Which hardness test is for stainless steel?

What is hardness test?

Hardness test is used to identify the specifications of a substance without damaging the substance.

This process is very useful in testing the product’s breaking limit and resisting power.

This process takes place in many ways.

These processes are mainly conducted to find out the time after which the product will be destroyed or devastated.

What is stainless steel hardness?

Stainless steel is a type of steel that is corrosion resistant and stain free.

It is a very great characteristic and due to its property of being corrosion free, it is used even in the manufacturing of large steel industrial machinery.

Along with these qualities, it is also quite strong and resistant to dent.

Their being strong depends on their method of production.

The property of hardness of stainless steel can also be defined as it’s resistance towards the process of indentation.

Higher the hardness more difficult it is for a machine to dent on its surface.

Hardness of stainless steel also tells us about the intensity of the machine that we will have to apply on the steel to curve or to find an end product.

Types of stainless-steel hardness test

For the testing of the hardness of the stainless steel, many processes are present whereas the most common of them is the indentation test in which diamonds are used to check the resisting power of the stainless steel.

Whereas two main hardness tests are discussed here:

Vicker’s test

 In this test, a pyramid made of diamond is used.

A force of about 1 to 100 kg. is applied on the stainless steel gradually.

It is applied for about 10 seconds only and due to the amount of pressure, the indentation mark appears.

This mark is then calculated with the help of magnifying glass and the readings are noted in a register or on a paper.

Brinell’s test

In this type of test steel itself is used.

A ball made of steel with a diameter of 10mm is placed on the stainless steel and 3000kgf weight is applied to it.

This weight is applied for 10 to 15 seconds continuously due to small diameter of the ball small dent occurs.

This can be seen with the help of a microscope.

It then helps in the calculation of the indentation and the Brinell hardness number of the stainless steel.