A Comparision of Nano-Hardness and Scratch-Resistance on Mohs Minerals

It is well known that materials of same indentation hardness do not necessarily exhibit the same wear behaviour. A nanomechanical test is required, to describe the behaviour more accurate. The Mohs minerals define a relative hardness scale by scratch testing samples. They are used as a reference. This set of standard minerals is tested by conventional quasistatic nano-indentation testing as well as by nanoscratch testing. The objective is to define whether the scratch resistance and wear behaviour of the minerals is better tested by indentation testing or rather by scratch testing.