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Guidelinestohardnesstesting

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Guidelinestohardnesstesting

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Contents:
1.Generalnotesonhardnesstesting

2.TheRockwellprocedure
2.1StandardRockwell
2.2SuperficialRockwell
2.3FieldsofapplicationwithdifferentRockwellscales
2.4Testsoncylindricandsphericalsurfaces
2.5ProsandconsoftheRockwellprocedure
2.6VariationsoftheRockwellprocedure
3.TheBrinellmethod
3.1ThelabellingofBrinelltests
3.2DifferentapplicationsofBrinelltests
3.3ProsandconsoftheBrinellprocedure
3.4RockwelltestswithBrinellloadsandBrinellpenetrators
4.TheVickersmethod
4.1ApplicationsofdifferentVickerstestloads
4.2ProsandconsoftheVickersprocedure
5.Otherhardnesstestingprocedures
5.1TheShoreprocedure(formetals)
5.2TheKnoopmethod
6.Revaluationtablesandhardnesscomparisonplates
6.1Theuseofrevaluationtables
6.2Theuseofhardnesscomparisonplates

1.GeneralNotesonHardnessTesting
Amongthedifferentkindsofmeasurementsthatarecarriedoutinalaboratory,hardnesstestingisoneofthemost
complexones.
Ontheonehand,therearedifferentmeasurementproceduresontheotherhand,itisnecessarytomeasurelarge,small,
hard,soft,thinorthickmetalparts.
Consideringthedifferentproceduresandthelargenumberofscales,itisunderstandablethatevenveryexperienced
personscanbechallengedbyhardnesstestingtasks.
Asinsomanyotherareasofapplication,electronicdevelopmenthasledtoasignificantsimplificationofhardnesstesting.
Withcomputeraidedhardnesstesters,ahigherprecisionduringresultreadout,datastorageandthepossibilityofdata
processingtostatistics,graphicrepresentations,documentation,etc.havebecomeamatterofcourse.
However,electronicsarestillonlyusedforresultsreadout(and,ifnecessary,automationofthemeasuring/drive),while
thedifferentmechanictestingresultsarestillapplicable.
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Althoughlaterwewillbetalkingaboutdefinitions,advantagesanddisadvantagesoftheRockwell,Brinell,andVickers
procedures,itisstillbeneficialtodealbrieflywiththemostimportantfeaturesthatshouldbeconsideredbeforebuying
suchadevice,hereintheintroduction:1)thetotaltestload2)thehardnessrange3)accuracy,4)theflexibilityofthe
devicewithregardtoformsanddimensionsofspecimens,and5)economicaspects.

1. Totaltestload
Ontheonehand,thereisthegeneralruletouseatestloadashighaspossible.Thisallowsforhigheraccuracy
(becausethemeasurementislesssensitivetothesurfacetexturewithahighertestload).
Ontheotherhand,theindentationshouldnotbedeeperthan1/10ofthethicknessofthespecimenorthe
hardenedsurface.
Thedegreeofhomogeneityofthematerialisalsoanimportantcriterion:atypicalexampleiscastiron,whichis
usuallyonlytestedwithahightotalload,exceptintherangeswhereithasbeeninductionhardened,e.g.machine
toolbases.

2. Hardnessrange
Aboveahardnessofapproximately650HB/30,adiamondpenetratorshouldbeusedbelowthatvalueitisalso
possibletouseapenetratormadeofsteelorhardmetal.
TheBrinellmethod,whichdoesnotallowdiamondpenetrators,cannotbeusedforhardenedsteel.
TheRockwellmethodismoreuniversal,becauseitallowsfortheusedofdiamondconeandsteelball
penetrators.
TheVickersmethod,whichonlyallowsforadiamondpyramidpenetrator,canbeemployedintheentirehardness
range.However,itismostsuitablefortestsinlaboratoriescomparedtotestsinworkshops.

3. Accuracy
Theprecisionofthemeasurementisheavilydependentontheaccuracyemployedbytheoperator.Thisalso
includeswellgroundsurfaces,sufficientmeasurementperiodsandfrequentrevisionsofthetestingdevicewith
reliabletestplates.
Ifpossible,theuseofstaticsystemsshouldbepreferredtodynamicsystems.
Usingverylowtestingloadsisaparticularrestrictiontotheprecisionofthemeasurements

4. Flexibilityofthedevicewithregardtoformsanddimensionsofspecimens
Thespecimencanbeputonthedevice,orthedevicecanbeputonthespecimen.Thefirstcasedescribes
stationarydevices,whichhaveenoughcapacitytoholdthespecimen.Stationarydevicesare,thus,primarily
suitablefortestsonsmallandmediumsizedspecimens.
Portabledevicescanbeclampedtothespecimens(clampingjaw,chain,etc)orwhentestinglargeorbulky
specimensjustputonthespecimens.
Portabledevicescanonlybedynamicwhenusinghightestingloads.Whenthetestingloadsaresmaller,theycan
alsobestatic.Itispossibletofindcustomerspecificsolutionsforspecialcases.

