Ultimate Strengthening, Theoretical and Limit Tool Hardness

The influence of passing from a microcrystalline to a nanocrystalline structure on the mechanical properties of chromium deposited by magnetron sputtering is studied. The possibility of additional strengthening nanomaterials due to enrichment of grain boundaries by “useful” additives elements is established. A wide spectrum of materials in different structural states was investigated by the method of micromechanical tests. The notions of the “theoretical” hardness (largest hardness for the material) and “limit tool” hardness, connected with tool limitations in indentation, are introduced.