Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing

Engineering Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra

Malaysia

EMM3806 Mechanical Engineering

Laboratory I Semester 2 (2020/2021)

Lab Title : LAB 7: HARDNESS TEST Group

No. : E-1

Name Matrics No.

MUHAMMAD AFIQ BIN JAMAL MOHAMED 206003

MUHAMMAD AZWAR BIN MOHAMMAD SHAM 206567

KHAIRUL NASHRAN BIN ANUAR 205951

MUHAMMAD IZZAT NAJMI BIN WAHAK 206870

ADAM MUHAMMAD BIN WIZMANIDZAL 205481

Lecturer Name: Dr. Mohd Zuhri bin Mohamed Yusoff

NO. CONTENTS PAGE

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. EXPERIMENTAL WORK/METHODOLOGY 2

3. RESULTS 3

4. DISCUSSION 4

5. CONCLUSION 5

6. REFERENCES 6
INTRODUCTION

Hardness is the ability of material to resist plastic deformation, normally achieved by

indentation with a substance more resistance than itself. This is an important consideration in
the selection of a material for application. Hardness helps compare different materials, indicate
the strength, ductility, and strength of material, control quality, and specify the manufacturing
process and heat treatment. Hardness, especially Rockwell hardness test, is convenient
technique because it is quick, simple and requires practically no specimen preparation.
Therefore, hardness test is ideal for laboratories, production lines, and other situation where
the time and expense of conducting a tensile test are not appropriate. Moreover, hardness test
has wide range of application especially in application on metal materials. Metal material that
has high hardness would be the most proper selection for wear resistance application. The
learning objective of this laboratory was to introduce the hands-on experience on the hardness
measurement of engineering materials, and to present the different type of materials and their
distinguishing characteristic. The experiment also introduced the differences in the mechanical
properties of the different types of engineering materials, the effects of alloy composition on
the mechanical properties of metal alloy as well as the effects of metal product form and
condition on mechanical properties.

Figure 1: Mitutoyo ATK-600

Rockwell Hardness Test.

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METHODOLOGY

The power switch of Rockwell hardness tester (Mitutoyo ATK-600) is turned on. Next, the
total load sequence switch is set to the AUTO position in the side panel. Then, the minor
load is set from selector ring to S (Rockwell Superficial) or R (Rockwell). A desired
indenter selected by refer to Table 1. The indenter is fixed, and the specimen is placed on
the anvil. The total load value is set by turning the selector knob. The tester will indicate
if, preparation is completed:
Loading navigator → rapidly flashing (from outer to inner)
Indicator → 100 (diamond indenter); 130 (ball indenter)
The minor load is applied by raising the anvil by rotating clockwise the elevating handle
slowly until the tip of the indenter touches the specimen. During minor load application:
Loading navigator → slowly flashing (from outer to inner)
When the hardness indicator displays as below. The handle operation is stopped.
Indicator → 620 to 640 (Rockwell Superficial); 360 to 370 (Rockwell)
After appropriate minor load is applied, minor load application is completed
(Loading navigator → 4 LEDs light up). The START switch is pressed. The measurement
process is automatically performed from step pre-setting until measurement is complete, Pre-
setting:
Loading navigator → 4 LEDs light up.
Loading lamp → lights up
Indicator → 100 (diamond indenter); 130 (ball indenter) During
total load application:
Loading navigator → flashing (from outer to inner)
Loading lamp → lights up
Indicator → rapid to slow count-down (duration time: 3 to 60 seconds) During
total load removal:
Loading navigator → flashing (from inner to outer)
Loading lamp → lights up
Indicator → rapid count-up
Measurement complete:
Indicator → hardness value displayed.
OK/NG lamps → OK lights up.
The hardness value is read and recorded from the hardness indicator. the elevating handle
is turned in the reverse direction to lower the anvil and the specimen is removed.
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The steps are repeated for specimens of other methods and specimens. Three readings are
taking on each test specimen and method in result section.
The precautions during experiment are both surfaces of the specimens are flat and positioned
securely on the anvil. The elevating handle is rotate gently during elevation of the anvil.

