Key Publications

NanoTest systems have been used in a wide range of applications for the past 30 years. Below is a list of selected publications grouped into the relevant nano or micro-mechanical test technique primarily used for the study. This is just a small selection of publications – if you can’t find anything relevant to your field of study, or you’re looking for something different, please let us know.

Want to add a publication to this list? Contact Micro Materials with your suggestions.

Nanoindentation

Incipient plasticity in tungsten during nanoindentation: Dependence on surface roughness, probe radius and crystal orientation, B.D. Beake, S. Goel, International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials, 75 (2018) 63-69.

Analysis of In Situ Mechanical Properties of Phases in High-Alloyed White Iron Measured by Grid Nanoindentation, L Chen, J-E Stahl, and J Zhou, JMEPEG (2015) 24:4022–4031.

Probing polymer chain constraint and synergistic effects in nylon 6-clay nanocomposites and nylon 6-silica flake sub-micro composites with nanomechanics, J. Chen, B.D. Beake, G.A. Bell, Y. Tait and F. Gao, in Nanocomposites 1 (2015) 185-194.

Autonomous self-healing structural composites with bio-inspired design, E. D’Elia, S. Eslava, M. Miranda, T.K. Georgiou & E. Saiz, Sci. Rep. 6:25059. DOI: 10.1038/srep25059.

Characterization of ion beam irradiated 304 stainless steel utilizing nanoindentation and Laue microdiffraction, A. Lupinacci and co-workers, J Nuclear Materials, 458 (2015) 70.

Nanomechanical study of thin film nanocomposite and PVD thin films on polymer substrates for optical applications J. Moghal, A. Bird, A.J. Harris, B.D. Beake, M. Gardener and G. Wakefield, J Phys D: Appl Phys 46 (2013) 485303.

Nanomechanical properties of graphene on poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate, J Chen, X Guo, Quan Tang, C Zhuang, J Liu, S Wu, BD Beake, Carbon 55 (2013) 144.

Characterization of fibre/matrix interfaces in carbon/carbon composites, M. Rollin, S. Jouannigot, J. Lamon, R. Pailler, Composites Science and Technology 69 (2009) 1442–1446.

Nanomechanical and nanotribological testing of ultra-thin carbon-based and MoST films for increased MEMS durability BD Beake, SR Goodes and B Shi, J Phys D: Appl Phys 42 (2009) 065301.

Modelling indentation creep of polymers: a phenomenological approach, BD Beake, J Phys D: Appl Phys 39 (2006) 4478.

Nano-scratch/wear

Statistically distributed nano-scratch testing of AlFeMnNb, AlFeMnNi and  TiN/Si3Nthin films on silicon BD Beake et al JVST:A Vol 42, Issue 1 (2024)

Nano-scratch testing of (Ti,Fe)Nx thin films on silicon BD Beake, VM Vishnyakov, AJ Harris, Surf Coat Technol 309 (2017) 671-679.

Structure–property relationships in a CoCrMo alloy at micro and nano-scale, R. Ahmed, H.L. deVilliers Lovelock, N.H.Faisal, S.Davies, Tribology International 80 (2014) 98–114.

Single asperity nano-scratch behaviour of HIPed and cast Stellite 6 alloys, R. Ahmed et al, Wear 312 (2014) 70-82.

Review of recent progress in nanoscratch testing BD Beake, AJ Harris and TW Liskiewicz, Tribology 7 (2013) 87.

Investigation of the mechanical properties of aluminium oxide thin films on polymer substrates by a combination of fragmentation and scratch testing, Jonathan Moghal, Helene Suttle, Andrew G. Cook, Chris R.M. Grovenor, Hazel E. Assender, Surface & Coatings Technology, 206 (2012) 3309–3315

Nanomechanical and nanotribological testing of ultra-thin carbon-based and MoST films for increased MEMS durability BD Beake, SR Goodes and B Shi, J Phys D: Appl Phys 42 (2009) 065301.

