Equivalent-energy indentation method to predict the tensile properties of light alloys

Abstract

The EIM (equivalent-energy indentation method) based on equivalent energy principle is proposed to determine the stress-strain relations of materials via spherical indentation. For various materials in power hardening law, plenty of finite element simulations were conducted to verify this novel method. The numerical verification shows the forward-predicted load-depth curves and the reverse-predicted stress-strain curves by EIM agree with the results from FEA (finite element analysis). For different light alloys, the stress-strain curves predicted by the method are consistent with the tensile results of the alloys. Additionally, a comparison between EIM and the existing ABI (automatic ball indentation) is conducted as well. Keywords: Spherical indentation, Equivalent-energy indentation method, Finite element analysis, Stress-strain relations