Department of Materials Science and Engineering

MSE212-Materials Laboratory I
Hardness
2023-2024

Lecturer:
Assoc. Prof. Fatih TOPTAN

Lab. Assistants:
Res. Asst. Sümeyra Çiğdem SÖZER

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 MSE311 Materials Laboratory, which is the first department laboratory course of the IZTECH
Materials Science and Engineering Department undergraduate program, aims to provide students with
information about the basic operations in metallurgy and materials engineering. The experiments that
are planned to be shown are laboratory-scale versions of the methods frequently used in the industry.
With this course, the theoretical topics will also be visualized.
We wish success to all students.

Grading System
Quiz 30%
Report 70%

GENERAL RULES OF THE COURSE

1. The starting time of the laboratory is 08:45 on Friday. Students are required to arrive at the
laboratory on time.
2. It is of great importance to come to the laboratory prepared by reading the experiment sheet before
the laboratory. Laboratory instructors will conduct a quiz about the experiment.
3. Each student has to experiment with the group specified in the list.
4. Students have to do the make-up experiment during the make-up week, complete all the
experiments and submit all their reports.
5. Reports will be submitted to the Teams homework system. Uploaded after 17.30 the next Friday
will not be accepted.
TURNITIN
Class Number: 41335918
Registration Key: MSE3112023
6. Experiments will be done in groups. However, the preparation of reports should be done
individually. When detecting any duplicate report, it will be automatically graded with zero.
7. It is necessary to get at least 60 points from the quiz to be successful in this lab.

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The objective of the course
• Obtaining theoretical knowledge about different hardness measurement methods.
• Determining the hardness of the materials by using the Vickers hardness measurement method and
obtaining information about their strength based on the resistance they show against the tip dipped
on their surfaces.

Introduction
The hardness test is a mechanical test for material properties which are used in engineering design,
analysis of structures, and materials development. The principal purpose of the hardness test is to
determine the suitability of a material for a given application or the particular treatment to which the
material has been subjected. The ease with which the hardness test can be made has made it the most
common method of inspection for metals and alloys.
Hardness is defined as the resistance of a material to permanent deformation such as indentation, wear,
abrasion, scratch. Principally, the importance of hardness testing has to do with the relationship
between hardness and other properties of material. For example, both the hardness test and the tensile
test measure the resistance of a metal to plastic flow, and results of these tests may closely parallel each
other. The hardness test is preferred because it is simple, easy, and relatively nondestructive.
There are many hardness tests currently in use. The necessity for all these different hardness tests is due
to the need for categorizing the great range of hardness from soft rubber to hard ceramics.

1. Theoretical Background
Hardness is usually defined as the resistance of a material to plastic penetration of its surface. There are
three main types of tests used to determine hardness:
• Scratch tests are the simplest form of hardness tests. In this test, various materials are rated on their
ability to scratch one another. Mohs hardness test is of this type. This test is used mainly in mineralogy.
• Static Indentation tests are based on the relation of indentation of the specimen by a penetrator under
a given load. The relationship of total test force to the area or depth of indentation provides a measure
of hardness. The Rockwell, Brinell, Knoop, Vickers, and ultrasonic hardness tests are of this type.
• In Dynamic Hardness tests, an object of standard mass and dimensions is bounced back from a surface
after falling by its own weight. The height of the rebound is indicated. Shore hardness is measured by
this method.
For engineering purposes, mostly the static indentation tests are used.

1.1 Scratch Tests

Hardness and brittleness are directly proportional. Therefore, hard materials can be broken by any
pressure force effect. We can make a detailed scientific explanation of the subject as follows;

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Hardness is the resistance of a mineral to scratching and rubbing. The hardness of minerals is mostly
specified in terms of scratch hardness. The scratch hardness is the capacity of a sharp corner of a mineral
to scratch the smooth face of another mineral and is determined by the Mohs hardness scale. This scale
was arranged by the Austrian mineralogist F. Mohs in 1824. The Mohs hardness scale consists of ten
minerals arranged in order of increasing hardness (Fig. 1).

