Hardness Test

Batch B3: Shiv Kumar, Shivangi Sharma, Shubham Maurya, Sreekanth MN

Department of Aerospace Engineering
Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Trivandrum
(Dated: August 26, 2014)
(Experiment No. 4)
The objective of the hardness test is to determine hardness of the given specimens of Aluminium,
mild steel and cast iron using Vickers and Rockwell hardness test. The hardness of any material is
the measure of its resistance to permanent deformation. The degree of indentation on the specimen
reflects its hardness.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Hardness is the measurement of a material to resist permanent deformation on application of force. Apart from
indentation, hardness also includes resistance to scratching, abrasion or cutting. The greater the hardness of a
material, the greater is the resistance to plastic deformation. There are three main types of hardness measurements 1. Scratch hardness measure of deformation due to frictional forces such as scratching due to sharp edges.
2. Indentation hardness measures the resistance of material upon compressive load from a sharp object. The
dimensions of indentation on specimen determines the hardness.
3. Rebound hardness measure of deformation due to impulsive force on specimen. The impulse is given through
a diamond-tipped hammer and its rebound height gives the measure of harness of material.

II.

THEORY

Hardness of a material depends on microstructure, that is how atoms are arranged. The irregularities in microstructure control the movement of plane of atoms (slip). The more easily slip occurs, less is the hardness of
material. Hardness can be increased by adding interstitial impurities which pins the movement of dislocations.[1]
Hardness is not a mechanical property. It is the result of a defined measurement procedure which varies with
apparatus and experimental setup. Eventually, the hardness value of a material is not standard and differs with the
testing method employed.[2]

III.

APPARATUS AND METHODS

III.1.

Experimental Setup

The methods employed for hardness measurement are Rockwell and Vickers test as discussed here.
Rockwell hardness test

The Rockwell hardness test method (Fig.1) consists of indenting the test material with a diamond cone (angle 120) or
hardened steel ball indenter (diameter 1/16). The indenter is forced into the test material under a preliminary minor
load. When equilibrium has been reached, an indicating device, which responds to changes in depth of penetration
of the indenter, is set to a datum position. Then an additional major load results in increase in penetration. After
the dwell period, removal of the additional major load allows a partial elastic recovery, so reducing the depth of
penetration. The final effective depth of penetration is used to calculate the Rockwell hardness number.
Hardness is measured in different scales (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, K) and in numbers, having no units. The
advantage of Rockwell hardness test is that it is very rapid and value can be directly obtained (TABLE I).
Vickers hardness test

FIG. 1. Schematic of Rockwell hardness tester[3]

Scale
Indenter
Load (kgf) Application
A
Diamond cone(120 )
60
carbides, thin steel
B Steel ball(1.587 mm)
100
Aluminium
and
Copper alloys, cast
metal

C
Diamond cone (120 )
150
hard cast iron, titanium

D
Diamond cone (120 )
100
pearlitic malleable
iron, thin steel
E Steel ball (3.175 mm)
100
cast iron,
Aluminium and Magnesium alloys
F Steel ball (1.587 mm)
60
thin soft sheet metals, annealed copper alloys
G Steel ball (1.587 mm)
150
Copper Nickel Zinc
and cupronickel alloys
TABLE I. Selection of Rockwell hardness scale

The Vickers hardness test method (Fig.2) 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 suitable loads.
The full load is normally applied for 10 to 15 seconds. The two diagonals (d1 and d2) of the indentation left on the
surface (Fig.3) of the material are measured to find hardness number. The Vickers hardness number(HV) is obtained
as follows.
2F sin(
HV =

1360
)
2

d2

where, d is arithmetic mean of two diagonals d1 and d2 in mm

FIG. 2. Schematic of Vickers hardness tester[4]

FIG. 3. Measurement of indent in Vickers test

III.2.