An investigation into which factors control the nanotribological behaviour of thin sputtered carbon films B Shi, JL Sullivan and BD Beake, J Phys D: Appl Phys 41 (2008) 045303.

Relationship between mechanical properties of thin nitride-based films and their behaviour in nano-scratch tests BD Beake, VM Vishnyakov and AJ Harris, Tribology International 44 (2011) 468.

Nanoscratch and nanowear testing of TiN coatings on M42 steel BD Beake, B Shi and JL Sullivan Tribology 5 (2011) 141.

Micro-scratch/wear

Mechanics of microwear traces in tooth enamel, O. Borrero-Lopez, A. Pajares, P.J. Constantino and B.R. Lawn, Acta Biomaterialia, 14 (2015) 146-153.

Effects of grain refinement and strength on friction and damage evolution under repeated sliding contact in nanostructured metals T. Hanlon, A.H. Chokshi, M. Manoharan, S. Suresh International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 1159–1163

Effects of mechanical properties and surface friction on elasto-plastic sliding contact, S.C. Bellemare, M. Dao, S. Suresh, Mechanics of Materials 40 (2008) 206–219

Deformation, structural changes and damage evolution in nanotwinned copper under repeated frictional contact sliding, A. Singh, M. Dao, L. Lu, S. Suresh, Acta Materialia 59 (2011) 7311–7324

Repetitive nano-impact

High frequency acoustic emission monitoring in nano-impact of alumina and partially stabilised zirconia, BD Beake, R Ctvrtlik, AJ Harris, AS Martin, L Vaclavek, J Manak, V Ranc, Mater Sci Eng A 780 (2020) 139159 (11pp).

Failure mechanism and protective role of ultrathin ta-C films on Si (100) during cyclic nano-impact, X Shi, BD Beake, TW Liskiewicz, J Chen, Z Sun, Surf Coat Technol, 364 (2019) 32-42.

Contact nanofatigue shows crack growth in amorphous calcium phosphate on Ti, Co-Cr and stainless steel, S. Saber-Samandari and K.A. Gross, Acta Biomaterialia, 9 (2013) 5788.

An investigation into the correlation between nano-impact resistance and erosion performance of EB-PVD thermal barrier coatings on thermal ageing, J Chen, BD Beake, RG Wellman, JR Nicholls, H Dong, Surface & Coatings Technology 206 (2012) 4992–4998.

Advantages of Nanoimpact Fracture Testing in Studying the Mechanical Behavior of CrAl(Si)N Coatings, A. Mosquera, L. Mera, G. S. Fox-Rabinovich, R. Martínez, I. Azkona, and J. L. Endrino, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Letters Vol. 2, 352–356, 2010

Nano-impact test on a TiAlN PVD coating and correlation between experimental and FEM results K.-D. Bouzakis, S. Gerardis, G. Skordaris, E. Bouzakis Surface & Coatings Technology 206 (2011) 1936–1940

Influence of dry micro-blasting grain quality on wear behaviour of TiAIN coated tools K.-D. Bouzakis, Klockeb, G. Skordarisa, E. Bouzakisa, S. Gerardisa, G. Katirtzogloua, S. Makrimallakisa Wear 271 (2011) 783– 791

Adhesive interlayers’ effect on the entire structure strength of glass molding tools’ Pt–Ir coatings by nano-tests determined, F. Klocke, K.-D. Bouzakis, K. Georgiadis, S. Gerardis, G. Skordaris, M. Pappa, Surface & Coatings Technology 206 (2011) 1867–1872

Design and performance of AlTiN and TiAlCrN PVD coatings for machining of hard to cut materials GS Fox-Rabinovich, SC Veldhuis, K Yamamoto, MH Aguirre, A Kovalev, DL Wainstein, BD Beake and JL Endrino, Surf Coat Technol 204 (2009) 489.

Effects of mechanical properties and layer structure on the cyclic loading of TiN-based coatings J Chen, R Ji, RHU Khan, X Li, BD Beake and H Dong Surf Coat Technol 206 (2011) 522.

