Mechanics of Materials

(Hardness Test of Materials)

Muhammad Shahzaib
BSME 17-21
Roll no 31.
Group B-1

Instructor: Dr. Fahad

Abstract
Indentation hardness tests are used in mechanical engineering to determine the hardness of a
material to deformation. Several such tests exist, wherein the examined material is indented
until an impression is formed; these tests can be performed on a macroscopic or microscopic
scale.

Theory
The Vickers hardness test was developed in 1921 by Robert L. Smith and George E. Sandland at
Vickers Ltd as an alternative to the Brinell method to measure the hardness of materials. The
Vickers test is often easier to use than other hardness tests since the required calculations are
independent of the size of the indenter, and the indenter can be used for all materials
irrespective of hardness. The basic principle, as with all common measures of hardness, is to
observe the questioned material's ability to resist plastic deformation from a standard source.
The Vickers test can be used for all metals and has one of the widest scales among hardness
tests. The unit of hardness given by the test is known as the Vickers Pyramid Number (HV) or
Diamond Pyramid Hardness (DPH). The hardness number can be converted into units of
pascals, but should not be confused with pressure, which uses the same units. The hardness
number is determined by the load over the surface area of the indentation and not the area
normal to the force, and is therefore not pressure.
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.
F= Load in kgf
d = Arithmetic mean of the two diagonals, d1 and d2in mm

HV = Vickers hardness

When the mean diagonal of the indentation has been determined the Vickers hardness may be
calculated from the formula, but is more convenient to use conversion tables. The Vickers
hardness should be reported like 800 HV/10, which means a Vickers hardness of 800, was
obtained using a 10 kgf force. Several different loading settings give practically identical
hardness numbers on uniform material, which is much better than the arbitrary changing of
scale with the other hardness testing methods. The advantages of the Vickers hardness test are
that extremely accurate readings can be taken, and just one type of indenter is used for all
types of metals and surface treatments. Although thoroughly adaptable and very precise for
testing the softest and hardest of materials, under varying loads, the Vickers machine is a floor
standing unit that is more expensive than the Brinell or Rockwell machines.
There is now a trend towards reporting Vickers hardness in SI units (MPa or GPa) particularly in
academic papers. Unfortunately, this can cause confusion. Vickers hardness (e.g. HV/30) value
should normally be expressed as a number only (without the units kgf/mm2). Rigorous
application of SI is a problem. Most Vickers hardness testing machines use forces of 1, 2, 5, 10,
30, 50 and 100 kgf and tables for calculating HV. SI would involve reporting force in newtons
(compare 700 HV/30 to HV/294 N = 6.87 GPa) which is practically meaningless and messy to
engineers and technicians. To convert a Vickers hardness number the force applied needs
converting from kgf to newtons and the area needs converting from mm2 to m2 to give results
in pascals using the formula above.

To convert HV to MPa multiply by 9.807

To convert HV to GPa multiply by 0.009807
Apparatus

Procedure
1. The polished specimen is placed on the base plate of the testing machine
2. A known load is applied for 30 seconds according to the material (lesser load for smooth
materials).
3. When the load is applied the green light turns on.
4. When the light turns on, time is measured by a stop watch.
5. After 30 seconds, the load is removed and the indent is viewed from the microscope.
6. One horizontal line in the view is taken as reference line and one (upper/lower) edge is make to
coincide with the line.

Observations and Calculations

Distance between two consecutive lines = 50 x 10-6 m
Table 1 Experimental Values

Material Lines Diagnal Length L Load P DPH

x 10-3 m kg kg/mm2
Aluminium 5 0.25 4 118.4
Mild Steel 4 0.212 6 246.974
Results and Discussion
Hardness test on the two materials aluminum and mild steel was performed. It was found out that DPH
of mid steel is 246.97 while 118.4 for Aluminum. This shows that aluminum is softer than steel. These
values are also according to the accepted values. Therefore, the experimental results are true and valid.

Conclusion
Mild steel is harder than Aluminum as proved from the experiment.

References
Hardnesstesters.com. (2018). Vickers Hardness Testing. [online] Available at:
https://www.hardnesstesters.com/test-types/vickers-hardness-testing [Accessed 30 Nov. 2018].