Influence of low indentation load on Young's modulus and hardness of 4 mol% Y2O3–ZrO2 by nanoindentation

A nanoindentation at small load of 3–1000 mN was performed on sintered 4 mol% Y2O3–ZrO2 ceramics to determine the influence of indentation load on Young's modulus and hardness. The hardness and the Young's modulus were deduced by analyzing the unloading segments of the nanoindentation load–displacement curves using the Oliver-Pharr method. It was found that Young's modulus (E), the Martens hardness (HM) and Vickers hardness (Hv) exhibit significant indentation load dependence. The values of Young's modulus and hardness decrease with increasing indentation load, as a result of the indentation load effect.