ABSTRACT

This experiment basically discuss about the test or hardness of types of steel. The title for this
experiment was hardness testing using Rockwell & Brinell. The objective of this experiment is to measure
the hardness of steel, aluminium, brass and copper using Rockwell Hardness Test and Brinell Hardness Test.
Before starting the experiment, the metals were cleaned first. The surface were grinded and
smoothen by using sand paper. Any oil, grease or rust been removed to get more accurate result in the
experiment.
For the Rockwell Hardness test, at first, the specimen was placed on the surface of the rockwell
hardness test unit. The surface that has been tested was placed parallel to the opposite one. Suitable intender
was selected for each specimen. The intender that is used for the test had been comfirmed to be correctly
assemble. Next, the suitable rockwell hardness(HR scale) for each specimen was selected. The specimen to
be tested was positioned in such way as to avoid the sleeve coming out more than 50mm. The distance
between specimen and intender was standardised at minimum of 2mm or 3mm. Start button located at the
touch screen was pressed, and it was keep pressed until the machine starting to make countdown. Then
intender was allowed to be returned to its initial position before taking the specimen out. The values gained
was recorded in Table 1. It also includes other information such as HR scale, intender, minor and major load
used in the experiment. The hardness value was measured for three times at different point of the specimen
and the average value was taken. The experiment were repeated by using the other test piece.
For Brinell test, firstly, the pressure in the pressure cylinder was wind up until the screw rised about
5cm. The upper pressure plate is unscrewed. The pressure plate was replaced by the Brinell test unit (10 mm
steel ball). It was been tighten in its place. The lower pressure plate was screwed in position. The steel test
piece was positioned on the lower pressure plate so that the centre of the steel ball is at least 20 mm from the
edge. The pressure was slowly wind up to 10Kn. At this pressure, it was hold for approximate 15 seconds.
After that, the load pressure was released and the diameter of indention was measured using magnifying
lens. The experiment was repeated by using other test specimen and the result was recorded in Table 2.
Based on the result obtained from the Rockwell test, we know that the hardness of
steel,aluminium,brass and copper are 90.78, 58.01, 59.25 and 22.7 respectively with steel having the highest
hardness and copper had the lowest hardness. However, the hardness of aluminium, brass and copper that
obtained by using Brinell Test are 1111.18 N/mm, 625.00 N/mm, and 400.00 N/mm respectively where
aluminium has the highest hardness and copper has the lowest hardness.
As a conclusion, we know that the hardness of a material can be tested with different methods
such as Rockwell hardness test, Brinell test, Vickers test and others.

INTRODUCTION
Hardness is the property of a material that enables it to resist plastic deformation, usually
by penetration. However, the term hardness may also refer to resistance to bending, scratching, abrasion or
cutting.[1] The most common type of tests that widely used and adopted in engineering practices are the
Brinell and Rockwell methods. The Rockwell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material
with a diamond cone or hardened steel ball indenter. The indenter is forced into the test material under a
preliminary minor load. When equilibrium has been reached, an indicating device, which follows the
movements of the indenter and so responds to changes in depth of penetration of the indenter is set to a
datum position. While the preliminary minor load is still applied an additional major load is applied with
resulting increase in penetration. When equilibrium has again been reach, the additional major load is
removed but the preliminary minor load is still maintained. Removal of the additional major load allows a
partial recovery, so reducing the depth of penetration. The permanent increase in depth of penetration,
resulting from the application and removal of the additional major load is used to calculate the Rockwell
hardness number.[2]
HR = E e
e = permanent increase in depth of penetration due to major load F1 measured in units of 0.002 mm
E = a constant depending on form of indenter: 100 units for diamond indenter, 130 units for steel ball
indenter
HR = Rockwell hardness number
The Brinell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a 10 mm diameter hardened
steel or carbide ball subjected to a load of 3000 kg. For softer materials the load can be reduced to 1500 kg
or 500 kg to avoid excessive indentation. The full load is normally applied for 10 to 15 seconds in the case
of iron and steel and for at least 30 seconds in the case of other metals. The diameter of the indentation left
in the test material is measured with a low powered microscope. The Brinell harness number is calculated by
dividing the load applied by the surface area of the indentation.[3]
BHN = P / A
P = Force applied to the ball.
A = curved area of the indentation

D = diameter of the ball,

d = the diameter of the indentation.

The objective of this experiment is to measure the hardness of steel,aluminium,brass and copper using
Rockwell and Brinell.METHODOLOGY
A.ROCKWELL HARDNESS
Make sure the
surface is flat
and smooth
.Clean the
surface
carefully to be
tested removing
any oil,grease
or rust.

Grind the
surface or
otherwise
smoothen the
surface with
sand paper and
polish the part
to be tested.

The experiment
is repeated by
using the other
test pieces.

The hardness
values are
measured at
least at 3
different points
of each
specimen.The
average data is
used.

Place the
specimen on the
surface of the
Rockwell
Hardness test
unit.A suitable
indenter and HR
scale are selected
for each
specimen.

The Rockwell
Hardness
value , HR
scale, indenter ,
minor and
major load are
recorded in
Table 1.

Press start
button located
at touch screen
and keep it
pressed until
the beginning
of the
countdown.

Wait for the

indenter to
return to its
initial position.

B.BRINELL TEST
The pressure in the pressure cylinder is winded up until the screw rises about 5
cm

Unscrew the upper pressure plate and replace the pressure plate with the Brinell
test unit(10mm steel ball)
Screw the lower pressure plate in position and position the steel test piece on the
lower pressure plate so that the centre of the steel ball is at least 20mm from the
edge
The pressure is slowly winded up to 10kN and the pressure is holded for about 15
seconds
The load pressure is released and the diameter of the indentationis measured
using the magnifying lens.The experiment is repeated for other test pieces and the
results are recorded in Table 2.

