TECH

Notes
Hot Hardness Testing on the UMT
Observing Material Strength at Elevated Temperatures
TN1002 Rev. A0

Mechanical Properties at High Temperatures

In applications such as engines or gas turbines,

improved efficiency can be achieved through operation
at higher temperatures. Additionally, applications
such as hot working of metals, catalytic processing to
remove harmful greenhouse gases, steam turbines, Wavy Blue Lines Background by .com
and petrochemical processing all require materials
that maintain their strength at high temperatures, in
combination with corrosion-resistance and/or wear-
resistance. Thus, it is useful to be able to compare
materials under high-temperature service conditions.

Why Hot Hardness?

Hardness and wear testing can be conducted on the same
The answer is simple: a hardness test is easy, sample. Shown: UMT 1000°C rotary chamber.
fast and inexpensive. While tensile testing is the
traditional method to assess material strength at high 100
temperature, tensile tests require specialized samples
HBB50 vs. Temperature
and equipment. A hardness test, on the other hand, can 90
HBB (50 kg, 3.2 mm ball)

provide strength-based comparisons of materials using 80

very simple sample shapes, including flats or rods.
70
With various indenters available with a range of force
304 Stainless
sensors, a UMT can perform a wide variety of material 60
Hastelloy X
screening and comparison tests under conditions from Inconel 718
50
room temperature up to 1000°C. Plus, the tests can be
performed on an extremely wide range of materials, 40
from plastics to soft metals to super-alloys. High- 0 200 400 600 800 1000
temperature wear tests also can be conducted on the Temperature (°C)
same samples.
Comparison of hardness measured at elevated temperatures for
three different alloys using the HBB test method.

Tribology & Mechanical Testing

Innovation with Integrity
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