1.

0 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this experiment, the student should be able to determine

metal hardness.

2.0 APPARATUS / EQUIPMENT

2.1 Vickers hardness tester (MV 1 )
2.2 Speciment

3.0 SAFETY AND HEALTH

3.1 Make sure the student follows the laboratory or workshop safety
regulators.
3.2 Experiment must be conducted by lecturers or experienced lab
assistance.
3.3 Always know the hazards associated with the materials that are being
utilized in the lab.
3.4 Always wear appropriate clothing.
3.5 Never perform an authorized work , preparations or experiments.
3.6 Be familiar with the location of the emergency equipment.

4.0 DISCUSSION
4.1 The Vickers hardness test method consists of indenting the test
material with a diamond indenter, in the form of a right pyramid with a
square base and an angle of 136 degrees between opposite faces
subjected to a load of 1 to 100 kgf. The full load is normally applied for 10
to 15 seconds. The two diagonals of the indentation left in the surface of
the material after removal of the load are measured using a microscope
and their average calculated. The area of the sloping surface of the
indentation is calculated. The Vickers hardness is the quotient obtained by
dividing the kgf load by the square mm area of indentation.
 4.2 The Vickers test is reliable for measuring the hardness of metals, and also
used on ceramic materials. The Vickers testing method is similar to the
Brinell test. Rather than using the Brinell's steel ball type indenter, and have
to calculate the hemispherical area of impression, the Vickers machine uses
a penetrator that is square in shape, but tipped on one corner so it has the
appearance of a playing card "diamond". The Vickers indenter is a 136
degrees square-based diamond cone, the diamond material of the indenter
has an advantage over other indenters because it does not deform over time
and use. The impression left by the Vickers penetrator is a dark square on a
light background. The Vickers impression is more easily "read" for area size
than the circular impression of the Brinell method. Like the Brinell test, the
Vickers number is determined by dividing the load by the surface area of the
indentation (H = P/A). The load varies from 1 to 120 kilograms. To perform
the Vickers test, the specimen is placed on an anvil that has a screw
threaded base. The anvil is turned raising it by the screw threads until it is
close to the point of the indenter. With start lever activated, the load is
slowly applied to the indenter. The load is released and the anvil with the
specimen is lowered. The operation of applying and removing the load is
controlled automatically.

4.3 The Vickers hardness test utilizes a diamond pyramid shaped indenter that
is ground in the form of a squared pyramid with an angle of 136 o between
faces, and the depth of indentation is about 1/7 of the resulting impressions
diagonal length.

Knoop hardness testing utilizes a diamond indenter that is ground to an

elongated pyramidal form that produces a diamond shaped indentation
having an approximate ratio between long and short diagonals of 7:1, and
the depth of indentation is about 1/30 of the indentations length.

The differences in indenter geometries between Vickers and Knoop results in

different depths of penetration into the material and therefore pose benefits
for testing materials of various thicknesses. Knoop testing is commonly
used for testing layers or coatings where the material of interest is very thin.
Vickers testing allows users to group indentations very close in proximity to
each other allowing for a tighter grouping of measurements to plot a case
hardness depth traverse or to obtain an average hardness value.
Additionally, the orientation of a traverse (series of indentations) is not of
much concern with Vickers testing where with Knoop testing, the traverse
direction could pose an issue when traversing in the direction of the
elongated indentations. Vickers testing is also the most common form of
micro hardness testing and is the more conventional unit of measurement
when conducting a micro hardness test.