State-of-the-Art Design and Optimization of Strain Gauge-Type Load–Displacement Transducer for in <i>In Situ</i> Nanoindentation Systems
Force–displacement transducers are key components in <i>in situ</i> nanoindentation systems. The current existing capacitance-type transducers adopted in state-of-the-art commercial <i>in situ</i> nanoindentation systems are restricted by limited maximum ranges, and strain ga...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/3/609 |
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| Summary: | Force–displacement transducers are key components in <i>in situ</i> nanoindentation systems. The current existing capacitance-type transducers adopted in state-of-the-art commercial <i>in situ</i> nanoindentation systems are restricted by limited maximum ranges, and strain gauge-type transducers in the current <i>in situ</i> nanoindentation systems have the limitation of low resolution and high values of mass. In the paper, we propose a mechanical design and improvement of a low-mass strain gauge-type force–displacement transducer capable of performing high resolution <i>in situ</i> nanoindentation measurements. The transducer mainly consisted of a parallelogram-shaped flexure hinge and two strain gauges. Air resolution, <i>in situ</i> resolution, and mass experiments reported an air force resolution of 5 μN, an <i>in situ</i> force resolution of 5 μN inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and a mass of 6.53 g of such a strain gauge-type load–displacement transducer. Then, the transducer was assembled into a newly developed <i>in situ</i> nanoindentation–atomic force microscope (AFM) hybrid system and a newly developed <i>in situ</i> nanoindentation system. The proposed design successfully performed nanoindentation measurements inside SEM. Based on the results, the proposed strain gauge-type transducer shows great advantages compared to the current state-of-the-art transducers. |
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| ISSN: | 1424-8220 |