Assessment of Material Properties by Means of the Small Punch Test

In recent years the small punch test (SPT) method has become an attractive alternative compared to traditional material testing procedures, especially in cases where only small amounts of material are available. We provide a literature review with focus on the history and application of the method. The main difficulty using the SPT is the fact that relevant material parameters cannot be as simply obtained by SPTs as by standard test methods, because of its non-uniform stress and deformation state. However, this can be achieved by comparing the experimental SPT results with those obtained by finite element computations of SPTs using advanced material models. Then the task is to determine the parameters of the material models using special optimization techniques. This paper presents SPT techniques for a broad temperature range. Work done on both ductile and brittle materials is presented. The analysis will focus on different advanced methods for determining parameters of state of the art material models for elastic-plastic, ductile damage and brittle failure behaviour. Results are provided for a weld line of a pressure gas pipe and brittle ceramic refractory materials.