Because of a lack of available miniaturized multiaxial load sensors to measure the normal load and the lateral load simultaneously, quantitative in situ scratch devices inside scanning electron microscopes and the transmission electron microscopes have barely been developed up to now. A novel two-axis load sensor was designed in this paper. With an I-shaped structure, the sensor has the function of measuring the lateral load and the normal load simultaneously, and at the same time it has compact dimensions. Finite element simulations were carried out to evaluate stiffness and modal characteristics. A decoupling algorithm was proposed to resolve the cross-coupling between the two-axis loads. Natural frequency of the sensor was tested. Linearity and decoupling parameters were obtained from the calibration experiments, which indicate that the sensor has good linearity and the cross-coupling between the two axes is not strong. Via the decoupling algorithm and the corresponding decoupling parameters, simultaneous measurement of the lateral load and the normal load can be realized via the developed two-axis load sensor. Preliminary applications of the load sensor for scratch testing indicate that the load sensor can work well during the scratch testing. Taking advantage of the compact structure, it has the potential ability for applications in quantitative in situ scratch testing inside SEMs.
References
[1]
Schuh, C.A.; Mason, J.K.; Lund, A.C. Quantitative insight into dislocation nucleation from high-temperature nanoindentation experiments. Nat. Mater. 2005, 4, 617–621.
[2]
Oliver, D.J.; Bradby, J.E.; Williams, J.S.; Swain, M.V.; Munroe, P. Rate-dependent phase transformations in nanoindented germanium. J. Appl. Phys. 2009, 105, 126101–126103.
[3]
Lee, C.; Wei, X.; Kysar, J.W.; Hone, J. Measurement of the elastic properties and intrinsic strength of monolayer grapheme. Science 2008, 321, 385–388.
[4]
Prevost, T.P.; Jin, G.; Moya, M.A.; Alam, H.B.; Suresh, S.; Socrate, S. Dynamic mechanical response of brain tissue in indentation in vivo, in situ and in vitro. Acta Biomater. 2011, 7, 4090–4101.
[5]
Cross, G.L.; Schirmeisen, A.; Grütter, P.; Dürig, U.T. Plasticity, healing and shakedown in sharp-asperity nanoindentation. Nat. Mater. 2006, 5, 370–376.
[6]
Oliver, W.C.; Pharr, G.M. An improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments. J. Mater. Res. 1992, 7, 1564–1583.
[7]
Akono, A.-T.; Reis, P.M.; Ulm, F.-J. Scratching as a fracture process: From butter to steel. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2011, 106, 204302–204306.
[8]
Futami, T.; Ohira, M.; Muto, H.; Sakai, M. Contact/scratch-induced surface deformation and damage of copper–graphite particulate composites. Carbon 2009, 47, 2742–2751.
[9]
Kurkcu, P.; Andena, L.; Pavan, A. An experimental investigation of the scratch behaviour of polymers: 1. Influence of rate-dependent bulk mechanical properties. Wear 2012, 290–291, 86–93.
[10]
Pelletier, H.; Gauthier, C.; Schirrer, R. Influence of the friction coefficient on the contact geometry during scratch onto amorphous polymers. Wear 2010, 268, 1157–1169.
[11]
Wall, M.A.; Dahmen, U. An in situ nanoindentation specimen holder for a high voltage transmission electron microscope. Microsc. Res. Techniq. 1998, 42, 248–254.
[12]
Bobji, M.S.; Ramanujan, C.S.; Pethica, J.B.; Inkson, B.J. A miniaturized TEM nanoindenter for studying material deformation in situ. Meas. Sci. Technol. 2006, 17, 1324–1329.
[13]
Warren, O.L.; Asif, S.A.S.; Cyrankowski, E.; Kounev, K. Actuatable Capacitive Transducer for Quantitative Nanoindentation Combined with Transmission Electron Microscope. U.S. Patent 7798011, 2010.
[14]
Rabe, R.; Breguet, J.-M.; Schwaller, P.; Stauss, S.; Haug, F.-J.; Patscheider, J.; Michler, J. Observation of fracture and plastic deformation during indentation and scratching inside the scanning electron microscope. Thin Solid Films 2004, 469–470, 206–213.
[15]
Rzepiejewska-Malyska, K.A.; Buerki, G.; Michler, J.; Major, R.C.; Cyrankowski, E.; Asif, S.A.S.; Warren, O.L. In situ mechanical observations during nanoindentation inside a high-resolution scanning electron microscope. J. Mater. Res. 2008, 23, 1973–1979.
[16]
Ghisleni, R.; Rzepiejewska-Malyska, K.; Philippe, L.; Schwaller, P.; Michler, J. In situ SEM indentation experiments: Instruments, methodology, and applications. Microsc. Res. Techniq. 2009, 72, 242–249.
[17]
Huang, H.; Zhao, H.; Mi, J.; Yang, J.; Wan, S.; Xu, L.; Ma, Z. A novel and compact nanoindentation device for in situ nanoindentation tests inside the scanning electron microscope. AIP Advances 2012, 2, 12104–12114.
[18]
Huang, H.; Zhao, H.; Shi, C.; Wu, B.; Fan, Z.; Wan, S.; Geng, C. Effect of residual chips on the material removal process of the bulk metallic glass studied by in situ scratch testing inside the scanning electron microscope. AIP Advances 2012, 2, 042193–042200.
[19]
Aviles, H.E.; Gregory, J.A.; Panissidi, H.A.; Wattenbarger, H.E. Tri-Axial Force Transducer for a Manipulator Gripper. U.S. Patent 4478089, 1984.
[20]
Hatamura, Y. Load Sensor. U.S. Patent 4671118, 1987.
[21]
Amlani, K.D. Multi-Axis Load Transducer. U.S. Patent 4573362, 1987.
[22]
Kim, G.-S. Development of a three-axis gripper force sensor and the intelligent gripper using it. Sens. Actuators A Phys. 2007, 137, 213–222.
[23]
Kim, G.-S.; Shin, H.-J.; Yoon, J. Development of 6-axis force/moment sensor for a humanoid robot's intelligent foot. Sens. Actuators A Phys. 2008, 141, 276–281.
[24]
Sachs, I.B. A device for compressing paperboard edgewise in the SEM. J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. 1985, 18, 101–102.
[25]
Wang, C.T.; Gao, N.; Gee, M.G.; Wood, R.J.K.; Langdon, T.G. Effect of grain size on the micro-tribological behavior of pure titanium processed by high-pressure torsion. Wear 2012, 280–281, 28–35.
[26]
Sharma, N.; Kumar, N.; Dash, S.; Das, C.R.; Rao, R.V.S.; Tyagi, A.K.; Raj, B. Scratch resistance and tribological properties of DLC coatings under dry and lubrication conditions. Tribol. Int. 2012, 56, 129–140.
[27]
Huang, H.; Zhao, H.; Yang, Z.; Mi, J.; Fan, Z.; Wan, S.; Shi, C.; Ma, Z. A novel driving principle by means of the parasitic motion of the microgripper and its preliminary application in the design of the linear actuator. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 2012, 83, 055002–055008.
