Brinell hardness test is primarily used for determining the hardness of the materials by using a consistent scale. It facilitates the scientist to replicate and also have a frame of reference to the given hardness of a material. Brinell hardness test is mostly used for metals and also alloys. Yet, it is also applicable for some other materials.
Brinell hardness test is derived from a Swedish engineered, Johan August Brinell. He lived from 1849 to 1925. His works engaged him to metals. It led to some discoveries and one of them is Brinell hardness test. Instead, his name is also taken for an engineering term, Brinelling. This term refers to the point upon which a metal will be able to fail as an impact of load. Brinell hardness was formerly developed in 1900. It is a revolutionary discovery to the engineered field. It also created a standardized scale for easy reference.
Brinell hardness test is utilizing a ball with the diameter of 4/10 of an inch or 10 mm during the process. If the material measured is very hard, the ball will be made of the carbide. The ball which is made of the plain steel will be ideal to be used for softer substances. In addition, the different material will show different amount of pressure. The standard amount of pressure for hard substances is 3,000 kilograms or the same as 6,614 pounds.
During the Brinell hardness test, the ball will be forced into the material which is being tested for around thirty seconds and then removed so that you can measure the indent. The formula of the testing divides the force which is used by the surface area of the indentation.
During the Brinell hardness test, you have to list the conditions. The test uses metric measurements. In addition, the listing should start with the Brinell hardness number, the amount of the force which is applied, the type of the ball which is used, and the diameter of the ball used. Just take as the example you are measuring the hardness of the pine, the list would be 1.6 HBS 10/100/30. It means that the hardness of the Brinell of pine is 1.6. The hardened steel ball which is used is 10mm (4/10 inch) with the weight of 100 kilo grams (220 pounds) for 30 seconds.
The application of Brinell hardness test covers a wide range. It can be used for almost any metallic material. It is limited only by the capacity of the testing instrument. However, there are some strengths and weakness of using this type of test. The strengths of this test include one scale covers the entire hardness range. It means that the comparable result will be obtained if the size of the ball and the relationship of the test force is the same.
Another strength is that Brinell hardness test has a wide range of test forces and ball sizes so that it is able to suit any applications. Also, it is nondestructive so that the sample can be normally reused. Instead of the strength, it also has some weakness. It needs to be optically measure the size of the indent. It means that it needs well finished test point for accurate measurement. It is slow which takes around 30 seconds apart from the sample preparation time.
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