Hardness Test

Ra.M., Adhil.M., Anand.N, Narayana.N

Aerospace Department, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology
(Dated: 5th August, 2014)
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I. INTRODUCTION
Hardness is a measure of how resistant solid matter
is to various kinds of permanent shape change when a
compressive force is applied. Macroscopic hardness is
generally characterized by strong intermolecular bonds,
but the behavior of solid materials under force is com-
plex; therefore, there are dierent measurements of hard-
ness: scratch hardness, indentation hardness, and re-
bound hardness.
Hardness is dependent on ductility, elastic stiness,
plasticity, strain, strength, toughness, viscoelasticity, and
viscosity.
There are three main types of hardness measurements:
scratch, indentation, and rebound. Within each of these
classes of measurement there are individual measurement
scales.
There are a large number of hardness testing meth-
ods available (e.g. Vickers, Brinell, Rockwell, Meyer and
Leeb). Although it is impossible in many cases to give
an exact conversion, it is possible to give an approximate
material-specic comparison.
II. THEORY
The hardness test is, by far, the most valuable and
most widely used mechanical test for evaluating the prop-
erties of metals as well as certain other materials. The
hardness of a material usually is considered resistance to
permanent indentation.
In general, an indenter is pressed into the surface of
the metal to be tested under a specic load for a denite
time interval, and a measurement is made of the size or
depth of the indentation. The principal purpose of the
hardness test is to determine the suitability of a material
for a given application, or the particular treatment to
which the material has been subjected. The ease with
which the hardness test can be made has made it the
most common method of inspection for metals and alloys.
Principally, the importance of hardness testing has
to do with the relationship between hardness and other
properties of material. For example, both the hardness
test and the tensile test measure the resistance of a metal
to plastic ow, and results of these tests may closely par-
allel each other. The hardness test is preferred because
it is simple, easy, and relatively nondestructive.
Hardness is not a fundamental property of a material.
Hardness values are arbitrary, and there are no abso-
lute standards of hardness. Hardness has no quantita-
tive value, except in terms of a given load applied in a
specied manner for a specied duration and a specied
penetrator shape.
Current practice in the hardness testing divides
into two categories: macrohardness and microhardness.
Macrohardness refers to testing with applied loads on the
indenter of more than 1 kg and covers, for example, the
testing of tools, dies, and sheet material in the heavier
gages. In microhardness testing, applied loads are 1 kg
and below, and material being tested is very thin (down
to 0.0125 mm, or 0.0005 in.). Applications include ex-
tremely small parts, thin supercially hardened parts,
plated surfaces, and individual constituents of materials.
[? , 1]
II.1. Vickers Hardness Test
The Vickers hardness test method consists of indenting
the test material with a diamond indenter, in the form
of a right pyramid with a square base and an angle of
136 degrees between opposite faces subjected to a load
of 1 to 100 kgf. The full load is normally applied for 10
to 15 seconds. The two diagonals of the indentation left
in the surface of the material after removal of the load
are measured using a microscope and their average calcu-
2
lated. The area of the sloping surface of the indentation
is calculated. The Vickers hardness is the quotient ob-
tained by dividing the kgf load by the square mm area
of indentation.
F= Load in kgf
d = Arithmetic mean of the two diagonals,d1 and d2
in mm
HV = Vickers hardness
HV = 2Fsin(136/2)/d
2
HV = 1.854F/d
2
(1)
II.2. Rockwell Hardness Test
The Rockwell scale is a hardness scale based on inden-
tation hardness of a material. The Rockwell test deter-
mines the hardness by measuring the depth of penetra-
tion of an indenter under a large load compared to the
penetration made by a preload.
The determination of the Rockwell hardness of a ma-
terial involves the application of a minor load followed
by a major load. The minor load establishes the zero
position. The major load is applied, then removed while
still maintaining the minor load. The depth of penetra-
tion from the zero datum is measured from a dial, on
which a harder material gives a higher number. That is,
the penetration depth and hardness are inversely propor-
tional. The chief advantage of Rockwell hardness is its
ability to display hardness values directly, thus obviating
tedious calculations involved in other hardness measure-
ment techniques. The permanent increase in depth of
penetration, resulting from the application and removal
of the additional major load is used to calculate the Rock-
well hardness number.
In Rockwell B scale test the indenter is hardened steel
ball of 1.5875mm diameter and for Rockwell C scale the
indenter is diamond cone with 120

tip angle.
III. PROCEDURE
III.1. Vickers Hardness Test
Select the load weights according to the expected hard-
ness of the specimen to be tested by turning the weight
selection knob. Clean the specimen with a carbide pa-
per to remove metal oxide formed on the surface. Turn
the handle wheel till the specimen gets focused on the
monitor. The expected gap between the diamond tipped
indentor and the top of the specimen must be between 2
- 2.5 mm. Press the start button. This starts the load
cycle. The load is applied to a specic period of time call
as the dwell time. This loading-unloading cycle is fully
automatic. Once the unloading is complete click on the
MANUAL mode of measurement icon.Rotate the Using
pointers, select the endpoints of the two diagonals of the
indentation . Note the length of the two diagonals and
the length of the mean diagonal . Also note the Hardness
value displayed on the screen .
III.2. Rockwell Hardness Test
Rub the specimen with a carbide paper to remove the
metal oxide formed on the surface. Place the specimen on
the testing table of the machine.Press the RESET but-
ton. Turn the hand wheel till the specimen touches the
steel tipped indentor. Keep on turning the hand wheel
slowly till the display shows SET. Press the START but-
ton. This starts the loading-unloading cycle. The major
load is applied for a specied time period (dwell time) be-
yond zero. Once unloading is complete, read the hardness
of the specimen. If HIGH is displayed, rotate the loading
hand wheel to a higher load. If LOW is displayed, rotate
the loading hand wheel to a lower load. If GOOD is dis-
played, continue with the next reading. Repeat the test
by making indentations at dierent points . Take three
readings for each specimen.
IV. OBSERVATIONS
IV.1. Vickers Hardness Test
TABLE I. Observations on Vickers Hardness Test
Specimen Sl. No. Mean Diagonal (mm) Vickers hardness number
Aluminium 1 0.3528 74.5 HV 5
2 0.3633 70.2 HV 5
3 0.3732 66.6 HV 5
Mild Steel 1 0.2482 300 HV 10
2 0.2466 305 HV 10
3 0.2513 294 HV 10
Hardened Steel 1 0.2055 439 HV 10
2 0.2204 414 HV 10
3 0.2087 426 HV 10
.
3
IV.2. Rockwell Hardness Test
TABLE II. Observations on Rockwell Hardness Test
Specimen Sl. No. Load (kgf) hardness value (HRB) Status
Aluminium 1 60 50.4 OK
2 60 52.1 OK
3 60 64.9 OK
Mild Steel 1 100 100.4 HIGH
2 150 85.1 HIGH
3 150 89.2 HIGH
Cast Iron 1 150 58.8 OK
2 150 49.5 OK
3 150 47.2 OK