HARDNESS TEST
EM 327: MECHANICS OF MATERIALS LABORATORY
EXPERIMENT: HARDNESS TEST
OBJECTIVES:
(1) Make Rockwell and Brinell hardness
measurements on different steel specimens.
(2) Compare trends in hardness with other
material properties.
INTRODUCTION:
Two types of hardness tests will be performed on
three steel samples. The three samples, originally
cut from the same bar, have been subjected to
different heat treatments. Tensile strengths will
be predicted based on the hardness measurements
and compared to the actual strengths obtained
from tensile testing.
BACKGROUND:
Hardness can be defined as resistance to
penetration, resistance to abrasion, resistance to
scratching , or resistance to cutting. These are
related in that they all require plastic flow of the
material. A variety of tests for hardness are in
use, depending on which of the above situations
is of most interest.
Material properties, such as hardness can be
altered to desired levels by various heat treatment
procedures. Heat treatments affect the
microstructure of the metal. Detailed descriptions
of the changes to the microstructure can be found
in material science textbooks (Reference;
Material Science in Engineering, Callister).
Students will not be responsible for
understanding the characteristics of the
microstructure for various heat treatments.
However, students should become familiar with
how heat treatments affect the material
properties.
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Hardness and strength are related to bonding
forces on the atomic level. Therefore, it should be
expected that hardness and strength are somehow
related. A theoretical relationship, which needs to
consider the complex mechanisms involved when
a hardness indentation is made, is not practical.
However, various relationships have been
experimentally observed and empirically defined.
Usually the relationships are found in tabular
form. It is important to note that the relationships
may be somewhat different for different
materials.
Since the methods used to increase the strength of
a material (such as heat treating, alloying, or
mechanical working) also increase the hardness
of the material, hardness measurements can
provide a quick and easy means to check if a
given strength has been obtained through a
particular process.
This experiment will include both Rockwell and
Brinell tests which measure resistance to
penetration. The amount of deformation that
occurs when a small, hard steel ball or diamond
point is pressed into a material surface at some
designated load is the measure of the hardness of
the material.
ROCKWELL HARDNESS TEST:
The penetrators for the Rockwell hardness tester
range from 1/2-inch diameter steel balls to very
small diamond (brale) tips (points). The smaller
points are used for harder materials that have a
greater resistance to indentation. There are
various force scales used for various materials.
The Rockwell B and Rockwell C scales will be
used for this experiment. The Rockwell B scale is
suitable for soft engineering metals, and the
Rockwell C scale is appropriate for hard
engineering metals. Each scale requires a
specified tip and load. The B scale uses a 1/16-
inch diameter hard steel ball and a 100-kg load.
The C scale uses a conical diamond point and a
150-kg load. If one examines the table in
 HARDNESS TEST
EM 327: MECHANICS OF MATERIALS LABORATORY
Appendix B, one will find that there is a range of
tensile strengths for which there are no Rockwell
B numbers and likewise a range where there are
no Rockwell C numbers. In these ranges, the
specific Rockwell tests are not valid.
To perform the Rockwell tests, the penetrator is
pressed against the specimen with an initial 10-kg
preload to properly seat the penetrator. The
remaining load is applied gradually after the dial
on the hardness tester has been zeroed. After the
penetrator has stopped moving into the specimen,
the final position of the dial pointer indicates the
Rockwell hardness number that is related to the
depth of penetration.
BRINELL HARDNESS TEST:
The Brinell test for this experiment uses a 10-mm
diameter steel ball which is pressed into a
specimen by a 3000-kg load that is maintained for
15 to 30 seconds. (A 500-kg load is used for
softer, non-ferrous materials.)
The Brinell hardness number (BHN) is the ratio
of the load (kilograms) to the impressed area
(square millimeters), and is calculated by:
{ [ (
BHN = P (πD 2) D − D 2 − d 2 )
12
]}
Where: P: test load [kg]
D: diameter of the ball [mm]
d: diameter of indentation [mm]
Since the Brinell number is based on the area of
indentation, the diameter of the indentation must
be measured. This is done with a microscope. The
scale seen through the microscope is in
millimeters. The larger diameter indentation
corresponds to a softer material and lower Brinell
number. The Brinell hardness number can be
used to predict the tensile strength of the material.
The relationship between the Brinell number and
the tensile strength can be found in reference
handbooks (refer to Appendix B, Table 1),
therefore calculations are not generally required.
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The relationship between Rockwell and Brinell
hardness numbers and predicted tensile strengths
can be found in Appendix B. With these
relationships, either hardness number can be used
to predict tensile strength.
READING THE TABLE IN THE APPENDIX B:
One can use the table to predict strength from
hardness numbers for any of the tests by locating
the hardness number and reading the
corresponding predicted tensile strength.
Likewise, one can predict the results of the
remaining tests if the results of one test is known.
For example, if a Brinell test measured a BHN of
229, one would expect Rockwell B to be
somewhere in the range of 94-104.
MATERIALS TO BE TESTED:
Three steel specimens will be tested in this
laboratory experiment. All three specimens were
cut from the same bar of cold-rolled steel. One
specimen will be tested in the cold-rolled state.
The remaining two specimens were subsequently
heat-treated. Both specimens were heated to
17500F (9540C) and cooled. One specimen was
slowly cooled to room temperature, resulting in
an annealed state. The other specimen was cooled
rapidly, or quenched. These three conditions will
be referred to as:
1. Cold rolled
2. Annealed
3. Quenched.
The three specimens are distinguishable by
colored bands painted on their ends.
EQUIPMENT TO BE USED:
Rockwell Hardness Tester
Brinell Hardness Tester
20 kip MTS Testing Machine
PROCEDURE:
 HARDNESS TEST
EM 327: MECHANICS OF MATERIALS LABORATORY
PRELIMINARY CALCULATIONS:
No preliminary calculations are required for this
experiment.
SPECIMEN PREPARATION:
In preparation for hardness measurements,
scaling on the surface of the annealed and
quenched specimen must be removed in the area
where the test is to be conducted. Removal of
surface scaling should be accomplished with a
wire brush and/or metal file. A sample of a
prepared surface will be provided at the test area.
The cross-sectional area of each of the steel
specimens must be determined prior to testing.
TESTING PROCEDURE:
The hardness measurements for all three samples
should be taken prior to the tensile tests. Since
the tensile strength of the specimens will be
measured, all hardness readings should be made
at the ends of the specimens. A minimum
distance of 1/2 inch should be maintained
between measurement locations. All
measurements should be done on one side of the
specimen.
The testing procedures for the Rockwell and
Brinell testers can be found in the equipment
section of this manual and are also located at the
testing machines.
Three measurements should be taken on each
specimen for both the Rockwell B and Rockwell
C tests. These measurements can then be
averaged to obtain the hardness value for the
specimen. The student will need to insert the
correct tip and change the amount of load applied
for the Rockwell tests. The Rockwell B scale uses
a 1/16-inch diameter hard steel ball and a 100-kg
load. The C scale uses a conical diamond point
and a 150-kg load.
Only one Brinell measurement needs to be made
on each of the three samples. However, each lab
group member should make a diameter reading
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with the microscope and the average of these
readings should be used to obtain the Brinell
number.
Appendix B should be used to obtain tensile
strength predictions based on the hardness tests.
The actual strengths of the three specimens
should then be measured using the 55kip MTS
testing machine.
MTS SET-UP
1.) Follow Start- up Procedures
Station Manager hardness
MPT hardness.000
2.) Turn hydraulics on.
3.) Make sure 'MANUAL OFFSET' = 0 for
Stroke.
4.) Adjust 'SET POINT'' to 0.0
5.) 'AUTO OFFSET' Load.
TESTING PROCEDURE:
1.) Create specimen file hard*.
2.) Install Specimen in upper and lower grips.
3.) Start the scope.
4.) Lock MPT and select specimen.
5.) Press 'RUN'. Let the test proceed until
failure occurs.
6.) Press 'STOP' once failure occurs.
7.) Remove specimen pieces from grips.
8.) Unlock MPT and adjust SET POINT to 0.0.
9.) Repeat procedure for additional specimens
10.) Turn hydraulics off.
16.) Copy data files to diskette.
c:\em327data\hard*\specimen.dat
17.) Delete specimens hard*.
REPORT:
 HARDNESS TEST
EM 327: MECHANICS OF MATERIALS LABORATORY

