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HARDNESS TESTING
Hardness testing is a key element in many quality control
procedures and R&D work.
What is hardness testing? How can you select the best hardness testing method? What is
the best application for hardness testing? And how can you draw conclusions of hardness
tests? The following pages answer these questions – and more.

To see our range of hardness testing machines and accessories, check out our hardness
testing equipment page.

SEE OUR HARDNESS TESTING APPLICATION NOTE

SEE OUR HARDNESS TESTING CONVERSION POSTER

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF HARDNESS TESTING?

The application of hardness testing enables you to evaluate a material’s properties, such
as strength, ductility and wear resistance, and so helps you determine whether a
material or material treatment is suitable for the purpose you require.

The definition of hardness testing is ‘a test to determine the resistance a material

exhibits to permanent deformation by penetration of another harder material.’
However, hardness is not a fundamental property of a material. Therefore, when
drawing conclusions of a hardness test, you should always evaluate the quantitative
value in relation to:

The given load on the indenter

A specific loading time profile and a specific load duration
A specific indenter geometry

HOW DO HARDNESS TESTS WORK?

A hardness test is typically performed by pressing a specifically dimensioned and loaded
object (indenter) into the surface of the material you are testing. The hardness is
determined by measuring the depth of indenter penetration or by measuring the size of
the impression left by an indenter.

Hardness tests that measure the depth of indenter penetration include: Rockwell,
Instrumented Indentation Testing, and Ball Indentation Hardness
Hardness tests that measure the size of the impression left by the indenter include:
Vickers, Knoop, and Brinell

SELECTING THE BEST HARDNESS TEST METHOD

How to select the test method
The hardness test you choose should be determined by the microstructure – e.g. the
homogeneity – of the material you are testing, as well as the type of material, the size of
the part and its condition.

In all hardness tests, the material under the indent should be representative of the
whole microstructure (unless you attempting to ascertain the different constituents in
the microstructure). Therefore, if a microstructure is very coarse and heterogeneous,
you need a larger impression than for a homogeneous material.

There are four main hardness tests, each with their own set of benefits and
requirements. There are different standards for these tests, which explain the
procedures and application of the hardness test in detail.

When selecting a hardness test method, important considerations include:

 The type of material to be hardness tested
Whether compliance with a standard is required
The approximate hardness of the material
The homogeneity/heterogeneity of the material
The size of the part
Whether mounting is necessary
The number of samples to be tested
The required accuracy of the result

THE FOUR MOST COMMON INDENTATION HARDNESS

TESTS
The Rockwell The Vickers
hardness test hardness test
Rockwell is a fast Vickers is a hardness
hardness test method test for all solid
developed for materials, including
production control, metallic materials. The
with a direct readout, Vickers Hardness (HV)
mainly used for is calculated by
metallic materials. The measuring the diagonal
Rockwell hardness (HR) lengths of an indent in
is calculated by the sample material left
measuring the depth of by introducing a
an indent after an diamond pyramid
indenter has been indenter with a given
forced into the load. The diagonals of
specimen material at a the indent are
given load. measured optically in
order to determine the
Generally used for hardness, using a table
larger sample or formula.
geometries
A ‘quick test’ mainly Used for hardness
used for metallic testing of all solid
materials materials, including
Can be used for metallic materials
advanced tests, such as Suitable for a wide
the Jominy (end range of applications
quench) test (HRC) Includes a sub-
group of hardness
testing of welds
READ MORE ABOUT
THE ROCKWELL
HARDNESS TEST READ MORE ABOUT
THE VICKERS
HARDNESS TEST
The Knoop The Brinell
hardness test hardness test
Knoop (HK) is an The Brinell hardness
alternative to the test is used for
Vickers test in the hardness testing larger
micro hardness testing samples in materials
range. It is mainly used with a coarse or
to overcome cracking in inhomogeneous grain
brittle materials, as well structure. The Brinell
as to facilitate the hardness test (HBW)
hardness testing of thin indentation leaves a
layers. The indenter is relatively large
an asymmetrical impression, using a
pyramidal diamond, tungsten carbide ball.
and the indent is The size of the indent is
measured by optically read optically.
measuring the long
diagonal. Used for materials
with a coarse or
Used for hard and inhomogeneous grain
brittle materials, such structure
as ceramics Used for larger
Suitable for small samples
elongated areas, such Suitable for forgings
as coatings and castings where the
structural elements are
large
READ MORE ABOUT
THE KNOOP
HARDNESS TEST READ MORE ABOUT
THE BRINELL
HARDNESS TEST
HOW TO ENSURE ACCURACY AND REPEATABILITY IN
HARDNESS TESTING
The correct application of hardness testing requires careful preparation and execution.
However, once you have the basics in place, most hardness tests offer good accuracy
and repeatability.

Factors that influence hardness testing

A number of factors influence hardness tests results. As a general rule, the lower the
load you use in the hardness test, the more factors that need to be controlled to ensure
an accurate conclusion of the hardness test.

Here are a few of the most important factors to consider to ensure an accurate
conclusion from a hardness test.

