The Brinell hardness of a metallic material is one of the greatest indicators of its quality and strength. The Brinell hardness refers to the indentation that is experienced by the surface of the metal when force is applied to it through a carbide spherical indenter. The Brinell hardness scale covers a wide range of hardness of different materials used in industries. The requirements for an efficient Brinell hardness test is mainly described in the ASTM standard E 10. The Brinell hardness can be used for testing the hardness for a variety of metals and metallic alloys as it covers a wide range of harnesses. The Brinell hardness number is the quality that is calculated through the test procedure. The value of Brinell hardness number increases with the increase in the hardness of the materials.
When the test is conducted, it is essential that it is performed with a testing instrument that satisfies the requirements of the ASTM E 10 standard.
Here are the requirements for the apparatus that is used for the test.
- There must be an electromechanical arrangement of application of force on the test surface.
- A carbide ball indenter needs to be provided with the instrument that will be used to make an indent on the test specimen.
- An optical measurement system should be provided with the instrument for accurate measurement of the round indent that is made by the indenter on the metallic surface.
- The instrument must be able to accommodate different sizes of indenter balls for testing metals with different hardness level.
- The force application mechanism should be able to apply different values of force on the specimen.
The Brinell hardness number can be calculated by the formula:
Where
HB = Brinell hardness number
F= Value of the Force applied
D = diameter of the spherical indenter
d= the diameter of the indent on the test surface.
Presto is an industry competent automatic optical Brinell hardness tester manufacturer that are being used in different industries for testing a variety of metals and alloys. The instrument offered by Presto is one of the best regarding accuracy, efficiency, and precision.