5. Economicaspects
Thisincludesthefollowingelements:
thepurchasepriceofthedevice,
theuniversalismoftheapplication,
themeasurementperiod,and
thequalificationneededtooperatethedevice.
Thefirsttwoaspectsareimportantwhenspecimensofdifferentformsandwithdifferentsurfacetreatmentsare
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tested.Thisisusuallythecaseintechnicalcompaniesandinsmallscaleindustries.
Incompaniesthatdotheirtestsseriallythequicknessofthemeasurementsandthepossibilitytoemployunskilled
staffareveryimportant.Here,suchdevicesarepreferredthatdonotneedspecialclampingequipment.

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Content

2.TheRockwellmethod

Forabetterunderstanding,thesequenceoftheRockwellmethod,whichisdescribedbelow,isalsoshowninthe
numberedimagesbelow(figure1).Themeter,whichisconnectedtothepenetratoranddisplaysthepenetratorsshiftson
alargerscale,isalsoincludedinthefigure.

1. ThetestedsurfaceisexposedtothepenetratorandthefirsttestloadFo(preload)isapplied.Asmallindentation
appears.Atthispoint,themeterissettozero.

2. SlowlyandwithoutshockstheloadF1isappliedadditionally.Togetherwiththepreloadthisisdefinedastotaltest
loadF.Withthisloadthepenetratorentersthematerialmoreorlessdeep,dependingonthehardnessofthe
material.Thispositionneedstobekepttoreachthefinalpenetration(whentestinghardmaterialsthepenetrationis
almostimmediatewithsoftmaterialsitisnecessarytowaitforanumberofseconds).Thepenetrationprocedure
canalsobeobservedontheindicatorofthemeter.

3. Whentheindicatorofthemeterfinallystopsmoving,theadditionalloadF1isremoveduntilthepreloadisapplied
respectively.Thisway,thepenetratorremainsintheimprintandallelasticdeformations,whichwerecausedbythe
applicationofthetotaltestload,areeliminatedthus,themeteronlyshowstheremainingpenetrationdepth(as
differencebetweenpreloadandtotaltestload).
Thepenetrator,preloads,testloads,andtheunitsarestandardisedintheRockwellmethodandcanbedividedintotwo
groups:standardRockwell(methodN)andsuperficialRockwell(methodT).

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2.1StandardRockwell
ThestandardRockwellprocedureisintendedfortheuseofonesinglediamondconepenetratorof120witharoundedoff
peakof0.2mmradius(seefigure2),ordifferentballpenetratorsmadefromhardmetalwithdiametersof1/16"1/8"1/4"
1/2"(inch).

Figure2profileoftheRockwellpenetratorwithdiamondcone
Thepreloadisunchanging:98.07N.Thetotaltestloadsare(preload+additionalload):588.4N980.7N1,471N.The
measuringunitinstandardRockwellcorrespondsto0.002mmpenetration.Thehardnessvalueincreaseswiththehardness
ofthematerial,butatthesametimethepenetrationdifferencebetweenthepreloadandthetotaltestingloaddecreasesthe
harderthematerialis.Thus,Rockwellhardnessvaluesarecalculatedbysubtractingthepenetrationdepth(per0.002mm)
from100(whenusingthediamondpenetrator)orfrom130(whenusinganyballpenetrator).
Example:
withadiamondpenetratorandapenetrationdepthof0.082mmthismakes
1000.082/0.002=59Rockwell
thesamepenetrationdepthmeasuredwithaballpenetratormakes
1300.082/0.002=89Rockwell
Whenusinganaloguedeviceswithdialgauges,whichusuallyhave100partitions(onerotation=0.2mm),theRockwell
valuescanbereaddirectlyfromthedial.Thedialthenusuallyhas2seriesofnumbers:theblackonesarefordiamond
penetratorsandtherednumbersaremadeforballpenetrators.Forthezeropositionalwaysusetheblack0(orthered
30).Whenusingadigitaldevice,thedataaredisplayedafterthecompletemeasuringcyclewasrunthrough.Duetothe
differentcombinationsofpenetratorsandtestloads,thereisagreatnumberofscales,whicharelabelledwithdifferent
letters(seeTable1).

