ASTM E10

The Brinell hardness test is an indentation hardness test that can provide useful information about metallic materials. This information may correlate to tensile strength, wear resistance, ductility, or other physical characteristics of metallic materials, and may be useful in quality control and selection of materials.

Brinell hardness tests are considered satisfactory for acceptance testing of commercial shipments, and have been used extensively in industry for this purpose.

Brinell hardness testing at a specific location on a part may not represent the physical characteristics of the whole part or end product.

1. Scope

1.1 This test method covers the determination of the Brinell hardness of metallic materials by the Brinell indentation hardness principle. This standard provides the requirements for a Brinell testing machine and the procedures for performing Brinell hardness tests.

1.2 This standard includes additional requirements in four annexes:

1.3 This standard includes nonmandatory information in an appendix which relates to the Brinell hardness test:

1.4 At the time the Brinell hardness test was developed, the force levels were specified in units of kilograms-force (kgf). Although this standard specifies the unit of force in the International System of Units (SI) as the Newton (N), because of the historical precedent and continued common usage of kgf units, force values in kgf units are provided for information and much of the discussion in this standard refers to forces in kgf units.

This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents

E140 Hardness Conversion Tables for Metals Relationship Among Brinell Hardness, Vickers Hardness, Rockwell Hardness, Superficial Hardness, Knoop Hardness, and Scleroscope Hardness
E29 Practice for Using Significant Digits in Test Data to Determine Conformance with Specifications
E384 Test Method for Microindentation Hardness of Materials
E74 Practice of Calibration of Force-Measuring Instruments for Verifying the Force Indication of Testing Machines
ABMA 10-1989 Metal Balls
ISO/IEC 17011 Conformity Assessment-General Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies
ISO/IEC 17025 General Requirements for the Competence of Calibration and Testing

Index Terms

Brinell; hardness; mechanical test; metals; ICS Number Code 77.040.10; 77.040.10

Citing ASTM Standards

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