AZERBAIJAN CASPIAN SHIPPING COMPANY

AZERBAIJAN STATE MARINE ACADEMY

Faculty: Navigation
Specialty: Marine Navigation Engineering
Group: 053I
Subject: Material Science and Materials Technology
Instructor: İbrahimli Elvin
Name: Huseynov Elnar

Laboratory work №1
Hardness Test

BAKU-2025
 LABORATORY WORK №1

HARDNESS TEST

OBJECTIVE
The hardness test is a mechanical test for material properties which are used in engineering
design, analysis of structures, and materials development. The principal purpose of the hardness
test is to determine the suitability of a material for a given application, or the particular treatment
to which the material has been subjected. The ease with which the hardness test can be made has
made it the most common method of inspection for metals and alloys.

Hardness tests are performed more frequently than any other mechanical test for several reasons:
1. They are simple and inexpensive—typically, no special specimen need be prepared,
and the testing apparatus is relatively inexpensive.
2. The test is nondestructive—the specimen is neither fractured nor excessively
deformed; a small indentation is the only deformation.
3. Other mechanical properties often may be estimated from hardness data, such as
tensile strength.

INTRODUCTION
Hardness is defined as the resistance of a material to permanent deformation such as
indentation, wear, abrasion, scratch. Principally, the importance of hardness testing has to do
with the relationship between hardness and other properties of material. For example, both the
hardness test and the tensile test measure the resistance of a metal to plastic flow, and results of
these tests may closely parallel each other. The hardness test is preferred because it is simple,
easy, and relatively nondestructive.
There are many hardness tests currently in use. The necessity for all these different hardness
tests is due to the need for categorizing the great range of hardness from soft rubber to hard
ceramics.

THEORY
The hardness test measures the resistance to penetration of the surface of a material by a hard
object. Hardness as a term is not defined precisely. Hardness, depending upon the context, can
represent resistance to scratching or indentation and a qualitative measure of the strength of the
material. In general, in macro-hardness measurements, the load applied is ~2 N. A variety of
hardness tests have been devised, but the most commonly used are the Rockwell test and the
Brinell test. Different indenters used in these tests are shown in Figure 1.
In the Brinell hardness test, a hard steel sphere (usually 10 mm in diameter) is forced into the
surface of the material. The diameter of the impression, typically 2 to 6 mm, is measured and the
Brinell hardness number (abbreviated as HB or BHN) is calculated from the following equation:

where F is the applied load in kilograms, D is the diameter of the indenter in millimeters, and Di
i
is the diameter of the impression in millimeters. The Brinell hardness has units of kg/mm2.

Figure 1. Indenters for the Brinell and Rockwell hardness tests.

Semiautomatic techniques for measuring Brinell hardness are available. These employ optical
scanning systems consisting of a digital camera mounted on a flexible probe, which allows
positioning of the camera over the indentation. Data from the camera are transferred
to a computer that analyzes the indentation, determines its size, and then calculates the Brinell
hardness number. For this technique, surface finish requirements are normally more stringent
than those for manual measurements.
Maximum specimen thickness and indentation position (relative to specimen edges) and
minimum indentation spacing requirements are the same as for Rockwell tests. In addition, a
well-defined indentation is required; this necessitates a smooth, flat surface in which the
indentation is made.
The Rockwell hardness test uses a small-diameter steel ball for soft materials and a diamond
cone, or Brale, for harder materials. The depth of penetration of the indenter is automatically
measured by the testing machine and converted to a Rockwell hardness number (HR). Since an
optical measurement of the indentation dimensions is not needed, the Rockwell test tends to be
more popular than the Brinell test. Several variations of the Rockwell test are used, including
those described in Table 1. A Rockwell C (HRC) test is used for hard steels, whereas a
Rockwell F (HRF) test might be selected for aluminum. Rockwell tests provide a hardness
number that has no units.
The Rockwell tests constitute the most common method used to measure hardness because they
are so simple to perform and require no special skills. Several different scales may be utilized
from possible combinations of various indenters and different loads, which permit the testing of
virtually all metal alloys (as well as some polymers). Indenters include spherical tungsten
carbide balls having diameters of 1/16, 1/8 ,1/4 and ½ in. (1.588, 3.175, 6.350, and 12.70 mm),
as well as a conical diamond (Brale) indenter, which is used for the hardest materials.
With this system, a hardness number is determined by the difference in depth of penetration
resulting from the application of an initial minor load followed by a larger major load; utilization
of a minor load enhances test accuracy. On the basis of the magnitude of both major and minor
loads, there are two types of tests: Rockwell and superficial Rockwell. For the Rockwell test, the
minor load is 10 kg, whereas major loads are 60, 100, and 150 kg. Each scale is represented by
a letter of the alphabet; several are listed with the corresponding indenter and load in Tables 1
and 2(a). For superficial tests, 3 kg is the minor load; 15, 30, and 45 kg are the possible major
load values. These scales are identified by a 15, 30, or 45 (according to load), followed by
N,T,W, X, or Y, depending on the indenter. Superficial tests are frequently performed on thin
specimens. Table 2.(b) presents several superficial scales.
Table 1 Hardness testing techniques

