OHARDNESS TEST

1. Objective
To determine the hardness of different metal samples using Rockwell hardness test.

2. Apparatus
i. Vickers hardness test machine
ii. Samples of metallic material : steel, brass and aluminium
3. Summary
Hardness is a measure of the resistance of a metal to permanent (plastic) deformation.
The hardness of the metal is measured by loading an indenter into its surface. The
Indenter material which is usually a ball, pyramid, or cone, is made of a material much
harder than the material being tested. For most standard hardness tests a known load is
applied slowly by pressing the indenter at 90 degrees into the metal surface being tested.
After the indentation has been made, the indenter is withdrawn from the surface. An
empirical hardness number is then calculated or read off a dial (or digital display), which
is based on the cross-sectional area of depth of the indentation. The most common type of
tests that widely used and adopted in engineering practices are the Brinell, Vickers and
Rockwell methods.

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.
 Vickers Pyramid Diamond Indenter Indentation
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 of 5 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.
4. Procedure
i. Vickers hardness test machine was switched on.
ii. The head module of the machine was make sure to be at the standby position.
(M10 magnification is at the workstage position.)
iii. Load adjuster was adjusted to be at 200g (1961N) by rotating it.
iv. The sample was put on the workstage
v. Height adjusted was rotated clockwise to bring up the workstae close to the
magnification lense.
vi. Height adjuster was rotated counterclockwise slowly to bring down the
workstage while seeing the sample surface by using the optical lense until the
sample surface appear.
vii. Start button on the machine interface was pressed and wait for a few seconds
for the machine to do the indentation the the sample surface.
viii. Indentation mark was bring to the center of image by using the micrometer
x.y.
 ix. Counterclockwise button on the machine interface was pressed twice to
change to higher magnification lense. (M40 magnification lense).
x. Sample surface was adjusted by rotating height adjuster counterclockwise
until the image of sample surface appeared.
xi. Indentation mark was find by using micrometer x, y and bring it to the
center of the image.
xii. Height adjuster was adjusted until the indentaion mark is clear.
xiii. Fixed line was moved to the left corner of the indentation mark by using the
micrometer x, y.
xiv. Microscope adjuster was rotated counterclockwise tomove the fine line until
it touch the fixed line.
xv. Zero button on the interface was pressed to reset the reading for D1 and D2.
xvi. Fine line was moved using microscope adjuster until it touch the right corner
of the indentation mark.
xvii. Reading for D1 on the machine interface was taken.
xviii. READ button at the electronic microscope was pressed and electronic
microscope was rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise.
xix. Fixed line was moved to the bottom corner of the indentation mark by using
micrometer x, y.
xx. Fine line was adjusted using microscope adjuster until it touch the upper
corner of the indentaion mark.
xxi. Reading for D2 on the machine interface was taken.
xxii. READ button at the electronic microscope was pressed and the Hardness
Vickers value appeared on the machine interface was taken.
xxiii. The electronic microscope was rotated clockwise and the counterclockwise
button on the machine interface was pressed twice to bring the head module
to standby position.
xxiv. Sample surface was find and make sure there was no foreign particle on that
surface by using the micrometer x, y.
xxv. Steps ii) until xxiv) were repeated by using different loads, 300g, 500g, 1000g,
and 2000g.
ardness testing is an important and useful tool in materials testing, quality control and
acceptance, and performance of materials. We depend on the data produced to verify heat
treatment, structural integrity, and quality of components to determine if a material has
the properties necessary to ensuring that the materials utilized in the things we use
everyday contribute to a well engineered, efficient, and safe world. Establishing a
correlation between the desired material property and the hardness result allows this, thus
making hardness tests extremely useful in R&D and industrial applications and also in
assuring that the materials utilized in the things used every day contribute to a well-
engineered, safe and efficient world.
dThe reason for these differences is that each alloy have its own chemical composition and
treatment condition. These difference indicate that the material is not homogenous in
nature. The hardness test results was valid because the hardness measured values in 3 trials
of each sample closely matched with each other. Moreover, the experimental hardness
values closely match with published value in which the smallest percent difference isThe
main source of error in the laboratory could be the location of the sample when it was
placed between anvil and indenter of the LECO R-600 digital Rockwell hardness tester.
When each sample was hardness tested, the process would become more difficult due to the
deformation. Moreover, the result tend to be slightly off if the locationof intender was close
to the test side of previous sample. Another source of error could bethe uncertainty of
calibration scale of LECO R-600 digital Rockwell hardness tester which was ±1.0 RB. This
uncertainty possibly made the hardness measurement slightly different from the published
hardness values. The most common error source is that induced by the operator. When
surface preparation is poor, this error gets compounded. The mundane nature of
measuring multiple impressions also contributes to fatigue and subsequent errors.
Operator error can be minimized with a conscientious operator. Some level of computer
testing will help when there is a need for higher volume or more frequent testing.

It is a vital to test most materials before they are accepted for processing, and before

they are put in to use to determine whether they meet the specifications required or not.
One

of these tests is for hardness. Hardness is the most important property. Therefore, we
should
learn to measure the hardInherent to microhardness testing are the problems of accuracy,
repeatability, and correlation. However, by using properly maintained and calibrated
equipment, trained personnel, and appropriate testing environments, testing error and
variability can be minimized.ness accurately. Rockwell hardness testing process is most
simple

and widely used.