EM 327:

EXPERIMENT:

HARDNESS TEST
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS LABORATORY

HARDNESS

Hardness and strength are related to bonding

forces on the atomic level. Therefore, it should be
expected that hardness and strength are somehow
related. A theoretical relationship, which needs to
consider the complex mechanisms involved when
a hardness indentation is made, is not practical.
However, various relationships have been
experimentally observed and empirically defined.
Usually the relationships are found in tabular
form. It is important to note that the relationships
may be somewhat different for different
materials.

TEST

OBJECTIVES:
(1) Make Rockwell and Brinell hardness
measurements on different steel specimens.
(2) Compare trends in hardness with other
material properties.
INTRODUCTION:
Two types of hardness tests will be performed on
three steel samples. The three samples, originally
cut from the same bar, have been subjected to
different heat treatments. Tensile strengths will
be predicted based on the hardness measurements
and compared to the actual strengths obtained
from tensile testing.

Since the methods used to increase the strength of

a material (such as heat treating, alloying, or
mechanical working) also increase the hardness
of the material, hardness measurements can
provide a quick and easy means to check if a
given strength has been obtained through a
particular process.

BACKGROUND:
This experiment will include both Rockwell and
Brinell tests which measure resistance to
penetration. The amount of deformation that
occurs when a small, hard steel ball or diamond
point is pressed into a material surface at some
designated load is the measure of the hardness of
the material.

Hardness can be defined as resistance to

penetration, resistance to abrasion, resistance to
scratching , or resistance to cutting. These are
related in that they all require plastic flow of the
material. A variety of tests for hardness are in
use, depending on which of the above situations
is of most interest.

ROCKWELL HARDNESS TEST:

Material properties, such as hardness can be
altered to desired levels by various heat treatment
procedures. Heat treatments affect the
microstructure of the metal. Detailed descriptions
of the changes to the microstructure can be found
in material science textbooks (Reference;
Material Science in Engineering, Callister).
Students will not be responsible for
understanding the characteristics of the
microstructure for various heat treatments.
However, students should become familiar with
how heat treatments affect the material
properties.

The penetrators for the Rockwell hardness tester

range from 1/2-inch diameter steel balls to very
small diamond (brale) tips (points). The smaller
points are used for harder materials that have a
greater resistance to indentation. There are
various force scales used for various materials.
The Rockwell B and Rockwell C scales will be
used for this experiment. The Rockwell B scale is
suitable for soft engineering metals, and the
Rockwell C scale is appropriate for hard
engineering metals. Each scale requires a
specified tip and load. The B scale uses a 1/16inch diameter hard steel ball and a 100-kg load.
The C scale uses a conical diamond point and a
150-kg load. If one examines the table in

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HARDNESS TEST
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS LABORATORY

Appendix B, one will find that there is a range of

tensile strengths for which there are no Rockwell
B numbers and likewise a range where there are
no Rockwell C numbers. In these ranges, the
specific Rockwell tests are not valid.

The relationship between Rockwell and Brinell

hardness numbers and predicted tensile strengths
can be found in Appendix B. With these
relationships, either hardness number can be used
to predict tensile strength.

To perform the Rockwell tests, the penetrator is

pressed against the specimen with an initial 10-kg
preload to properly seat the penetrator. The
remaining load is applied gradually after the dial
on the hardness tester has been zeroed. After the
penetrator has stopped moving into the specimen,
the final position of the dial pointer indicates the
Rockwell hardness number that is related to the
depth of penetration.

READING THE TABLE IN THE APPENDIX B:

One can use the table to predict strength from
hardness numbers for any of the tests by locating
the hardness number and reading the
corresponding
predicted
tensile
strength.
Likewise, one can predict the results of the
remaining tests if the results of one test is known.
For example, if a Brinell test measured a BHN of
229, one would expect Rockwell B to be
somewhere in the range of 94-104.

BRINELL HARDNESS TEST:

The Brinell test for this experiment uses a 10-mm
diameter steel ball which is pressed into a
specimen by a 3000-kg load that is maintained for
15 to 30 seconds. (A 500-kg load is used for
softer, non-ferrous materials.)

MATERIALS TO BE TESTED:
Three steel specimens will be tested in this
laboratory experiment. All three specimens were
cut from the same bar of cold-rolled steel. One
specimen will be tested in the cold-rolled state.
The remaining two specimens were subsequently
heat-treated. Both specimens were heated to
17500F (9540C) and cooled. One specimen was
slowly cooled to room temperature, resulting in
an annealed state. The other specimen was cooled
rapidly, or quenched. These three conditions will
be referred to as:

The Brinell hardness number (BHN) is the ratio

of the load (kilograms) to the impressed area
(square millimeters), and is calculated by:

BHN = P (D 2) D D 2 d 2
Where:

12

]}

P:
test
load
[kg]
D: diameter of the ball [mm]
d: diameter of indentation [mm]

1. Cold rolled
2. Annealed

Since the Brinell number is based on the area of

indentation, the diameter of the indentation must
be measured. This is done with a microscope. The
scale seen through the microscope is in
millimeters. The larger diameter indentation
corresponds to a softer material and lower Brinell
number. The Brinell hardness number can be
used to predict the tensile strength of the material.