RESULTS
Table 1: Rockwell hardness test
Material

HR Scale

Intender

Hardness Value

Average

Steel

HRB

0.0625

90.63

90.04

90.78

90.48

Aluminium

HRB

0.0625

58.36

57.86

57.81

58.01

Brass

HRB

0.0625

60.09

55.78

61.87

59.25

Copper

HRB

0.0625

24.25

22.52

21.48

22.75

Table 2: Brinell hardness test

Material

Table of Indentation
(mm)

Brinell hardness,HB
(N/mm2)

Aluminium

3.0

1111.18

Brass

4.0

625.00

Copper

3.5

400.00

DISCUSSION
1. Which of the samples show the highest and lowest hardness number. Why?
Steel show the highest hardness number while copper show the lowest hardness number.
Oxidation is the one of the cause for the discrepancy in the hardness of the inner and outer region of the
specimen. The oxidation layer, normally happened on the surface of metal will have different hardness.
Another reason is the steel is an alloy which consists of two or more elements, which are iron and varying
amounts of carbon while copper is a chemical element which occurs naturally.[4]

2. Why you need to use a different Rockwell hardness scale and indenter for each specimen?
We use different Rockwell hardness scale and indenter for each specimen because small ball
or cone is used for the Rockwell Hardness test. This depends on the features and characteristics of the
material which act as a specimen for testing. Therefore, we should use a different Rockwell hardness scale
and indenter for each specimen to ensure the values obtained are having a small difference and almost the
same.[4]

3. Discuss why different materials have different hardness value.

Hardness dependent on ductility, elastic stiffness, plasticity, strain, strength, toughness,
viscoelasticity, and viscosity. Moreover, the materials have different hardness value because every alloy
substances is made up of different type and sizes of element which will distort the regular arrangement of
atoms. Presence of this element increases the difficulty for the layers of atoms within the material to slide
over each other. This increases the hardness of the material and also increases strength for the material.[4]

4. List 3 ways to improve the experiment result.

To improve the experiment result, average of the hardness values of each sample is calculated by
measuring the hardness value for thrice for each sample. We should use the sample that have the cleared
surface and without dent for clear observation that eases in calculation of hardness value. We should use
HRB Rockwell hardness test rather than HRC scale because it is easier to be carried out.[4]

5. Explain briefly the differences between hardness and harden ability.

Hardness is resistance to penetration under specified conditions of load and indenter. Harden
ability is the ability of a steel to achieve a certain hardness at a given depth, upon suitable heat treatment and
quench. Hardness can be measured in steels in any condition. Harden ability presumes that the steels will be
heat treated to achieve a targeted hardness at a given depth. One is an actual property, one is a measure of
potential.[5]

6. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Rockwell and Brinell hardness test?
The advantages of the Rockwell test method is simple operation of the hardness testing
devices and also short time required for test procedure. Furthermore, it can be used for a very wide range of
materials and can be used for test at hard-to-reach test locations. Lastly, Rockwell test method is low costs
for sample preparation. On the other hand, the disadvantages of Rockwell test method is possible errors
would occur due to shifting of the sample under test load during test cycle. Moreover, danger of
unrecognized incorrect measurements in the case of damaged indenter is also one of the disadvantages.
Lastly , quality of the indenter has the strong influence on the test result.[6]
The advantages of Brinell test method is suitable for hardness tests even under rough
workshop conditions. Furthermore, it suitable for hardness tests on inhomogeneous materials. Lastly, it is
simple test procedure and cheap penetration elements. The disadvantages of Brinell test method is restriction
when testing small and thin-walled specimens and also restriction when testing round specimens if diameter
is smaller than penetrator diameter. Lastly, relatively serious damage to the specimen due to the large test
indention.[6]

CONCLUSION
In this experiment, we had done both Rockwell Hardness Test and Brinell Hardness Test to test
the hardness of steel,aluminium,brass and copper.

Based on the Rockwell Hardness Test we had done, we found that the hardness of the steel is
90.48, aluminium is 58.01 , brass is 59.25 and copper is 22.75.The hardest material based on Rockwell
Hardness Test is steel and the lowest hardness material is copper.

On the other hand, based on the Brinell Hardness Test the hardness of aluminium,brass and
copper is 1111.18mm2,625.0mm2 and 400.0mm2 respectively.This shows that aluminium has the highest
hardness and copper has the lowest hardness.

In order to improve the results of the experiment, there are a few precautions and
recommendation can be done.First of all is to ensure that the surface of metal is smooth and flat.Besides
that, the specimen must be placed in a correction position where the sleeve does not come out more than
50mm for accurate reasing.Furthermore, hardness of each metal is measured 3 times and average is
calculated for a more accurate reading.

REFERENCES
1. http://civil.eng.buffalo.edu/cie616/2LECTURES/Lecture%204a%20%20Material
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

%20Testing/HARDNESS%20TEST.pdf
http://www.gordonengland.co.uk/hardness/rockwell.htm
http://www.gordonengland.co.uk/hardness/brinell.htm
http://www.hardnesstesters.com/Applications/Rockwell-Hardness-Testing.aspx
https://pmpaspeakingofprecision.com/2009/07/09/hardness-vs-hardenability-there-is-a-difference/
https://www.scribd.com/doc/150145263/Material-Science-Hardness-Test-Lab-Report