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An improved long-term nanoindentation creep testing approach for studying the local deformation processes in nanocrystalline metals at room and elevated temperatures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2013

Verena Maier*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute 1: General Materials Properties, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Benoit Merle
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute 1: General Materials Properties, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Mathias Göken
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute 1: General Materials Properties, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Karsten Durst
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute 1: General Materials Properties, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The strain-rate sensitivity of ultrafine-grained aluminum (Al) and nanocrystalline nickel (Ni) is studied with an improved nanoindentation creep method. Using the dynamic contact stiffness thermal drift influences can be minimized and reliable creep data can be obtained from nanoindentation creep experiments even at enhanced temperatures and up to 10 h. For face-centered cubic (fcc) metals it was found that the creep behavior is strongly influenced by the microstructure, as nanocrystalline (nc) as well as ultrafine-grained (ufg) samples show lower stress exponents when compared with their coarse-grained (cg) counterparts. The indentation creep behavior resembles a power-law behavior with stress exponents n being ∼ 20 at room temperature. For higher temperatures the stress exponents of ufg-Al and nc-Ni decrease down to n ∼ 5. These locally determined stress exponents are similar to the macroscopic exponents, indicating that similar deformation mechanisms are acting during indentation and macroscopic deformation. Grain boundary sliding found around the residual indentations is related to the motion of unconstrained surface grains.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2013 

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References

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