No need to be an expert. Refer our practicum and start using it.
The NanoGuru is designed and developed based on a technology which helps the user to study material science at nanoscale, such that they can engineer better material for future need. This process will emphasise on three aspects of knowledge: Technology, Science and Engineering. The teaching modules are designed such that each module will enhance the necessary STEM skills of the user such as technical skill, experimental skill, analytical skill, problem solving skill. Thus, making them more technology ready for future need of industry.
Practicum one introduces the basics of Instrumentation and measurement principles of a given system (in this case we will refer system as NanoGuru ). Where they will learn the following concepts.
This module mainly will enhance the technical skill of the user in how to handle any instrument before they really start using it.
Practicum two introduces the Technology (Nanoindentation) which helps the user to characterize mechanical properties of known material at nanoscale. Where they will learn the following concepts.
This module mainly will enhance the Experimental and analytical skill of the user in how to set up an experiment and how to extract the mechanical property data from the obtained raw data.
Practicum three emphasise on how to use Technology (Nanoindentation) to apply it to science at nanoscale for a single-phase material. This module helps the user to study how the manufacturing processes will affect the characteristic properties of a known material. Where they will learn the following concepts.
This module mainly will enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skill of the user in how to optimize test condition and how to interpret obtained data as a function of atomic structure of the given sample (scientific analysis)
Practicum three emphasise on how to use Technology (Nanoindentation) to apply it to science at nanoscale for a Multi-phase material. This module helps the user to study the effect of multiple phase on the overall properties of a known material. Where they will learn the following concepts.
This module mainly will enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skill of the user in how to engineer a material with better properties with the concept of microstructure- property relationship. (Better Engineering).
Study of mechanical properties of materials in nanometer scale.
Its important to learn about what's happening at nanoscale and also to extract mechanical properties such as hardness and modulus at nanoscale. The properties vary with respect to different nano phases which are in a bulk nanostructured material. Nanomechanics is the field of technology which involves force in the order of nano newtons or displacement in the order of nano meters. All the displacements and forces which have been incurred by a particular phase in a nanostructured material can be precisely measured in nanoscale range.
Nanoindenter is a device to apply very small force in a very controlled way. The diamond indenter is pushed in to a specimen and withdrawn it from the specimen. What makes it different from the normal hardness tester is that the the displacement is measured while doing indentation, so that force-displacement curve is obtained, which gives the mechanical properties of the materials such as hardness and modulus. The nanoindenter system can be used as compression testing system to measure force and displacement ratio on a compression specimen in nanoscale.
Nanoindentation was developed as a tool for measuring mechanical properties of small microelectronic and MEMS structures. Nanoindentation data analysis was built into commercial instruments based on elastic-plastic contact mechanics and a new era of high throughput mechanical characterization ensued. Hardness and modulus are calculated from the unloading data.
Dynamic Stiffness Measurement, Which is also called Continuous stiffness measurement is a technique that can be accomplished with nanoindenters. A small sinusoidal dynamic force of known amplitude and frequency is superimposed on the the quasi-static force and the resulting dynamic displacement amplitude and the phase shift between the force and displacement at the same frequency is measured using a lock-in amplifier. When the material is elastic the displacement oscillation is exactly in phase with the load oscillation and if the material is Visco-elastic, the displacement oscillation will be phase shifted relative to the force oscillation.
Both dynamic and quasi-static force is generated by electrostatic actuation and therefore they are coupled. Storage modulus E' , Loss modulus E" and Tan delta for Visco-elastic materials can be calculated. Tan delta is the ratio of the loss modulus to the storage modulus.
Mechanical testing tells about how the samples response when a force is applied to the sample or when it was squeezed, compressed, elongated/sheared. The reason why the nanoscale testing is focused in micro-mechanics is because of the lateral resolution issues. The samples may be in-homogeneous and so the overall property is to be studied, in this case larger scale testing technique is required. Mechanical properties can be batched into two categories; Quasistatic and Dynamic properties. Elastic modulus, Young's modulus, fracture toughness, hardness etc come under quasistatic properties. Time dependent visco-elastic properties such as loss modulus, storage modulus, tan delta etc are known as dynamic material properties. Dynamic testing tells the properties as a function of time or as a function of frequency. Long duration experiments like creep or stress relaxation can be performed with dynamic testing methodology
Testing possibilities of wide range of materials at its superior quality and precision.
Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are preferred for several industrial applications as they posses a unique combination of superior properties. The chemical inertness, impervious structure and remarkable biocompatibility made DLC an excellent choice for biomedical applications. Coating vascular stents is one of the high-end applications of diamond-like carbon (DLC) in medicine.
DLC coatings were prepared on titanium (Ti) substrate using dedicated semi-industrial, radio-frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) system. In-situ cleaning is done using argon plasma and silicon based pre-layer is given for improving the adhesion of the carbon layer onto the substrate. The carbon coating formed at optimum conditions has been confirmed tobe "hydrogenated diamond-like carbon" (a-C:H) in which nearly 20% tetrahedral (sp3) carbon is present.
Nanomechanical instrument was used to study the mechanical properties of glass samples; three 3D printed glass samples and one standard glass. Samples are bulk in nature. The properties were compared at the surface of each sample.
Force and displacement of the indenter probe were measured continuously throughout the experiment and linear extrapolation methods (ISO standard 14577) were used for the unloading curve between 95% and 20% of the maximum test force for each cycle to calculate the mechanical properties, and this method assumes that the first portion of the unloading curve is linear and extrapolates that linear portion to intersect the displacement axis.
Nanoindenter instrument was used to study the nanomechanical properties of the LGS and LS2 samples. Quasistatic nanoindentation was used to study the hardness and modulus at the nanoscale of the above mentioned samples. The comparative analysis of the mechanical properties of the investigated samples based on the results obtained from chosen experimental method is presented here. In-situ SPM imaging feature allows to perform surface imaging with the same tip as the mechanical test is performed. It gave the capability for the precise positioning of the indenter to the region of interest on the sample surface for the present investigations. Further to that, it also allowed to observe the surface deformation after the nanomechanical test, providing additional information about material’s mechanical response.
High Strength Interstitial Free (HIF) steels were designed to provide an excellent combination of drawability and mechanical strength based on their specific interstitial free metallurgy. The microstructure of HIF steel consists of ferritic matrix, which is free from interstitials and thereby non-ageing. These steels are characterized by high formability.
HIF steels are being extensively used for the fabrication of outer autobody components. With in-situ SPM imaging and positioning capability, the indents were able to place at different grains.
Dual Phase (DP) steels are one of the important new Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) developed for the automotive industry. Their microstructure typically consists of soft ferrite phase with dispersed islands of hard martensitic phase. The martensite phase is substantially stronger than the ferrite phase.
Load controlled indents were performed on the DP780 sample with a Berkovich Diamond probe. With the help of in-situ SPM imaging, various features on the sample surface were able to distinguish and site specific execution of experiments were not a difficult task.
Nanomechanical testing instrument NanoGuru was used to study the mechanical properties of Friction Stir Welded (FSW) steel sample. Nanoindentation experiments and wear tests were performed on nugget region, base metal region and HAZ region of the FSW sample. The in-situ Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) imaging facility was used for the precise positioning of the indenter before the test and for the pre and post experimental imaging of the sample topography.
Experiment results from the simplest nanoindentation system in the world.
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