Requirements for investigating the temperature-dependent fracture behavior of irradiated materials by indentation

Highlights: • A custom-made indenter is designed for indentations at high temperature. • The instrumented indentation technique at high temperature will be used to investigate temperature dependent fracture mechanisms in structural materials. • A finite-element based model has been validated with a view to predict crack initiation and propagation in Eurofer97 and tungsten-like materials. -- Abstract: The instrumented indentation technique is an interesting testing tool to examine temperature-dependent fracture mechanisms. It is planned to be used to generate cracks at defined temperatures in hard and brittle metallic materials. The present study describes the properties needed for the use of a new type of indenter operating at high temperature. The indenter was designed to meet mechanical and thermal requirements and other constraints relating to the operation of functional units of the indentation instrument. Additionally, a finite element model has been built with a view to predict indentation induced cracks in Eurofer97 and tungsten. The model has been validated both with the theory of Hertz and experimentally by comparison with indentation curves