Bearhalter Feature IT Winter 2010:Layout 1 12/21/09 3:23 PM Page 14

Advancements in the Hardness

Testing of Welds
Details are provided on the four major types of instruments
that can determine the HAZ hardness of welds

BY RICHARD BEARHALTER

W
e all know that the hardness in the heat-affected zone
(HAZ) of a weld is critical to the performance of that
weld in the field. Too hard and the weld will lose duc-
tility and be susceptible to cracking; too soft and the weld will be
susceptible to collapse or tensile failure. Hardness is closely cor-
related to strength. Too much or too little heat during the weld-
ing process can change hardness and thus the strength of the
weld. Just as Goldilocks found at The Three Bears’ house, hard-
ness has got to be just right. It is not just a matter of quality; in
many cases, getting the hardness right could literally mean the
difference between life and death. The life critical component of
welds not only places a burden on the welder or those who set
up automated welding machines, but also on the inspectors and
metallurgical lab personnel to determine and record hardness
data accurately and efficiently. There are four major categories
of instruments to determine the hardness of the HAZ of welds:
portable instruments, bench Rockwell scale instruments, Fig. 1 — An automated Vickers hardness tester. Automated
Vickers or Knoop instruments, and light load depth-of-penetra- systems eliminate the need for the operator to interpret the size of
tion instruments. All the instrumentation types have seen the impression.
advancements in the past ten years that make them a bit easier
to use, but the greatest leaps have been made in Vickers and
light load depth-of-penetration instruments. All have their witnessed operators testing until they get the result they want
advantages and disadvantages. Let’s examine the different when using portables. This can make inspection a guessing
methods. game with a predetermined outcome. In the case of weld
inspection, I would reserve portables for those situations for
Portable Instruments which nothing else will work. When you must use a portable
unit, do the following:
There are occasions when no other means than a portable  Prepare the surface being tested to be as smooth and clean as
instrument is available to inspect a weld. Reserve the use of possible.
portables only for those times. While there have been  While preparing the surface try to eliminate cold working or
advancements over the last few years, those improvements have overheating of the part.
not been as significant as with other types of hardness testing  Practice with the instrument you are using until you are com-
instruments. Portables are very susceptible to surface finish petent with it and familiar with its capabilities.
and operator influences. They are also plagued by inaccuracy  Take several tests and use the average of your findings.
and poor repeatability. Many portables must be calibrated to the
specific material they are testing. In ideal conditions, when Vickers and Knoop Scale Instruments
calibrated on test blocks or reference materials, they can be
acceptable, but finding ideal conditions in the field or on the Following are some of the advances that have been made
shop floor is rare. During my 26 years of experience designing, with Vickers and Knoop scale instruments.
building, and selling hardness testing equipment, I have  Automatic x/y table and focus

RICHARD BEARHALTER (Richard.Bearhalter@ametek.com) is regional sales manager, Newage Testing Instruments, Inc., an
Ametek company, Huntersville, N.C. BEARHALTER has been with the company since 1984 mostly working in custom design,
application engineering, and sales.