HRSCALE

Penetrator:

Diamond
Cone

Ball1/16"
1,5875mm

Ball1/8"
3,175mm

Ball
1/4
*

Ball1/2"
*

Numbers:

black

red

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F=1471N

F=980,7N

F=588,4N

Table2superficialRockwellscales,F=totaltestload(Newton)
*)W,X,Yarenotstandardised
TheERNSTdevicesNR3SR,AT130ASRandAT130DSRallworkwiththesuperficialRockwellprocedure.
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2.2SuperficialRockwell
AlthoughthesuperficialRockwellmethodusesthesamepenetratorsasthestandardRockwellprocedure,themethod
requiresamorepreciselyshapeddiamondconepenetrator.Thisregardsnotonlytheconicityofthe120conepeak,but
alsoitsroundingoffof0.2mm.Withthismethod,smallertotalloadsareusedtocreatesmallerindentations,sothatthe
smallestshapedefectsonthepeakwouldfalsifythemeasuringresults.Thepreloadisunchanging:29.42NThetotaltest
loadsare(preload+additionalload):147.1N294.2N441.3NThemeasuringunitinsuperficialRockwellcorrespondsto
0.001mmpenetrationdepth.IncontrasttostandardRockwell,thezeropointissetto100(0onthedialgauge)inthe
superficialRockwellprocedure(bothwiththediamondpenetratorandwiththeballpenetrator).Thedialonlyhasoneseries
ofnumbersand100partitions.Onerotationoftheindexequals0.1mm.
Example:
Withadiamondorballpenetratorandapenetrationdepthof0.082mmthismakes1000.082/0.001=18superficial
Rockwell.Duetothedifferentcombinationsofpenetratorsandtestloads,thereisagreatnumberofsuperficialRockwell
scales,whicharelabelledwithdifferentletters.Therespectiveletterisalsoprecededbyanumberwhichindicatesthetotal
loadusedinthetest(seeTable2).

HRScale

Penetrator

Diamond
Cone

Ball1/16"
1,5875mm

Ball1/8"
*

Ball1/4"
*

Ball1/2"
*

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F=441,3N

45N

45T

45W

45X

45Y

F=294,2N

30N

30T

30W

30X

30Y

F=147,1N

15N

15T

15W

15X

15Y

superficialRockwellscales,F=totaltestload(Newton)
*)W,X,Yarenotstandardised
TheERNSTdevicesNR3SR,AT130ASRandAT130DSRallworkwiththesuperficialRockwellprocedure.
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2.3FieldsofapplicationwithdifferentRockwellscales
Aswehaveseen,thereisaconsiderablenumberofRockwellscales.Whichscaletochooseisaquestiondependingonthe
hardnessofthematerial,andthethicknessofthespecimenorhardenedsurface(incaseswheretherehavebeensurface
treatmentssuchascarburisation,nitridingetc.).Thehardnessofthematerialdeterminesthechoiceofthepenetrator:
diamondconeorball.
Thediamondconeissolelyusedfortemperedorhardenedsteelandhardmetal.Itisnotrecommendableforsteelwitha
soliditybelow785N/mm2(20HRC,230HB/30).
Thesteelballpenetratorisusedforsoftermaterials.Thesofterthematerial,thelargershouldbethediameteroftheballand
/orthesmallershouldbethetotaltestload.Forinstance,thematerialsthatcanbetestedwiththeHRBscale(ball1/16"
totaltestload980.7N)areharderthanthematerialstestedwiththeHRLscale(ball1/4"totaltestload588.4N).
Thelargeballsaresolelyusedforthetestingofplasticsandmaterialsalike.Flowingplasticscanbemeasuredaswell,if
certainstepsaretaken,withthehelpofthetotaltestload.
Again,wewouldliketomentionthattheHRhardnesstestingalsorequiresaminimumthicknessofthesample.However,
thereisnohardruleforthisminimumthickness.Itisusuallyestimatedbycalculating10xthepenetrationdepth(seeTable
3).Thisprincipleisalsovalidforhardenedsurfaces(carburisationetc.),whichareusuallymeasuredwiththesmallesttotal
testload(scaleHRA).

