ASTM-E18 Historical Revision Information
Standard Test Methods for Rockwell Hardness of Metallic Materials

ASTM-E18 - 2007 EDITION - SUPERSEDED
Show Complete Document History

Document Center Inc. is an authorized dealer of ASTM standards.
The following bibliographic material is provided to assist you with your purchasing decision:

Standard Test Methods for Rockwell Hardness of Metallic Materials
ORDER

Scope

1.1 These test methods cover the determination of the Rockwell hardness and the Rockwell superficial hardness of metallic materials by the Rockwell indentation hardness principle. This standard provides the requirements for Rockwell hardness machines and the procedures for performing Rockwell hardness tests.

1.2 This standard includes additional requirements in annexes:

Verification of Rockwell Hardness Testing Machines
Rockwell Hardness Standardizing Machines
Standardization of Rockwell Indenters
Standardization of Rockwell Hardness Test Blocks
Guidelines for Determining the Minimum Thickness of a Test Piece
Hardness Value Corrections When Testing on Convex Cylindrical Surfaces

1.3 This standard includes nonmandatory information in appendixes which relates to the Rockwell hardness test.

List of ASTM Standards Giving Hardness Values Corresponding to Tensile Strength
Examples of Procedures for Determining Rockwell Hardness Uncertainty

1.4 At the time the Rockwell hardness test was developed, the force levels were specified in units of kilograms-force (kgf) and the indenter ball diameters were specified in units of inches (in.). This standard specifies the units of force and length in the International System of Units (SI); that is, force in Newtons (N) and length in millimeters (mm). However, because of the historical precedent and continued common usage, force values in kgf units and ball diameters in inch units are provided for information and much of the discussion in this standard refers to these units.

1.5 The test principles, testing procedures, and verification procedures are essentially identical for both the Rockwell and Rockwell superficial hardness tests. The significant differences between the two tests are that the test forces are smaller for the Rockwell superficial test than for the Rockwell test. The same type and size indenters may be used for either test, depending on the scale being employed. Accordingly, throughout this standard, the term Rockwell will imply both Rockwell and Rockwell superficial unless stated otherwise.

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.

Notes

Claudia's Notes:
The new 2012 revision replaces the previous ASTM E18-11 Edition, which is now obsolete.  Three sections have been revised:  A1.4.7.2, A1.4.9.1, and Table A1.3.  These reflect a change in the difference in hardness between the standardized test blocks.

Significance and Use

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

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

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

Adherence to this standard test method provides traceability to national Rockwell hardness standards except as stated otherwise.

Keywords

hardness; mechanical test; metals; Rockwell; ICS Number Code 77.040.10 (Mechanical testing of metals)

To find similar documents by ASTM Volume:

03.01 (Metals -- Mechanical Testing; Elevated and Low-Temperature Tests; Metallography)

To find similar documents by classification:

77.040.10 (Mechanical testing of metals Mechanical testing in general, see 19.060 Mechanical testing of welded joints, see 25.160.40)

This document comes with our free Notification Service, good for the life of the document.

This document is available in either Paper or PDF format.

Document Number

ASTM-E18-07

Revision Level

2007 EDITION

Status

Superseded

Modification Type

Revision with Title Change

Publication Date

April 1, 2007

Document Type

Test Method

Page Count

36 pages

Committee Number

E28.06