Micro-impact

Influence of probe geometry in micro-scale impact testing of nano-multilayered TiAlCrN/NbN coatings deposited on WC-Co, BD Beake, L Bergdoll, L Isern, JL Endrino, GS Fox-Rabinovich, SC Veldhuis, Int J Refract Met Hard Mater 95 (2021) 105441.

Micro-scale impact resistance of coatings on hardened tool steel and cemented carbide, BD Beake, L Isern, JL Endrino, TW Liskiewicz, X Shi, Mater Lett 284 (2021) 129009.

Nano- and micro-scale impact testing of zirconia, alumina and zirconia-alumina duplex optical coatings on glass, BD Beake, L Isern, D Bhattacharyya, JL Endrino, K Lawson, T Walker, Wear 462-463 (2020) 203499.

Probing fatigue resistance in multi-layer DLC coatings by micro- and nano-impact: Correlation to erosion tests, SJ McMaster, TW Liskiewicz, A Neville, BD Beake, Surf Coat Tech (2020) 126319.

Probe geometry and surface roughness effects in microscale impact testing of WC-Co, BD Beake, L Isern, AJ Harris, JL Endrino, Mater Manuf Proc 35 (2020) 836-844.

Micro-scale impact testing – A new approach to studying fatigue resistance in hard carbon coatings, BD Beake, TW Liskiewicz, A Bird, X Shi, Tribol Int, 149 (2020) 105732 (10pp).

Enhancing fatigue wear resistance of a bulk metallic glass via introducing phase separation: A micro-impact test analysis, Q Zhou, W Han, Y Du, Wu, A Bird, X Zhao, X Wang, H Wang, BD Beake, Wear 436-437 (2019) 203037 (9pp).

Micro-scale impact testing on cemented carbide, N Cinca, BD Beake, AJ Harris, E Tarrés, Int J Refract Met Hard Mater 84 (2019) 105045 (9pp).

Micro-impact testing of AlTiN and TiAlCrN coatings, BD Beake, L Isern, JL Endrino, GS Fox-Rabinovich Wear 418-419 (2019) 102-110.

Single impacts – dynamic hardness and damping

Investigation on dynamic hardness and high strain rate indentation size effects in aluminium (110) using nano-impact, L Qin, H Li, X Shi, BD Beake, L Xiao, JF Smith, Z Sun, J Chen, Mechanics of Materials 133 (2019) 55-62.

An investigation into the dynamic indentation response of metallic materials, J Chen, X Shi, BD Beake, X Guo, Z Wang, Y Zhang, X Zhang and SR Goodes, J Mater Sci 51 (2016) 8310-8322.

NiTi/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin film heterostructures for vibration damping in MEMS, N. Choudhary, D.K. Kharat, K. Van Humbeeck, D. Kaur, Sensors Actuators A 193 (2013) 30-34.

New instrumentation and analysis methodology for nano-impact testing, M Rueda-Ruiz, BD Beake, JM Molina-Aldareguia, Mater Design 192 (2020) 108715 (12pp).

Effect of Crystal Orientation on Nanoindentation Behavior in Magnesium, H. Somekawa and C.A. Schuh,  Metal. Mater. Trans. A 47A (2016) 3227-3234

High-strain rate nanoindentation behavior of fine-grained magnesium alloys, H. Somekawa and C.A. Schuh, Journal of Materials Research 27 (2012) 1295-1302.

The Hall–Petch breakdown at high strain rates: Optimizing nanocrystalline grain size for impact applications, Jason R. Trelewicz and Christopher A. Schuh, Appl Phys Lett 93, 171916 2008

Quantifying deformation and energy dissipation of polymeric surfaces under localized impact Georgios Constantinides, Catherine A. Tweedie, Doria M. Holbrook, Patrick Barragan, James F. Smith, Krystyn J. Van Vliet, Materials Science and Engineering A 489 (2008) 403–412

Quantitative Impact Testing of Energy Dissipation at Surfaces, G. Constantinides, C.A. Tweedie, N. Savva, J.F. Smith, K.J. Van Vliet, Experimental Mechanics DOI 10.1007/s11340-008-9198-1

Nano-fretting/reciprocating nano-wear

Nano-scale wear characterisation of CoCrMo biomedical alloys, Vanesa Martinez-Nogues, J.M. Nesbitt, Robert Wood and Richard Cook, Tribology International 93B (2016) 563-572.

