EXPERIMENT 3: HARDNESS TEST

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this experiment is to determine the hardness of a material by
using a hardness tester.

INTRODUCTION
One of the mechanical properties that may be important to consider is hardness,
which is a measure of a materials resistance to localized plastic deformation (e.g., a
small dent or a scratch) or in other words, it is a measure of the resistance of a metal to
permanent (plastic) deformation. Early hardness tests were based on natural minerals with
a scale constructed solely on the ability of one material to scratch another that was softer.
A qualitative and somewhat arbitrary hardness indexing scheme was devised, termed the
Mohs scale, which ranged from 1 on the soft end for talc to 10 for diamond.
Quantitative hardness techniques have been developed over the years in which a
small indenter is forced into the surface of a material to be tested, under controlled
conditions of load and rate of application. The depth or size of the resulting indentation is
measured, which in turn is related to a hardness number; the softer the material, the larger
and deeper the indentation, and the lower the hardness index number. The indenter, which
is usually a ball, pyramid, or cone, is usually made of hardened steel, tungsten carbide, or
diamond, a much harder material than the material being tested.

Measured hardnesses are only relative (rather than absolute), and care should be
exercised when comparing values determined by different techniques. Hardness tests are
performed more frequently than any other mechanical test for several reasons:
1. They are simple and inexpensiveordinarily no special specimen need be prepared,
and the testing apparatus is relatively inexpensive.
2. The test is nondestructivethe 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.
For

most

standard

hardness

tests,

known

load

is

applied

slowly by pressing the indenter at 90 o into the metal surface being tested. The
indenter is withdrawn from the surface after the indentation is made. An empirical
hardness number is then calculated or read off a dial, which is based on the crosssectional area or depth of the impression. The four common hardness tests are
Brinnell, Vickers, Knoop and Rockwell. In this experiment,Vickers microhardness test
(sometimes also called diamond pyramid) will be used. The basic principles of operation
of the Vickers hardness test are illustrated in Figure 3.1 where it can be seen that the load
is applied to the indenter by a simple weighted lever. In older machines, an oil filled dash
pot is used as a timing mechanism - on more modern equipment this is done
electronically.

Figure 3.1: Schematic principles of operation of Vickers hardness machine.

MATERIAL & METHODOLOGY

Material and Apparatus
Hardness testers: Vickers microhardness.
Test Specimens: Metal specimen from Experiment 5.

Figure 3.2: Vickers hardness test.

Procedure
The hardness tests are carried out under the supervision of the lab instructor.
General procedure:
1. The specimen was placed on the vice.
2. The indenter was lowered until it just touches the specimen surface.
3. The appropriate load (F = 2kgf) was set for the indenter for 10 seconds.
4. The indenter was allowed to penetrate the specimen surface.
5. Load was removed and indenter was raised from specimen surface.
6. The appropriate parameter (diameter) of the indentation was measured.
7. The hardness value was computed.
8. The above steps were repeated for 3 times at different locations on the specimen
and the average value was computed.
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Results
Parameters
D1 (m)
D2 (m)
Hardness (HV)
Average Hardness

First Reading
153.1
159.0
152.3

Second Reading
151.7
151.7
161.1
156.9

Third Reading
153.5
153.5
157.4

(HV)
Calculations
Vickers hardness number is designated by HV,

where P= Load in kg and d1 = Arithmetic mean of the two diagonals, D1 and D2 in mm.

A) For first reading,

d1 = 153.1x 10-3 + 159.0x10-3 = 0.15605mm

2
HV = 1.854(2kg) / (0.15605mm)2
= 152.3 HV
B) For second reading,
d1 = 151.7x 10-3 + 151.7x10-3 = 0.1517mm
2
HV = 1.854(2kg) / (0.1517mm)2
= 161.1 HV
C) For third reading,
d1 = 153.5x 10-3 + 153.5x10-3 = 0.1535mm
2
HV = 1.854(2kg) / (0.1535mm)2
= 157.4 HV
Average Vickers hardness number = (152.3 + 161.1 + 157.4) / 3
= 156.9HV

Discussion
Answers for questions :
1.

