Hard facts
Theory of hardness testing
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Hardness testing is today one of the most frequently employed methods for mechanical material testing, in particular for metals.
On the one hand, this test method allows qualitative relationships to other material properties (e.g. strength, rigidity, density) or to the behaviour of the materials under certain loads (e.g. wear resistance) to be established.
On the other hand, the hardness test is comparatively quick and simple to perform and causes relatively little damage to the specimen, i.e. only very minor marks are left on the specimen surface.
It also provides a simple method for quality control (incoming goods and outgoing goods inspection). The hardness test method also allows a wide variety of geometries to be tested.
