Determining equi-biaxial residual stress and mechanical properties from the force-displacement curves of conical microindentation

An alternative, improved method to determine mechanical properties from indentation testing is presented. This method can determine the elastic modulus, yield strength and equi-biaxial residual stress from one simple test. Furthermore, the technique does not require the knowledge of the contact area during indentation, a parameter that is hard to determine for highly elastic material. The evaluation technique is based on finite element analyses, where explicit formulations are established to correlate the parameter groups governing indentation on stressed specimens.