain hardening of metals. Thus the indentation hardness test, which is a measure of resistance to deformation, is affected by the rate of strain hardening. 

Anisotropy in metals and composite materials is common as a result of manufacturing history. Anisotropic materials often display significantly different results when tested along different planes. This appHes to indentation hardness tests as well as any other test. 

Many types of hardness tests have been devised. The most common in use are the static indentation tests, eg, Brinell, Rockwell, and Vickers. Dynamic hardness tests involve the elastic response or rebound of a dropped indenter, eg, Scleroscope (Table 1). The approximate relationships among the various hardness tests are given in Table 2. 

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