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Brinell Hardness

Description

The Brinell hardness test uses a ball indenter of diameter, D, which is pressed into the surface of the test piece using a prescribed force, F. The time for the initial application of the force is 2 s to 8 s, and the test force is maintained for 10 s to 15 s. The diameter of the indentation, d, is measured after the force has been removed. The Brinell hardness number, HB, is given by:

HB = Constant × F / Surface area of indentation

Brinell Hardness Tester

Standard Brinell Scales
Hardness scale Ball diameter,
D (mm)
Nominal force,
F (N)
HBW 10/3000 10 29420
HBW 10/1500 10 14710
HBW 10/1000 10 9807
HBW 10/500 10 4903
HBW 10/250 10 2452
HBW 10/100 10 980.7
HBW 5/750 5 7355
HBW 5/250 5 2452
HBW 5/125 5 1226
HBW 5/62.5 5 612.9
HBW 5/25 5 245.2
HBW 2.5/187.5 2.5 1839
HBW 2.5/62.5 2.5 612.9
HBW 2.5/31.25 2.5 306.5
HBW 2.5/15.625 2.5 153.2
HBW 2.5/6.25 2.5 61.29
HBW 1/30 1 294.2
HBW 1/10 1 98.07
HBW 1/5 1 49.03
HBW 1/2.5 1 24.52
HBW 1/1 1 9.807
Brinell

The designation "HBW" specifies the use of a tungsten carbide ball indenter.
The designation "HBS" specifies the use of a hardened steel ball indenter but is now deleted from standards.

It should be noted that measurements of HBW and HBS on the same sample may differ in value due to differences in the tribological characteristics of the indenter-specimen interface.

Standards
BS EN ISO 6506-1:2014, (BS 240:Part 1:1962)Metallic materials. Brinell hardness test. Test method
ASTM E10-18Standard Test Method for Brinell Hardness of Metallic Materials