ME 101: Materials Science and Technology
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Hardness is not necessarily an indication of
strength , although for some materials such
as steel, a harder steel is a stronger steel.
Measure of a materials ability to resist
surface indentation or scratching
A difficult property to describe in terms of
first principles value depends greatly on
method of testing.
Different testing methods different scales
and values
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Brinell Hardness Test: 10mm diameter
ball with a load of 500, 1000 or 3000kg
Rockwell Hardness Test: A cone shape
indenter; the depth of penetration is
measured.
Vickers Hardness Test: Pyramid shape
indenter
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Brinells Hardness
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
P from 500 - 3000 kg
D= 10 mm
D
d
BHN 2 P
D D
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
D2 d 2
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
1.
2.
3.
Press a 10mm (3/8") diameter ball into
material with a known amount of load.
Measure diameter of the indentation.
BHN =
Load
=
2L
Surface Area D[D-(D2-d2)1/2]
1. L = Load placed on ball, usually 3000 kg , but
1500 kg, and 500 kg can also be used.
2. D = Diameter of steel ball ( = 10 mm)
3. d = diameter of dent, measured by looking thru
a Brinell microscope.
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Plastic
Mild steel
Elastic
H
Copper
H = Ae-BT
d/D(%E)
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Tensile Strength (MPa)
Tensile Strength = 3.4 BHN
Correlations between the
Brinell hardness number (BHN)
and tensile strength of carbon
steels.
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Hardness (HB)
Sample must be ten times thicker than the
indentation depth (sample usually should be
at least 3/8" thick).
Test is most accurate if the indentation depth
is 2.5 - 5.0 mm. Adjust load to achieve this.
Test is no good if BHN > 650
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Widely used and
well accepted
Large ball gives
good average
reading with a
single test.
Accurate
Easy to learn and
use
Destructive
Non-portable
High initial cost
($5,000)
Error due to
operator reading
Brinell Microscope
(10% max)
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Machine measures depth of penetration and computes
hardness
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Select Scale - load
and indentor
depending on the
scale
Press a point into
material
Diamond Point (Brale)
1/16" ball
1/8" ball
ball
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Load levels and indenter sizes for Rockwell hardness tests.
Symbol
Indenter
Normal Scales
RB, 1/16 ball*
RC, cone +
RA, cone
RD, cone
RE, 1/8 ball
RF, 1/16 ball
RG, 1/16 ball
Superficial Sales
R15N, cone+
R30N, cone
R45N, cone
R15T, 1/16 ball
R30T, 1/16 ball
R45T, 1/16 ball
Minor(Pre-)
Load, kg
Major(Total)
Load, kg
Coefficients in
R = C1 C2 t
C1
C2mm-1
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
100
150
60
100
100
60
150
130
100
100
100
130
130
130
500
500
500
500
500
500
500
3
3
3
3
3
3
15
30
45
15
30
45
100
100
100
100
100
100
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Sample must be ten times thicker than the
indentation depth (sample usually should
be at least 1/8" thick).
Need 3 tests (minimum) to avoid
inaccuracies due to impurities, hard
spots.
Test is most accurate if the Rockwell
Hardness is between 0 and 100. Adjust
scale to achieve this.
For Steel:
If HRa > 60, use HRc scale
If HRa < 60, use HRb scale
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Widely used and
well accepted
Little operator
subjectivity
Accurate
Fast
Destructive
Non-Portable
Initial cost ($5,000)
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
1)
If -20 < HRc < 40
BHN = 1,420,000
(100 HRc)2
2)
If 40 < HRc < 100
BHN =
3)
25,000__
(100 - HRc)
If 35 < HRb < 100
BHN =
7,300____
(130 - HRb)
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
DPH/VHN/VPH/VH = 2PSin(/2)/L2
P: applied load in kg, 5-120 kg
L: average diagonal length, mm
(typically from a few m to 1 mm)
: angle between opposite faces of
indenter; 136
L
Range: 5 (extremely soft metals) 1500 (extremely hard materials)
1.854P
HV
2
L
A
Vickers Hardness = F/A = 3 y
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Continuous hardness from soft (5 DPH) to
hard materials (1500 DPH)
DPH independent on load value unlike
BHN
Careful surface preparation required
Slow due to careful measurement
Small indentation compared to BHN
Pin cushion and Barrel indentations
possible
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Knoop hardness Test: Pyramid shape
indenter
Scleroscope: rebound height
Durometer: The resistance to
penetration (elastic deformation)
Relationship between Hardness and
Strength
TS K h HB
where K h 500 in lb/in
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
3.45 in MPa
Micro Hardness Tests
Major : Minor = 7 : 1
P :
Ap :
L :
C :
14.2P
HK
2
L
Applied load = 25 gf- 300 gf
Unrecovered Proj. area of indentations, mm 2
Length of long diagonal, mm
A constant supplied by the manufacturer
(C=0.07028 for
172 30' between long edges and 130 0' between short edges)
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Accurate
Useful for elongated and
anisotropic constituents.