HRC

20

30

40

50

60

70

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147,1N

0.41

0.33

0.26

0.19

0.14

0.09

294,2N

0.69

0.58

0.47

0.36

0.26

0.17

441,3N

0.91

0.77

0.63

0.50

0.37

0.25

588,4N

1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

1471N

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

Table3measurableminimumthicknessforRockwelltestswithdiamondpenetrators
MostfrequentlyusedarethefollowingRockwellscales:
1.HRC(diamondcone1471N)
HRCisthemostcharacteristicalRockwellscalefortestinghardened,temperedandcarburisedsamples.
Whentalkingabout"Rockwellhardness"ingeneral,thisusuallymeanstheHRCscale.Thismightcauseacertainconfusion,
becausesometimesahardnessoftheHRCscaleisordered,althoughthesmalldimensionsofthesamplemaketestswitha
totaltestloadof1471Nimpossible.Insuchcases,otherRockwellscalesorothermeasuringproceduresareusedto
determinethehardness,whichisthenrevaluedtoHRCwiththehelpofcharts.
Aswewillseelater,thoserevaluationtablescanonlygiveapproximatedvalues.Thatiswhyitisrecommendedtouseonly
hardnessvaluesthatcanbemeasuredinrealitywhenenteringthemintodrafts,orders,etc.
2.HRA(diamondcone588.4N)
Mainlyusedforcarburisedmaterialsandhardmetals,whosehighcarbidehardnessmightdamagethediamond.
3.HRB(ball1/6"980.7N)
InEurope,thisscaleisusuallyusedforcopperalloys(brass,bronzeetc.)intheU.S.,itisalsousedforsteeluptoapprox.
686N/mm.
4.RockwellNandT(superficialRockwell)
ThescalesHR15N,HR30N,HR45N(diamondcone)areusedforsampleswiththincarburisationthescalesHR15T,
HR30T,HR45T(ball1/16")areusedforthinmetalsheets.Thegeneralnotesconcerningthechoiceofthetotaltestload
alwayshavetobeattendedto.
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2.4Testsoncylindricandsphericalsurfaces
Itisclearthattheconditionsforhardnessmeasurementsoncylindricorsphericalsurfacesare
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differentfromthoseonflatsurfaces.Thedifferencesarenotascrucialwithlargerdiameters
becausethenthebendingofthesurfaceissmallandapproximatesaflat.
Whenworkingwithsmallerdiameters(withhigherbending)itisnecessarytokeepinmindthat
thepenetrationsgetanovalshape(forcylinders)whenviewedfromaboveandthatthevertical
profileofthepenetratedareahasdifferentthicknesses.Thatiswhythetesterhastoaddcorrection
valuestotheresults,whichdependonthehardnessandthediameterofthesample(seeTable4).
Cylindricsamplesurfaces

Hardnessscalesand
readoffhardness

Cylinderdiameterdinmm

6,5

9,5

11

12,5

16

19

Hardness
HR
ACD
diamond
cone

80

0,5

0,5

0,5

70

1,0

0,5

0,5

0,5

0,5

60

1,5

1,0

0,5

1,0

0,5

50

2,5

1,5

1,0

1,5

0,5

0,5

0,5

2,0

1,0

2,0

1,0

0,5

0,5

2,5

1,5

2,5

1,0

1,0

0,5

2,0

3,5

1,5

1,0

1,0

40

30

20

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Hardnessscalesandreadoffhardness

HardnessHR
BFG
Ballpenetrator

Cylinderdiameterdinmm

6,5

9,5

11

12

90

4,0

3,0

2,0

1,5

1,5

1,5

1,0

80

5,0

3,5

2,5

2,0

1,5

1,5

1,5

4,0

3,0

2,5

2,0

2,0

1,5

5,0

3,5

3,0

2,5

2,0

2,0

4,0

3,5

3,0

2,5

2,0

4,5

4,0

3,0

2,5

2,5

70

60

50

40
Sphericalsamplesurfaces

Hardnessscalesandreadoff
hardness

Balldiameterdinmm

HardnessHRC
Diamondcone

6,5

9,5

11

15

25

65

5,2

3,2

2,6

2,2

1,9

1,4

0,8

60

5,8

3,6

2,9

2,4

2,1

1,5

0,9

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55

6,4

3,9

3,2

2,7

2,3

1,7

1,0

ThecorrectionalvaluedeltaH,whichneedstobeaddedtothe
measuredvalue,canbecalculatedwiththevaluesfromthis
tableandthefollowingformula:

Table4correctionalvaluesforRockwellmeasurementsoncylindricandsphericalsurfaceswithdiamondandball
penetrators.(Thecorrectionalvaluesmustbeaddedtothevaluesonthedisplayorthedialgauge.)
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2.5ProsandconsoftheRockwellprocedure

AmongtheknownhardnesstestingproceduresRockwellistheonlyonethatallowsforthedirectreadingofthe
hardnessvaluewithoutopticalmeasuring.Thus,thisprocedureisnotonlyquicker,itisalsotheonlyhardnesstesting
procedurethatcanbeautomatedcompletely.

HardnesstestingdevicesthatworkaccordingtotheRockwellprocedurearethemostwidespread.Themost
importantadvantagesare:deviationsduetopersonalestimationsareavoideditislesssensitivetoroughsurfaces
(eventhoughthestandardsaysthatsurfaceshavetobeflatandcarefullyabraded).

Themostimportantlimitsoftheapplicationrangearethepossibletotaltestloads.Theminimumis147.1N(HR15N
/HR15T)andthemaximumis1,471N.However,workshopsorfoundriesoftenrequiretestloadsof10Norless,or
ofupto30,000N.ThereisnoRockwellscalefortestsoncastiron,noristhereoneforsteelsheetsthinnerthan
0.15mm.Inordertoclosethisgap,therearedevicesthatworkwiththeRockwellprocedure(withpreandtotal
testloads),butwithmuchlarger(orsmaller)andthusnonstandardisedtestloads.