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Otherwise, due to abrupt strike of the indenter tip with the specimen, the indenter may be
destroyed. If the minor load applications are in overload condition, the tester will show:
Loading navigator → 4 LEDs light up; Indicator → AAAA; Overloading lamp → Lights up.
RESULTS
Scale HRA
Table 2 shows the scale HRA hardness value of three metal specimens.
Specimen Rockwell Hardness Value

1 2 3 average

Brass 77.7 82.2 82.9 80.9

Aluminium 47.3 56.3 52.6 52.1

Steel 87.3 87.8 87.7 87.6

Table 2: The hardness value for each metal specimen in HRA scale.
Scale HRF

Table 3 shows the scale HRF hardness value of three metal specimens.
Specimen Rockwell Hardness Value

1 2 3 average

Brass NG NG NG -

Aluminium 67.3 68.6 72.5 69.47

Steel 88.1 NG NG 88.1

Table 3: The hardness value for each metal specimen in HRF scale.
Scale HR15T

Table 4 shows the scale HR15T hardness value of three metal specimens.
Specimen Rockwell Hardness Value

1 2 3 average

Brass NG NG NG -

Aluminium NG NG NG -

Steel NG NG NG -

Table 4: The hardness value for each metal specimen in HR15T scale.

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DISCUSSION

From the experiment that have been done, the results obtain from the three scale for three
different specimens is as such. For the scale A, the average Rockwell Hardness value are 80.9,
52.1 and 87.6 for brass, aluminium and steel respectively. For scale F, brass having an error
while aluminium has a value of 69.47 while steel have a value of 88.1. For the scale R, all of
the specimen has an error reading at the machine.
For brass, the suitable scale is scale A because it is the only one scale that can be test on brass
specimen. For aluminium, the best scale to be used is the scale F rather than scale A because
scale F has more accurate reading although both of the scale applies the same load. For steel
specimen, the suitable scale is scale F because of the same reason with specimen aluminum.
The published value of each brass, aluminium and steel is different from the result of the
experiment. The actual value is used by the industry and manufacturer to help the users to know
about the hardness of the material used. The actual value of brass for scale F is range from 54-
100. The experimental value that has been obtain for brass is 80.9. The actual value for
aluminium for scale F is not available but the nearest scale to it is the scale E(HRE) which has
a range between 53-101 and for scale A the value cannot be define in industry because it is
rarely be used. The experimental value of aluminium is 52.1 and 69.47. lastly is the actual
value of steel. The actual value of steel that been used in industry is mostly used HRB and
HRC data. For references to steel scale A and F, we compare it with HRD. The HRD value of
steel is range from 40.1-76.9. By using conversion tool, we can compare the value of the both
scale of steel. The experimental value that has been obtain for scale A and F is 87.6 and 88.1.
Hardness is important in engineering process because industry need the accurate data to
produce product that can sustain longer. Because each specimens and material have its own
hardness, the industry need to decide which material is the most suitable for the functionality
of the product. In case the manufacturer forgets about the hardness of material, the product
might cause trouble to the user and can also give damage and injury to user as the object break
easily. Besides that, hardness is importance to the main product for holding a greater force that
have been applied to it such as weight that have been dropped onto it. Without the hardness,
the industry might be creating object that are ductile and easily break.

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CONCLUSION

Overall, we set out to test several specimens using the Rockwell Hardness Testing
Machine. The objective of the experiment was to determine the hardness of various engineering
materials using Rockwell hardness test and to develop an understanding of suitable scale for
hardness test specimens. The metal specimens used in this experiment are steel, brass and
aluminium. A minor load was applied to press the indenter into contact with the surface of
specimen by using Rockwell Hardness Testing Machine. A major load is then applied and
causes the indenter to penetrate the specimen. After the major load is removed, the difference
in the final depth of the indenter and the initial depth is determined. The experiment was done
by using three scale which is scale A, F and R for all the specimens. The reading was taken
three time to calculate the average.
Based on the experiment, for the A scale, steel specimens showed the highest average
Rockwell Hardness value which indicates it to be the hardest followed by brass and aluminium.
For the F scale, steel showed the highest Rockwell Hardness value and followed by aluminium
while for the scale R, all of the specimen has an error reading at the machine. By conducting
this experiment, we have been able to know hardness value of some specimens that important
in industrial use in order engineer to decide which material is the most suitable for the
functionality of the product and long lasting.

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REFERENCE

1. Callister, W. D., & Rethwisch, D. G. (2012). Fundamentals of materials

science and engineering: An integrated approach. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
2. R. C. Hibbeler, (2013). Mechanics of Materials, 9thEdition. Pearson
Education, Inc. page:139-144
3. Practical hardness testing made simple. (n.d.). Retrieved May 5, 2021, from
https://app.aws.org/educators/Library/0000/000587.pdf
4. “Hardness Testing Concepts | Buehler.” Buehler, an ITW Company,
2021, from Hardness Testing Concepts | Buehler