Effect of Experimental Variables on Nanomechanical Properties of PEK-C via AFM Indentation

In order to investigate the effects of the experimental variables of nanoindentation measurements on the nanomechanical properties of PEK-C, a wide range of indentation conditions, including peak force, loading velocity, and unloading velocity, were employed for PEK-C under different preparation conditions by the atomic force microscope based nanoindentation technique. The test results indicate that both the elastic modulus and hardness values decrease with the peak force increasing. The elastic modulus increases as the loading velocity increases. However, increasing unloading velocity leads to the decrease of the elastic modulus. The hardness exhibits a decrease with the loading velocity increasing and appears unloading velocity independent. What is more, the dispersion augments with the loading and unloading velocity increasing.