The Vickers hardness test utilizes a diamond pyramid shaped indenter that is ground

in the form of a squared pyramid with an angle of 136 o between faces, and the depth of
indentation is about 1/7 of the resulting impressions diagonal length.
Knoop hardness testing utilizes a diamond indenter that is ground to an elongated
pyramidal form that produces a diamond shaped indentation having an approximate ratio
between long and short diagonals of 7:1, and the depth of indentation is about 1/30 of the
indentations length.

The differences in indenter geometries between Vickers and Knoop results in

different depths of penetration into the material and therefore pose benefits for testing
materials of various thicknesses. Knoop testing is commonly used for testing layers or
coatings where the material of interest is very thin. Vickers testing allows users to group
indentations very close in proximity to each other allowing for a tighter grouping of
measurements to plot a case hardness depth traverse or to obtain an average hardness
value. Additionally, the orientation of a traverse (series of indentations) is not of much
concern with Vickers testing where with Knoop testing, the traverse direction could pose
an issue when traversing in the direction of the elongated indentations. Vickers testing is
also the most common form of micro hardness testing and is the more conventional unit
of measurement when conducting a micro hardness test.

2.

The hardness values obtained each time for the same specimen are slightly

differences. Their differences may due to the grains, grain boundaries, defects and
impurities of surface of the specimen.

3.

The hardness values obtained using Vickers and Knoop are different. For the Vickers

test, both the diagonals are measured and the average value is used to compute the
Vickers pyramid number. In the Knoop test, only the longer diagonal is measured, and the
Knoop hardness is calculated based on the projected area of the indent divided by the
applied force, also giving test units in kgf/mm.
4.

The Knoop diamond produces an elongated rhombic based diamond shaped indent

with a ratio between long and short diagonals of about 7 to 1. Knoop tests are typically
performed at test forces from 10 - 1000g, are best used in small test areas or on brittle
materials as minimal material deformation occurs on the short diagonal area.

CONCLUSION
In this experiment, the hardness of the specimen is determined by using a Vickers hardness
tester. For each reading, the hardness values gained are slightly different, which are
152.3HV, 161.1HV and 157.4HV respectively. Thus, an average hardness value of
156.9HV is computed. By comparing Vickers and Knoop hardness, we can conclude that:

Vickers indenter penetrates about twice as deep as Knoop indenter.

Vickers indentation diagonal about 1/3 of the length of Knoop major diagonal.

Vickers test is less sensitive to surface conditions than Knoop test.

Vickers test is more sensitive to measurement errors than knoop test.

Vickers test best for small rounded areas.

Knoop test best for small elongated areas.

Knoop test good for very hard brittle materials and very thin sections.

LIMITATION AND ERROR OF THE EXPERIMENT

Limitations

The 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 ten times the indentation depth; 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.

Quality of the specimen preparation. The specimen is partially covered by the

mould. Specimen preparation quality becomes more important as the load
decreases, and it must be at an acceptable level. Specimen thickness must be at
least 2.5 times the Vickers diagonal length.

Errors
The impression is too close to the specimen edge then low hardness values will be
recorded. The impression should be some 4 to 5 times the impression diameter from any
free edge.
Precautions
When doing the hardness tests the minimum distance between indentations and the
distance from the indentation to the edge of the specimen must be taken into account to
avoid interaction between the work-hardened regions and effects of the edge. This
minimum distances are different for ISO 6507-1 and ASTM E384 standards.
REFERENCE
1) Callister, W. D. and Rethwisch D. G. (2011). Materials Science and Engineering.
(8th ed).Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 174-178
2) R.L. Smith and G.E. Sandland (1922) .An Accurate Method of Determining the

Hardness of Metals, with Particular Reference to Those of a High Degree of

Hardness, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Vol. I, 623641.
3) Indentation hardness
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indentation_hardness
<Accessed on 27/06/2013 at 2.00pm>
4) Microindentation Hardness Testing
http://www.metallography.com/amp/micro.htm

<Accessed on 27/06/2013 at 9.20pm>

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5) Microhardness Test
http://www.gordonengland.co.uk/hardness/microhardness.htm

<Accessed on 27/06/2013 at 10.45pm>