Requires load to be
normal to surface plane
parallel surfaces.
Can be done on
mounted specimens
Slow
Sensitive to surface
condition
Subject to error in
diagonal measurement
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Microhardness variation in a 9Cr-1 Mo steel weldment as a function of position.
Note the structural changes and the corresponding changes in hardness as the
fusion line is traversed.
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
The Shore (Durometer) test provides an empirical
hardness value that doesn't correlate to other
properties or fundamental characteristics.
Shore Hardness, using either the Shore A or Shore D
scale, is the preferred method for rubbers/elastomers
and is also commonly used for 'softer' plastics such as
polyolefins, fluoropolymers, and vinyls. The Shore A
scale is used for 'softer' rubbers while the Shore D
scale is used for 'harder' ones.
Because of the resilience of rubbers and plastics, the
hardness reading may change over time - so the
indentation time is sometimes reported along with the
hardness number.
number The ASTM test number is ASTM
D2240 while the analogous ISO test method is ISO
868.
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
The Brinells Hardness Test of an alloy steel was measured
to be 355. What is the diameter of the indentation if a load of
2000 kg was used. Also compute the tensile strength of the
material.
D= 10 mm
d = 2.65 mm
Tensile Strength = 1207 MPa
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
The Brinell hardness of an alloy steel is 355. Compute the
diameter of the indentation if a load of 200 kg was used and estimate the
Solution
corresponding tensile strength of the material.
BHN 2 P
D D
D2 d 2
Substituting the values from the problem statement yields :
355 2 2000
10 10
10 2 d 2
which after some algebra gives d = 2.65mm
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
5mm
ME101: Materials Science and
Technology
Indentation Hardness used for steel
It is indicative of ultimate tensile strength
as opposed to scratch or rebound hardness
Atoms move out of the way to create
indentation
Two main types: Brinell and Rockwell
A spherical indenter (1 cm diameter) is
shot with 29 kN force at the target
Frequently the indenter is steel, but for
harder materials it is replaced with a
tungsten carbide sphere
The diameter of the indentation is
recorded
The indentation diameter can be
correlated with the volume of the
indentation.
BHN
D D
2P
ASTM and ISO use the HB value. It can
be HBS (Hardness, Brinell, Steel) or the
HBW (Hardness, Brinell, Tungsten)
HBW = 0.102 BHN
Sometimes written as HBW 10/3000
(Tungsten, 10 mm diameter, 3,000 kg
force)
Material
Softwood (e.g., pine)
Hardwood
Aluminum
Copper
Mild steel
18-8 (304) stainless steel
annealed
Glass
Hardened tool steel
Rhenium diboride
Hardness
1.6 HBS 10/100
2.67.0 HBS 1.6
10/100
15 HB
35 HB
120 HB
200 HB
1550 HB
15001900 HB
4600 HB
Scale Code
Load
Indenter
Use
120 diamond cone
Tungsten
carbide
HRA 60 kgf
Al, brass, and
HRB 100 kgf 1/16 in diameter steel sphere soft steels
C
D
HRC 150 kgf 120 diamond cone
HRD 100 kgf 120 diamond cone
HRE 100 kgf 1/8 in diameter steel sphere
HRF 60 kgf
HRG 150 kgf 1/16 in diameter steel sphere
1/16 in diameter steel sphere
Harder steels
HBW
10/3000
HRA 60KG
HRB 100KG
HRC 150KG
Tensile
Strength
(Approx)
638
80.8
59.2
329,000
578
79.1
56
297,000
461
74.9
48.5
235,000
375
70.6
40.4
188,000
311
66.9
33.1
155,000
241
61.8
100
22.8
118,000
207
94.6
16
100,000
179
89
87,000
149
80.8
73,000
111
65.7
56,000
