THE ELASTIC AND VISCOELASTIC PROPERTIES OF RIGID BODIES IN CONTACT

Abstract

The process by which to utilize an atomic force microscope (AFM) to measure the viscoelastic properties of a given material through indentation experiments is implemented. The difficulties faced regarding both the data modeling and acquisition are discussed. Analytical viscoelastic solutions can generally be used for high indentation forces in stiff materials. However, softer materials require the usage of numerical routines in order to evaluate low forces of contact. Previous modeling of the indentation problem has been shown to under predict the stiffness of the material. A correction in geometry has been implemented in the numerical routine, and this change provides modeling of AFM indentation data with sufficient accuracy.