Whiletherearemanyscales,adifferentsolutionhasbeenestablishedforsomematerials(e.g.untreatedsteel).They
areusuallytestedwithaRockwelldevice,whichisequippedwithaBrinellpenetratorandusesBrinelltestingloads
(inthisregardrefertochapter3.4).
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2.6VariationsoftheRockwellprocedure
AprofounddisadvantageofthetraditionalRockwelldevicesisthattheaccuracyofthemeasurementismainlybasedonthe
perfectcontactbetweenthetestspecimenandthecontactsurface.
WhenusingtheRockwellprocedure(Fig.1,point3removalofadditionaltestloadsandreturntopreload),theonly
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deformationdisplayedonthedialgaugeshouldbetheindentationitself.
However,thisisonlythecaseifthespecimenissupportedperfectly.Ifthesupportingsurfaceispollutedwithanoilfilm,
greaseorothercontaminants,thereisaplasticdeformationwhenthetestloadisappliedandtheresultoftheindentation
measurementisfalsified.Thisisanobviouslimitationforworkshopsandhardeningshops,because,ofcourse,theycannot
guaranteetoworkunderidealconditionsforthosedevices.
Inordertosolvethisproblem,newdeviceshavebeendevelopedthatworkaccordingtotheRockwellprocedure.Their
penetratorsaresurroundedbyaferrulewhichallowsforanothercontactwiththespecimenssurfaceasthereferencefor
themeasurement(seeFig.3).Thus,apossibleresilienceofthespecimen,thespindleorothermoveablepartsofthestand
cannotinfluencetheresult.Inthisregard,theadvantagesarethesameasifonewouldusetheBrinellorVickersprocedures
(aswewillseelater).

Figure3variationoftheRockwellprocedure(ferrule

0:exchangeofspecimens:inrestposition,thepointofthepenetrator(a)pokesoutoftheferrule(b).

1:Boththepenetratorandtheferrulelowerdownonthespecimenandthepenetratorrecedesbecauseofthe
appliedload.Thezeropositionissetautomatically.

2:Thetotaltestloadisapplied.

3:Thetotaltestloadisreleasedandthedisplacement(intrusion)of(a)comparedto(b)isdetermined.
Ifthespecimenyields,therelationbetween(a)and(b)staysunchangingandthepossibilityofthetypicalRockwellerroris
eliminated.ThisprocedurecanalsobeappliedwithsuperficialRockwelltests.
SomeERNSThardnesstestersincludeathirdelementwhichshouldnotbeconfusedwiththeferrule(b).Thiselementis
calledclampinghoodanditcanbefoundindeviceswithastand.Itisusedtoclampspecimenssothatnoextratoolsare
necessarytofixthespecimens.Itisalsoveryeasytoremovethatclampinghoodifitisnotneededfortests.
Portabledevicesalsohaveanelementsimilartothis,whichiscalledmeasuringfoot.Itcanbeexchangedandhelpstoget
anoptimumcontact.
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3.TheBrinellmethod
TheBrinellmethodinvolvesballpenetratorsofdifferentdiameters(alwaysinmm,incontrasttotheRockwelldimensionsin
inch),whicharepressedwithacertainloadontoasmoothandevensurfaceforacertainamountoftime(10to15
seconds).
Theemergingindentation,whichhastheshapeofasphericalcup,ismeasuredwithopticaldevices(microscopeor
projector).

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Figure4hardnesstestingaccordingtoBrinell
TheBrinellhardness(HBW)isdeterminedbytherelationbetweentheappliedtestingloadandthesurfaceofthespherical
cup.Thisistheformula:

whereFisthetestloadinN,Disthediameteroftheballpenetratorinmmanddisthediameteroftheindentationin
mm.Inpractice,tablesareusedthatgivetheBrinellhardnessvaluessubjecttothetestload,balldiameterandthediameter
oftheindentation.Usually,theBrinellmethodusesthefollowingstandardisedballpenetrators:

Balldiameter:

10mm

5mm

2,5mm

1mm

Thestandardtestloadsare:

Abbreviation
HBW10

Balldiameter

Testload
(N)

HBW10/3000

29420

Abbreviation
HBW5

HBW5/750

10mm

HBW10/1500

HBW10/1000

10mm

HBW10/500

14710

HBW5/250

Balldiameter

Testload
(N)

7335

2452

5mm

9807

HBW5/125

1226

5mm

4903

HBW5/62,5

10mm

HBW10/250

5mm

10mm

612,9

5mm

2452

HBW5/25

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10mm

HBW10/100

5mm

980,7

10mm

Abbreviation Ball
HBW2.5 diameter

HBW2,5/
187,5

HBW2,5/
62,5

HBW2,5/
31,25

HBW2,5/
15,625

HBW2,5/
6,25

Test
load
(N)

1839

Abbreviation Ball
HBW1
diameter

HBW1/30

2,5mm

Test
load
(N)

294,2

1mm

612,9

HBW1/10

2,5mm

98,07

1mm

306,5

HBW1/5

2,5mm

49,03

1mm

153,2

HBW1/2,5

2,5mm

2,5mm

24,52

1mm

61,29

HBW1/1

9,807

1mm

Table5Brinellabbreviations,balldiameterandtestloads(seeISO65061)
ThefollowingpointshavetobeconsideredfortheBrinellmethod:
1. Thestandard(ENISO65061)requiresthediameteroftheindentationtobebetween0.24and0.6ofthediameter
oftheballpenetrator.
Inordertomeetthisrequirementtherehastobeacertaindegreeofloading.Ifasmallballpenetratorispressedona
softmaterialwithahighload,theindentationwillbetodeep,ofcourse.Thenagain,ifalargerballpenetratoris
pressedonahardmaterialwithasmallload,theindentationmightbesmallerthan0.24oftheballdiameter.Itisthus,
almostillegibleandnotadmissible.

