FAKULTI TEKNOLOGI KEJURUTERAAN

UNIVERSITI TEKNIKAL MALAYSIA MELAKA

MATERIAL TESTING AND FRACTURE ANALYSIS

BMMP 3573 SEMESTER 2 SESSION 2019/2020

LAB 2: MICROHARDNESS TESTING

NAME OF GROUP 1.
MEMBERS &
MATRIX NUMBER
2.

3.

4.

COURSE/SECTION 3 BMMP

DATE

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR 1.

2.

TOTAL MARKS VERIFICATION STAMP

EXAMINER’S COMMENT
 JTKP/ BMMP 3573

1.0 OBJECTIVES

This experiment is designed to expose students with the use of Vickers

Microhardness Testing instrument to measure microhardness of ferrous metals as
per ISO 6507-1 Metallic Materials – Vickers hardness test

2.0 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this laboratory session, student should be able to:-

a. Perform Vickers Microhardness Testing for ferrous metal according to ISO

6507-1 Metallic Materials – Vickers hardness test
b. Interpret the result for microhardness and discuss the result accordingly

3.0 THEORY

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. Precision microscopes are used to measure the indentations; these
usually have a magnification of around X500 and measure to an accuracy of +0.5
micrometres. Also with the same observer differences of +0.2 micrometres can
usually be resolved. It should, however, be added that considerable care and
experience are necessary to obtain this accuracy.

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Figure 1: Vickers Pyramid Diamond Indenter Indentation

The Vickers Diamond Pyramid harness number is the applied load (kgf)
divided by the surface area of the indentation (mm2)
Vickers Pyramid Hardness Formula

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

The Vickers Diamond Pyramid indenter is ground in the form of a squared

pyramid with an angle of 136° between faces as can be seen in Figure 1. The depth
of indentation is about 1/7 of the diagonal length. When calculating the Vickers
Diamond Pyramid hardness number, both diagonals of the indentation are
measured and the mean of these values is used in the above formula with the load
used to determine the value of HV. Tables of these values are usually a more
convenient way to look-up HV values from the measurements.

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4.0 EQUIPMENT
1. Vickers Microhardness Machine (Figure 2)
2. Ferrous microhardness specimen

Figure 2 Matsuzawa MMT-X Vickers Microhardness Machine

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 JTKP/ BMMP 3573

5.0 PROCEDURES
A. Ferrous microhardness test specimen
1. Switch on the microhardness machine
2. Turn on the computer screen on the microhardness machine
3. Set the view in screen until surface of the specimen can be seen. Start
with the lowest magnification value.
4. Set the load of indentation at 1 kilogram force
5. Start test, the test has been pre set to 5 seconds
6. After the indentation is completed, using the right and left knob of the
machine, place the measuring line on the pyramid of indentation
7. Press start and write down the values of d1 and d2
8. Write down the value of the vickers hardness from the machine according
to ISO 6507-1 format
9. Prepare the specimen for a second indentation. Ensure the procedure
in ISO 6507-1 is followed accordingly. When understood of the
requirements of the testing then only you can start the second
indentation. CONSULT WITH THE LAB COORDINATORS SHOULD
YOU HAVE UNCERTAINTIES. After repeating the second indentation
write down the value of the vickers hardness again according to ISO
6507-1 format. Remember to record manually the lengths of the diagonal
pyramid line.
10. Prepare the specimen for a third indentation. Ensure the procedure in
ISO 6507-1 is followed accordingly. When understood of the
requirements of the testing then only you can start the second
indentation. CONSULT WITH THE LAB COORDINATORS SHOULD
YOU HAVE UNCERTAINTIES. After repeating the second indentation
write down the value of the vickers hardness again according to ISO
6507-1 format. Remember to record manually the lengths of the diagonal
pyramid line
11. Shutdown the vickers hardness machine
12. After completing the hardness test, proceed to Materials Science
Laboratory to polish until mirror finish for the next user and protect the
surface of the specimen

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6.0 RESULTS
INDENTATION MICROHARDNESS DIAGONAL DIAGONAL
VALUE D1 LENGTH, D2 LENGTH,
mm mm
1
2
3

7.0 QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS

Referring again to ISO 6507-1
I. Calculate manually the value of the vickers hardness using the provided
formula

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II. Calculate the uncertainty values between the three (3) indentations. Does it
conform to ISO 6507-1 recommendation? The formula for standard
uncertainty is

𝑆𝑡𝑑 𝐷𝑒𝑣, 𝜎
𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑈𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑦, 𝑈 =
√𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒, 𝑛

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8.0 DISCUSSION
Discuss based on the questions below. Find other references to help you answer
I. Discuss the significance of microhardness testing to understand materials
properties comparing with other hardness testing
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9.0 CONCLUSION
Write a conclusion based on the experimental results. Wikipedia is not allowed
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10.0 REFERENCES
List at least 2 reference(s) that you have used.
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11.0 APPENDIX

Attach any information that would help in the report that you deem necessary from
this page onwards (e.g specimen pictures)

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