Vickers Hardness Test

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE
Hardness is usually defined as the resistance of a material to plastic penetration of its

surface. There are three main types of tests used to determine hardness. They are Scratch
tests, Dynamic Hardness tests and Static Indentation tests. Vickers are of the Static
Indentation tests.
Static Indentation tests are based on the relation of indentation of the specimen by a
penetrator under a given load. The relationship of total test force to the area or depth of
indentation provides a measure of hardness. The Rockwell, Brinell, Knoop, and ultrasonic
hardness tests are the others of this type besides Vickers. For engineering purposes, mostly
the static indentation tests are used.
Our primary aim is to measure and determine the Vickers Hardness values for various
metals. In this case, aluminium and PVC are used. We will also focus on calculating the
ultimate tensile strengths (UTS) of the materials using equation.
APPARATUS AND SPECIMEN

1) Vickers Hardness Testing machine
2) Test loads : 1 to 1000 g
3) Indenter : 136 square-base Vickers diamond pyramid
4) Specimens : Aluminium and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
THEORY
Vickers Hardness Test
The Vickers hardness test uses a square base diamond pyramid as the indenter. The
included angle between the opposite faces of the pyramid is l36. The Vickers hardness tester
operates on the same basic principle as the Brinell tester, the numbers being expressed in the
terms of load and area of the impression. As a result of the indenters shape, the impression
on the surface of the specimen will be a square. The length of the diagonal of the square is
measured through a microscope fitted with an ocular micrometer that contains movable knifeedges. Test loads are between 1 and 1000 g which referring to microhardness test. The
Vickers hardness values are calculated by the formula:
where P is the applied load in kg, and d is the diagonal length in mm.
Test Location
If indentation is placed too close to the edge of specimen, the workpiece edge will
bulge, and the hardness number will decrease accordingly. To ensure an accurate test, the
distance from the center of the indentation to the edge of the specimen must be at least two
and one-half diameters.
An indentation hardness test cold works the surrounding material. If another
indentation is placed within this cold worked area, the reading usually will be higher than the
real value. Generally, the softer the material, the more critical the spacing of indentations
becomes. However, a distance three diameters from the center of one indentation to another is
sufficient for most materials.
Hardness Testing Hardness Testing In Estimating Other Material Properties

Hardness testing has always appeared attractive as a means of estimating other
mechanical properties of metals. The following equation is used to predict tensile strength of
steels by means of hardness measurement.
UTS = 0.35*BHN (in kg/mm2)
EXPERIMENT PROCEDURE
Each specimen us identified and the properties differences are discussed as given in
Table 1. The measurement of density conducted is described.
The location for the indenter to be pressed is observed. The surface of the specimen is
made sure to be flat.
Different weight of test loads are used, which is between 1 to 1000g.
The indenter is pressed into the sample by an accurately controlled test force.
The force is maintained for a specific dwell time, normally 10-15 seconds.
After the dwell time is complete, the indenter is removed leaving an indent in the
sample that appears square shaped on the surface.
The size of the indent is determined optically by measuring the two diagonals of the
square indent. The diagonals length is measured and the result is recorded in Table 2.
The Vickers hardness number is a function of the test force divided by the surface
area of the indent. The average of the two diagonals is used in the formula given in to
calculate the Vickers hardness.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Specimen
Type
Aluminium
PVC
Colour
Shining silver
Dark grey
Density (kg/m3)
2700
Rigid PVC
Flexible PVC
1.31.45
1.11.35
Table 1
Diagonals length (mm)
Specimen
Daverage (mm)
D1
D2
Aluminium
121.06
137.50
129.28
PVC
162.38
162.50
162.44
Table 2
Specimen
Daverage (mm)
Vickers Hardness Number (HV)
Hardness Rank
Aluminium
129.28
111.00
PVC
162.44
14.06
Table 3
Vickers Hardness
Brinell Hardness Number
Tensile Strength, t
Number (HV)
(BHN)
(MPA)
Aluminium
111.0
95 HBS
326.18
PVC
14.06
15 HBS
51.50
Specimen
Table 4
Describe the correlation between the hardness and tensile

strength.
The yield strength in tension is about 1/3 of the hardness . To find the ball park
figure for the yield strength convert the hardness number to MPa (or psi ) and
divide by 3. For example take the Vickers number, which has the dimension
kg/mm2, and multiply by 10 to (approximately) convert it to /mm2 (=MPa) then
divide by three.
For example: HV 300 corresponds to a Sigma-y of approximately 1000 MPa. An
approximate relationship between the hardness and the tensile strength (of steel) is,
What is the importance of microhardness test in the mechanical

engineering field?
In many cases you may have different materials in contact with each other and carry loads
and etc.. in all these cases you need to know the hardness of them to avoid too much friction,
erosion, cracking, bending and so on.
CALCULATION
Example of the Vickers hardness number calculation :
1.8544( P/d ) =
Example of the tensile strength calculation :

0.35*BHN
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

Vickers Hardness Test

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Vickers Hardness Test

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Vickers Hardness Test

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What are the different types of hardness tests?

How is Vickers hardness calculated?

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE

Hardness is usually defined as the resistance of a material to plastic penetration of its

APPARATUS AND SPECIMEN

Hardness Testing Hardness Testing In Estimating Other Material Properties

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Vickers Hardness Number (HV)

Brinell Hardness Number

Describe the correlation between the hardness and tensile

What is the importance of microhardness test in the mechanical

Example of the tensile strength calculation :

You might also like