Finite element analysis of indentation experiments in surface-coated materials

There are only a few methods suitable for a quantitative characterization of the mechanical properties of surface coated materials; indentation testing is one of those methods. Within the last decade, a great deal of effort has been made to improve the indentation test and to gather information on the complete deformation process from experimental and numerical investigations. Following this line, this contribution concentrates on the numerical calculation of the elastic-plastic field of deformation in the specimen during the indentation process and the corresponding load-depth of indentation curves in dependence on the dominating parameters. The basic idea is to determine the influence of geometrical imperfections of the indentor on the - experimentally obtained - mechanical properties such as hardness and to provide methods which enable one to distinguish between properties of .the system used for testing and the material investigated. Results obtained for uncoated and coated materia ls are compared.