2. FortheBrinellmethodthereisabasicformulatodeterminethedegreeofloading:1.02F/Dbetweentestload(N)
anddiameter(mm)oftheballpenetratorsquared.Theharderthematerial,thehighermustthedegreeofloadingbe.

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Degreeofloading:1.02F/D

30

15*

10

2,5

Table6degreeofloading

*)Thedegree15isonlystandardisedforHBW10/1500,alltheotherdegreesofloadingcanbeusedforalltests
Thedegreeofloading1.02F/Disimportantbecausetherearedifferentresultsdependingonwhichdegreeofloadingwas
used.Forexample:aBrinellhardnessvaluedeterminedwitha10mmballand9,807N(degreeofloading10)foramaterial
isdifferentfromthehardnessvaluedeterminedwitha10mmballand4,903N(degreeofloading5).However,ifthesame
materialismeasuredwitha2.5mmballandatotaltestloadof612,9N(degreeofloading10)theresultinghardnessvalue
isthesameasinthefirstmeasurementbecausethedegreeofloadingisthesame(providedthatthematerialis
homogeneousandhasnolayersofdifferenthardnesses).
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3.1ThelabellingofBrinelltests
TheabbreviationHBWstandsforBrinellhardness.TheBrinellhardnessstandsbeforetheabbreviationandisfollowedby
theballdiameterinmm,thetestloadaccordingtothetableandthetestingtimeinseconds,ifitdiffersfromthestandard
time(1015seconds).
Example:305HBW2.5/187.5:Brinellhardness305,determinedwithballpenetrator2.5mm,1,839Ntestloadand10
15secondsloadapplicationtime

Example:305HBW2.5/187.5/20:Brinellhardness305,determinedwithballpenetrator2.5mm,1,839Ntestloadand
20secondsloadapplicationtime
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3.2DifferentapplicationsofBrinelltests
Asmentionedbefore,itisthehardnessofthematerialwhichdeterminesthedegreeofloadingthatisapplied.Whenthe
mostsuitabledegreeischosen,thetestloadischosenaccordingtothefollowingelements:
1. thethicknessofthetestedspecimenbecausetheconsiderationsmentionedintheRockwellchapter,whichsaythat
theminimumthicknessshouldbe10xthedepthoftheindentation,alsoapplyforBrinelltests(seetable7).

Ball
Din
mm

Centeredindentationdiameter

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

3,0

4,0

5,0

6,0

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0,54

0,25

1,07

0,83

2,00

0,92

1,67

4,00

1,84

3,34

5,36

8,00

2,5

10

Table7measurableminimumthicknessforBrinelltests(seeISO65061)
2. thehomogeneityofthematerialbecauseforlesshomogeneousmaterialsitisrecommendedtousehightestloads.

3. convenienceofthereadoutbecausethedetermination(eitherwithamicroscopeorprojector)oftheindentations
diameteriseasierwithlargeindentations.
ForthefollowingmaterialstherearestandardBrinelltests:
Steel:almostalwaysHBWx|3000(x=balldiameter).
Forsteel,theBrinellmethodisveryimportantbecausethereisaconstant,quiteaccuraterelationbetweentheBrinell
hardnessandthetensilestrength(witharatioof3.53forcarbonsteel,chromiumsteelandchromiummanganesesteelfor
chromiumnickelsteelitis3.33).
Example:225HBWx|3000225x3.53=794.3N/mm(seeDIN50150)
Thisistheonlypossibilitytodeterminethetensilestrengthofsteelnondestructively.However,theBrinellmethodcannotbe
usedforhardenedsteel.AsthereisnodiamondpenetratorintendedfortheBrinellprocedure,testsontreatedsteelwith
morethan1765N/mmarenotpossible.SoftironisusuallytestedwithHBx|3000,althoughtheindentationdiameter
exceeds0.6oftheballdiameter.
Castiron:alwaysuseHBWx|3000.Duetothesmallerhomogeneity,itisrecommendedtousethehighesttotaltestload
of29,420N.
Lightmetal:usuallyHBWx|10orHBWx|5forverysoftalloysitisalsopossibletouseHBWx|2.5.Thefactthatit
ispossibletousedifferentdegreesofloadingformediumhardnessvaluesmighteasilycauseconfusion.Thus,itisimportant
toindicatethekindoftestexactly(opposedtoferrousalloys,forwhichHBWx|30isalwaysused).
Copperalloys:ForbronzeuseHBWx|10(ifitisveryhard,useHBWx|30),andHBWx|10orHBWx|5forbrass.
Apartfromthat,alsoconsidertheprinciplesmentionedforlightmetals.

