Determination of the Drucker–Prager parameters of polymers exhibiting pressure-sensitive plastic behaviour by depth-sensing indentation

This paper presents a method to determine the Drucker–Prager parameters of pressure-dependant elastic-perfectly plastic polymeric materials by means of the depth-sensing indentation technique. This is achieved via an inverse analysis of the load–displacement data resulting from two tests performed with Berkovich and spherical tips. The well-posedness and the effective range of application of the proposed method are carefully assessed first. Then the method is tested for two elasto-plastic materials with mild initial strain-hardening (HDPE and PMMA), and the results are compared to those measured using conventional tensile and compression tests. It is found that the pressure-sensitivity indices can be accurately predicted, while the yield stress predictions in tension and compression fall within the non-linear portion of the uniaxial stress–strain curves, i.e., inside the region where plastic deformation begins.

► Plastic properties of pressure sensitive polymers can be determined by indentation.
► The method involves two tests performed with Berkovich and spherical tips.
► The Drucker-Prager parameters were successfully determined for HDPE and PMMA.