Hardness Testing

Vickers and Rockwell instruments are used at the facility for aerospace parts and to NACE testing Standards MR 01.75-97, TM 01.77-96 and ISO 15156.

We also have portable Proceq and King Brinell equipment for hardness testing which means work can be performed both on and off-site.This equipment can be used for stock material identification, production verification on welded fabrications and for metal sorting.

Rockwell Hardness Test

The Rockwell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a diamond cone or hardened steel ball indenter. The indenter is forced into the test material under a preliminary minor load F0, usually 10 kgf. When equilibrium has been reached, an indicating device, which follows the movements of the indenter and so responds to changes in depth of penetration of the indenter is set to a datum position.

While the preliminary minor load is still applied an additional major load is applied with resulting increase in penetration. When equilibrium has again been reach, the additional major load is removed but the preliminary minor load is still maintained. Removal of the additional major load allows a partial recovery, so reducing the depth of penetration. The permanent increase in depth of penetration, resulting from the application and removal of the additional major load is used to calculate the Rockwell hardness number.

Vickers Hardness Test

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.

The Brinell Hardness Test

The Brinell hardness test method consists of indenting the test material with a 10 mm diameter hardened steel or carbide ball subjected to a load of 3000 kg. For softer materials the load can be reduced to 1500 kg or 500 kg to avoid excessive indentation. The full load is normally applied for 10 to 15 seconds in the case of iron and steel and for at least 30 seconds in the case of other metals. The diameter of the indentation left in the test material is measured with a low powered microscope. The Brinell harness number is calculated by dividing the load applied by the surface area of the indentation.

UKAS Accreditation to ISO 17025, applied for.