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What is Hardness?
Hardness is the property of a material that enables
it to resist plastic deformation, usually by penetration. However, the term
hardness may also refer to resistance to bending, scratching, abrasion or
cutting.
Measurement of Hardness
Hardness is not an intrinsic material property
dictated by precise definitions in terms of fundamental units of mass, length
and time. A hardness property value is the result of a defined measurement
procedure.
Hardness of materials has probably long been assessed by resistance to
scratching or cutting. An example would be material B scratches material C, but
not material A. Alternatively, material A scratches material B slightly and
scratches material C heavily. Relative hardness of minerals can be assessed by
reference to the Moh's Scale that ranks the ability of materials to resist
scratching by another material. Similar methods of relative hardness assessment
are still commonly used today. An example is the file test where a file tempered
to a desired hardness is rubbed on the test material surface. If the file slides
without biting or marking the surface, the test material would be considered
harder than the file. If the file bites or marks the surface, the test material
would be considered softer than the file.
The above relative hardness tests are limited in practical use and do not
provide accurate numeric data or scales particularly for modern day metals and
materials. The usual method to achieve a hardness value is to measure the depth
or area of an indentation left by an indenter of a specific shape, with a
specific force applied for a specific time. There are three principal standard
test methods for expressing the relationship between hardness and the size of
the impression, these being Brinell, Vickers, and Rockwell. For practical and
calibration reasons, each of these methods is divided into a range of scales,
defined by a combination of applied load and indenter geometry.
Some Hardness Test Methods
Rockwell Hardness Test
Brinell Hardness Test
Vickers Hardness Test
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
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 . . . . }
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.
The diameter of the impression is the average of two readings at right angles
and the use of a Brinell hardness number table can simplify the determination of
the Brinell hardness. A well structured Brinell hardness number reveals the test
conditions, and looks like this, "75 HB 10/500/30" which means that a
Brinell Hardness of 75 was obtained using a 10mm diameter hardened steel with a
500 kilogram load applied for a period of 30 seconds. On tests of extremely hard
metals a tungsten carbide ball is substituted for the steel ball. Compared to
the other hardness test methods, the Brinell ball makes the deepest and widest
indentation, so the test averages the hardness over a wider amount of material,
which will more accurately account for multiple grain structures and any
irregularities in the uniformity of the material. This method is the best for
achieving the bulk or macro-hardness of a material, particularly those materials
with heterogeneous structures.
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 for10 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
When the mean diagonal of the indentation has been determined the Vickers
hardness may be calculated from the formula, but is more convenient to use
conversion tables. The Vickers hardness should be reported like 800 HV/10, which
means a Vickers hardness of 800, was obtained using a 10 kgf force. Several
different loading settings give practically identical hardness numbers on
uniform material, which is much better than the arbitrary changing of scale with
the other hardness testing methods. The advantages of the Vickers hardness test
are that extremely accurate readings can be taken, and just one type of indenter
is used for all types of metals and surface treatments. Although thoroughly
adaptable and very precise for testing the softest and hardest of materials,
under varying loads, the Vickers machine is a floor standing unit that is more
expensive than the Brinell or Rockwell machines.
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