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3.3ProsandconsoftheBrinellprocedure
ThemainadvantageoftheBrinellmethodisthatitusesveryhightestloadsgeneratedbyrelativelysimpleandrobust
devices.
Furthermore,theindentationcanbemeasuredwiththehelpofasimplemicroscopeorevenwithameasuring
magnifier.
Measurementscanalsobecarriedoutwhentheconditionsarenotideal,because(contrarytotheRockwellmethod)
apossibledrawbackofthespecimendoesnotinfluencetheresult.
TheBrinellvaluecanbemultipliedwithacertaincoefficient,whichisspecificforeverymaterial,todeterminethe
materialstensilestrength.
OneofthemostseriousdisadvantagesoftheBrinellmethodisthefactthattheindentationismeasuredoptically,
whichincludesthedangerformeasuringerrors.Modern,automaticimageevaluationcomputersystemsreducethis
sourceoferrorssignificantly.
Althoughhightestloadsareused,thesurfacemustbewellpreparedinordertoachievethehighaccuracyneededfor
themeasurementoftheindentation.
Thus,Brinelltestingisnotaquicktaskandnotsuitableforroutinetests.Toavoidthisdisadvantage,theRockwell
methodisoftenusedwithBrinellpenetratorsandBrinelltestloads(seenextchapter).
Testsoncylindricalsurfacesarenotpossible.Ifsuchspecimensneedtobetestes,thesurfacemustbepreparedso
thatanevenareaisproducedforthemeasurement(10).
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3.4RockwelltestswithBrinellloadsandBrinellpenetrators
InordertoavoidthedifferentdisadvantagesandtofindasmuchapplicationsfortheRockwelldevicesaspossible,these
devicesareoftenusedwithBrinellpenetratorsandtestloads.
Mostofthesedevicesalsooffertheloads612.9,1226and1839N,apartfromtheusualRockwellloads.Thus,theyare
suitableforBrinelltests.ButtheymeasurehardnessaccordingtotheRockwellmethod,withthedepthoftheindentation
andnotbymeasuringthediameter.
TheresultcanbereadoffaRockwelldialgaugeordisplayedimmediately.Withthehelpoftablesthisresultcanthenbe
convertedtotheBrinellvalue.
However,thisrelativelyquickmethodcannotbeconsideredagenuineBrinelltest.
Asamatteroffact,theconvertedresultsarenotthesameforeachmaterial(forinstance,theconversionforsteelisnotthe
sameasthatforcastiron).Thismethodshouldbepreferredforroutinetestsorwhenthereisnopossibilityforoptical
measurements.Italsoofferstheadvantagethatthesurfacemustnotbepreparedaswellasforopticalanalysis.Andthe
tensilestrengthforsteelcanbemeasuredreliably.
Toachievebetteraccuracyduringroutinetests,theERNSTdevicesofferthepossibilitytocalibratetheBrinellscale
beforehandwithanopticaltestmeasurement.

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4.TheVickersmethod
(NOTE!Someofthedetailsinthischapterareoutofdate!Itisbeingrevised.)ThismethodissimilartotheBrinellmethod,
butitusesadiamondpenetratorintheshapeofapyramidwithasquarebaseandanangleof136.Thus,theindentation
lookslikeaconcave(negative)pyramidwithasquarebase.Thelengthofthetwodiagonalsoftheindentationismeasured
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(meanvalue).

Figure5principleofhardnesstestingaccordingtoVickers(seeISO65071,2,3)
SimilartotheBrinellmethod,theVickershardnessvalueHVisdeterminedbytheratiobetweentheappliedtestloadand
thesurfaceoftheindentation.Thetestloadsmostoftenusedare:9.81,19.62,49.05,98.10,294.30N.Itisalsopossible
tousetestloadsbelow9.81N,whichmeansenteringthedomainofmicrohardnessandapplicationsinmetallographical
laboratories.TheVickershardnessiscalculatedwiththefollowingformula,whereasdisthemeanvalueoftheindentations
diagonals(accuracy:+/0.002mm):

