Hardness Test

TITLE
Hardness Testing of Metallic Materials.
OBJECTIVE
Determine the hardness of metallic materials by using the Rockwell scale.
INTRODUCTION
The hardness test measures the resistance to penetration of the surface of a material by a hard object
Hardness is usually defined as the resistance of a metal to undergo plastic deformation or the
resistance to indentation, so the greater the hardness of a metal the greater the resistance for it to
deform. This resistance varies from metal to metal according to their atomic arrangement. These
properties can vary due to external factors such as temperature.
More simply, when using a fixed force (load) and a given indenter, the smaller the indentation
formed, the harder the material. Indentation hardness value is obtained by measuring the depth or
the area of the indentation through several test methods.
For the measuring of hardness of a material there are different testing methods; scratch resistance
(fracture hardness), Indentation Hardness (plastic hardness) and Dynamic Hardness (rebound
hardness). Rockwell hardness test is one of the indentation hardness test use to test the hardness of
a metal. A diamond spheroconical indenter is forced onto the surface of a metal to measure the
difference in depth of indentations as the force increases gradually to the total test force.
The Rockwell scale is a hardness scale based on indentation hardness of a material. The Rockwell
test determines the hardness by measuring the depth of penetration of an indenter under a large
load compared to the penetration made by a preload. There are different scales, denoted by a single
letter, that use different loads or indenters. The result is a dimensionless number noted as HRA,
HRB, HRC, where the last letter is the respective Rockwell scale.
THEORY
This test measures the permanent depth in indentation; this indentation is given when the fixed
load is applied through the indenter of the Rockwell hardness tester. The indenter is forced into the
specimen with a preliminary force of 10kg. While this is kept, an additional load is applied which
causes an indentation on the specimen. Then load is slowly removed and the depth is obtained by
the scale. The permanent increase in depth penetration, resulting from the application and removal
of the additional major load is used to calculate the Rockwell hardness number.
The following equation is used in order to calculate:
HR = E - e
Figure 01: Demonstration on the Principle of Rockwell
F0 = Preliminary minor load in kg.

F1 = Additional major load in kg.
F = Total load in kg
e = Permanent increase in depth of penetration due to major load F1 measured in units of
0.002mm
E = Constant depending on form of indenter: 100 units for a diamond indenter.
HR = Rockwell hardness number.
D = Diameter of the steel ball used.
The Rockwell Hardness testing process is given in the following schematic diagram:
Figure 02: Rockwell hardness testing principle

MATERIALS AND APPARATUS
 Rockwell hardness tester

 Metal Specimen to be tested
Figure 03: Rockwell hardness tester
Figure 03: Rockwell hardness tester

PROCEDURE
 While maintaining a temperature in between 10-35 ˚C the practical was performed.

 Initially the surface of the specimen was cleaned by the aid of sand papers.
 The corresponding scale was chosen for the experiment, which depends on the material used:
hard steel, diamond (120°, 0.2 tip radius) indenter with 150kg total test force was selected.
The following table was used to select the correct Rockwell hardness scale.
Table 01: Rockwell hardness scales
 Made sure that the crank is in unload position.

 The specimen was placed perpendicularly to the intender.
 Then the large pointer on the dial face was adjusted according to the following table.
Table 02: Pointer selections
 Thereafter, the anvil was raised with a velocity less than 2.5mm/s, until the intender was in
contact with the test sample.
 Then it was further raised until the small pointer was aligned with the red spot.
 10kg (98N) of preliminary load was set.
 Then the load was applied by moving the lever backward slowly to the load position. In
order to ensure the accuracy, minimum ~8 second time duration was ensured when loading
and a ~6 second interval before unloading.
 Thereafter, the load was removed slowly by moving the lever back to its initial point and
the result of the relevant dial was obtained.
 In order to maintain the accuracy, the experiment was repeated for four more times on each
side of the sample and the average value was obtained.
 The above set of steps were repeated for another few samples as well (Cast iron and tempered
steel).
CALCULATIONS
Cast Iron
74.5 + 71 + 70.5 + 76.5

𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 =
4
= 73.1 HRC
Tempered Steel
69 + 70 + 68 + 69.5
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 =
4
= 69.1 HRC
RESULTS
Sample First Value Second Value Third Value Fourth Value Avg Value
Cast Iron 74.5 HRC 71 HRC 70.5 HRC 76.5 HRC 73.1 HRC
Tempered Steel 69 HRC 70 HRC 68 HRC 69.5 HRC 69.1 HRC
Table 03: Results

CONCLUSION
Since the main objective of this practical was to determine the hardness of a metallic material by
using the Rockwell scale, the practical was performed under the standard conditions and reasonable
results were obtained in order to get an idea about the hardness of a material by using the Rockwell
scale. The values obtained were corresponded onto a specific scale, which proved that the experiment
was a success.
REFERENCES
 Rockwell Hardness Test Method | Newage Testing Instruments . 2015. Rockwell Hardness
Test Method | Newage Testing Instruments . [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.hardnesstesters.com/Applications/Rockwell-Hardness-Testing.aspx. [Accessed 14
August 2015].
 Rockwell scale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2015. Rockwell scale - Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockwell_scale.
[Accessed 15 August 2015].
 Hardness. 2015. Hardness. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.calce.umd.edu/TSFA/Hardness_ad_.htm. [Accessed 16 August 2015].
 Hardness test experiment | Engineeringdiary's Weblog. 2015. Hardness test experiment |

Engineeringdiary's Weblog. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://engineeringdiary.wordpress.com/tag/hardness-test-experiment/. [Accessed 17 August
2015].
 . 2015. . [ONLINE] Available at:

http://eclass.uth.gr/eclass/modules/document/file.php/MHXC152/LAB_5_Hardness%20Test/
WB1226~FundamentalsOfRockwellHardnessTesting.pdf. [Accessed 17 August 2015].
 Hardness Test Lab Report.pdf. 2015. Hardness Test Lab Report.pdf. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/168547658/Hardness-Test-Lab-Report-pdf#scribd. [Accessed 18
August 2015].

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TITLE

Hardness Testing of Metallic Materials.

Determine the hardness of metallic materials by using the Rockwell scale.

The following equation is used in order to calculate:

F0 = Preliminary minor load in kg.

Figure 02: Rockwell hardness testing principle

 Rockwell hardness tester

Figure 03: Rockwell hardness tester

Figure 03: Rockwell hardness tester

 While maintaining a temperature in between 10-35 ˚C the practical was performed.

Table 01: Rockwell hardness scales

 Made sure that the crank is in unload position.

Table 02: Pointer selections

74.5 + 71 + 70.5 + 76.5

Table 03: Results

 Hardness. 2015. Hardness. [ONLINE] Available at:

 Hardness test experiment | Engineeringdiary's Weblog. 2015. Hardness test experiment |

 . 2015. . [ONLINE] Available at:

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