Artificial neural network model for material characterization by indentation

Analytical methods to interpret the indentation load-displacement curves are difficult to formulate and solve due to material and geometric nonlinearities as well as complex contact interactions. In this study, large strain-large deformation finite element analyses were carried out to simulate indentation experiments. An artificial neural network model was constructed for the interpretation of indentation load-displacement curves. The data from finite element analyses were used to train and validate the artificial neural network model. The artificial neural network model was able to accurately determine the material properties when presented with the load-displacement curves that were not used in the training process. The proposed artificial neural network model is robust and directly relates the characteristics of the indentation load-displacement curve to the elasto-plastic material properties.