Table 2 (a) Rockwell hardness scales

Scale symbol Indenter Major load (kg)

A Diamond 60
B 1/16 in ball 100
C Diamond 150
D Diamond 100
E 1/8 in ball 100
F 1/16 in ball 60
G 1/16 in ball 150
H 1/8 in ball 60
K 1/8 in ball 150

When specifying Rockwell and superficial hardnesses, both hardness number and scale symbol
must be indicated. The scale is designated by the symbol HR followed by the appropriate scale
identification. For example, 80 HRB represents a Rockwell hardness of 80 on the B scale, and 60
HR30W indicates a superficial hardness of 60 on the 30W scale.
Table 2 (b) Superficial Rockwell Hardness Scales
Scale symbol Indenter Major load (kg)
15N Diamond 15
30N Diamond 30
45N Diamond 45
15T 1/16 in ball 15
30T 1/16 in ball 30
45T 1/16 in ball 45
15W 1/8 in ball 15
30W 1/8 in ball 30
45W 1/8 in ball 45

For each scale, hardnesses may range up to 130; however, as hardness values rise above 100 or
drop below 20 on any scale, they become inaccurate, and because the scales have some overlap,
in such a situation it is best to utilize the next-harder or next-softer scale. Inaccuracies also result
if the test specimen is too thin, if an indentation is made too near a specimen edge, or if two
indentations are made too close to one another. Specimen thickness should be at least 10
times the indentation depth, whereas allowance should be made for at least three indentation
diameters between the center of one indentation and the specimen edge, or to the center of a
second indentation. Furthermore, testing of specimens stacked one on top of another is not
recommended. Also, accuracy is dependent on the indentation being made into a smooth, flat
surface. The modern apparatus for making Rockwell hardness measurements is automated and
very simple to use; hardness is read directly, and each measurement requires only a few
seconds. The modern testing apparatus also permits a variation in the time of load application.
This variable must also be considered in interpreting hardness data.
Table 3 Comparison of typical hardness tests
 Test Indenter Load Application
Brinell 10-mm 3000 Cast iron and steel
ball kg

Brinell 10-mm 500 kg Nonferrous alloys

ball
Rockwell A Brale 60 kg Very hard materials

Rockwell B 1/16-in. 100 kg Brass, low- strength

ball steel
Rockwell Brale 150 kg High-strength steel
C
Rockwell Brale 100 kg High-strength steel
D
Rockwell E 1/8-in. ball 100 kg Very soft materials

Rockwell F 1/16-in. 60 kg Aluminum, soft

ball materials
Vickers Diamond 10 kg All materials
square
pyramid
Knoop Diamond 500 g All materials
elongated
pyramid
Hardness numbers are used primarily as a qualitative basis for comparison of materials,
specifications for manufacturing and heat treatment, quality control, and correlation with other
properties of materials. For example, Brinell hardness is related to the tensile strength of steel by
the approximation:
Tensile strength (psi) = 500 HB (2) where HB has units of kg/mm2.
Hardness correlates well with wear resistance. A separate test is available for measuring the wear
resistance. A material used in crushing or grinding of ores should be very hard to ensure that the
material is not eroded or abraded by the hard feed materials. Similarly, gear teeth in the
transmission or the drive system of a vehicle should be hard enough that the teeth do not wear
out. Typically we find that polymer materials are exceptionally soft, metals and alloys have
intermediate hardnesses, and ceramics are exceptionally hard. We use materials such as tungsten
carbide-cobalt composite (WC- Co), known as “carbide,” for cutting tool applications. We also
use microcrystalline diamond or diamond-like carbon (DLC) materials for cutting tools and
other applications.

