Hardness Testing
Rockwell Hardness Test The Rockwell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a diamond cone or hardened steel ball indenter. The indenter is forced into the test material under a preliminary minor load F0 (Fig. 1A) usually 10 kgf. When equilibrium has been reached, an indicating device, which follows the movements of the indenter and so responds to changes in depth of penetration of the indenter is set to a datum position. While the preliminary minor load is still applied an additional major load is applied with resulting increase in penetration (Fig. 1B). When equilibrium has again been reach, the additional major load is removed but the preliminary minor load is still maintained. Removal of the additional major load allows a partial recovery, so reducing the depth of penetration (Fig. 1C). The permanent increase in depth of penetration, resulting from the application and removal of the additional major load is used to calculate the Rockwell hardness number.
HR = E - e
F0 = preliminary minor load in kgf F1 = additional major load in kgf F = total load in kgf e = permanent increase in depth of penetration due to major load F1 measured in units of 0.002 mm E = a constant depending on form of indenter: 100 units for diamond indenter, 130 units for steel ball indenter HR = Rockwell hardness number D = diameter of steel ball
Rockwell Hardness Scales
Scale A B C D E F G H K L M P R S V
Indenter Diamond cone 1/16" steel ball Diamond cone Diamond cone 1/8" steel ball 1/16" steel ball 1/16" steel ball 1/8" steel ball 1/8" steel ball 1/4" steel ball 1/4" steel ball 1/4" steel ball 1/2" steel ball 1/2" steel ball 1/2" steel ball
Minor Major load F0 F1 kgf kgf 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 50 90 140 90 90 50 140 50 140 50 90 140 50 90 140
Total F kgf 60 100 150 100 100 60 150 60 150 60 100 150 60 100 150
Value of E 100 130 100 100 130 130 130 130 130 130 130 130 130 130 130
Typical Application of Rockwell Hardness Scales HRA . . .Cemented carbides, thin steel and shallow case hardened steel HRB . . .Copper alloys, soft steels, aluminium alloys, malleable irons, etc. HRC . . .Steel, hard cast irons, case hardened steel and other materials harder than 100 HRB HRD . . .Thin steel and medium case hardened steel and pearlitic malleable iron HRE . . .Cast iron, aluminium and magnesium alloys, bearing metals HRF . . .Annealed copper alloys, thin soft sheet metals HRG . . Phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, malleable irons HRH . . Aluminium, zinc, lead HRK . . . } HRL . . . . } HRM . . . } Soft bearing metals, plastics and other very soft materials HRP . . . . } HRR . . . . } HRS . . . . } HRV . . . . }
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.
F= Load in kgf d = Arithmetic mean of the two diagonals, d1 and d2 in mm HV = Vickers hardness
The Brinell Hardness Test
The Brinell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a 10 mm diameter hardened steel or carbide ball subjected to a load of 3000 kg. For softer materials the load can be reduced to 1500 kg or 500 kg to avoid excessive indentation. The full load is normally applied for 10 to 15 seconds in the case of iron and steel and for at least 30 seconds in the case of other metals. The diameter of the indentation left in the test material is measured with a low powered microscope. The Brinell harness number is calculated by dividing the load applied by the surface area of the indentation.
Schematics of indenter tips
Vickers Berkovich
Knoop
Conical
Rockwell Spherical
Hardness of a materials is size-dependent
Microindentation
Vickers microindentation : size of pyramid comparable to microstructural features. You can use to assess relative hardness of various phases or microconstituents. A prescribed load appled to an indenter in contact with a specimen and the load is then removed and the area of the residual impression is measured. The load divided by the by the area is called the hardness.
Nanoindentation
A prescribed load is appled to an indenter in contact with a specimen. As the load is applied, the depth of penetration is measured. The area of contact at full load is determined by the depth of the impression and the known angle or radius of the indenter. The hardness is found by dividing the load by the area of contact. Shape of the unloading curve provides a measure of elastic modulus.
Typical material response