Figure 1 The Mohs hardness scale and chart for select gems

1.2 Dynamic Indentation Tests

The hardness measurement methods examined so far are laboratory type and are called "dynamic
indenation measurement methods". In these methods, the sample must be specially prepared for
hardness measurement. In some cases, it may not be possible to extract samples from the part or the
hardness must be measured on very large parts. Industrial type devices have been developed for this
type of hardness measurement. It is possible to collect the devices developed for this purpose under two
groups.
• Devices measuring hardness by impact,
• Devices for measuring hardness by spatter amount.
In the first group, a path similar to Brinell's experiment is followed. However, here the force is applied in
the form of a pulse. The penetrating tip in the form of a steel ball leaves a mark on the surface with the
impact effect. The most well-known of the devices in this group is the Poldi hammer hardness
measurement method. In this method, a gauge of known hardness is used. The dimensions of the trace
obtained are also compared with the trace obtained on the gauge and the hardness value is determined.

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In the second group, a small weight dropped on the sample from a certain height bounce back by making
more elastic deformation on the sample. The amount of bounce is proportional to the amount of elastic
energy after the falling object hits the sample, and this constitutes the principle of the method. According
to this explanation, it is clear that spatter will be less in soft materials and more in hard materials. In this
device, a hardened steel ball or spherical diamond tip is used as the penetrating tip and these are
attached to the lower surface of the falling weight. In order to easily measure the splash amount, mobile
hands are used on the indicator. The most well-known of the devices that work on the leap principle is
the “Shore Scleroscope”. The most important advantage of this type of devices is that it measures
hardness without leaving any traces and provides ease of measuring hardness distribution on a very
large surface.

1.3 In Static Hardness Tests

Hardness measurement generally consists of measuring the resistance of the material to the immersion
of a conical or spherical standard tip into the material.
The hardness measurement tests performed by immersing a hard object into the material are given
below. There are mathematical relations between these measures and it is possible to switch from one
value to another. When making hardness measurements, regardless of the method, several
measurements should be made on the sample and the average of them should be taken.
a) Brinell hardness measurement method,
b) Vickers hardness measurement method,
c) Rockwell hardness measurement method,
d) Micro-hardness test.

1.3.1 Brinell Hardness Measurement Method

It consists of measuring the trace diameter that occurs as a result of applying a certain load to the surface
for a certain period of time with the help of a ball made of a hard material of a certain diameter.
Brinell hardness value (BHN): It is a value related to the size of the permanent mark created by pressing
the surface of a material for a certain time with a ball of a certain diameter. The Brinell hardness value
is determined by dividing the load applied on the ball by the spherical surface area obtained on the
sample surface (Fig. 2).

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 Figure 2 Brinell hardness measurement method

In standard tests, it is generally performed under the conditions of a steel ball with a diameter of 10 mm,
a load of 300 kg and a waiting time of 30 seconds. For other test conditions, information is added next
to the BHN mark in order of ball diameter/load/time. E.g.; An illustration as 60BHN 5/500/30 describes
the test applying a 500 kg load on a 5 mm diameter ball for 30 seconds. However, in practice, smaller
load-ball diameter combinations are used because these loads are too large and cause large crushing on
the surface. The most important disadvantage of this test is that the load-diameter combinations must
be chosen specifically for the material. For example, if the hardness of a steel material is to be measured,
if a 2.5 mm diameter ball is used in the experiment, the required force is 187.5 kg. However, if the
hardness of an Al alloy is to be measured, then a force of 31.25 kg is sufficient.
Balls used as penetrating tip are made of hardened steel. Considering that the ball may be crushed during
the test, hardness should be measured up to a maximum of 400 BHN with steel balls. It is possible to
experiment using a hard metal (sintered tungsten carbide) ball up to 550 BHN. It is not appropriate to
conduct the Brinell test on metals with higher hardness. In this case, the ball is crushed, increasing its
diameter and causing incorrect measurements in the deformation geometry.