ThelabellingforVickerstestsisHV(H=hardness,V=Vickers),thenthetestloadandthetesttime.Thetestloadis
indicatedintheusualkpnumericalvalues.Thatiswhytheactualtestloadmustbedividedby9.81togettheVickerslabel
(e.g.HV50:50=490.5N/9.81).Thus,aVickershardnessvaluemightlookasfollows:
210HV50/30Vickershardness210,testload490.5N,testtime30seconds
Usually,thetestloadisappliedwithin15secondsandeffectiveforanother30seconds.Softmaterialsrequirelongertest
times,steelwithahardnessof140HVormorerequiresonly10seconds.
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4.1ApplicationsofdifferentVickerstestloads
ThevaluesobtainedwithdifferenttestloadsarecomparablebecausetheVickersmethodallowsforonlyonepenetrator
andtheVickersvalueisthespecifictestloadpermmofthesurface.Forinstance,whenamaterialistestedwithatestload
of294.30Nandthenasecondtimewith9.81Ntheresultsarethesame(ofcourse,onlyifthematerialishomogeneousand
withoutlayersofdifferenthardnessvalues).TheVickersmethodisalsosuitableformaterialswithdifferentlayers.Increasing
testloadsareappliedsubsequentlytodeterminethethicknessofcertainsurfacelayers,e.g.afternitrationhardening.Apart
fromthat,alltherulesmentionedabovefortheothermethods(minimumthickness=10xindentationdepth)alsoapplyto
Vickers.Inotherwords,thediagonalmustnotbelongerthan2/3ofthespecimenthickness.TheVickersmethodis
especiallysuitablefortestsofsmallandthinpartsorcomponentswithanykindofsurfacetreatment,i.e.fortestswithlow
testloads.However,theVickersmethodshouldnotbeusedforinhomogeneousmaterials,likecastiron.
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4.2ProsandconsoftheVickersprocedure
ThebiggestadvantageofVickersisitsscale,whichcomprisesthesmallestandthehighesthardnessvaluesinone
scale.Itisthusverysuitableforlaboratorytests.
MostofthedisadvantagesofVickersarebasedonthelongdurationofthewholeprocedurebecausetheindentation
mustbemeasuredoptically(withthehelpofamiscroscopeorprojector).This,ofcourse,alsoisasourcefor
measuringerrors.However,modern,automaticimageevaluationcomputersystemsreducethissourceoferrors
significantly.
Thesurfacemustbewellpreparedandthepenetratormustbeappliedevenly.Otherwise,thesmallestinclination
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wouldcauseirregularitiesintheindentation.Thus,theVickersprocedureisnotsuitableforroutinetests.
Theindentationisnotwellreadableonsomematerialsbecauseoftheirregulardistributionoftheload(moreloadon
theedgesthanonthesidesofthepyramid).
Toputitinanutshell,theVickersprocedureismoresuitableforapplicationsinlaboratiesthaninworkshops.ERNST
devicesofferpossibilitiestoreadVickershardnessvaluesquickerandmoredirectsothatsomeoftheselimitationscanbe
overcome.
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5.Otherhardnesstestingprocedures
5.1TheShoreprocedure(formetals)
Thismethodsisbasedontheprinciplethataball(orashaftwithballpoint)isdroppedonthespecimenandreboundsmore
orless,dependingonthehardnessofthematerialandthedropheight.However,thismethodisusedseldomlybecausethe
precisionoftheresultsisverymuchdependingonthemassofthespecimenandontheperfectlyverticalfallingaxis.The
hardnessvaluesarethengiveninShorepointsandareonlystandardisedforbig,dressedtosizecylinders(calenders).
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5.2TheKnoopmethod
ThisprocedureissimilartoVickers,withapyramidshapeddiamondpenetratorandarhombicalbasearea(diagonalsata
ratioof1:7.),anditisonlyusedinlaboratorieswithafewgrammesastotaltestload.
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6.UmwertungstabellenundHrtevergleichsplatten
6.1Theuseofrevaluationtables
Asthereisnomathematicalinterrelationshipbetweenthedifferenthardnessscales,therevaluationtableshadtobe
compiledwiththehelpofempiricaltests.Therearedifferenttableswhichmighthaveconsiderabledifferences.Usually,the
tablesalsoofferthetensilestrengthinN/mmforsteel.Thevaluestakenfromtherevaluationtablesmustbeconsideredan
orientationtheyarenotabsolute.
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6.2Theuseofhardnesscomparisonplates
Usually,theequipmentofahardnesstesterincludesoneormorehardnesscomparisonplate.Theymustbemadefromvery
homogeneousandappropriatelytreatedmaterials.Toachievethehighestpossibleaccuracytheyshouldonlybeevaluated
ononeside.Itisveryimportanttotestthehardnesstestingdeviceregularlywiththehelpofthecomparisonplatestoensure
thatitworksproperly.
Thedistancebetweentwoindentationsononeplateismeasuredbetweenthemiddleofeachindentationorbetweenthe
middleofanindentationandtheedgeofthespecimen.Itshouldbenolessthanthefollowing:
forRockwelltests:min.4xtheindentationsdiameternotlessthan2mm
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(edgedistance:min.2.5xtheindentationsdiameternotlessthan1mm)

forBrinell:min.3xtheindentationsdiameter
(edgedistance:min.2,5xtheindentationsdiameter

forVickers:min.3xtheindentationsdiameter
(edgedistance:min.3xtheindentationsdiameter
Whentherearesomanyindentationsthatthesurfaceiscoveredwiththem,donotgrindthemtoreusetheplate.The
structuresofthelayersbelowtheindentations(approximately8xtheindentationdepth)areusuallyalteredbecauseofthe
loadapplicationandthus,measuringresultswouldnotbeaccurate.
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