Metallurgical & Material Engineering UET,LHR 1

Rockwell hardness test

1.0. Theory
1.1. Hardness:
Hardness “The resistance of material to permanent indentation against the applied load”
Hardness is used for the assessment of the mechanical properties of the material and also it
checks the quality level and uniformity of the material. The purpose of determining hardness is
to know about the suitability of a material for a given application. Hardness tests are easy to
perform this has made them most common method of inspection of metals and alloys. [1]

Rockwell hardness tester is one of the machines used to measure the resistance to indentation of
a material.

2.0. INTRODUCTION
2.1. Rockwell hardness tester:
It is the most industrially used machine. Hardness of almost any material can be evaluated.
Standard which deal with this test is ASTM E18 .Test is widely used because it takes very less
time to find hardness using this method. Indent size is small, which is one of the advantages of
this test. Using this test we can avoid almost every type of human error and we are able to
distinguish even very small hardness differences using this test. [2]

Figure # 1: Rockwell Hardness Testing Machine

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Rockwell hardness test

2.2. Principle of Rockwell test:

Hardness number is basically driven from the difference of indenter depth by the application of
two loads. Firstly we apply minor load for specific period of time. Then major load is applied to
the sample. Test requires just 5-10sec. “Lesser the depth of penetration higher will be the
hardness”.

Figure # 2: Rockwell hardness test.

2.3. Indenters:
 A spheroid-conical shaped diamond indenter having 120o cone of tip radius 0.2mm.
This is used for hard materials like hardened steels and cemented carbides.
 Hardened ball indenters available in different diameters are used having diameter of
1/16, 1/8, ¼, ½ inches. These are used for testing softer samples like annealed steels,
copper, alloys, plastics and aluminum.

2.4. Scales:
The most fascinating feature of this test is that we are provided with 30 different scales
depending upon different combinations of load applied and indenter. This makes it a versatile
method. However scale A, B and C is most commonly used. Hardness values are expressed as a
combination of hardness no and a scale symbol, which represent the indenter and the loads
applied.
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Rockwell hardness test

2.5. Sub groups:

 Regular Rockwell:
It is for thick samples.

 Superficial Rockwell:
It is for thin samples and films

Scale Indenter Major load Minor load Hardness

A-scale Diamond cone 50kg 10kg 100
B-scale Steel ball 90kg 10kg 130
C-scale Diamond cone 140kg 10kg 100

2.6. Anvils:
Proper anvil must be chosen for placement of sample. If sample is not placed properly on the
anvil then accurate results will not be achieved, and this may also damage the indenter.

2.7. Advantages & disadvantage Rockwell hardness tester

Advantages:

 It is the rapid method and is fully automated.

 It has a rapid testing time.
 The direct hardness number is read out on the dial.
 This test can be used for a wide range of materials.
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Rockwell hardness test

Disadvantages:

 The main limitations are due to the fact that between maximum and minimum loads.
 The possibility of error due to shifting of samples under test loads during the test cycle.
 Quality of the indenter and surface has a strong influence on the test results.

2.8. Comparison Rockwell over Brinell:

In Brinell hardness test hard ball indenter is pressed under load on surface of material. The
Rockwell hardness is based on difference of indentations depth of indenter from two applied load
applications.
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Rockwell hardness test

3.0. Experimental work

3.1. Material required:
 Rockwell hardness machine
 Steel ball indenter
 0.04 diameter diamond cone indenter
 Specimens (steel & brass)

Figure # 3: Rockwell hardness machine

3.2. Procedure:
 Select the scale for specific specimen.
 Insert ball of dia. ‘D’ in ball holder.
 Make contact between the specimen surface and the ball by rotating the jack adjusting
wheel.
 Pull the load release lever wait for 20-30sec for brass and 10 sec for steel sample. The
load will automatically apply gradually.
 Note the reading from hardness dial.
 Remove the specimen from support table and locate the indentation so made.
 Repeat the entire operation for different specimens.
 Depth of indenter can be calculated by the following formula.
Diameter of indent /Depth of indentation= [130-HRB]*0.002mm

Diameter of indent /Depth of indentation= [100-HRc]*0.002mm

 Where HRB is the hardness of material having scale B

 And HRc is the hardness of material having scale C

4.0. Observations and Calculations:

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Rockwell hardness test

Diameter of diamond cone indenter= 0.04mm

Diameter of steel ball indenter=1/2", 1/4", 1/8" & 1/16".