14 • INSPECTION TRENDS
Bearhalter Feature IT Winter 2010:Layout 1 12/21/09 3:23 PM
Fig. 2 — A Rockwell scale tester with an automated x/y table. One
advantage of this type of test equipment is that the sample does not
need to be polished nor mounted.
 Options are available that allow testing of multiple samples
 Automatic measurement
 PC-based reporting and operation
These instruments are the most widely used for determining
weld hardness. There have been huge advancements in micro
and macro Vickers instruments over the last ten years.
Automated focusing, x/y table, and measurement can ease the
operator’s job. While the instrument is testing, the operator is
free to cut, polish, and mount the next sample for testing.
Because the instruments are PC based, reporting and archiving
data is also much easier.
In the past, the largest variable in Vickers and Knoop testing
was the operator’s interpretation of the size of the impression. It
takes time and experience to read the impression accurately. In
order to read the size repeatably and accurately, proper focus
must also be maintained again and again from one test position
to another. In a production environment, time becomes the key-
word. As the operator is rushed to push results out the door,
accuracy can and will suffer. The recent developments in auto-
mated Vickers instruments eliminate this insufficiency — Fig.
1. Throughput increases and the operators have time to spend
on other critical areas of duty such as sample preparation.
Because Vickers or Knoop is an optical measurement, it is
still necessary to mount and polish the sample to a mirror finish.
It is a rule of thumb that the lighter the load, the better the test
surface needs to be prepared. In short, sample preparation is
critical to good results, and no shortcuts should be taken when
using the Vickers or Knoop method. In the past, the actual
Vickers or Knoop measurement was the biggest time consumer
in the lab. PC-based auto x/y/z and automatic measurement
have cut actual test time by at least half.
Although automated instruments are available as a full pack-
age, it is not necessary to outfit your lab with a complete system
to increase throughput and accuracy. It is entirely possible to
add a computer-aided measurement system (CAMS) to your
existing manual microhardness tester, as long as it works well.
Even a PC-based measurement system alone would eliminate
the need for the operator to tediously peer through a micro-
scope to take measurements. This same upgrade would also
automate reporting and data archiving. In the future, as budget
allowed, additional pieces of a fully automated system could be
added. For example, an automated x/y and autofocus could be
added at a later date. This can ease a budget burden and spread
it out over several quarters or even years.
WINTER 2010 • 15
Page 15
A hint for using Vickers-type instruments: Even under the
low-power objective of an optical Vickers instrument, it is hard
to position test points in the HAZ. Before placing the mount in
the vise, take a straight edge and sharp, soft pencil to mark the
area of measurement. It will aid in locating the correct area or
areas where you would like to perform tests.
Bench Rockwell Scale Instruments
Here’s a summary of some of the advances that have been
made on bench-type Rockwell scale instruments.
 Automatic x/y with encoders; multiple samples can be tested
 Automatic test results
 PC-based control and reporting
 Test surface referencing
Bench-type Rockwell scale instruments are an acceptable,
reliable, and extremely fast means of measuring the hardness of
welds. Advancements have been made to automate operation,
eliminate operator influence, and speed lab throughput. PC-
controlled, automated x/y tables speed testing across the face of
the sample (Fig. 2), and low magnification eases the burden on
the operator for accurate test point positioning. The advantage
is that the whole weld can be seen on the PC monitor, and it is
easy for the operators to determine the start and end points of
the hardness traverse across the HAZ and weld. This can be a
huge advantage when trying to locate test positions. The
Rockwell test method does not rely on an optical measurement
to determine hardness. Focusing the part correctly is not even
a factor. This is a big advantage over Vickers and Knoop testing
because the sample does not need to be polished. Accurate mea-
surement can be obtained from a good saw cut. Eliminating the
polishing and mounting can save a half an hour per sample. Add
this to the speed and time savings of the Rockwell test method
and throughput as well as accuracy can increase dramatically.
In order to take advantage of the Rockwell test method, it is
critical to eliminate error caused by deflection of the part or x/y
table under load. Solid x/y tables and part support are needed.
Because Rockwell testing measures depth of penetration, any
deflection can cause error. Test surface referencing is a means
to compensate for deflection if it does happen. This method uses
a surface referencing device to touch and clamp the surface of
the material. This clamping maintains the relationship to the
surface of the sample and the penetrator at load. In reality, it is
part of the measurement device and far more than a basic
clamp. If there is any deflection at all it is compensated for and
is not a factor in the test result.
The one disadvantage of this method is the size of the
impression. Minimum load for a Rockwell scale instrument is 15
kg, which limits how close test points can be positioned.
Light Load Depth-of-Penetration Instruments
Following are some of the advancements that have been
made on light load depth-of-penetration instruments.
 Automated x/y table with encoders, optional multispecimen
testing
 Direct, extremely fast test results
 PC-based control and reporting
 Test surface referencing
 Fast test speeds
 The near elimination of surface polishing
This test method combines the best of Rockwell-type and
Vickers/Knoop-style instruments, because the equipment can
be ordered at macro or micro loads like traditional Vickers
instruments, and it offers all the advantages of a depth-of-pene-
tration loading mechanism.
This type of instrument has been gaining popularity across a
wide segment of industry for the last 25 years because of its
high speed and accurate results — Fig. 3. Because the instru-
Bearhalter Feature IT Winter 2010:Layout 1 12/22/09 8:38 AM
Fig. 3 — A Newage MT90 automated light-load hardness tester.
This type of instrument combines the best features of
Vickers/Knoop-style instruments and Rockwell hardness testers.
ment does not need an optical, polished finish for reliable, accu-
rate measurement, surface preparation is kept to a minimum
and mounting the sample can be nearly eliminated. Because it
For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
16 • INSPECTION TRENDS
Page 16
does not require high magnification for optical measurement as
in Vickers or Knoop, a zoom lens is used for test positioning. A
large field of view enables the operator to see nearly the whole
HAZ and makes positioning test locations fast and simple. If
finer test point positioning is needed, the lens can be zoomed to
about 200×.
The test procedure is normally as follows: A sample is placed
on the stage and, depending on the size of the sample, the tech-
nician views the entire HAZ. The technician then locates the
start point of the preprogrammed traverse using a simple
mouse click, picks the direction, and initiates the cycle. The
average time for each individual test is about 8 s. Total test time
depends on the size and number of tests to be completed on a
sample, but results normally can be viewed, printed, and
archived in less than 2 min. This is very fast compared to even
automated Vickers/Knoop-type instruments.
Conclusion
There has been a great deal of advancement when it comes
to the hardness testing of welds over the last few years.
Improvements are made every year in speed, accuracy of mea-
surement, and test location. Additional software can be added to
the instruments for visual inspection and measurements.
Images of the HAZ can be captured and archived digitally. In the
end, it all comes down to what suits your specific needs, volume,
and budget. If your test volume is high, a return on investment
for these improved instruments can be realized in a short time
while eliminating error and improving quality. 
Get your $7,500 AWS
Library FREE with
an AWS Sustaining
Company Membership
Join more than 450 industry leaders
also enjoy these benefits:
• 10 Individual AWS Memberships ($870 value)
• Free company publicity in the Welding Journal, on the AWS
Website, and at FABTECH International & AWS WELDING SHOW
• Exclusive usage of the AWS Sustaining Company logo
• An attractive AWS Sustaining Company wall plaque
• Free Hyperlink from AWS's 100,000-visitors-a-month website to
your company's website
• 200 complimentary VIP passes to FABTECH International & AWS
WELDING SHOW
• An additional 5% discount off the already-reduced member
price of any AWS conference or seminar registration
• Up to 68% off Yellow Freight shipping charges, outbound or
inbound, short or long haul
AND MUCH MORE...
For more information, call
(800) 443-9353, ext. 259, or
(305) 443-9353, ext. 259
Circle No. XXXX