Hardness Testing

Ensure the Quality of Your Metal

Metal products that are specified to meet certain hardness criteria will occasionally need the proper verification that their hardness is within the required tolerance range. When processes controls fall out of specifications, verification is required.

TÜV Rheinland has experienced personnel who perform top-quality hardness measurement testing, providing verification of hardness and the ability to sort product for proper conditioning and hardness ranges. We implement this testing along with our other nondestructive evaluations providing a one-stop shop type of service. This gives your products third-party certification while giving the customer the ability to salvage products that fall out of specified hardness range.

Benefits at a Glance

With TÜV Rheinland’s hardness testing services, you benefit with a quick and inexpensive test that determines if metal meets required hardness requirements, meaning that you:

  • Are assured of the quality of your products
  • Show how high your high quality standards are
  • Ensure compliance with local government and legal requirements

Our Services for Hardness Testing

We provide quick and inexpensive testing to determine if:

  • Metals meet required hardness readings for applications
  • A metal component has been improperly heat treated
  • Pieces do not conform
  • If pieces do not conform, we sort them for proper conditioning. Parts can be salvaged and brought back into specifications by the proper heat treatment or annealing process.

Three Types of Accurate Tests

Hardness testing is the resistance of metal to plastic deformation, usually by indentation. It also refers to stiffness, temper, or resistance to scratching, abrasion, or cutting. It is the property of a metal that gives it the ability to resist permanent deformation (bent, broken, or having its shape changed) when a load is applied. The greater the hardness of the metal, the greater its resistance to deformation.

Three types of accurate tests are used by the metals industry:

  • Brinell hardness test
  • Rockwell hardness test
  • Vickers hardness test

The Brinell hardness test is performed utilizing a known applied load with an indention ball and applying the load for a specified amount of time. The indention is then measured across the largest diameter of the indention. This reading correlates to a Brinell hardness number. Rockwell and Vickers are similar readings that measure the amount of indention detected at a known applied load. These readings can determine the properties of metal samples and help determine if the metal in question meets specifications required for the type of service it is being used for.