Determination of mechanical properties of materials by using the instrumented indentation test within macro region.

Deviations of material properties from given values can be determined very well by the instrumented indentation test. Especially for slight differences, high differentiability and reproducibility are necessary. In this contribution the advantages of the instrumented indentation test compared to classical hardness testing methods are shown. It turned out that the procedure is material independent, suitable for automation and free of testers influence. A high reproducibility in temporal specimen loading leads to extremely accurate results. The instrumented indentation test both includes elastic and plastic material behaviour. Changes of the hardness from surface to the centre of a component can be realized by the hardness-indentation depth curve. Classical hardness test results as well as the characteristic values of tensile test can be estimated by instrumented indentation test.