Short note on improved integration of mechanical testing in predictive wear models TW Liskiewicz, BD Beake, N Schwarzer and MI Davies, Surf Coat Technol 237 (2013) 212.

Nano-scratch, nanoindentation and fretting tests of 5–80 nm ta-C films on Si(100) BD Beake, MI Davies, TW Liskiewicz, VM Vishnyakov and SR Goodes, Wear, 301 (2013) 575.

Comparison of nano-fretting and nano-scratch tests on biomedical materials, BD Beake and TW Liskiewicz, Tribology International 63 (2013) 123.

A DOE nano-tribological study of thin amorphous carbon based films, GM Wilson, JF Smith and JL Sullivan, Tribology International 42 (2009) 220.

A nanotribological study of thin amorphous C and Cr doped amorphous C coatings, GM Wilson, JF Smith and JL Sullivan, Wear 265 (2008) 1633.

An investigation into the effect of film thickness on nanowear with amorphous carbon-based coatings, G.M. Wilson, J.L. Sullivan, Wear (2009) 1039.

In situ accelerated micro-wear – A new technique to fill the measurement gap,
TW Liskiewicz, BD Beake and JF Smith, Surf Coat Technol 205 (2010) 1455.

Deformation of Si(100) in spherical contacts – comparison of nano-fretting and nano-scratch tests with nanoindentation BD Beake, TW Liskiewicz and JF Smith Surf Coat Technol 206 (2011) 1921.

Micropillar compression at high temperature or high strain rate

High strain rate compression of epoxy micropillars, M Rueda-Ruiz, MA Monclús, BD Beake, F Gálvez, JM Molina-Aldareguia, Extreme Mech Lett 40 (2020) 100905.

Micropillar compression of ceramics at elevated temperature, Korte, S.K., and Clegg, W.J. (2009) Scr. Mater., 60, 807.

Deformation of silicon, insights from microcompression testing at 25-500 °C, Korte, S.K., Banard, J.S., Stearn, R.J. and Clegg, W.J. (2011) Int. J. Plasticity, 27, 1853.

High temperature microcompression and nanoindentation in vacuum, Korte, S.K., Stearn, R.J., Wheeler, J.M. and Clegg, W.J. (2012) J. Mater. Res. 27, 167-176.

High temperature nanoindentation to 1000 °C

Download our high temperature publications application note here

Nanomechanical Behaviour of Individual Phases in WC-Co Cemented Carbides, from Ambient to High Temperature, F. De Luca, H. Zhang, K. Mingard, M. Stewart, B.M. Jablon, C. Trager-Cowan, M.G. Gee, Materialia 12 (2020) 100713.

Measuring the brittle-to-ductile transition temperature of tungsten–tantalum alloy using chevron-notched micro-cantilevers, B.-S. Li, T.J. Marrow, D.E.J. Armstrong, Scr. Mater. 180 (2020) 77-82

Nanomechanics to 1000 °C for high temperature mechanical properties of bulk materials and hard coatings, B.D. Beake, A.J. Harris, Vacuum 159 (2019) 17-28.

Temperature dependence of strain rate sensitivity, indentation size effects and pile-up in polycrystalline tungsten from 25-950 °C, B.D. Beake, A.J. Harris, J. Moghal and D.E.J. Armstrong, Mater. Design 156 (2018) 278-286.

On extracting mechanical properties from nanoindentation at temperatures up to 1000 ºC, J.S.K.-L. Gibson, S. Schröders, Ch. Zehnder, S. Korte-Kerzel, Extreme Mechanics Letters 17 (2017) 43-49.

Development of high temperature nanoindentation methodology and its application in the nanoindentation of polycrystalline tungsten in vacuum to 950 °C, A.J. Harris, B.D. Beake, D.E.J. Armstrong, Exp. Mech. 57 (2017) 1115-1126.

