A new study published in the journal Applied Physics Letters has revealed a surprising inconsistency in results from nanoindentation tests that use Berkovich indenters. Nanoindentation testing is a technique used to measure the hardness and elasticity of materials. It involves pressing a diamond-tipped diamond probe into a material sample to measure the indentation left behind. The Berkovich indenter is a three-sided diamond probe, which is thought to be the most precise indenter for measuring properties of materials.

However, the study has found that nanoindentation tests using Berkovich indenters can result in inaccurate values due to a lack of repeatability. This means that different tests using the same indenter can produce different results. This inconsistency is caused by the fact that the Berkovich indenter is sensitive to the angle of the surface it is being pressed against, which can lead to different results depending on the surface. This could have major implications for the accuracy of nanoindentation tests.

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source: Phys.org