NGEE ANN POLYTECHNIC MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DIVISION MATERIALS LABORATORY

Hardness Testing
Done by: Ng Zhi Shen, Tan Hui Choo, Tan Yi Zhi (P2M2)

Experiment No: MT-1 Objective: (i) To learn the use of different types of hardness testing machines. (ii) To determine the hardness of different materials. Equipment: Rockwell Hardness Tester Brinell Hardness Tester Vickers Hardness Tester Various metallic specimens: -Plain Carbon Steel -Brass -Hardened Steel -Aluminum

Theory
Indentation hardness measurement consists of forcing a penetrator of known geometry into the specimen resting on a rigid platform. The area of impression or depth of impression is a measure of the hardness of the material.

Rockwell Test
The Rockwell test uses various loads and indentors depending on the material. Hardness is related to the depth of penetration. The smaller the depth of penetration. the higher the hardness value. This value is indicated directly in Rockwell units on the dial on the machine. The test procedure involves applying a minor load of 10kg followed by a major load. The major load may be 60kg (Rockwell A), 100kg (Rockwell B), or 150kg (Rockwell C).Two types of indentors are in use. The first type is a hardened steel ball of inch diameter (Rockwell B) and the other is a diamond cone penetrator (Rockwell A or C). Hardness readings of thin material or shallow surfaces are valueless on this machine. Another model called a superficial hardness tester, which uses a minor and major load is necessary (demonstration only).

Brinell Test
The Brinell test consists of indenting the metal surface with a 10mm diameter steel ball at a load of 3000kg. For soft material, the load may be reduced to avoid too deep an impression. The load is applied for a standard time, usually 30 seconds and the diameter of indentation is measured with a low power microscope after removing the load. The Brinell Hardness Number (BHN) is expressed as the load divided by the surface area of the indentation. The BHN can be calculated as follows.

To ensure accurate results, the test material must be at least 8 the thickness of the depth of impression and 3 times the diameter of the indentor. The ratio P/D2 is used to select the appropriate load.

Vickers Hardness Test

The Vickers hardness test uses a square-based diamond pyramid indentor. The angle between the opposite faces of the diamond pyramid is 136. The Vickers Hardness Number (VHN) is defined as the load divided by the surface area of indentation. In practice, the area is calculated from the microscope measurement of the length of the diagonals of the impression. The load in the Vickers test may range from 1kg to 120kg depending on the type of material tested. Thus, if we have the average of the diagonals, we can manually calculate the VHN.

Procedure
(i) (ii) Determine the hardness value of the various specimens provided using the appropriate testers Record at least three readings for each and every specimen tested. Determine the average value and enter the results in the tables below

Each of the hardness tests in the laboratory has their own procedures. They are as follow:

Brinell Hardness Test

1) Confirm the correct Load (F) for the material to be tested. Aluminium is 500 kgf & Brass is 1000kgf. 2) Place specimen on the anvil. 3) Raise the anvil slowly by rotating Handwheel clockwise, until the surface of the specimen touches indentor. 4) Close the valve. 5) Jack up cylinder with the handle until a red line is seen on the cylinder. Wait for 15 seconds. 6) Release valve slowly until gauge indicator reaches zero kgf. 7) Lower anvil by turning handwheel anti-clockwise. 8) Repeat steps 3 to 7 on a new location on the specimen for subsequent readings if required. 9) Remove specimen. 10) Measure indentation diameter with Brinell Measuring Microscope. 11) Convert measurement in to Brinell Hardness Numbers (BHN) by using a conversion table with the appropriate load.

Vickers Hardness Test

1) Switch on Power Supply and Tester. 2) Place specimen on anvil. 3) Raise anvil slowly to focus by rotating handwheel clockwise until a sharp image (scratches) is seen on the Illumination screen. Otherwise, lower and raise Anvil again to re-focus. 4) Apply load by pushing lever to the left and release. Wait till lever stops. 5) Re-engage lever back to its original position by pulling lever down and push to the right. An indentation can be seen on the Illumination screen. 6) Measure the diagonals with the scale rule for the average value. 7) Convert the average value to Vickers Hardness Numbers (VHN) by using the Vickers Hardness table with the appropriate load. 8) Lower anvil by turning Hand-wheel anticlockwise to remove specimen.

