Jazan University,

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Course: Mechanical Testing of Materials

Title of The Experiment: Brinell Hardness Test

 TITLE OF THE EXPERIMENT

Brinell Hardness Test

Aim: To calculate the hardness of given material by Brinnel Testing method

Objective: Brinell hardness is determined by forcing a hardened steel or carbide ball of

known diameter under a known load into a surface and measuring the diameter of the
indentation with a microscope.

Principle : Pressing the ball of certain (known) diameter into the sample surface under a
certain (known) test force and a certain rate, then removing the test force after the specified
test force while maintaining the time.

Introduction:

Hardness of Material: One of the important properties of materials is hardness. Hardness

is a measure of a material’s resistance to localized plastic deformation like small dent or
scratch. In other words, hardness is generally considered as resistance to penetration.
Hardness is directly related to the mechanical properties of the material.

Dr. J. A. Brinell invented the Brinell test in Sweden in 1900. The oldest of the
hardness test methods in common use today, the Brinell test is frequently used to determine
the hardness of forgings and castings that have a grain structure too course for Rockwell
or Vickers testing. Early hardness tests were based on natural minerals with a scale
constructed solely on the ability of one material to scratch another that was softer. The
newer quantitative hardness techniques have been developed over the years. In these tests
a small indenter is forced into the surface of a material that is to be tested, under controlled
conditions of load and rate of application. Finally the depth or size of the resulting
indentation is measured. This measurement is in turn related to a hardness number. In
general, the softer and material, the larger and deeper is the indentation and so the hardness
index number is lower.
 Brinell test is an indentation hardness test. The test can provide information about
metallic materials which can be correlated to other properties like tensile strength, wear
resistance, ductility etc. The hardness test can be utilized in quality control and selection
of materials.

Terminology

Brinell hardness test- This is an indentation hardness test. It uses a verified machine to
force an indenter (which is generally a tungsten carbide ball with diameter D), under
specified conditions, into surfacr of the material nder test. The resulting diameter produced
by indentation‘d’ is measured after removal of the force.

Brinell hardness number – As it indicates, it is a number which is proportional to the

quotient obtained by dividing the test force by the curved surface area of the indentation
which is assumed to be spherical and of the diameter of the ball. So the Brinell hardness
number is calculated by dividing the load applied by the surface area of the indentation.

Advantages: Hardness test is one of the most frequently used test, some reasons include
the following-

a. The hardness test is simple and inexpensive.

b. It is non-destructive test where specimen is only slightly deformed.
c. Some other properties of materials (eg. Tensile strength) can often be elucidated
from hardness data.

Limitation: A major limitation of this test is the test being carried at a specific location on
a part may not correctly represent the physical characteristics of the whole part or the final
product.

Specimen Details:

LXWXH=30mmX30mmX10mm

Material: Al, Cu, St

Indentation Method:

Equipment/Apparatus:

1. Gunt Hamburg (Model WP 300) Benchtop Material Tester

Fig. Gunt Hamburg (Model WP 300) Benchtop Material Tester and its working parts

2. Microscope
Procedure:

All Brinell tests use a carbide ball indenter. The test procedure is as follows:

1. The indenter is pressed into the sample with accurately controlled test force (F).
2. The force (F) applied is maintained for a specific dwell (waiting) time. This time
is normally 10-15 seconds.
3. After the standard dwell time of 10-15 seconds is complete, the indenter is
removed. This leaves a round indent in the sample.
4. The size of the indent is determined optically by measuring two diagonals of the
round indent (d). This measurement can be done by using portable/Optical
microscope. Minimum two readings are recorded and their average is used.
5. Brinell hardness number or BHN or BHW is measured using the given formula.
This number is a function of the test force divided by the curved surface area of
the indent.
6. The indentation is considered to be spherical with a radius equal to half the
diameter of the ball. The average of the minimum two diagonals is used in the
given formula to calculate the Brinell hardness.

Equation:

Following is the equation for calculating the Brinell hardness number of a material

1) Equation 1.

Formula/Equation and Schematic presentation for Brinell Hardness Test

Where, HBW = H- Hardness, B – Brinell, W –Material of the indenter (Tungsten)

(BHN= Brinell hardness number now abbreviated as HBW)

Fkgf = Test Force in kgf, D = Dia.of indenter ball in mm, d = Measured mean dia. of the
indentation in mm
 2) Equation 2 (WP300 Gunt Hamburg Tester):

HB= 0.102 F/AB (0.102=1/9.81=1/g- to convert N into Kgf)

HB=Brinell Hardness Value, F=Test load in N, AB= impression surface in mm2,

g= 9.81 gravitational acceleration

Measurement Table:

Sr. Material Material Diameter of Average Brinell

No. Type dimensions indenter diameter of Hardness
Indentation Number
1 copper 2.19mm 2.19mm 81.23N/m𝑚2
10mm x10mm
2

3
Result:

The Brinell hardness number of given Specimen material 1 is measured as…….

The Brinell hardness number of given Specimen material 2 is measured as…….

Student Name : loay Ibrahim alfarr ID;202011907

DR. ABDUL AZIZ KHAN