Pileup Behavior in Sharp Nanoindentation of AISI 1045 Steel

Experimental measurements have been used to investigate the pileup behavior during nanoindentation with a sharp indenter. The AISI 1045 steels treated by quenching and annealing were examined. The results show that during sharp nanoindentation process, the amount of pileup is related to the residual stress state, the indentation depth and the work hardening. The quenched steel with compressive residual stress will tend to pile up, and the stress-free annealed steel can decrease the pileup height. It is found that the pileup height gradually increases for the two steels as the indentation depth becomes larger. It is also shown that the low work hardening of the two steels can also result in the pileup deformation.