Measurement by nanoindentation of physical and mechanical characteristics of plasma-hardened wheel steel

: The article deals with the method of measuring the physical and mechanical properties of plasma-hardened wheel steel by nanoindentation. The features of measurement of physical and mechanical properties – hardness, young’s modulus, elastic recovery, affecting the wear resistance of the surface layers of the material. Measurement of physical and mechanical properties of the material allows to evaluate and select the optimal technology of surface modification by surface plasma hardening. It is noted that the objectivity of determination of hardness, modulus of elasticity, elastic recovery and flow stress depends on the parameters of the measuring equipment used and strict compliance with the requirements for the depth of the print, depending on the depth of plasma quenching. It is suggested that despite the increased amount of actual information obtained by the nanoindentation method, the physical justification of hardness micromechanisms remains weakly satisfactory, which necessitates the justification of physical representations about the nature of hardness, in General, and nanohardness, in particular.