Title :

Hardness test

Objective :
To investigate the hardness of different metallic materials by using Rockwell hardness test and Brinell hardness test.

Introduction :
Hardness is a measure of a materials resistance to localized plastic deformation (e.g. a small dent or a scratch).Rockwell and Brinell are popular hardness testing methods .In a hardness test ,a small indenter is forced into the surface of a material to be tested and the size or depth of the resulting indentation is measures ,which in turn is related to a hardness number .The larger and deeper is the indentation ,the softer the material, and the lower the hardness number. Tensile strength is proportional to hardness as both of the quantities are indicator of resistance to plastic deformation.

Material and apparatus :

Rockwell Hardness test instrument, Brinell Hardness test instrument, specimens of five types of metals plate with 20mm thickness (aluminum, copper, brass , steel, stainless steel).

Procedure :
Attention
Inaccuracies will be resulted if an indentation is made too near a specimen edge, or made too close to one another indentation. Keep a distance between indentation and edge of specimen or between two indentation for at least three 6mm. Each indenter is only suitable to be used at certain test force. The indenter would be damaged if extremely high test force is chosen.

Rockwell Hardness Test

The Rockwell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a diamond come or hardened steel ball indenter. 1)The light switch is switched on at the right lower side of the frame after connecting thepower supply to the electric source so that an image on the projection screen is visible clearly. 2)An indenter is chosen and placed into the hole of main rod according to the requirement of the test. Shoulder of the penetrator is kept in close contact with the end surface of the main rod. Thescrew is tightened properly. 3)A test force is chosen according to the requirement of the test and the load-transfer knob at the right side of the frame is turned to the desired test force. 4)The test piece is placed on anvil after pushing the control handle to the backwards. The elevating is turned until the test piece is in contact with the penetrator. The handwheel is slowly turned when the test piece rise until the base line of the projection screen coincides with the graduated line marked 100 on the scale at left side (the deviation is not more than 5 divisions). 5)The adjusting knob is adjusted under the projection screen so that the graduated line 100 on the graduated plate will exactly coincide with the transverse line on the projection screen. Theminor load of 98.07N (10kgf) is applied on the test piece.

6)The control handle is pulled to apply major load slowly. The scale on the projection screen moves backward slowly and stopped at a certain position. The scale now,indicate the depth of impression consisting of the elastic deformation of the specimen under total force. It does not represent thehardness number. Step 7 is proceeded t obtain the hardness number. 7)The control handle is pushed backward to remove major load while the minor load is still applied on the specimen. Subsequently, this elastic deformation of the impression is recovered. The transverse line on the projection screen coincides with the number of the scale and Rockwell Hardness number is shown.The reading on the left side of the projection screen was the hardness number of HRC or HRA, while the reading on the right side isHRB. The selection of hardness scale was determined by the type of indenter and the value of the major load used as shown in the following table. Rockwell hardness scale HRA HRB HRC Indentor Diamond cone 1.588mm diameter steel ball Diamond cone Major Load (kg) 60 100 150

8)The test piece is removed after lowering the anvil. 9)3 indentations were made on each specimens, i)close to the center of the specimens, ii)close to the edge of the specimens, iii) in between dents of i) and ii). The average Rockwell hardness values if each of the specimens is then determined.

Brinell Hardness Test

The Brinell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a 5mm diameter Hardened steel or carbide ball subjected to a load of 1839N (187.5 kgf). 1)Step 1-4 in the Rockwell hardness test is repeated. 2)the control handle is pulled to apply the load slowly. The scale on the projection screen moved Backward slowly and stopped at a certain position. 3)The control handle is pushed backward to remove the load. 4)The test piece is remover after lowering the anvil. 5)A readout microscope is used to measure the diameter of the indentation d . 6)The Brinell hardness number is determined by,

Result and calculations :

Rockwell hardness test Material Aluminum Copper Brass Stainless steel Steel Brinell Hardness test Load F=187.5kgf Diameter of indenter D : 2.5 mm HRA1 37.4 26.0 37.8 52.0 49.7 HRA2 36.8 24.9 38.6 52.3 50.5 HRA3 37.6 24.8 37.0 52.5 50.4 HRAavg 37.23 25.23 37.8 52.23 50.3

Material aluminum copper brass steel s.steel

d1 1.3824 1.6041 1.4560 1.1530 1.1201

d2 1.4872 1.6066 1.4267 1.1641 1.1102

HB 99.8 81.8 104.3 167.7 181.8

d1 1.5319 1.6074 1.4236 1.1520 1.1364

d2 1.5404 1.6007 1.2232 1.1506 1.1194

HB 90.9 81.9 107.0 169.0 179.8

d1 1.5527 1.6104 1.4103 1.1651 1.1229

d2 1.5492 1.6130 1.4503 1.1638 1.1219

HB 88.7 81.0 106.1 165.9 179.3

Material aluminum copper brass steel s.steel

HB avg 93.13 81.57 105.8 167.53 180.3

Discussion :
1)According to the Rockwell and Brinell hardness test result, the hardness among the five specimen are shown here, Stainless steel>steel>brass>aluminium>copper 2)Oxidation is one of the cause for the discrepancy in the hardness of the inner and outer region of the specimens.The oxidized layer ,normally happened on the surface of metal will have different hardness compared to the pure metal.Besides that,the way of cutting a metal also contribute the difference between hardness of inner and outer region of metal.This is because when cutting process, the atom of metal having dislocation,resulting different hardness. 3)Advantages of Brinell test method - Suitable for hardness tests even under rough workshop conditions. -Suitable for hardness tests on inhomogeneous materials. - Simple test procedure and cheap penetration element. Disadvantages of Brinell test method -Restriction of application range to a maximum Brienll hardness of 650 HBW. -Restriction when testing small and thin-walled specimens. -Restriction when testing round specimen if diameter is smaller then 1,5 x penetrator diameter. -Relatively serious damage to the specimen due to the large test indentation. Advantages of Rockwell test method -Simple operation of the hardness testing devices. -Short time required for test procedure. -Economical test device. -Can be automated. -Can be used for a very wide range of materials. -Can be used for tests at hard-to-reach test locations. -Low costs for sample preparartion. Disadvantages of Rockwell test method -Possible errors due to shifting of the sample under test load during test cycle -Danger of unrecognized incorrect measurements in the case of demaged indenter -Quality of the indenter has a strong influence on the test result

Conclusion :
The higher the HB value,the harder and stronger the metal.

Referencing :
William D.Callister,Jr.(2010)Material Science And Engineering An Introduction.8 th Ed.Hardness. John Wiley & Sons,Inc.United State of America.pg 174 -179.