1.3.2 Vickers Hardness Measurement Method

In this method, a pyramid-shaped tip with a square base is immersed under a certain load on the piece
of material whose hardness is to be measured, and the diagonal lengths of the trace that occur after the
load is removed are measured.
The resulting trace base is a square pyramid with diagonal d, and the apex angle is the same as the apex
angle 136° of the penetrating tip. Vickers hardness value is the test load expressed in kg divided by the
trace area expressed in mm2 (Fig. 3).

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 Figure 3 Schematic principles of operation of Vickers hardness machine

Vickers hardness test is defined in ASTM E-92-72, DIN 50133 and TS 207 standards and Vickers hardness
value is symbolized by HV. The Vickers hardness value is shown by adding the numerical values next to
the symbol showing the applied load and the second numerical values showing the application time of
the load. For example, 455 HV/30/20 means 455 Vickers hardness value measured under 30 kg load
applied for 20 seconds.
Vickers hardness test is used in a wide range of materials from soft materials (5 HV hardness) to hard
materials (1500 HV hardness).
Although Vickers hardness test is one of the methods that give very accurate hardness values, it is not
used as widely as Brinell or Rockwell hardness values. The diamond pyramid tip provides better accuracy
than the value obtained by the Vickers hardness test, Brinell or Rockwell hardness tests, since it has a
wide angle and the diagonals of the trace formed are approximately seven times larger than the depth
of the trace, especially in high hardness metals. This is also based on the fact that the Vickers trail is
smaller than the Brinell trail.
In the measurement of the hardness of very hard materials, distortion of the Brinell ball occurs, while in
the measurement of the hardness of normal materials, some elastic distortion of the ball occurs.
However, in experiments with the Vickers pyramid, the immersing tip is damaged at very low degrees.

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1.3.3 Rockwell Hardness Measurement Method
The Rockwell hardness test (HR) is the most widely used method for measuring the hardness of metals,
as it is very easy to perform and does not require special skill. Rockwell hardness is a unitless number
corresponding to the depth of submersion. The stinging tip is conical or ball-shaped (Fig. 4). Soft
materials are measured with a ball penetrating tip. Very hard materials are measured with a diamond
conical tip.

Figure 4 Rockwell hardness indenter types

In Rockwell hardness measurement, the penetrating tip is inserted into the material with a preload of
10 kg (100 N). Then, the depth obtained by applying the main load to the penetrating tip is measured.
The main load is 100 kg for Rockwell B (HR-B) and 150 kg for Rockwell C (HR-C).
Since the penetration depth will be measured in this method, surface roughness may affect the results.
In order to eliminate this drawback, the tool is adjusted to zero level by immersing the penetrating tip
into the material with a small load (P0=preload). The main load (P1) is then applied to complement the
total load. Finally, the main load (P1) is removed (Fig. 5). The Rockwell hardness value is read from the
current indicator by finding the depth increase in the permanent scar.

Figure 5 Schematic representation of the Rockwell hardness measurement

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The Rockwell hardness value is dimensionless. Each 0.002 mm penetration into the long material is taken
as a decrease of 1 number of hardness value. The Rockwell Hardness Value-C (HR-C) can be calculated
with the above formula as the depth of penetration tb between the position of the tip after the preload
is applied and the position of the tip after the main load is removed.
The type of the penetrating tip used in the hardness measurement and the value of the applied load are
shown with a symbol. For this reason, different hardness values measured according to different scales,
that is, under different test conditions, are given with symbols such as HR-A, HR-B, HR-C, HR-D. The
Rockwell hardness of very hard materials is measured under a 150 kg load using a cone-shaped diamond
tip and the results are indicated by the symbol HR-C. In the measurement of the hardness of soft
materials, a steel ball is used as the penetrating tip and the measurement results obtained under a load
of 100 kg are shown with the HR-B symbol. If the hardness value of a material, measured in Rockwell,
exceeds 100, it is not recommended to use a ball as a penetrating tip. Because the use of ball as a
penetrating tip in measuring the hardness of very hard materials causes both the ball to be deformed
and the measurement accuracy to decrease. On the other hand, it is not recommended to use a cone-
shaped diamond tip in measuring the hardness of materials with a Rockwell hardness lower than 20
according to any scale.

