Nanoindentation of advanced polymers under non-ambient conditions: creep modelling and tan delta.

The creep modelling approach described in this paper reveals a correlation between the strain rate sensitivity parameter determined from room temperature nanoindentation data and tan delta determined from conventional dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). With recent advances in nanomechanical instrumentation it is possible to obtain reliable raw data under non-ambient conditions. Nanoindentation tests on polymeric films at elevated temperature provide support for the correlation, with high values of the high strain rate sensitivity parameter only observed in the vicinity of the glass transition temperature.