The Knoop hardness (HK) test is a micro-hardness test, forming such small indentations that a
microscope is required to obtain measurement. In these tests, the load applied is less than 2 N.
The Vickers test, which uses a diamond pyramid indenter, can be conducted either as a macro or
micro- hardness test. Micro-hardness tests are suitable for materials that may have a surface that
has a higher hardness than the bulk, materials in which different areas show different levels of
hardness, or samples that are not macroscopically flat.
Hardness Conversion. The facility to convert the hardness measured on one scale to that of
another is most desirable. However, because hardness is not a well- defined material property,
and because of the experimental dissimilarities among the various techniques, a comprehensive
conversion scheme has not been devised. Hardness conversion data have been determined
experimentally and found to be dependent on material type and characteristics. The most reliable
conversion data exists for steels, some of which are presented in Figure 2 for Knoop,
Brinell, and two Rockwell scales: the Mohs scale is also included. Detailed conversion tables
for various other metals and alloys are contained in ASTM Standard E 140, “Standard Hardness
Conversion Tables for Metals.” In light of the preceding discussion, care should be exercised in
extrapolation of conversion data from one alloy system to another.
Correlation Between Hardness and Tensile Strength. Both tensile strength and hardness are
indicators of a metal’s resistance to plastic deformation. Consequently, they are roughly
proportional, as shown in Figure 3 for tensile strength as a function of the HB for cast iron, steel,
and brass. The same proportionality relationship does not hold for all metals, as Figure 3
indicates. As a rule of thumb, for most steels, the HB and the tensile strength are related
according to
TS (MPa) = 3.45 · HB (3)
TS (psi) = 500 · HB (4)

Figure 2 Comparison of several hardness scales.

Figure 1.3 Relationships among hardness and tensile strength for steel, brass, and cast iron.

Hardness of ceramic materials. Accurate hardness measurements on ceramic materials are

difficult to conduct inasmuch as ceramic materials are brittle and highly susceptible to cracking
when indenters are forced into their surfaces; extensive crack formation leads to inaccurate
readings. Spherical indenters (as with Rockwell and Brinell tests) are normally not used for ceramic
materials because they produce severe cracking. Rather, hardnesses of this class of materials are
measured using Vickers and Knoop techniques. The Vickers test is widely used for measuring
hardnesses of ceramics; however, for very brittle ceramic materials, the Knoop test is often
preferred. Furthermore, for both techniques, hardness decreases with increasing load (or indentation
size) but ultimately reaches a constant plateau that is independent of load; the value of hardness at
this plateau varies from ceramic to ceramic. An ideal hardness test would use a sufficiently large
load that lies near this plateau yet be of magnitude that does not introduce excessive cracking.
Possibly the most desirable mechanical characteristic of ceramics is their hardness; the hardest
known materials belong to this group. A number of different ceramic materials are listed
according to Vickers hardness in Table 4. These materials are often utilized when an abrasive or
grinding action is required.
Table 4 Vickers (and Knoop) Hardnesses for Eight Ceramic Materials

Material Vickers Knoop Comments

Hardness Hardness
(GPa) (GPa)
Diamond 130 103 Single crystal,
(carbon) (100) face
Boron 44.2 - Polycrystalline,
carbide sintered
(B4C)
Aluminum 26.5 - Polycrystalline,
oxide sintered, 99.7%
(Al2O3) pure
Silicon 25.4 19.8 Polycrystalline,
carbide reaction bonded,
(SiC) sintered

Tungsten 22.1 - Fused

carbide
(WC)
Silicon 16.0 17.2 Polycrystalline,
nitride hot pressed
(Si3N4)
Zirconia 11.7 - Polycrystalline, 9
(ZrO2) mol% Y2O3
(partially
stabilized)
Soda-lime 6.1 - -
glass
Tear strength and hardness of polymers. Mechanical properties that are
sometimes influential in the suitability of a polymer for some particular application include
tear resistance and hardness. The ability to resist tearing is an important property of
some plastics, especially those used for thin films in packaging. Tear strength, the
mechanical parameter that is measured, is the energy required to tear apart a cut
specimen of a standard geometry. The magnitude of tensile and tear strengths are related.
Polymers are softer than metals and ceramics, and most hardness tests are conducted by
penetration techniques similar to those described for metals. Rockwell tests are frequently
used for polymers. Other indentation techniques employed are the Durometer and Barcol
tests.

Theoretical calculation

11) For the Brinell hardness test calculate the diameter of

impression d, in mm by using the formula (P in kg),

(Table-1).

2P
HB = πD ¿ ¿

HB = Brinell Hardness Number (942)

𝑃 = Applied Load (1500 kg)

𝐷 = Diameter of Ball Indenter (Typically 10 mm for standard tests)

𝑑 = Diameter of Impression (to be determined)

𝜋 = 3.1416

2 ×1500
π (10)¿ ¿
Experiment Results