ROCKWELL HARDNESS TESTING

Mechanics and Material Lab

(MEMB 221)
Date/Day Of Experiment
Due Date/Day
Name & ID
Members Name & ID
Section
Group
Lab Instructor

17 November 2016 (Thursday)

21 November 2016 (Monday)
Syed Muhammad Naqiuddin bin Syed Ahmad Shaupi (ME097815)
Mohamad Qayyum Bin Mohamad Radzi (ME097493)
Muhammad Hazri Bin Azahar (ME098489)
Satheeshkumar A/L Arumugam (ME098529)
Koghulan A/L Ganesan (ME096485)
03
01
Madam Azieyanti Nurain binti Azmin

OBJECTIVE

To understand the principles of Rockwell Testing method.

To study the hardness of polymers.

DATA & OBSERVATION

HDPE
UDPE

22.7
19.5

25.6
21.8
18.5
16.3
18.8
19.7
Table 1: Hardness testing data.

23.5
16.8

The material used has different density which is High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and
Ultimate Density Polyethylene (UDPE). It is observed that UDPE has lower hardness than
HDPE which is not normal and against the fact that LDPE hardness should be higher than
HDPE.
ANALYSIS & RESULT

Figure 1: Rockwell testing machine.

Figure 2: Hardness unit table.

30

25

20

Hardness, HRB 15

10

Figure 3: Graph of hardness HDPE and UDPE.

HDPE
UDPE

DISCUSSION
1. Based on the graph in figure 3, it is found that the hardness of HDPE is higher than the
hardness of UDPE.
2. Oxidation is one of the causes for the discrepancy in the hardness of the inner and outer
region of the specimens. The oxidized layer, normally happened on the surface of polymer
will have different hardness.
3. Besides that, the way of cutting a polymer also contributes the difference between hardness
of the inner and outer region. This is because when cutting process, the atom will having
dislocation, resulting different hardness.
4. Advantages of Rockwell test method.
a. Simple operation of the hardness testing devices.
b. Short time required for test procedure.
c. Economical test device and automated.
d. Can be used for a very wide range of materials.
e. Can be used for tests at hard-to-reach test locations.
f. Low costs for sample preparation.
5. Disadvantages of Rockwell test method.
a. Possible errors due to shifting of the sample under test load during test cycle.
b. Danger of unrecognized incorrect measurements in the case of damaged indenter.
c. Quality of the indenter has a strong influence on the test result.
6. The polymer chains of LDPE are highly branched compared to HDPE. This branching
prevents the chains from stacking neatly beside each other, reducing the intermolecular
forces of attraction. This results in a plastic that is softer and more flexible, but which also
has lower tensile strength. The polymer chains in HDPE, on the other hand, are more linear.
They pack closer together, resulting in greater intermolecular forces and a more "crystalline"
structure. HDPE has greater tensile strength than LDPE.
7. For surface preparation, rough surfaces cause rough results. Surface coatings or hardened
layers also can provide deceptive results. Scale and decarburized surfaces also will deliver
erroneous results. Remove any loose scale, oil, or grease because they also will cause
deflection and erroneous results as previously described.

8. Hardness testing forms included scratching material surfaces with a diamond and measuring
the width of the resultant line and, subsequently, indentation of the material using a steel ball
under force. With the increased manufacturing requirements the global industrialization
brought on, and then a much more urgent demand during both World Wars, more refined
machines and techniques were developed.
9. Accurate, efficient forms of testing were needed in reaction to heavy manufacturing
demands, structural failures and the need to design sufficient material integrity into the
growing global infrastructure.
CONCLUSION
From the experiment, the hardness testing is to measure of hardness of materials
resistance to localized plastic deformation. This experiment also experienced students to be able
to perform the hardness using two type of machine with specific of hardness testing. The result
from the experiment is analyzed were discussed in discussion. This lab illustrates that each test
can measure the behavior of the material however some lack the ability to measure all materials.
Those who can measure on a large scale involve a greater amount of estimation and have greater
room for error. The best scenario would be one tool that could measure all materials with great
accuracy but since none exist you should use the right tool for the right job.
REFERENCE

MEMB221 LAB MANUAL SEM 2 2016/2017.

Engineering Materials: Properties and Selection (9th Edition) by Kenneth G. Budinski (Author),
Michael K. Budinski (Author).

Hardness Testing, 2nd Edition.