9) Repeat steps 4 to 8 on a new location on the specimen for subsequent readings if require

Rockwell Hardness Test

1) Switch on Power Supply and Tester. 2) Place specimen on anvil. 3) Raise anvil slowly by turning Handwheel clockwise until specimen touches indentor. Continue until Short Pointer is pointing within the black line and then Long Pointer is pointing within the Gray Zone. 4) Adjust scale dial by turning Zero Adjuster until the set scale is in line with Longer Pointer. 5) Depress and release Load Release Bar to apply load. 6) When the Long Pointer comes to rest, read the Rockwell hardness on the Scale Dial. HRB COLOURED scale HRC WHITE scale

7) Lower anvil by turning Handwheel anti-clockwise and remove specimen. DO NOT LEAVE THE INDENTOR RESTING IN THE SPECIMEN 8) Repeat stpes 4 to 7 on a new location on the specimen for subsequent readings if required.

Results Rockwell Hardness Tester Materials

Plain Carbon Steel Brass Hardened Steel

Scale
B B C

First Second Third Average Reading Reading Reading

74 71 61 77 70 61 75 72 61 HRB HRB HRC

Brinell Hardness Tester Materials First Second Third Average

Reading Reading Reading

Brass Indentation 35 diameter 101 Aluminium Indentation 44.5 diameter 30.5 35 35

101 44

101 43

BHN

31.2

32.8

BHN

Vickers Hardness Tester Materials First Reading

Diagonal values 0.375 659

Second Reading
0.38 642

Third Average Reading

0.375 659 VHN

Hardened Steel

Discussion
The hardness of a material is defined as a measure of its resistance to abrasion, surface indentation or deformation. The material is regarded as hard if it has a high resistance to any of the above processes, and vice versa for a low resistance. It is very important to ensure that there is a minimum thickness of the specimen before executing the hardness testing. It is required so as to obtain accurate results and to determine if the material is suitable to be used. When the material is too soft, it may yield as a result of the forces imposed on it. The materials may crack due to its brittleness if it is too hard. The Rockwell Hardness Test is widely used for obtaining results quickly and easily due to its advantages over the other hardness tests, especially in the commercial industries. This is because it has simplicity, rapidity and relatively inexpensive compared to the other hardness tests. It also can achieve highly accurate readings, which can be just simply read from the designated scale, since the operator does not have to be very skilled. The impression applied on the test material is also very small so this will not damage the surface of the specimen. The hardness readings from the Rockwell Hardness Test can also be converted into a Brinell Hardness Number (BHN) using a conversion table. Lastly, the Rockwell Hardness Test can be used for both soft and hard materials. In a Rockwell Hardness Test, a light load is applied first before a full load is applied to obtain more accurate results from measurements. It will remove any backlash effect and system slack in the measuring system and break through any slight surface roughness. Afterwards, the scale is set to zero. During the Brinell or Rockwell Hardness Test, if the measurement is made near the edge of the test material, causing a bulge, the deformation surrounding the indentation may extend to the edge and push out the material, thus lowering the measured hardness value.

Conclusion
In conclusion, there are three hardness tests, being Brinell Hardness Test, Rockwell Hardness Test and Vickers Hardness Test. The Brinell Hardness test lets you acquire the Brinell Hardness Number (BHN). The Rockwell Hardness Test lets you acquire the hardness readings (e.g. HRA, HRB, HRC, etc.) depending on the material that is used for testing, with Rockwell C being the scale for hardened and reinforced metals, and Rockwell A for softer materials. The Vickers Hardness Test lets you acquire the Vickers Hardness Number (VHN). Each of these hardness tests require proper precautions and procedure. We also have to take note of the material and load for each of the hardness test before experimenting. After acquiring specific values, we can use a table for reference to evaluate out results rather than doing tedious calculations.

References
http://www.scribd.com/doc/31068680/Hardness-Test http://www.thefabricator.com/article/testingmeasuring/rockwell-hardness-andbrinell-testing-of-tube-and-pipe http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081015184322AAGAwMX