Assessment of elastic–plastic material parameters comparatively by three procedures based on indentation test and inverse analysis

Non-destructive indentation tests are more and more frequently employed for the mechanical characterization of structural metals. Three kinds of experimental data sets as inputs to inverse analyses for parameter identification are comparatively examined in this article: (A) indentation curve, namely the relationship between penetration of the indenter tip versus the force applied on it; (B) both this curve and imprint geometry; (C) imprint profile only. The comparisons are based on two different parameter identification procedures. The novel information source (C) turns out to be promising and advantageous in practical industrial applications for innovative diagnostic analysis methods centred on indentation.