The Martens Hardness (HM) is an important parameter characterising the elasticplastic properties of the to be investigated sample material which is derived from the instrumented indentation test. At present the standardisation of the instrumented indentation test in the framework of ISO/DIS 14577-1, -2, -3 is underway. This standard addresses the macro-, micro- and nanorange of the indentation test. The peculiarities of the nanoindentation test when measuring samples with thin coatings (coating thickness d < 2 µm) will be considered in ISO/CD 14577-4 for which inputs came from CEN TC 184/WG 5 and from the EU-project „INDICOAT“. Martens Hardness presents a number of advantages, but, as any newly defined method, requires a general analysis of influence quantities to determine the sensitivity coefficients necessary for the uncertainty evaluation. Indentation velocity was found to be one of the main influence quantities for Rockwell and Vickers scales, therefore its effect was evaluated in a previous work that indicated an effect much higher than expected. In that work some warning was given, because the analysis was based on the results obtained on a single Hardness Standard Machine, moreover based on a simple experimental plan that did not guarantee any separation of the effects of time and velocities. In the present work these drawbacks are overcome. The analysis is based on an experimental plan that takes into account the load increasing time, the velocity of the initial part of indentation and the velocity of the last part of indentation, that is for the Rockwell and the Vickers method the most important influence factor. Moreover, following the resolution adopted within the recent ISO TC 164/SC3 meeting during which Martens Hardness was extended to cover from nano to macro ranges, experiments are performed on each of these ranges and with different machines, delivering in that way more significant results.

Significant measurement differences occur in Rockwell B hardness (HRB) tests when using 1.588 mm diameter ball indenters made of steel and tungsten carbide (WC). In this paper, finite element analysis (FEA) is used to simulate the HRB indentation process using steel, tungsten carbide and rigid ball indenters on the same tested materials under the same testing conditions. The influence of the deformable indenters (made of steel and WC) on the HRB indentation is assessed by comparing their FEA results with those of a non-deformable rigid indenter. The deformations of both the indenters and tested materials during the loading and unloading period are analyzed. The effect of deformable ball indenters on HRB hardness measurement values is discussed and further verified by experiments.

The load/indentation depth method has received broad acceptance both in quality control and in research and product development for characterizing the mechanical behavior of thin coatings and also of small and smallest material areas. Continuous high-resolution recording of test load and indentation depth for the full test cycle (loading and unloading) is used in a variety of ways in particular for test loads in the microhardness range. Contributing factors to its acceptance were the greater information content of the measurement results, the operator-independent test procedure and the speedy standardization of the test method. However, until now, the use of the instrumented indentation test has been limited to relatively small specimens or required the supply of small samples. Extracting a sample leads to the destruction of the product, and the separate production of a sample requires additional expenditures and does not always ensure comparable properties. The computer-controlled Fischerscope® H100 Compakt (H100 C) opens entirely new areas of applications for efficient tests of materials and thin coatings both on small samples/micro components and on large specimens such as coated shafts, forming components, etc. Using selected examples, this paper reports about the capabilities of this new measurement technology for applications with small test loads and indentation depths as well as the use of the mobile measuring head H100SMC on large-area and compact specimens.

We have developed an heterodyne laser interferometer system to measure the indenter displacement of instrumented indentation at nano-/micro- ranges. The developed interferometer was applied to measure the displacement of an commercial type indentation tester. The interferometer system and the tester was set on the different anti-vibration systems. So the main difficulty of this measurement was how to got rid of the relative vibration effect. We designed the system as that the reference points of the system is set to the displacement measurement mirrors on the testers. The total stability of the displacement measurement system was about 10 nm in spite of the larger amplitude of the relative vibration, which is larger than the 1 mm. We can successfully measure the indenter displacement by using newly designed interferometer system and is compared the displacement signal obtained from the tester.

The form deviations of Rockwell diamond indenters can cause significant differences in Rockwell hardness readings. In order to control that effect, tolerances for form error deviations of Rockwell diamond indenters have been specified in both the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards. In this paper, experimental data on the effects of form deviations of Rockwell indenters are analyzed. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used to simulate the effect of form deviations on HRC readings. Theoretical analyses are verified by experimental results. Based on these results, as manufacturing and measurement techniques for Rockwell diamond indenters improve, it is suggested that a tighter tolerance be specified for the form deviations of Rockwell indenters used for calibrations of reference blocks.