Hardness Testing

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Hardness Testing Services

Hurst Metallurgical Research Laboratory provides ISO/IEC 17025 accredited hardness testing services for a wide range of metallic materials. Our laboratory performs Rockwell, Brinell, Vickers, and Microhardness testing in accordance with ASTM standards to verify material properties, heat treatment, manufacturing quality, and specification compliance.

What is Hardness Testing?

Hardness testing measures a material's resistance to indentation. It is one of the fastest and most effective methods for evaluating material condition, heat treatment, wear resistance, and overall mechanical properties.

Hardness testing is commonly used for:

  • Material verification

  • Heat treatment confirmation

  • Quality control inspections

  • Incoming material acceptance

  • Weld evaluation

  • Failure investigations

  • Manufacturing process validation

Hardness Testing Methods

Rockwell Hardness Testing

Rockwell testing is one of the most widely used hardness methods due to its speed and repeatability. Depending on the material and application, testing may be performed using several Rockwell scales.

Common Rockwell scales include:

  • Rockwell C (HRC)

  • Rockwell B (HRB)

  • Rockwell A (HRA)

  • Superficial Rockwell Scales

Rockwell testing is commonly used for hardened steels, stainless steels, aluminum alloys, brass, copper alloys, and many other engineering materials.

Brinell Hardness Testing

Brinell testing uses a larger diameter indenter and higher test loads, making it well suited for:

  • Castings

  • Forgings

  • Structural steel

  • Large components

  • Coarse-grained materials

Brinell testing is frequently specified for heavy industrial and structural applications.

Vickers Hardness Testing

Vickers hardness testing utilizes a diamond pyramid indenter and is capable of evaluating a broad range of materials using a single hardness scale.

It is commonly used for:

  • Thin sections

  • Heat treated materials

  • Small components

  • High-strength alloys

  • Precision engineering applications

Microhardness Testing

Microhardness testing evaluates very small areas of a material using low applied loads.

Applications include:

  • Case depth evaluation

  • Decarburization studies

  • Weld heat affected zones

  • Individual microstructural phases

  • Thin coatings

  • Small features

  • Failure analysis

Materials We Test

Our laboratory routinely tests:

  • Carbon Steel

  • Alloy Steel

  • Stainless Steel

  • Aluminum

  • Titanium

  • Nickel Alloys

  • Copper Alloys

  • Brass

  • Cast Materials

  • Weldments

  • Fasteners

  • Machined Test Coupons

  • Additive Manufactured Components

Test Reports

Each hardness testing report includes the information needed for traceability and specification compliance, including:

  • Test method and ASTM standard

  • Hardness scale used

  • Individual hardness readings

  • Average hardness (when applicable)

  • Test load

  • Test location (when required)

  • Acceptance criteria and pass/fail evaluation (when provided)

Our in-house machine shop allows us to prepare a wide variety of tensile specimens including round, rectangular, standard and sub-size from most metals.

Request a Quote

Contact us to discuss your testing requirements. Our team can review your specifications, confirm the appropriate test method and material needed to perform testing, and provide a prompt quotation.