Effect of indentation loading type on the mechanical properties of advanced high strength steel grade DP 800

The goal of this study was to acquire mechanical properties of a dual-phase grade advanced high strength steel (AHSS) by means of different microindentation loading conditions. Conventional, cyclic, and multi-step indentations were performed on DP 800 sample; and Young’s modulus, hardness values were obtained by the depth-sensing indentation technique. Effects of different load levels (50–300 mN) and type of indentation on the results were also analyzed through ANOVA. The load levels experimented yielded overall material response rather than its constituents (e.g., martensite and ferrite). Both hardness and Young’s modulus tend to decrease with increasing maximum indentation load level, especially from 50 to 100 mN, which is regarded as indentation size effect.