Introduction

Hardness is a measure of the resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by either

mechanical indentation or abrasion. is a mechanical test for material properties which are
used in engineering design, analysis of structures, and materials development.
Macroscopic hardness is generally characterized by strong intermolecular bonds,
but the behavior of solid materials under force is complex; therefore, there are
different measurements of hardness: scratch hardness, indentation hardness, and
rebound hardness.

Hardness test
The hardness test is a mechanical test for material properties which are used in
engineering design, analysis of structures, and materials development. The
principal purpose of the hardness test is to determine the suitability of a material
for a given application, or the particular treatment to which the material has been
subjected. The ease with which the hardness test can be made has made it the
most common method of inspection for metals and alloys.

THEORY
Current practice divides hardness testing into two categories: macrohardness and
#microhardness. #Macrohardness refers to testing with applied loads on the
indenter of more than 1 kg and covers, for example, the testing of tools, dies, and
sheet material in the heavier gages. In microhardness testing, applied loads are 1 kg
and below, and material being tested is very thin (down to 0.0125 mm, or 0.0005
in.). Applications include extremely small parts, thin superficially hardened parts,
plated surfaces, and individual constituents of materials.

1- Macro Hardness Testers 0-10 X

 Brinell
 Rockwell
 Vickers
- The 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.
When the indentor is retracted two diameters of the impression, d 1 and d2 , are
measured using a microscope with a calibrated graticule and then averaged as shown in
Fig.2(b).

Figure 2. Brinell Principle 2F

Dπ √D− √D − d =HB
2 2

Where:
F= is the test load [kg]
D = is the diameter of the ball [mm]
d = is the average impression
diameter of indentation [mm]

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, 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.
- 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.

Figure 1. Rockwell Principle

- 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 for 10 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.

‫ةة‬
F= Load in kgf
d = Arithmetic mean of the two
diagonals, d1 and d2 in mm
HV = Vickers hardness

Figure 3. Vickers Principle

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 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.
2- Micro Hardness Test Methods

 knoop
 Vickers

The term microhardness test usually refers to static indentations made with loads
not exceeding 1 kgf. The indenter is either the Vickers diamond pyramid or the
Knoop elongated diamond pyramid. The procedure for testing is very similar to
that of the standard Vickers hardness test, except that it is done on a microscopic
scale with higher precision instruments. The surface being tested generally
requires a metallographic finish; the smaller the load used, the higher the surface
finish required.

Comparing the indentations made with Knoop and Vickers Diamond

Pyramid indenters for a given load and test material:
 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

Practical experience in the lab

EXPERIMENTS
Selected samples tested by hardness test, the results are
given lab by the hardness test machine . Different materials
specimens tested in this laboratory experiment namely:
aluminum , carbon steel, brass, , zinc
The following should be taken into consideration
- Require clean and well positioned indenter and anvil
- The test sample should be clean, dry, smooth and oxide-free surface
- The surface should be flat and perpendicular to the indenter
- Low reading of hardness value might be expected in cylindrical surfaces
- Specimen thickness should be 10 times higher than the depth of the indenter
- The spacing between the indentations should be 3 to 5 times of the indentation diameter
- Loading speed should be standardized.

 Lode = 167.5 Kg
 D = 2.5mm
the sample First Hardness second Hardness
carbon steel 537 627

Brass 155 171.6

Aluminum 88 84

zinc 75 74

Conclusions
1- It is clarified that the hardness of reference practically does not change in the length of time
2- There is a difference between the first and second reading of each mineral.
3- It is clarified, that for the hardness test of small size flat samples the best methods are
Rockwell, Brinell and Vickers methods as well as more appropriate method for accurat
hardness measuring of medium hard meterials is the Brinell method. Using of Rockwell and
Vickers methods is appropriate only for samples with homogeneous structure and very smooth
surface.