(6) Is a hardness test normally employed

The report outline found in Appendix A should because the property of hardness is desired?
be used. Explain.
(7) Can a satisfactory comparison of two
REPORT REQUIREMENTS: dissimilar materials be obtained from
(1) Develop tables of Rockwell and Brinell hardness numbers?
hardness numbers and predicted tensile
strengths for the three specimens.
(2) Compare the predicted tensile strengths of
all three specimens with the actual strengths
obtained from the tensile tests.
(3) Summarize, in words, the results of the
testing. Comment on the accuracy of using
the Brinell Hardness test to predict tensile
strength of the three steel specimens. In
addition, comment on the effect of the two
heat treatments on hardness.
(4) Comment on appropriateness of various
hardness tests for the different specimens.

QUESTIONS:
(1) Why do the instructions specify the period
during which the pressure is to remain on the
Brinell ball?
(2) Is the Brinell indentation truly spherical?
Explain.
(3) In a Brinell test why is a polished specimen
surface more important for harder materials?
(4) Will side bulging resulting from a Brinell
impression taken too close to the edge of a
specimen result in a hardness number greater
or less than the value obtained by a correct
procedure?
(5) Why is a minimum thickness of at least ten
times the depth of the impression required in
the Brinell test? How should the value
obtained be influenced by specimens which
are too thin assuming they are tested on a
heavy anvil which is:
(a) harder than the specimen?
(b) softer than the specimen?

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