External factors such as light, dirt, vibrations, temperature, and humidity should be
controlled
The tester and stage should be secured on a solid horizontal table, and the sample
should be clamped or held in a holder or anvil
The indenter should be perpendicular to the tested surface
Illumination settings should be constant during the test when using Vickers, Knoop,
or Brinell
The tester should be recalibrated/verified every time you change the indenter or
objective lens

SURFACE PREPARATION REQUIREMENTS FOR

HARDNESS TESTING
Before hardness testing of metallic materials or other materials, you must prepare the
surface. The required surface condition depends on the type of test and load used. In
general, the quality of surface preparation has a direct effect on the hardness test result,
so you should consider the trade-off between surface quality and test result variation
before deciding on an inferior surface preparation.

Macro hardness testing

A ground surface is usually sufficient, and sometimes no preparation is required.

Micro hardness testing

Due to the lower loads used during hardness testing, micro hardness testing requires a
polished or electropolished surface. It is important that the borders/corners of an
optically evaluated impression are clearly visible. This can be performed mechanically,
chemically, or electrochemically. It is important that heating or cold working does not
change the surface properties of the specimen.

Deformations
Cutting and grinding may introduce deformations. These must be removed by polishing
down to 6.0, 3.0, or 1.0 μm, depending on the hardness test load.

For small loads (less than 300 gf1) the surface needs to be completely free of
deformations, and the specimens require oxide or electrolytic polishing to obtain a
completely damage-free surface. You should also take into account that soft and/or
ductile materials (i.e. for HV less than 120-150) are more sensitive when it comes to
introducing preparation artefacts.

In the table below, you can see the surface preparation requirements for the different
hardness tests.
DEFINITION OF HARDNESS TESTING LOADS
Officially, hardness testing loads are expressed in Newton (N). However, historically,
loads were expressed in kilogram-force (kgf), gram-force (gf), or pond (p). The
correlation between kgf, kp, and N is: 1.0 kgf = 1,000 gf = 1.0 kp = 9.81 N.

The term micro hardness testing is usually used when indentation loads are below or
equal to 1 kgf
The term macro hardness testing is used when loads are higher than 1 kgf

If standards permit, use the highest possible load/force for largest indent to ensure the
most accurate results.

The loads used by each of the four methods for hardness testing of metallic materials*
comply with the different ISO and ASTM standards.

INDENT SPACING
During hardness testing, the indentation will deform the surrounding material and alter its
properties. In order to avoid misinterpretations of the perceived hardness, the standards
prescribe a certain distance between multiple indentations.

Examples of indent spacing in the Vickers hardness test for metallic materials

For steel, copper, and copper alloys: Spacing between indents must be at least three
diagonal widths
For lead, zinc, aluminum, and tin: Spacing between indents must be at least six diagonal
widths

TROUBLESHOOTING FOR HARDNESS TESTS

Problem

It can be difficult to obtain plane-parallel surfaces during

preparation for the hardness test. Also, the indenter should be
perpendicular to the test surface. For the Vickers hardness test,
the measured diagonals should not deviate more than 5.0%
from each other. For the Knoop hardness test, the two halves
of the long diagonals must not differ by more than 10.0% from
each other.

Solution:

If the deviation is not due to anisotropy in the material, the best solution is to use a fixture
to hold the specimen so that the indenter penetrates the surface perpendicularly. If no
fixture is available, make sure the mechanical preparation of the specimen gives you plane-
parallel end surfaces.

If the surface finish of a specimen is too rough, it might be

hard to evaluate the corners of an indent, especially if
automatic equipment is used. Scratches from preparation may
cause a misreading of the indent size when using automatic
hardness testing.

Solution

Use a polished surface. Surface preparation requirements depend of the applied load and
hardness of the material: the softer the material, the better the polish that is required. See
preparation requirements in the How to Hardness Test section, and find a suitable
preparation method for the material in the e-metalog.
If the specimen is not properly cleaned after mechanical
preparation and you perform an optical reading of the
hardness test, an automatic reading might result in a
misinterpretation of the corners of the indent.

Solution

Always ensure that the specimens are cleaned properly before performing the hardness
test, otherwise contaminants from the polishing cloth (dirt or fibers, for example) might
complicate the reading.

For a heavily etched sample, it might be difficult to evaluate the

corners of an indent, which may lead to a less accurate
conclusion of the hardness test.

Solution

Etching should be avoided as far as possible, because it results in a less reflective surface. If
etching is necessary, a light etch is preferable, so that it will be possible to discriminate the
corners of the indent. Sometimes it can be necessary to etch when evaluating a weld, for
example.

The hardness appears greater than expected.

Solution

Check the rules for proper indent spacing for the intended hardness test. If the hardness
indentations are too close to each other, strain hardening can appear.

A FULL RANGE OF HARDNESS TESTING MACHINES

Hardness testing is key in most quality control procedures. That’s why we provide a
complete range of hardness testing equipment and accessories for every need, from small
lab applications to heavy-duty hardness testing in production.

Check out our range of hardness testing equipment to ensure your equipment is up to the
task.

SEE OUR HARDNESS TESTING EQUIPMENT

DELVE DEEPER INTO HARDNESS TESTING

If you would like to know more about the hardness testing methods for metallic and other
materials, including a full definition of hardness testing, the different applications of
hardness tests and how to prepare for hardness tests, download our resources.

SEE OUR HARDNESS TESTING APPLICATION NOTE

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