3. Quenched.
The three specimens are distinguishable by
colored bands painted on their ends.
EQUIPMENT TO BE USED:
Rockwell Hardness Tester
Brinell Hardness Tester
20 kip MTS Testing Machine

The relationship between the Brinell number and

the tensile strength can be found in reference
handbooks (refer to Appendix B, Table 1),
therefore calculations are not generally required.

PROCEDURE:

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HARDNESS TEST
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PRELIMINARY CALCULATIONS:

with the microscope and the average of these

readings should be used to obtain the Brinell
number.

No preliminary calculations are required for this

experiment.

Appendix B should be used to obtain tensile

strength predictions based on the hardness tests.
The actual strengths of the three specimens
should then be measured using the 55kip MTS
testing machine.

SPECIMEN PREPARATION:
In preparation for hardness measurements,
scaling on the surface of the annealed and
quenched specimen must be removed in the area
where the test is to be conducted. Removal of
surface scaling should be accomplished with a
wire brush and/or metal file. A sample of a
prepared surface will be provided at the test area.

MTS SET-UP
1.) Follow Start- up Procedures
Station Manager
hardness
MPT
hardness.000

The cross-sectional area of each of the steel

specimens must be determined prior to testing.

2.) Turn hydraulics on.

3.) Make sure 'MANUAL OFFSET' = 0 for
Stroke.

TESTING PROCEDURE:
The hardness measurements for all three samples
should be taken prior to the tensile tests. Since
the tensile strength of the specimens will be
measured, all hardness readings should be made
at the ends of the specimens. A minimum
distance of 1/2 inch should be maintained
between
measurement
locations.
All
measurements should be done on one side of the
specimen.

4.) Adjust 'SET POINT'' to 0.0

The testing procedures for the Rockwell and

Brinell testers can be found in the equipment
section of this manual and are also located at the
testing machines.

4.) Lock MPT and select specimen.

5.) 'AUTO OFFSET' Load.

TESTING PROCEDURE:
1.) Create specimen file hard*.
2.) Install Specimen in upper and lower grips.
3.) Start the scope.
5.) Press 'RUN'. Let the test proceed until
failure occurs.
6.) Press 'STOP' once failure occurs.
7.) Remove specimen pieces from grips.

Three measurements should be taken on each

specimen for both the Rockwell B and Rockwell
C tests. These measurements can then be
averaged to obtain the hardness value for the
specimen. The student will need to insert the
correct tip and change the amount of load applied
for the Rockwell tests. The Rockwell B scale uses
a 1/16-inch diameter hard steel ball and a 100-kg
load. The C scale uses a conical diamond point
and a 150-kg load.

8.) Unlock MPT and adjust SET POINT to 0.0.

9.) Repeat procedure for additional specimens
10.) Turn hydraulics off.
16.) Copy data files to diskette.
c:\em327data\hard*\specimen.dat
17.) Delete specimens hard*.

Only one Brinell measurement needs to be made

on each of the three samples. However, each lab
group member should make a diameter reading

REPORT:

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(6) Is a hardness test normally employed
because the property of hardness is desired?
Explain.

The report outline found in Appendix A should

be used.

(7) Can a satisfactory comparison of two

dissimilar materials be obtained from
hardness numbers?

REPORT REQUIREMENTS:
(1) Develop tables of Rockwell and Brinell
hardness numbers and predicted tensile
strengths for the three specimens.
(2) Compare the predicted tensile strengths of
all three specimens with the actual strengths
obtained from the tensile tests.
(3) Summarize, in words, the results of the
testing. Comment on the accuracy of using
the Brinell Hardness test to predict tensile
strength of the three steel specimens. In
addition, comment on the effect of the two
heat treatments on hardness.
(4) Comment on appropriateness of various
hardness tests for the different specimens.
QUESTIONS:
(1) Why do the instructions specify the period
during which the pressure is to remain on the
Brinell ball?
(2) Is the Brinell indentation truly spherical?
Explain.
(3) In a Brinell test why is a polished specimen
surface more important for harder materials?
(4) Will side bulging resulting from a Brinell
impression taken too close to the edge of a
specimen result in a hardness number greater
or less than the value obtained by a correct
procedure?
(5) Why is a minimum thickness of at least ten
times the depth of the impression required in
the Brinell test? How should the value
obtained be influenced by specimens which
are too thin assuming they are tested on a
heavy anvil which is:
(a) harder
than
the
specimen?
(b) softer than the specimen?

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