Determination of elastoplastic properties by instrumented sharp indentation

A general theoretical framework for instrumented sharp indentation is identified and a methodology that enables the determination of elastic and plastic properties of materials by employing instrumented sharp indentation is outlined. The outlined methodology not only provides unique correlations between penetration depth and true contact area for commercially available sharp indenters, but also circumvents the need for contact area measurement through visual observations while taking into account pile-up and sink-in. New results are also given on the equivalence between an energy approach and the displacement approach to indentation.