Indentation techniques have become widely used in the characterization of brittle solids due to their simplicity, cost effectiveness, rapidness, and maybe most importantly, the indenter itself can be used as a mechanical microprobe in thin films, interfaces, grain boundaries, and nanocomposites. The papers in these proceedings cover measurement techniques, reliability of, and problems associated with this testing method. Also included is the application of nano-indentation technique, as a new frontier in brittle solids characterization, e.g., thin film and nano-composite materials.

Proceedings of the symposium held at the 105th Annual Meeting of The American Ceramic Society, April 27-30, in Nashville, Tennessee; Ceramic Transactions, Volume 156.