1.3.4 Micro-hardness test

This test is particularly suitable for measuring the hardness of very small samples and thin sheets. The
hardness of hardened and coated surfaces can also be determined by this method. In addition, the
hardness of various phases and regions in the internal structure of the material are measured by this
method. In this method, the immersion depth usually does not exceed 1 micron.
Micro hardness measuring device is a sensitive device and its control is done automatically. The
difference from macro hardness measuring devices is that the system includes a complete metal
microscope.
The sample whose hardness is to be measured is placed on the microscope table and the table is moved
until a clear image is obtained from the eyepiece. Then, the region to be measured hardness is selected
and the loading is done automatically by pressing the button. Thus, a trace is obtained on the sample.
Leave sizes are usually determined by a manual system.
Two standard inserts are used in microhardness tests. One of them is the pyramid tip (Vickers tip) with
a square base and a 136° apex angle. The other is the 172°30' pyramid tip, known as the Knoop tip. The
Vickers tip leaves a square mark on the sample, while the Knoop tip leaves a rhombic mark.
Load values between 1-10.000 g are generally used in micro-hardness devices.
There are also ultra-hardness testers that use a load of less than 1 g. On the other hand, trace depths in
nm can be obtained by using μN loads with devices known as nano-hardness measuring devices, which
have been developed in recent years.
The surface of the sample to be measured for microhardness must be metallographically prepared. It is
desirable that the surface be clean, polished and generally etched.

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2. Experimental Procedure
The Vickers hardness test can be applied to any type of material, from wide bars to sheets. In general,
the upper and lower surfaces of the sample whose hardness is to be measured should be flat so that the
sample does not move or slide when loaded. In terms of thickness, it is sufficient that the pyramid
penetrating tip is thick enough not to cause any protrusion on the back surface of the sample. In order
for the ends of the diagonals to be fully seen, the surface of the trace must be polished.
The sample whose hardness is to be measured is placed in the sample holder area and raised until it
approaches the tip of the immersing tip. The load is gradually applied to the insertion tip and then the
load is removed. In order to find the Vickers hardness value after the test, it is necessary to measure the
diagonals of the square-shaped trace with the help of the metallurgical microscope attached to the
Vickers test device; The image of the trace created on the sample is transferred to the measuring screen
with the help of a microscope. With the help of two movable rulers on the measurement screen, the
lengths of the diagonals are measured with an accuracy of 0.001 mm and the average is taken.

3. Required
Do not forget to write down the units when filling out the table!
The measurements should be repeated at least 10 times and the mean values should be written with the
calculated standard deviation value.
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3
Vickers Hardness Test

d1 (mm)
d2 (mm)
d=(d1+d2)/2
P (kg)
HV

4. Assignments (Answer of this assignments are expected in your report.)

Q1 - Which factors affect the selecting of the appropriate hardness test?
Q2 - Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Brinell, Vickers and Rockwell Hardness Tests.
Q3 - Discuss the relationship between hardness and tensile properties.
Q4 - Find Hardness Conversion Tables from the American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Handbooks. Convert following HRC's to HV values using the tables: 44.5, 50.5, 56.8 (Mark the values also
on the table. Attach the table as an appendix to your lab report!)

5. References
1) Chandler, H; Hardness Testing, Second Edition, ASM International, United States of America, 1999.

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2)Purcek, G.; Mechanical Tests Applied to Mechanical Materials (Lecture Notes), 2014
3) Oran, K. and Erman, B.; Structural properties of materials, volume II, İ.T.Ü. Faculty of Civil Engineering,
Istanbul, 1993
4) Kayali, E.S.; Ensari, C. and Dikec, F.; Mechanical tests of metallic materials, İ.T.Ü. Chemistry Metallurgy
Fa. Offset Workshop, Istanbul, 1990.
5) Gulec, S. and Aran, A.; Material information, Volume 1, TUBITAK Marmara Scientific and Industrial
Research Institute, Gebze, 1988.
6) Dieter, G.E.; Mechanical Metallurgy, 2nd Edition, Mc Graw Hill Book Comp. Inc., London, 1976.

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