TITLE :BRINELL HARDNESS TEST

OBJECTIVE
To determine the brinell hardness number of three specimens aluminum , brass and mild steel.

EQUIPMENT AND MATERIAL

Brinell hardness tester
Sample specimens ( Mild Steel, Aluminum, Brass `)
Brinell microscope
THEORY
Hardness is usually stated as the resistance of a material to surface abrasion, scratching and
cutting. Hardness gives an indication of the strength of the material, in the brinell hardness test
a defined force is mechanically applied on the material for about 15 seconds .The indenter
which transfers the load to the material varies in size and shape for different tests. In this
hardness test, steel balls are used as the indenter. The Diameter of the indenter and the applied
force depends on the thickness of the material ,because for accurate results depth of penetration
should be less than 1/8th of the thickness of the material to be tested .

PROCEDURE
1. The test specimen was placed on the brinell hardness tester and contact was made
between the specimen surface and the ball.
2. The ball was pressed into the sample by the specified test force for each material.
3. The applied force was maintained for an approximate 15 seconds.
4. The specimen was removed from the support table and the indentation was located on the
material.
5. The indentation was viewed through the brinell microscope and the diameter 'd' was
measured by the micrometer fitted on the microscope.
6. The entire operation was repeated 3 times for accuracy .

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RESULTS
The Brinell hardness number was calculated by using the following equation

where F = load in kilograms-force (kgf)

D = Diameter of ball in millimetres
d = diameter of indentation in millimetres

Sample

Ball diameter
'D' in (mm)

Load applied F
in kgf

BHN

3000

Diameter of
indentation 'd'
(mm)
4.5

Mild steel

10

Aluminum

10

500

2.4

108.91

Brass

10

1000

3.4

106.86

178.54

DISCUSSION
Based on the results of this test mild steel was calculated to be the hardest of the three metals
(178.54 HB 10/3000/15) this could have be attributed to its metallic crystal structure. Hence in
practical applications this metal would be easily chosen over the other two metal in structural
purposes because of it hardness, ductility and tensile properties . In comparison aluminum and
brass has similar hardness 108.91 HB 10/500/15 and 106.886 HB 10/1000/15 respectively.

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CONCLUSION
The final results of this experiment showed that mild steel was the hardest with 178.54 HB
10/3000/15 , aluminum was the second hardest 108.91 HB 10/500/15, followed by brass
106.886 HB 10/1000/15.

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TTLE :ROCKWELL HARDNESS TEST

OBJECTIVE
To determine the hardness of three materials by the Rockwell Hardness method .

APPARATUS
Brooks hardness tester with 1/16 inch ball indenter
Samples of Aluminium, Brass and Mild steel

THEORY
The Rockwell hardness tester gives direct readings of hardness number on a dial provided with
the machine .This test in principal is similar to the Brinell hardness test however differing in
diameter and material of indenter and applied force. For hard materials like mild steel, brass and
aluminum the indenter used is a hard steel ball indenter. The diameter of the ball indenter in ball
indenter is 1/16 '' and the load applied for these materials is 100kg for and application time of
15 seconds .

PROCEDURE
1. The sample specimen to be tested was then placed on the anvil.
2. The operating lever was moved to position A.
3. A minor load of 10kgf was applied by turning the hand wheel clockwise so that the
specimen pushed up the indenter until the dial gauge was zeroed on the outer scale.
4. The lever was moved from position A to position B in order to apply the major load of
100kgf for 15 seconds .
5. After the dial gauge reached a steady position the lever was returned to position A to
remove the major load.
6. A hardness reading was then recorded from the inner scale (red ) of the dial gauge.
7. The results were recorded.
8. The experiment was repeated for the other two samples

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RESULTS
The following table shows the Rockwell hardness values that were obtained for each specimen.
Minor load = 10kg
A 1/16 inch ball indenter was used for the Aluminium, Brass and Mild steel samples
Sample

Aluminum
Mild steel
Brass

Rockwell
Hardness value
"Test 1"
B56.5
B70
B80

Rockwell
Hardness value
"Test 2"
B56
B69
B78

Rockwell
Hardness value
"Test 3"
B57.5
B69
B79

Rockwell
Hardness value
"Average "
B56.67
B69.33
B79

DISCUSSION

All reading were taking using the "B" scale , the results of the Rockwell Hardness test
determined that Brass was the strongest material in all three tested materials with the average
value of 79 . The hardness value of Mild steel was determined to be 69.33 and finally
Aluminum is the weakest material with average value of 56.67 .However in comparison to the
Brinell hardness test and previous tests Mild steel is the hardest material followed by
Aluminum, and Brass being the weakest material. This may have occurred because of some
experimental error or neglecting proper procedures.
CONCLUSION
From the results above the hardest material was brass 79HRB followed by Mild steel 69.33
HRB, followed by Aluminum 56.67 HRB. However taking into consideration previous tests Mild
Steel is the Hardest material followed by Aluminum and then Brass.

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TITLE:CHARPY TEST

OBJECTIVE
The objective of the experiment is to test the ability of three different types of specimens ( Mild
Steel ,Aluminum and Brass) to withstand impacts using the Charpy test method whilst observing
its toughness .

EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

Charpy V-notch impact testing machine
Test samples (Mild Steel ,Aluminum and Brass)
Vernier caliper

THEORY
Toughness -Is a property, which is capacity of a material to resist fracture, (crack propagation),
when subjected to impact.
This test involves the sudden and dynamic application of a load. Parts such as shafts, bolts,
anvils and dies are examples of items subjected to impact loading. Impact loading differs from
static loading in that a load is applied over a very short time instead of being introduced
gradually at some constant rate. This causes significant changes in the observed material
properties from those with normal static loads. The amount of energy absorbed can give an
indication of the toughness of a material. It can classify the different types of materials into either
brittle or ductile materials.

PROCEDURE
1. The dimensions of each specimen was measured .
2. The hammer was raised and the initial reading from the dial was noted , which was the
energy used to fracture the specimen .r
3. The specimen to be tested was placed at the centre with respect to the hammer , and the
notch was checked .
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4. The hammer was released and the final reading was noted , this was the energy required
to fracture the specimen whilst considering the frictional loss present .
5. These steps were then repeated for the other specimens.

RESULTS
Sample
Mild steel
Aluminum
Brass

Test temperature C
18
18
18

Toughness (J)
43
11.5
7

% cleavage

DISCUSSION

By observations made after the test was complete mild steel was observed to have high ductility
although it underwent brittle failure. This means that in practical application, if the metal is
exposed to very low temperature failure will be much more likely to occur . From the results
obtain from the experiment, it was observed that each specimen fracture differently. The mild
steel fracture but did not break completely therefore it underwent plastic deformation and in a
ductile manner. Aluminum and brass also showed ductility the sample was observed to have a
smooth surface.
Ductile fracture is better because of the following reasons:
1. More energy needed in the ductile fracture because it is a tough material
2. Brittle fracture happens quickly without warning while the ductile fracture took alonger
time before the whole process to happen

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CONCLUSION
The results shown in the tables above show that mild steel was the toughest (43Joules )followed
by Aluminum (11.5 joules ) and Brass (7 joules ).

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