Brinell Hardness Test The Brinell hardness test is widely used for testing metals and

nonmetals of low to mediumhardness. It is named after the Swedish engineerwho developed

it around 1900. In the test, a hardened steel (or cemented carbide) ball of 10-mmdiameter is
pressed into the surface of a specimen using a load of 500, 1500, or 3000 kg. The load is then
divided into the indentation area to obtain the BrinellHardnessNumber (BHN). In equation
form

where HB = Brinell Hardness Number (BHN); F =indentation load, kg; Db =diameter
of the ball, mm; and Di = diameter of the indentation on the surface, mm.
These dimensions are indicated in Figure 3.14(a). The resultingBHNhas units of kg/
mm2, but the units are usually omitted in expressing the number. For harder materials
(above 500 BHN), the cemented carbide ball is used because the steel ball experiences
elastic deformation that compromises the accuracy of the reading. Also, higher loads (1500
and 3000 kg) are typically used for harder materials. Because of differences in results under
different loads, it is considered good practice to indicate the load used in the test when
reporting HB readings.


Rockwell Hardness Test This is another widely used test, named after the metallurgist
who developed it in the early 1920s. It is convenient to use, and several enhancements
over the years have made the test adaptable to a variety of materials.
In the Rockwell Hardness Test, a cone-shaped indenter or small-diameter ball, with
Diameter= 1.6 or 3.2 mm (1/16 or 1/8 in) is pressed into the specimen using a minor load of
10 kg, thus seating the indenter in the material.Then, a major load of 150 kg (or other value) is
applied, causing the indenter to penetrate into the specimen a certain distance beyond its
initial position. This additional penetration distance d is converted into a Rockwell hardness
reading by the testing machine. The sequence is depicted in Figure 3.14(b). Differences in
load and indenter geometry provide various Rockwell scales for differentmaterials.Themost
common scales are indicated in Table 3.5.
Vickers Hardness Test This test, also developed in the early 1920s, uses a pyramidshaped
indentermade of diamond. It is based on the principle that impressionsmade by this
indenter are geometrically similar regardless of load. Accordingly, loads of various size are
applied, depending on the hardness of the material to be measured. The Vickers Hardness
(HV) is then determined from the formula



where F applied load, kg, andD=the diagonal of the impression made by the indenter,
mm, as indicated in Figure 3.14(c).
The Vickers test can be used for all metals and has one of the widest scales among
hardness test

Another difference in melting occurs with noncrystalline materials (glasses). In these
materials, there is a gradual transition fromsolid to liquid states. The solid material gradually
softens as temperature increases, finally becoming liquid at the melting point. During
softening, the material has a consistency of increasing plasticity (increasingly like a fluid)
as it gets closer to the melting point.





Surface Roughness and Surface Finish Surface roughness is a measurable characteristic
based on the roughness deviations as defined in the preceding. Surface finish is a more
subjective term denoting smoothness and general quality of a surface. In popular usage,
surface finish is often used as a synonym for surface roughness.
The most commonly used measure of surface texture is surface roughness. With
respect to Figure 5.15, surface roughness can be defined as the average of the vertical
deviations from the nominal surface over a specified surface length.An arithmetic average
(AA) is generally used, based on the absolute values of the deviations, and this roughness
value is referred to by the name average roughness. In equation form





where Ra = arithmetic mean value of roughness, m (in); y = the vertical deviation from
nominal surface (converted to absolute value),m(in); andLm=the specified distance over
which the surface deviations are measured.





As defined earlier, Steel is an alloy of iron that contains carbon ranging by weight between
0.02% and 2.11% (most steels range between 0.05% and 1.1%C). It often includes other
alloying ingredients, such as manganese, chromium, nickel, and/or molybdenum (see
Table 6.2); but it is the carbon content that turns iron into steel. Hundreds of compositions
of steel are available commercially. For purposes of organization here, the vast majority of
commerciallyimportant steels canbe groupedintothe following categories: (1) plain carbon
steels, (2) low alloy steels, (3) stainless steels, (4) tool steels, and (5) specialty steels.



The precious metals, also called the noble metals because they are chemically inactive,
include silver, gold, and platinum. They are attractive metals, available in limited supply,
and have been used throughout civilized history for coinage and to underwrite paper
The noblemetals (copper, silver, and gold) in column IB
have similar properties. Generally there are correlations in propertiesamongelements within
a given column, whereas differences exist among elements in different columns.


A polymer is a compound consisting of long-chain
molecules, each molecule made up of repeating units connected
together. There may be thousands, even millions of
units in a single polymer molecule. The word is derived from
the Greekwords poly,meaningmany, and meros (reduced to
mer), meaning part.Most polymers are based on carbon and
are therefore considered organic chemicals

Degree of Polymerization and Molecular Weight A macromolecule produced by
polymerization consists of n repeatingmers. Sincemolecules in a given batch of polymerized
material vary in length, n for the batch is an average; its statistical distribution is normal. The
mean value of n is called the degree of polymerization (DP) for the batch. The degree of
polymerization affects the properties of the polymer: higher DP increases mechanical
strength but also increases viscosity in the fluid state, which makes processingmore difficult.
Copolymers Polyethylene is a homopolymer; so are polypropylene, polystyrene, and
many othercommon plastics; theirmolecules consist of repeatingmers that are all the same
type. Copolymers are polymers whose molecules are made of repeating units of two
different types. An example is the copolymer synthesized from ethylene and propylene to
produce a copolymer with elastomeric properties. The ethylene-propylene copolymer