Brinell Tests

- are static indentation tests using relatively large indenters.

- Suitable for test pieces that are neither very small nor extremely hard.
- Highly specialized equipment is not required.

Specimens
- It is not suitable for extremely hard materials, because the ball itself would deform too much,
nor it is satisfactory for thin pieces such as razor blades, because the usual indentation may be
greater than the thickness of the piece. It is not adapted for use with case-hardened surfaces,
because the depth of indentation may be greater than the thickness of the case and because the
yielding of the soft core invalidates the result; also, for such surfaces, the indentation is almost
invariably surrounded by a crack that may cause fatigue failure if the part is used in service.
- The Brinell Test should not be used for a part if marring of the surface impairs its value.
- The surface of the specimen should be flat and reasonably well polished.
- If the specimen is prepared from rough stock, the surface should be dressed with a file and then
polished with fine emery cloth.
- ASTM suggests the use of movable lamp for illumination to increase the sharpness of definition
of the edge of the indentation.
- For some specimens, the indentation may be made more distinct by using balls lightly etched
with nitric acid or by using some pigment, such as Prussian blue, on the ball.

Apparatus
Types of machines for making Brinell test may differ as to

1. Method of applying load: oil pressure, weights with lever

2. Method of operation: hand, motive power
3. Method of measuring load: dynamometer, bourdon gage
4. Size: large or small

- The Brinell test may be made in a small universal testing machine by using a suitable adapter for
holding the ball, as well as using special machines designed for the purpose.
- For thin sheet-metal products such as cartridges and cartridge cases, a small hand-plier device
3
using a -in (1.2-mm) ball and a 22-lb (98.1-N) spring pressure has been employed.
64

The specimen is placed on the anvil and raised to contact the ball. Load is applied by pumping oil into
the main cylinder, which forces the main cylinder or plunger downward and presses the ball into the
specimen. When the desired load is applied, the balance weight on top of the machine is lifted by action
of the small piston; this ensures that an overload is not applied to the ball.

It is required that the ball be within 0.01mm of the nominal 10-mm diameter. When used on very hard
steels, it is required that the ball should not show a permanent change in diameter of more than
0.01mm. Fort this reason, carboloy (tungsten carbide) balls are often used for testing the harder steels.
The load-measuring device may be calibrated:

1. By the use of weights and proving levers

2. By an elastic calibration device
3. By making a series of indentations on specimens on different degrees of hardness and
comparing them with a second series of indentations made by the use of any standardized
testing machine and standard test ball.

According the ASTM standards, a Brinell machine is acceptable for use over a loading range within which
its load-measuring device is correct to within 1 percent.

The size and uniformity of the ball are checked by measurements with a micrometer caliper of suitable
accuracy.

The Brinell microscope is checked by comparing its readings with a standardized scale. The error of
reading throughout the range should not exceed 0.02mm.

Procedure
In the Brinell test, the load must be chosen in accordance with the expected hardness of the material. In
the standard test, the ball diameter is 10mm.

For testing small or thin specimens, it is sometimes necessary to make Brinell hardness tests with a ball
less than 10mm in diameter.

Normally, the full load is applied for a minimum of 15s for ferrous metals and 30s for softer metals; then
the load is released and the diameter of the indentation is measured to the nearest 0.02mm with the
microscope. Often, however, a 30s interval is used for ferrous metals and a 60s interval for other metals.
In rapidly made control tests, sometimes the time interval is permitted to be less than the standard.

Observation
The Brinell hardness number is nominally the load mass per unit area, in kilograms per square
millimetre, based on the area of the indentation that remains after the load is removed. It is obtained by
dividing the applied load by the area of the surface of the indentation, which is assumed to be spherical.
𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑃
Brinell hardness number (Bhn) = 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 = 𝜋𝐷
2
(𝐷−√𝐷2 −𝑑2 )

P = applied load, kg
D = diameter of the steel ball, mm
d = diameter of the indentation, mm

The hardness number obtained for ordinary steels (with 3000-kg load) range from about 100 to 500; the
medium-carbon structural steels have hardness numbers on the order of 130 to 160. For very hard
special steels, the hardness numbers may be as high as 800 or 900, but the Brinell test itself is not
recommended for materials having a Bhn over 630.
When the depth of indentation is to be measured, the observation is made just after the load is
released. A hardness number is computed from the depth of the indentation by using the following
equation:

𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑃
Brinell hardness number = 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 = 𝜋𝐷𝑡

Effects of variables

 ASTM specifies that no marking shall appear on the side of the piece opposite the indentation
and also requires the thickness of the specimen to be at least 10 times the depth of the
indentation.
 If the indentation is made too near the edge of the specimen, it may be both too large and
unsymmetrical.
 If the indentation is made too close to a previous one, it may be too large owing to lack of
sufficient supporting material or too small owing to work-hardening of the material by the first
indentation.
 Tests have shown that the errors may be neglected if the distance of the center of the
indentation from the edge of the specimen or from the center of adjacent indentations is equal
1
to or greater than 2 2 times the diameter of the indentation.

A rapid rate of applying the load affects the diameter of the Brinell indentation in two ways:

1. The effect of inertia of the piston and weights and the friction of the plunger cause a
momentary rise of the load above 3000kg and consequently enlarge the indentation,
2. A rapid rate of indentation allows less time for the plastic flow of the material, resulting in a
decreased size of the indentation.