Procedure

Rockwell test

1. Appropriate indenter and load for the given material is chosen.

2. Clean the specimen surface and place it on the testing table.
3. Turn the hand wheel to raise the specimen till the display shows SET.
4. Press START button.
5. A minor load of 10 kgf is applied on the specimen.
6. Now,an additional major load of 100 kgf load is applied leading to plastic deformation.
7. After the dwell time, major load is removed leading to partial elastic recovery and a slight decrease in depth of
indentation (Fig.4).
8. Once unloading is complete, hardness value can be noted from the display.
9. If HIGH is displayed increase the loading. If LOW is displayed decrease the loading. In both cases change the
indenter (if required).
10. If OK is displayed, repeat the test for different locations.

FIG. 4. Indentation diagram in Rockwell hardness test

Vickers Test

1. Select the load as suitable for the material.

2. Clean the specimen and place it on the test table.
3. Turn the hand wheel till the specimen surface becomes focused on the monitor.
4. Turn the knob to bring the indenter on top of specimen and press START.
5. Once unloading is done turn the knob again to bring the microscope on top of the indented surface.
6. Use the manual mode to mark the diagonal end points and measure the average diagonal. Also note the hardness
value from screen.

IV.

OBSERVATIONS

The experimental values of hardness of Aluminium, mild steel and cast iron specimens obtained from Rockwell
(TABLE 1) and Vickers (TABLE 2) hardness test are tabulated as shown.
Specimen S.No. Load (kgf)
1
100
2
60
Aluminium
3
60
4
60
1
100
2
150
Mild Steel
3
150
4
150
1
150
Cast Iron
2
150
3
150

Hardness No.
HRB 12.3 (Low*)
HRB 59.6 (OK)
HRB 67.0 (OK)
HRB 67.8 (OK)
HRB 99.7 (High**)
HRB 87.8 (High)
HRB 85.9 (High)
HRB 88.3 (High)
HRB 46.8 (OK)
HRB 44.3 (OK)
HRB 43.6 (OK)

* Low indicates that load should be decreased

** High indicates that a higher load is needed to cause indent
TABLE II. Rockwell hardness of various materials

V.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

1. The mean Rockwell hardness of given specimens were obtained (refer Table 1) and thus the harness of the
specimens are as follows (a) Rockwell hardness of Aluminium = 64.8HRB

5
Specimen S.No. Load (kgf) Mean diagonal(mm) Hardness No.
1
0.3379
81.2HV5
0.3696
67.9HV5
Aluminium 2
5
3
0.3559
73.2HV5
4
0.3721
67.0HV5
1
0.2482
299HV10
2
0.2533
289HV10
Mild Steel
10
3
0.2519
292HV10
4
0.2476
303HV10
1
0.3141
188HV10
2
0.3127
190HV10
Cast Iron
10
3
0.3022
203HV10
4
0.3065
197HV10
TABLE III. Vickers hardness of various materials

(b) Rockwell hardness of Mild steel could not be determined as indenters hardness was lower than mild steel
which needed a load higher than 150 kgf
(c) Rockwell hardness of Cast Iron = 44.9HRB
2. The mean Vickers hardness of given specimens were obtained (refer Table 2) and thus the hardness of the
specimens are as follows (a) Vickers hardness of Aluminium = 72.3HV5
(b) Vickers hardness of Mild Steel = 296HV10
(c) Vickers hardness of Cast iron = 195HV10
3. From hardness values of the materials, we conclude that hardness of mild steel is highest followed by cast iron
and Aluminium having the least hardness.
4. The materials are classified on the basis of hardness and their applications are decided accordingly.
5. Hardness tests are easy to perform, quick and non-destructive.

VI.

REFERENCES

1. Irving H. Shames and James M. Pitaressi Introduction to Solid Mechanics, 3rd ed. New Delhi: PHI Learning,
2009
2. DeWolf, Beer, Johnston and Mazurek Mechanics of Materials, 6th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2013
3. Digital Plastic Rockwell Hardness Tester SHR-150CP, M&L Testing Equipment, Web <http://mltest.com/
images/SHR-150C-1.jpg>
4. VICKSYS Computerised Vickers Hardness Tester, Fuel Instruments & Engineers Pvt. Ltd. Web <http://www.
fuelinstrument.com/vickers_hardness_tester_vm50_pc.html>