Indentation on Organic Single Crystal

Nano-indentation is an increasingly used method of materials characterization. Here we show that it can be used in the determination of the direction dependent properties of a single crystal of the energetic materials, Pentaerythritoltetranitrate (PETN) and Single Crystals. Both elastic (indentation modulus) and plastic (yield related properties) are investigated. The pressure developed beneath the indenter tip and also correlated increase melting point are related to the indentation modulus.