Rapid characterization of local shape memory properties through indentation, P. Li, H.E. Karaca and Y.-T. Cheng, Sci. Rep 7 (2017) 14827.

Operando reduction of elastic modulus in (Pr,Ce)02-d  thin films, J.G. Swallow, J.J. Kim, M. Kabir, J.F. Smith, H.L. Tuller, S.R. Bishop, K.J. Van Vliet, Acta Mater. 105 (2016) 16-24

High-temperature indentation of helium-implanted tungsten, J.S.K.-L. Gibson, S.G. Roberts, D.E.J. Armstrong, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 625 (2015) 380-384.

Mechanical properties of amorphous silicon carbonitride thin films at elevated temperatures, R. Ctvrtlik, M.S. Al-Haik and V. Kulikovsky, J. Mater. Sci. 50 (2015) 1553-1564.

Bending testing of Silicon Cantilevers from 21ºC to 770ºC, D.E.J. Armstrong, E. Tarleton, JOM 67 (2015) 2914-2920.

Nanoindentation of chemical-vapor deposited Al2O3 hard coatings at elevated temperatures, M. Rebelo de Figueiredo, M.D. Abad, A.J. Harris, C. Czettl, Mitterer and P. Hosemann, Thin Solid Films 578 (2015) 20-24.

Progress in high temperature nanomechanical testing of coatings for optimising their performance in high speed machining, B.D. Beake, G.S. Fox-Rabinovich, Surf. Coat. Technol. 255 (2014) 102-115.

Nanoindentation creep study on an ion beam irradiated ODS alloy, Z. Huang, A.J. Harris, S.A. Maloy, P Hosemann, J. Nucl. Mater. 451 (2014) 162-167.

Optimum high temperature strength of two-dimensional nanocomposites, M.A. Monclús, S.J. Zheng, J.R. Mayeur, I.J. Beyerlein, N.A. Mara, T. Polcar, J. Llorca and J.M. Molina-Aldareguía, APL Materials 1 (2013) 052103.

Impact of mechanical properties measured at room and elevated temperatures on wear resistance of cutting tools with TiAlN and AlCrN coatings GS Fox-Rabinovich, BD Beake, SC Veldhuis, JL Endrino, R Parkinson, LS Shuster, MS Migranov Surf Coat Technol 200 (2006) 5738.

Accelerated testing of creep in polymeric materials using nanoindentation, A.S. Maxwell, M.A. Monclus, N.M. Jennett, G. Dean, Polymer Testing 30 (2011) 366–371.

Mechanical properties of solid oxide fuel cell glass-ceramic seal at high Temperatures, J. Milhans, D.S. Li, M. Khaleel, X. Sun, Marwan S. Al-Haik, A. Harris, H. Garmestani, Journal of Power Sources 196 (2011) 5599–5603.

High temperature micro-indentation to 550 °C

Temperature dependence of the anisotropic deformation of Zr-2.5%Nb pressure tube material during micro-indentation, B. Bose, R.J. Klassen J. Nucl. Mater. 419 (2011) 235-240.

Role of length scale and temperature in indentation induced creep behavior of polymer derived Si–C–O ceramics, Ming Gan, Vikas Tomar, Materials Science and Engineering A 527 (2010) 7615–7623.

Investigation of high-temperature plastic deformation using instrumented microindentation tests. Part I The deformation of three aluminium alloys at 473 K to 833 K, V. Bhakhri and R.J. Klassen, J. Mater. Sci. 41 (2006) 2259. Part II: The deformation of Al-based particulate reinforced composites at 473 K to 833 K, V. Bhakhri and R.J. Klassen, J. Mater. Sci. 41 (2006) 2249.

High temperature nano- and micro-impact to 600 °C

Elevated temperature micro-impact testing of TiAlSiN coatings produced by physical vapour deposition, B.D. Beake, A. Bird, L. Isern, J.L. Endrino, F. Jiang, Thin Solid Films 688 (2019) 137358 (9pp).

