Investigation of elastic properties of solid polymer materials by indentation method

The mechanical properties of solid (crystalline) polymer materials are proposed to be investigated simultaneously using two complementary methods based on controlled indentation of a spherical indenter. The first method consists in the direct analysis of the load curve without using the concept of contact stiffness; the second method is based on measurements of the size of prints depending on the magnitude of the static load. The study shows that the reinforcement of a solid polymer with carbon fibers can lead to a significant increase in its elastic-strength properties.