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FischerScope_Microindentation.md 2.86 KiB

Microindentation with Fischerscope H100C

  • Open the airlock chamber lid of the glovebox
  • Put the sample into the airlock chamber of the glovebox and close the lid
  • Evacuate the airlock until |pressure|-1| bar is reached. Control the pressure inside the chamber with the vacuum gauge
  • Fill the chamber with Ar gas by pressing the "Fluten" button
  • Wait until the vacuum gauge shows the |pressure|0| bar
  • Repeat the refilling 3 times to achieve a sufficiently low residual oxygen content
  • Open the airlock chamber from the inside the glovebox and retrieve the sample
  • Place the sample on the indenter stage under the microscope objective. The sample is free standing, no glue is used for fixing the sample on the stage
  • Control the atmospheric conditions inside the glovebox using Siemens SIMATIC HMI monitor
  • The suitable conditions inside the glovebox for conducting the microindentation experiment are: |O content|0.3| ppm, |H2O content|0.1|, |dP range|+1.7-+2.3| mbar, |Temperature|18-19| C
  • Turn on the PC
  • Start the WIN-HCU software
  • The Vickers tip is pre-installed in the indenter and its shape is calibrated beforehand
  • Select the appropriate microscope magnification setting. The default setting is |magnification|40| x
  • In the microscope imaging mode, focus on the surface and find the area of interest
  • Define the measurement parameters for the indentation experiment: normal force, time until maximum load, hold time at maximum load and time for decreasing the load
  • Depending on the sample hardness and the investigated properties, an appropriate range of normal force might be between |normal force|0.4-1000| mN.
  • A typical loading duration until maximum load is reached is |time to maximum load|20| s
  • A typical duration for hold period under maximum load is |maximum load hold time|5| s. To investigate the materials creep properties, the period might be extended to |maximum load hold time|10| s
  • Select the number of the indents per each normal force
  • In the defined area of interest, select the positions for the indents while ensuring the appropriate spacing between them
  • Start the experiment
  • The indenter continuously measures indentation depth during the entire loading cycle
  • Observe the recorded load-displacement curve
  • After the experiment, compute the material properties using the WIN-HCU Software
  • If needed, switch to the microscope imaging mode, find the new area of interest and conduct further measurements
  • After all the measurements were completed, save the data files with indentation curves to the local storage
  • From the inside the glovebox, remove the sample from the indenter stage and place it in the airlock chamber
  • Close the lid of the airlock chamber from the inside of the glovebox
  • Open the lid of the airlock chamber from the outside
  • Remove the sample from the airlock chamber

Author: Hanna Tsybenko, IMD-1, FZJ