Investigating the correlation between nano-impact fracture resistance and hardness/modulus ratio from nanoindentation at 25-500°C and the fracture resistance and lifetime of cutting tools with Ti1-xAlxN (x=0.5 and 0.67) PVD coatings in milling operations BD Beake, JF Smith, A Gray, GS Fox-Rabinovich, SC Veldhuis, JL Endrino, Surf Coat Technol 201 (2007) 4585.

High temperature nano-scratch to 750 °C

High temperature nanoscratching of single crystal silicon under reduced oxygen condition, S.Z. Chavoshi, S. Corujeira Gallo, H. Dong, X. Luo, Materials Science & Engineering A 684 (2017) 385–393.

Nanoscale Friction Measurements Up to 750 C, JF Smith, VM Vishnyakov, M I Davies and BD Beake, Tribol Lett 49 (2013) 455.

Low temperature nanoindentation and nano-wear to -30 °C

Investigation of the nanomechanical properties of nylon 6 and nylon 6/clay nanocomposites at sub-ambient temperatures, J Chen, BD Beake, GA Bell, Yalan Tait and F Gao, J Experimental Nanoscience, 11 (2016) 695-706.

A study of low temperature mechanical properties and creep behavior of polypropylene using a new sub-ambient temperature nanoindentation test platform, J Chen, GA Bell, H Dong, JF Smith and BD Beake, J Phys D: Appl Phys 43 (2010) 425404.

Low Temperature Nano-Tribological Study on a Functionally Graded Tribological Coating Using Nanoscratch Tests J Chen, GA Bell, BD Beake and H Dong, Tribol Lett 43 (2011) 351.

High temperature micro-scratch and micro-wear to 600 °C

Elevated temperature repetitive micro-scratch testing of AlCrN, TiAlN and AlTiN PVD coatings, BD Beake, JL Endrino, C Kimpton, GS Fox-Rabinovich, SC Veldhuis, International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 69 (2017) 215-226.

Impact of mechanical properties measured at room and elevated temperatures on wear resistance of cutting tools with TiAlN and AlCrN coatings GS Fox-Rabinovich, BD Beake, SC Veldhuis, JL Endrino, R Parkinson, LS Shuster, MS Migranov Surf Coat Technol 200 (2006) 5738.

Impact of annealing on the microstructure, properties, and cutting performance of AlTiN coating GS Fox-Rabinovich, JL Endrino, BD Beake, AI Kovalev, SC Veldhuis, L Ning, F Fotaine and A Gray, Surf Coat Technol 201 (2006) 3524.

In liquids: including electrochemistry, nano-scratch, nano-impact and creep

Micro- and Nano-scale Tribocorrosion of Cast CoCrMo, D. Sun, J.A. Wharton and R.J.K. Wood, Tribology Letters 41 (2011) 525-533.

Probing mechanical properties of fully hydrated gels and biological tissues G Constantinides, Z.I. Kalcioglu, M. McFarland, J.F. Smith, K.J. VanVliet, Journal of Biomechanics 41 (2008) 3285–3289

Electrochemically Controlled Swelling and Mechanical Properties of a Polymer Nanocomposite, Daniel J. Schmidt, Fevzi C¸ Cebeci, Z.I. Kalcioglu, S.G. Wyman, C. Ortiz, K.J. Van Vliet and P.T. Hammond, ASC NANO, 3, 2207–2216, (2009)

Dynamic impact indentation of hydrated biological tissues and tissue surrogate gels,  Kalcioglu Z.I., Qu M., Strawhecker K.E., Shazly T., Edelman E., VanLandingham M.R., Smith J.F., and Van Vliet, K.J. Philosophical Magazine 91 1339–1355, 2011.

Influence of water on the nanoindentation creep response of nylon 6 B.D. Beake, G.A. Bell and D. Bielinski, J Appl Poly Sci 107 (2008) 577.

Micro-abrasion mechanisms of cast CoCrMo in simulated body fluids, D. Sun, J.A. Wharton, R.J.K. Wood, Wear 267 (2009) 1845–1855