Nanoindentation Of Carbon Microspheres

The indentation behavior of carbon microspheres was examined The indentation load was in the range of 50 mu N to 500 mu N for the carbon microspheres with a diameter of similar to 5 mu m, and 15 mu N to 100 mu N for the carbon microspheres with a diameter of similar to 1 mu m. For the same ratio of the maximum indentation depth to the diameter of the carbon micro spheres, both the contact modulus and indentation hardness for the carbon microspheres with a diameter of similar to 5 mu m are larger than the corresponding values for the carbon micro spheres with a diameter of similar to 1 mu m. The carbon micro spheres of similar to 5 mu m in diameter exhibited a larger resistance to the mechanical deformation than the carbon micro spheres of similar to 1 mu m in diameter. The plastic energy dissipated in the nanoindentation increases with the increase of the indentation depth (load) and is a power function of the indentation depth.