University of Jordan

Faculty of Engineering and Technology

Mechanical Engineering Department

Strength of Materials (I) Laboratory

Section: 1 (Sunday 2-5) Group: B

Experiment No. (2) : Hardness test

Done on: 2/3/2014 2014\3\9 :‫تاريخ عمل التجربة‬
Handed on: 9/3/2014 2014\3\16 :‫تاريخ تسليم التقرير‬
INTRODUCTION:
What is Hardness?

Hardness is the property of a material that enables it to resist plastic deformation,

usually by penetration. However, the term hardness may also refer to resistance to
bending, scratching, abrasion or cutting.

Measurement of Hardness:

Hardness is not an intrinsic material property dictated by precise definitions in terms

of fundamental units of mass, length and time. A hardness property value is the
result of a defined measurement procedure.

Hardness of materials has probably long been assessed by resistance to scratching

or cutting. An example would be material B scratches material C, but not material A.
Alternatively, material A scratches material B slightly and scratches material C
heavily. Relative hardness of minerals can be assessed by reference to the Moh's
Scale that ranks the ability of materials to resist scratching by another material.
Similar methods of relative hardness assessment are still commonly used today. An
example is the file test where a file tempered to a desired hardness is rubbed on the
test material surface. If the file slides without biting or marking the surface, the test
material would be considered harder than the file. If the file bites or marks the
surface, the test material would be considered softer than the file.

The above relative hardness tests are limited in practical use and do not provide
accurate numeric data or scales particularly for modern day metals and materials.
The usual method to achieve a hardness value is to measure the depth or area of an
indentation left by an indenter of a specific shape, with a specific force applied for a
specific time.

There are three principal standard test methods for expressing the relationship
between hardness and the size of the impression, these being Brinell, Vickers, and
Rockwell.

For practical and calibration reasons, each of these methods is divided into a range
of scales, defined by a combination of applied load and indenter geometry.

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 : Experimental data and results
Brinell’s test )1
:a) Raw Data
:Table #1

MATERIAL d (mm) D (mm) F (Kgf)

STEEL 4.27 10 3000
BRASS 2.8 10 750
ALUMINUM 2.5 10 500

:b) Reduced data

:Table#2

MATERIAL d (mm) D (mm) F (Kgf) HB NUMBER

(Kgf/mm)
STEEL 4.27 10 3000 199.466
BRASS 2.8 10 750 119.366
ALUMINUM 2.5 10 500 100.2419

:c) Sample Calculations

2Ffgk
( )
D D
(  D 2  d 2mm
() )
= Hb

For (steel) material: d= 4.27mm; D= 10m; F= 3000

2 * 3000
Hb =  * 10 * (10  10 2  4.27 2 )
= 199.4664977 kgf/mm2

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 :Rocker’s Test )2
:Data
:Table#3

STEEL BRASS ALUMINUM

HR1 42.9 43 38.5
HR2 44.1 65.7 37.6
(HR1+HR2)/2 43.5 54.35 38.05

:Differences Between (Rockwell and Brinell) Tests )3

BHT
Using spherical indenter
Apply standard load (500-3000) Kgf
Measures the hardness by measuring the
diameter of the indentation (depends on
diameter)
Used for materials that have low hardness (soft
materials)
Calculations should be done in order to obtain
the value of hardness using the value of the
indentation's diameter (measured using a low-
power graduate microscope), as shown in the
sample calculations
RHT
Using steel ball (narrow headed)
Apply minor load (10Kgf)
then major load (150 Kgf)
Measures the hardness by measuring the
depth of indentation (depends on depth)
Used for materials that have high hardness
The value of harness for each sample can be
obtained directly from the Rockwell tester

The values of both:- applied load and
-calculated hardness obtained are greater than
those in Rockwell
A reference sample should be used for each
trial
Smaller values are obtained
Can be applied to samples of different sizes &
shapes, and there is no need for a reference
sample

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Conclusion & Discussion
Hardness tests are non-destructive (maintain the sample's shape) and can be easily
experimented. It's used for quality control. Hardness test is relatively cheaper (has
only the machine/capital cost) than other tests and easier to be done by an
unprofessional tester. The idea behind this type of tests is to face an indenter into a
flat surface of the material to be tested by evaluating the indentation. The indenter is
a spherical metallic ball, in case of Brinell Hardness Test (BHT) where a circular hole
is formed in the sample and the diameter is measured, or a narrow headed metal
(needle shape) that causes a hole of certain depth in the case of Rockwell Hardness
Test (RHT). In both cases, the steel ball (d=10mm) and the needle-like shape
.indenters are hard enough to resist any deformations and avoid readings' errors

In the case of BHT, a reference sample of hard steel that can hold heavy loads was
used before each trial in order to assign the target load. The distance separating the
indenter and the sample should be reasonable before applying the load. The
distance kept between the indenter and the sample is equal to 1mm. After the load is
applied, maintained for fifteen seconds, and indentations are formed in the sample,
the diameter of the circular holes formed in the three samples is measured using
Brinell microscope. We assumed that the indentations formed were in the form of
regular circle (the horizontal diameter= vertical diameter), which caused the
difference between the theoretical and experimental values. The diameter of the
.steel ball is greater than the diameter of indentation

A minor and major load is applied in RHT in order to eliminate any plastic recovery
and neglect any irregularities when the load is applied after specifying the target
point of indentation. This test eliminates any personal or systematic errors (readings'
uncertainty) because the readings are the values of hardness (unit less), so no
calculations are needed. Furthermore, it can be applied on samples of different sizes
and shapes. This test shows an inverse relationship between depth and hardness;
.the shallower the indentation, the harder the material

In conclusion, steel has the greatest hardness and aluminium has the least,
according to RHT and BHT. For RHT, the greatest numerical value is interpreted as

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the greatest hardness for steel, while in BHT, the following equation is used to
:calculate the hardness from the diameter readings

A difference in the values of hardness detected by RHT and the values calculated in
BHT. This is due to the diameter reading error and due to a systematic error in the
.RH machine that wasn't collaborated correctly

?How to minimise errors

In RHT, do several trials for the same experiment and calculate the average -
hardness (more accurate value)

In BHT, use an indenter of larger diameter so that the indentations' -

.dimensions would be easier and clearer to measure