Hardness Testing: Rockwell / Brinell / Vickers Scales and

Applicability to Stamped Sheet Steel Parts

Posted on June 26, 2012 by dannyeqs
Youve probably noticed that hardness is sometimes
reported on your sheet metal certs (and if you see it, you
are likely paying for it, probably a few dollars a ton). If
you are using mild steel thats about 1.5 mm (0.060)
thick, itll probably be in the mid to high 70s if its
measured on the Rockwell B scale. But what does this
really mean?

Simply put, hardness is a measure of the resistance to

indentation. Of course, different materials have different
performance, but the test result also depends on what kind
of indenter is used (size/shape/material) and how much
force is used to push it into the sheet metal. These testing
parameters determine what scale is used to report results.

Rockwell hardness values are determined using a two-

step process. First, the indenter (either ball- or cone-
shaped) is pushed into the surface until the desired pre-
load (also called minor load) is reached (10kg for the B
and C scales, 3kg for the N and T superficial scales). This
small initial penetration seats the indenter and provides a
reference depth. An additional major load is applied,
which results in deeper penetration into the sheet metal
surface. The major load is then removed and the minor
load is re-applied. The difference between this depth
reading and the reference depth is used in the Rockwell
hardness calculation, and is d in the equation for the
Rockwell B scale:
HRB = 130 ( d / 0.002mm )

This calculation shows that if a Rockwell B value of 80 is

measured, there is a 0.10mm difference in depth between
the minor and major load, and for HRB65, there is a
0.13mm penetration. Put another way, there is only a 30
m difference in penetration depth between readings of
HRB65 and HRB80. As a point of reference, the thickness
of human hair is on the order of 100 m (0.10mm).

The Brinell hardness test involves applying a specified

load using a hardened steel or tungsten carbide spherical
indenter of a specified diameter (typically 1mm to
10mm). The Brinell hardness number is calculated by
dividing the load applied by the hemispherical surface
area of the indentation. Due at least partially to the
relatively high loads and to the challenges of measuring a
curved surface area, Brinell testing is typically not used
for sheet metal.

Like Brinell testing, the Vickers hardness number is

calculated by dividing the applied load by the surface area
of the indentation. However, a Vickers microhardness test
is typically done with significantly less force than a
Brinell test, using a diamond indenter having a square
cross-section. Built into the Vickers microhardness test
machine is a microscope that allows for more precise
measurement of the diagonal cross-sectional lengths. By
magnifying the surface, it becomes possible to target
specific microstructural constituents (like martensite or
bainite in Advanced High Strength Steels) or to assess the
quality of heat treating or surface hardening operations.

Independent of the hardness scale used, a deeper, wider

impression will allow for more accurate and
representative readings. However, if the impression is too
deep, then the platform that supports the test piece, known
as the anvil, will influence the result. According to ASTM
Standard E18 for Hardness Testing, to avoid this so-called
anvil effect, it is necessary to have the indentation depth
no more than 10% of the total test piece thickness. If your
indenter or hardness test scale is inappropriate, youll
likely see a shiny spot on the test piece underside where it
was pushed into the anvil surface. If you see this, then
you are testing the hardness of the anvil, rather than the
hardness of your test piece. Youll need to change your
test conditions to produce a smaller, shallower
indentation.

A brief example of the relevance of this part of the

specification: Using the measurements shown above, you
are in violation of the ASTM requirements if you are
getting a Rockwell B hardness reading of 80 or less on
sheet metal that is less than 1mm thick. Why? HRB80
means an indentation depth of 0.10 mm, and as the
indentation depth increases, the hardness decreases. 10
times this indentation depth is 1 mm. Any greater
penetration violates the 10x rule, and you are likely going
to see the influence of the anvil in your results. The
applied load on the Rockwell B scale is 100 kg. To
produce a more shallow impression, you should switch
scales, potentially to a 30T scale, where the applied load
is 30 kg.

Something else to think about In the first paragraph, I

told you that your Rockwell B hardness was about 75 to
78. If I was able to do that without knowing anything
about your coil, what does that tell you about the
usefulness of hardness testing of sheet products? The
bottom line is that hardness measures the resistance to
indentation, but is a poor predictor of sheet metal
formability.