When to Use Brinell Hardness Test

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The Brinell hardness test is the old and popular hardness testing technique. Keep reading to learn about the uses of Brinell hardness testing machines.

The material hardness is its resistance to permanent deformation, indentation, penetration, and scratching. Hardness testing is important to quantify the material hardness and fulfill quality standards. There are different tests and hardness testing machines to measure the hardness of different materials. However, the Brinell hardness test is one of the oldest and most commonly used hardness testing techniques. Therefore, this guide is going to talk in detail about the Brinell hardness test, specifically highlighting its use cases.

Brinell Hardness Test – A Quick Overview

The Brinell hardness test quantifies the material's hardness by measuring the permanent indentation's size. It involves a constant load/force applied between 187.5-3000 kgf through a 2.5-10mm diameter tungsten carbide ball for 10-30 seconds.

If the material generates a small indentation, it reflects more hardness and resistance to deforming by the load. The reason behind heavy load and wider diameter indenters is to let the resulting indentation average out inconsistencies of most surfaces.

The Brinell hardness test was proposed by Johan August Brinell, a Swedish engineer, in 1900. This makes it one of the oldest hardness testing techniques that is still effective in today's time. It is also known as ASTM E10.

The Working Principle of the Brinell Hardness Test

The working principle of the Brinell hardness test involves a Brinell hardness testing machine in which the predetermined force (F) is applied to a tungsten carbide ball with a fixed diameter (D) for a specified period. The indenter casts a permanent deformation on the test material.

The indentation is measured through multiple diameters using the Brinell microscope to calculate the indentation diameter (d) by averaging. The diagram below will further help to understand the working principle of Brinell hardness testing machines.

Once you get the required values, you can use the below formula to measure the Brinell hardness of the material:

HB = 2L / (πD/2(D - √(D² - d²)))

Here:

L = Load (kgf)

D = Ball diameter (mm)

d = Indentation diameter (mm)

HB = Brinell Hardness (kgf/mm²)

This way, you can use Brinell hardness testing machines and apply specific loads and indenters based on the material characteristics. 

When to Use the Brinell Hardness Test?

Now that we have cleared the basics of the Brinell hardness test, let's shift our focus and discuss when to use the Brinell hardness test. So, below are some of the main use cases of the Brinell hardness test:

1. Hardness Testing of a Wide Range of Materials

Since the Brinell hardness test can apply varying loads between 187.5-3000 kgf with 2.5-10 mm diameter indenter, it can be used to test the hardness of various materials. Low force can test the hardness of copper and aluminum alloys, while high force can test the hardness of cast irons, steels, and non-ferrous metals.

2. Hardness Testing for Harsh or Rough Structure Materials

The Brinell hardness test can be used to measure the hardness of materials with coarse structures or rough surfaces. The other hardness testing methods are often unable to measure the hardness of harsh/rough structures.

3. Calculate a Wide Range of Hardness Values

During R&D, researchers may need to get multiple hardness values for different loads. Since the Brinell hardness testing machine can support a wide range of loads and ball sizes, it can help to get a wide range of hardness values of the same material.

4. Measure the Hardness of All Types of Metals

The Brinell hardness test can apply different loads on the testing metals, up to 3000 kgf. This makes it capable of testing almost all types of metals, including light metals (tin and lead) and hard metals (iron and steel).

Sinowon – The Best Place to Get Top-Notch Brinell Hardness Testing Machines

The Brinell hardness test depends on Brinell hardness testing machines to apply varying loads for different materials. So, if you want to use the Brinell hardness test, you need to pick the right Brinell hardness testing machine. This is where Sinowon comes into action.

Sinowon is a reputed and experienced hardness testing machine manufacturer that offers a wide range of Brinell hardness testing machines. Below is a quick glimpse of a few of our top-notch Brinell hardness testing machines:

· AutoBrin-3000Y: Automatic focusing visual Brinell hardness tester

· AutoBrin AB-3000V: Fully automatic digital three indenters Brinell hardness tester

· Vision SHB-3000X: Vision Brinell hardness tester

· Vexus SHB-3000N: Touch screen digital Brinell hardness tester

· SHB-3000C: Digital Brinell hardness tester

· BrinScan: Brinell optical measuring system

· And many more.

As evident from the above products, Sinowon offers feature-rich Brinell hardness testers that offer automated, digital, accurate, and high-quality hardness test results. Besides Brinell testing equipment, Sinowon also provides other hardness testing machines for other types of hardness tests, such as Rockwell, Vickers, Ultrasonic, etc.

Overall, Sinowon is an all-in-one place to get top-notch, advanced hardness testing machines. So, explore our extensive product line and find the ideal hardness tester you need.