Micro mechanical properties of n-Al2O3/Ni composite coating by nanoindentation

A new type of nano test system was introduced, the test principle and the indentation data analysis method were described. It was used to test the micro mechanical properties, such as hardness, elastic modulus and indentation creep property of n-Al2O3/Ni composite coating on steel prepared by brush plating, and the variety of mechanical properties with coating thickness was researched. The results show that the mechanical properties are basically identical within the whole coating, the hardness and modulus decrease in the defect fields, especially within the dendritic crystals, whereas the mechanical properties are not influenced greatly at the interspaces among dendritic crystals. The average hardness and elastic modulus of n-Al2O3/Ni coating are 6.34 GPa and 154 GPa respectively, and the hardness is 2.4 times higher than that of steel and the indentation creep curve of n-Al2O3/Ni coating is similar to that of the uniaxial compression creep, and the creep rate of steady-state is about 0. 104 nm/s. These results will supply useful data for process improvement, new type material development and application expansion.