Direct mapping of deformation in punch indentation and correlation with slip line fields

Deformation field parameters in plane-strain indentation of a perfectly plastic solid with a punch have been mapped using particle image velocimetry, a correlation-based image analysis technique. Measurements of velocity and strain rate over a large area have shown that the deformation resembles that of the slip line field of Prandtl. A zone of dead metal is found to exist underneath the indenter adjoining which is a transition region of material flow similar to the centered-fan region in the slip line field. Shear bands demarcate the boundaries of these deformation regions. The observations suggest that a representative strain rate may be assigned to the indentation. By integrating the strain rate field along particle trajectories, the strains in the indentation region have been estimated. The strain values are seen to be large, 0.5 to 4, over a region extending to about twice the indenter half-width. A pocket of large strain, ∼4, is found to exist close to the edge of the indenter–specimen contact. Prandtl’s slip line field is modified based on the observations and used to estimate the strain field. The measurements of the deformation parameters are found to compare mostly favorably with the predictions of the slip line field and prior observations of indentation. The implications of these findings for analysis and interpretation of indentation hardness are briefly discussed.