 If a UTM is used and the load cannot be held quite steady during the load interval, it is better to
err on the low side occasionally than to apply excessive loads.
 The error in the brinell number is less than 1 percent as long as the error in diameter does not
exceed 0.01mm.

Causes of error in reading the diameter

1. Error in reading the microscope – should not exceed 0.02 mm, provided it is in proper
adjustment
2. Indefiniteness of the boundary of the indentation – may cause considerable uncertainty in the
magnitude of the diameter.

For testing materials with Brinell hardness numbers greater than about 400, the ball should be
frequently checked for distortion, and for testing materials having hardness numbers over 450, balls of
harder material than steel should be used. Carbide balls may be used for values to 630, the maximum
hardness for which the Brinell test should be used.

Rockwell Tests
- Like Brinell tests, are of the indentation type, but they can be used for smaller specimens and
harder materials. A special tester is required.

Specimens
- The test surface should be flat and free from scale, oxide films, pits, and foreign material that
may affect the results.
- Oiled surfaces generally give slightly lower readings than dry ones because the friction is
reduced under the indenter.
- The bottom surface should also be free from scale, dirt, or other foreign materials that might
crush or flow under the test pressure and so affect the results.
- The thickness of the piece tested should be such that no bulge or other marking appears on the
surface of indentation.
- For very hard materials, the thickness may be as little as about 0.25mm.
- All hardness tests should be made on a single thickness of the material, regardless of the
thickness of the piece.

Apparatus
The test is conducted in a specially designed machine that applies load through a system of weights and
levers. The indenter or “penetrator” may be either a steel ball or a diamond cone with a somewhat
rounded point.

The accuracy of Rockwell hardness testers is checked with special test blocks that are available for all
ranges of hardness. If the error of the tester is more than ±2 hardness numbers, it should be
reconditioned and brought into proper adjustment.

Procedure
In the operation of the machine, a minor load of 10kg is first applied, which causes an initial indentation
that sets the indenter on the material and holds it in position. The dial is set on the “set” mark on the
scale, and the major load is applied.

After the major load is applied and removed, the hardness reading is taken from the dial while the minor
load is still in position.

The “superficial” tester operates on the same principle as the regular Rockwell tester but employs
lighter minor and major loads and has a more sensitive depth-measuring system. One point on the
superficial machine corresponds to a difference in depth of indentation of 0.001mm.

Observations
The dial of the machine has two sets of figures, one red and the other black, which differ by 30 hardness
numbers. The dial is designed in this way to accommodate the B and C scales, which were the first one
standardized and are the most widely used.

Two advantages were gained by the shifting of the zero points

1. Negative numbers are avoided on soft material such as brass, when tested on the B scale
2. Established B 100 as the practical limit of hardness that might be tested with the 100kg major
load and the 1.6mm ball without deforming the ball.

There is no Rockwell hardness value designated by a number alone because it is necessary to indicate
which indenter and load have been employed in making the test. Therefore, a prefix letter, is used to
designate the test conditions.

The letter designations for the various Rockwell scales:

 In the designation of scales, it will be noted that red figures are used for readings obtained with
ball indenters regardless of the size of the ball or the magnitude of the major load, and that
black figures are used only for the diamond cone. The B scale is for testing materials of medium
hardness such as low- and medium-carbon annealed steels.
 If the ball indenter is used to test material harder than about B 100, there is danger that it will
be flattened.
 Because of its shape, the ball is not as sensitive as the rounded conical indenter to differences in
hardness of hard specimens.
 The C scale is the one most commonly used for materials harder than B 100. The hardest steel
runs about C 70.
 In general, the scale should be selected to employ the smallest ball that can properly be used,
because of the loss of sensitivity as the size increases.

The Rockwell scales are divided into 100 divisions, and each division or point of hardness is the
equivalent of 2𝜇𝑚 in indentation; therefore the difference of indentation between the dial readings of B
53 and B 56 is 3 x 2, or 6𝜇𝑚. Since the scales are reversed, the higher the number, the harder the
material, as shown by the following expressions, which define the Rockwell B and C numbers:
𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝜇𝑚)
Rockwell B number = 130 −
2 𝜇𝑚

𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝜇𝑚)

Rockwell C number = 100 − 2 𝜇𝑚

Effects of Variables
 If the table on which the Rockwell hardness tester is mounted is subject to vibration, the
hardness numbers will be too low, since the indenter will sink farther into the material than
when such vibrations are absent.
 If, when the operating handle is returned to its normal position, the latch operates with such a
snap as noticeably to change the position of the dial pointer, felt or rubber washers should be
placed under the trip mechanism in order to cushion this blow.
 If the snap is severe, a difference in reading of several hardness numbers may result.
 The concave side should face the indenter if curved plates are to be tested. An error will be
introduced owing to the flattening of the piece on the anvil if such specimens are reversed.
 Specimens that have sufficient overhang so that they do not balance themselves on the anvil
should be properly supported.
 The speed and time of the application of the major load should be established, accurately
adhered to, and reported when comparing results.
 The dashpot should be adjusted so that the operating handle completes its travel in 4 to 5s both
with no specimen in the machine and the machine set up to apply a major load of 100kg.
 For soft metals, plastic flow may cause variations as high as 10 hardness numbers. The operating
lever should be brought back the moment it is seen that the major load is fully applied.
 It is advisable to check the ball indenters regularly to see that they have not become flattened
and the diamond cone to see that it has not become blunted or chipped.