A Micromechanical Bending Stage for Studying Mechanical Properties of Materials Using Nanoindenter

An analytical and computational model of a novel bending stage is presented. The stage applies bending moments on micro/nanoscale beam specimens using a nanoindenter. In uniaxial tests, any flaw within the entire volume of the specimen may lead to fracture before material yields. The new stage minimizes the volume of material under a uniaxial state of stress in the specimen, but maximizes bending stress over a small volume such that high stresses can be reached within a small volume on the specimen without a premature failure by fracture. The analytical model of the stage accounts for the geometric nonlinearity of the sample, but assumes simplified boundary conditions. It predicts the deflection and stresses in the specimen beam upon loading. The numerical model of the stage and the specimen employing a finite element (FE) package tests the validity of the analytical model. Good agreement between analytical and numerical results shows that the assumptions in the analytical model are reasonable. Therefore, the analytical model can be used to optimize the design of the stage and the specimen. A design of the stage is presented that results in axial/bending stress < 2% in the sample. In order to test the feasibility of the proposed design, a 3D printed stage and a sample are fabricated using the Polyamide PA2200. Bending test is then carried out employing an indenter. Elastic modulus of PA2200 is extracted from the load-deflection data. The value matches closely with that reported in the literature.