Hardness Test /

LAB
HARDNESS TEST
OBJECTIVES
(1) Make Brinell, Vickers and Rockwell hardness measurements on different
materials specimens.
(2) Compare the measurements in hardness with each other.

INTRODUCTION
Hardness can be defined as resistance to penetration, resistance to abrasion,
resistance to scratching , or resistance to cutting. These are related in that they
all require plastic flow of the material. A variety of tests for hardness are in use,
depending on which of the above situations is of most interest. Material
properties, such as hardness can be altered to desired levels by various heat
treatment procedures. Heat treatments affect the microstructure of the metal.
Detailed descriptions of the changes to the microstructure can be found in
material science () lecture notes.

This experiment will include Brinell, Vickers and Rockwell tests which measure
resistance to penetration. The amount of deformation that occurs when a small,
hard steel ball or diamond point is pressed into a material surface at some
designated load is the measure of the hardness of the material.

BRINELL HARDNESS TEST
The Brinell test for this experiment uses steel ball with different diameters which
is pressed into a specimen by a different load that is maintained for 15 to 30
seconds. The Brinell hardness number (BHN) is calculated by:

]

Where:
P is the test load [kg]
D is the diameter of the ball [mm]
d is the average impression diameter of indentation [mm]
Hardness Test /
Since the Brinell number is based on the area of indentation, the diameter of the
indentation must be measured. This is done with a microscope. The scale seen
through the microscope is in millimeters. The larger diameter indentation
corresponds to a softer material and lower Brinell number.

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 calculated. The area of the
sloping surface of the indentation is calculated. The Vickers hardness is the
quotient obtained by dividing the kgf load by the square mm
area of indentation.

P is the load and it can be varied from 1 to 1000 grams
d is the average diagonal diameter of indentation [mm]

When the mean diagonal of the indentation has been determined the Vickers
hardness may be calculated from the above formula. The Vickers hardness
should be reported like 800 HV/10, which means a Vickers hardness of 800, was
obtained using a 10 kgf force.

The advantages of the Vickers hardness test are that extremely accurate
readings can be taken, and just one type of indenter is used for all types of
metals and surface treatments.

ROCKWELL HARDNESS TEST
The penetrators for the Rockwell hardness tester range from 1/2-inch diameter
steel balls to very small diamond (brale) tips (points). The smaller points are used
for harder materials that have a greater resistance to indentation. There are
various force scales used for various materials. The Rockwell B and Rockwell C
Hardness Test /
scales will be used for this experiment. The Rockwell B scale is suitable for soft
engineering metals, and the Rockwell C scale is appropriate for hard engineering
metals. Each scale requires a specified tip and load. The B scale uses a 1/16-
inch diameter hard steel ball and a 100-kg load. The C scale uses a conical
diamond point and a 150-kg load.

To perform the Rockwell tests, the penetrator is pressed against the specimen
with an initial 10-kg preload to properly seat the penetrator. The remaining load is
applied gradually after the dial on the hardness tester has been zeroed. After the
penetrator has stopped moving into the specimen, the final position of the dial
pointer indicates the Rockwell hardness number that is related to the depth of
penetration.

MATERIALS TO BE TESTED
Different materials specimens will be tested in this laboratory experiment namely:
aluminum alloy, carbon steel, brass, commercial pure copper, brass, and
stainless steel. However, for Vickers testing just Aluminum alloy sample will be
tested.

EQUIPMENT TO BE USED:
Zwick/ZHU187.5 - Universal hardness tester up to 187.5 kg





Hardness Test /
Students Work
Hardness TEST
:
.................................................................. ...................... .......................... : ................................................ : ........
:
.................................................................. ...................... .......................... : ................................................ : ........
:
.................................................................. ...................... .......................... : ................................................ : ........
:
.................................................................. ...................... .......................... : ................................................ : ........

:
STUDENT WORK
Selected samples will be selected to be tested by Brinell, Vickers and Rockwell
hardness test, the results are given to students in the class lab.

1. For Brinell experiment, student has to calculate the BHN and depth of
impression (h) through the following formulas for each material tested:

In the class, the values of P and d (d

and d

) hane been given to

students.

2. For Vickers experiment, student has to calculate the VHN through the
following formula for each material tested:

In the class, the values of P and d (d

and d

) hane been given to

students.

3. For Rockwell experiment, student has to calculate the depth (t) due to the
major load through the following formulas for each used indenter: