MATERIALS SCIENCE AND TESTING

HARDNESS TEST
Theoretical review
Materials resistance against plastic deformation, especially the penetration of a
measuring device, is called hardness. Former hardness testing procedures (from 1822)
relied on natural crystals. It was quite simple: if one of the materials can scratch the
other, then that is the harder one. If this property is arranged in a row, one gets the
Mohs’ scale. The hardest material is the diamond, its Mohs index is 10, and the softest
material is the steatite with the Mohs index of 1. This sorting method was really simple,
but it was not accurate enough. More sophisticated methods were developed later.
These methods apply a measuring body (tool) with specific shape and material, and the
measure has specific details such as speed, duration, force etc. The measuring body
creates plastic deformation, and the area or the depth of the indentation can easily be
related to the hardness. Hardness values are relative numbers, which means that only
the same methods’ results could be compared correctly.
Compared to other mechanical tests, hardness tests are more frequently used, because:
 they are simple, cheap, and the specimen usually does not require complicated
preparation.
 they are basically a non-destructive test method, because the indentation is really
small.
 Other mechanical properties can be calculated from hardness.
Hardness test methods have three groups:
 Static measurements: Brinell, Vickers, Knoop, Rockwell methods.
 Dynamic measurements: Poldi hammer, drop hardness tester, durometer.
 Special measurements: instrumented indentations and measurements.

Static measurements
Brinell procedure
In this procedure the measuring body is a steel ball, which is pressed into the surface
with F force (Fig 1). The Brinell procedure’s number is the ratio of the force and the
surface area of the spherical cap.
0.102 F 0.204 F
HBW  
D h

 D D  D2  d 2
where D is the ball diameter (mm), h is the depth of the indentation (mm), F is the load
force (N), and d is the indentation’s diameter (mm).

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 F

Figure 1 Brinell indentation and measurement of indentation diameter

Vickers procedure
In this procedure the intender is a diamond pyramid with a back angle of 136° (Fig 2).
The Vickers hardness number calculation is similar to the Brinell’s.
0.102 F 0.189 F
HV  
A d2
where F is the load force (N), A is the indentation’s area (mm2), and d is the average
diagonal (mm).
F

Figure 2 Vickers indentation and measurement of indentation diagonals

a) b)

Figure 3 a) Vickers procedure, b) Knoop procedure

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Knoop procedure
The Knoop procedure is very similar to the Vickers procedure (Fig 3). The indenter in
this case is a diamond pyramid too, but it has different back angles. The indentation is a
rhombus with two different diagonals, with l being 7,11 times larger than w. The
hardness number can still be calculated from the load force/indentation area equation.
0.102 F 0.14484 F
HK  
A l2
where F is the load force (N), A is the area of the indentation (mm2), and l is the length of
the larger diagonal (mm).

Rockwell procedure
The Rockwell procedure is far simpler than the others. Determination of the
indentation’s area is not needed, only the indentation’s depth. Another simplification is
that the specimen surface preparation is easier, thanks to the pre-load. Two different
measuring bodies are used for this procedure, namely a ball or a cone. The diamond
cone has a 120° angle, while the ball is made from WC (or hardened steel), and its
diameter depends on the investigated material. The two most important (HRB and HRC)
procedure’s data is in Tab 1.
Table 1 HRB and HRC procedure’s data
Hardness
Measuring body Preload (N) Main load (N) Hardness
sign
h
HRB Ball 1,5875 mm 98,07 882,6 130 
0.002

h
HRC Diamond cone 98,07 1373 100 
0.002

The first step in the procedure is the application of the preload (F0), which
provides that the surface does not have to be prepared that carefully. Second step is the
application of the main load (F1) which causes the indenter making further impression.
In the last step the main load is removed, while the material springs back (Fig 4). The
whole procedure can be measured with a calibrated gauge.

Figure 4 Rockwell hardness test schematic picture

1 - depth of the indentation at F0 preload force; 2 - depth of the indentation at F1 main load force;
3 – the spring back after F1 main force was unloaded; 4 – the residual depth (h);
5 – specimen’s surface; 6 – the measurement reference plain

The Rockwell hardness number is related to the residual indentation depth in 0,002 mm,
or in 0,001 mm. If the hardness number were directly related to the depth, it would

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cause the softer materials to give higher number, which is opposite to the previous
numbers. This is the reason why the depth will be subtracted from an arbitrarily chosen
number. The hardness number can be easily read from the scale of the tester machine.

Dynamic measurements
When force influence is fast and impact-like the measurements are called dynamic. The
first type of these also measures the hardness through the plastic deformation of the
specimen. The most common is the Poldi hammer which is based on the Brinell
hardness procedure. The principle of the measurement is that the specimen is compared
to a known hardness standard test bar. The same force applies to the standard test bar
and the specimen (Fig 5).

Spring

Impact bar
Standard
test bar

Specimen

Figure 5 Poldi hammer Figure 6 Drop hardness tester, 1 – Drop

weight; 2 – Scale; 3 – Start button; 4 –
Specimen; h – height of the drop weight after
the impact

The hardness of the specimen can be calculated from the next equation:
d2
HBx  HBe e2
dx
where HBx, HBe are the specimen’s and the standard test bar’s hardness respectively,
and dx, de are the indentation’s diameter on the specimen and the standard test bar
respectively.
The other group is based on the elastic response of the specimen. The drop
hardness tester (Fig 6) is one of them. It has a drop weight with a diamond tip. This
weight is dropped in a vertical tube, and the height after the impact and rebound is
measured. This test basically does not leave a mark in the surface. The specimens’
weight can largely affect the results. The smaller is the sample, the higher is the
probability of the drop weight causing vibration in the specimen, which is decreasing the

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energy of the impact, and gives false results. That is the reason why only relatively big
samples can be measured with this method.
The hammer is vertical at the beginning of the measurement which is made by a
durometer (Fig. 9). The hammer hits the specimen, and the rebound’s angle gives
information about the hardness of the specimen. The sample’s weight and surface
roughness can influence the hardness number.

Figure 9 Durometer

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Special measurements

Instrumentated measurements
Every procedure previously mentioned only dealt with the result of the measurement. In
the last couple decades new methods have been developed which can continuously
register the force – indentation’s depth diagram (Fig. 10). This provides more
information about the investigated specimen. The forces are very small which means
that this procedure is usually used in laboratory.
Force (µm)

Loading Unloading

Indentation’s depth (nm)

Figure 10 Force – Indentation’s depth diagram

The loading and unloading equations:

F   h p , F  a  h  h0 
m

where α, p and a, m are the parameters in the equations. The h0 is the Nano indenter’s
depth after unloading. The unloading phase can be related to the material’s Young’s
modulus.
F 2
tan    Er A
h hmax 
where A is the indentation’s area, Er is the reduced Young’s modulus, which can be
calculated as:
1 1  2 1  i2
 
Er E Ei
where E and ν are the sample’s parameters, and Ei and νi are the indenter’s parameters.
The hardness can be calculated as follows:
F
H  max
A

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