Material Indenter Scale Load Rockwell Diameter of

P Hardness indenter
(kgf) (mm)

Steel (round) Diamond Scale C 10kgf minor 46.5 0.107 mm

140kgf major

Steel Diamond Scale C 10kgf minor 47 0.106mm

(hexagonal) 140kgf major

Brass Steel ball Scale B 10kgf minor

90kgf major

Table # 1

5.0. Precautions:
 Calibrate the machine occasionally using standard test blocks.
 After applying Major load, wait for some time to allow the needle to come to rest. The
waiting time vary from 2 to 8 seconds. 5.
 The surface of the test piece should be smooth and even and free from oxide scale and
foreign matter.
 Test specimen should not be subjected to any heating or cold working.

6.0. Result:
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Rockwell hardness test

Hardness of different samples was calculated by Rockwell hardness tester. The calculated
hardness for steel sample 1 is 0.107mm, for steel sample 2 is 0.106mm, for brass sample is

7.0. Discussion:
In this lab activity, Rockwell hardness test was performed to measure the hardness of materials
to plastic deformation induced by mechanical indentation. It is a hardness measurement based on
the net increase in depth of impression as a load is applied. The higher the number in each of the
scales means harder the material. Two types of load are applied to the specimen, first is minor
load and 2nd one is major load. Minor load will allow the indenter to penetrate the material
surface, thus eliminating any errors causes by surface roughness. If major load is applied to the
specimen at first, it will break the specimen or will produce cracks on the specimen.

Figure # 4: Indentation process

Steel ball indenter and diamond cone indenter are mostly used. If steel ball indenter is used for
hard materials like carbides, it will damage the indenter or indenter will break. If diamond
indenter is used for soft materials, we get a very small hardness value as the indenter is very
strong. Diamond is itself a very hard material so diamond cone will easily produce dent on hard
materials. That’s why diamond is preferred for hard materials and steel indenter for soft
materials.

Hardness value of different materials has been standardized. If the value is not matched with the
standard hardness value then it may be due to any treatment done on the specimen before testing.
If hardness value greater than the standard value then the sample will be quenched before testing.
If fast cooling of steel is done then carbon will not get time to diffuse out due to which its
hardness will increase. If hardness value less than the standard value then the sample will be
annealed or will be normalized.

8.0. Conclusion:
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Rockwell hardness test

From this experiment, it is concluded that the hardness value of the sample will be changed
according to the indenter and if any treatment done to the specimen. The value obtained from
Rockwell hardness test is more accurate than that of value obtained from Brinell hardness test.

9.0. References:
1. G.E. Dieter, Ed., Workability Testing Techniques, ASM International, 1984, p 16, 33, 49,
61, 63, 163, 202, 206 [1]
2. ASM Handbook, volume 8, mechanical testing and evaluation. [2]

Contents
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Rockwell hardness test

1.0. Theory.................................................................................................................1
1.1. Hardness:.........................................................................................................1
2.0. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................1
2.1. Rockwell hardness tester:................................................................................1
2.2. Principle of Rockwell test:..............................................................................2
2.3. Indenters:.........................................................................................................2
2.4. Scales:..............................................................................................................3
2.5. Sub groups:......................................................................................................3
2.6. Anvils:.............................................................................................................3
2.7. Advantages & disadvantage Rockwell hardness tester...................................3
2.8. Comparison Rockwell over Brinell:................................................................5
3.0. Experimental work.............................................................................................6
3.1. Material required:............................................................................................6
3.2. Procedure:........................................................................................................6
4.0. Observations and Calculations:..........................................................................7
5.0. Precautions:........................................................................................................7
6.0. Result:.................................................................................................................8
7.0. Discussion:.........................................................................................................8
8.0. Conclusion:.........................................................................................................9
9.0. References:.........................................................................................................9

Sr no. Figure Page

1 Testing machine 1
2 Rockwell test 2
3 Rockwell hardness machine 5
4 Indentation process 7