Ceramic Hardness Testing

The purpose of hardness testing for ceramic coatings.

Ceramic hardness testing.

Hardness is one of the most frequently measured properties of a ceramic. Its value helps to characterize resistance to deformation densification and fracture. An indenter of well defined geometry is pressed into the surface of the sample under a. Ceramic hardness measurements in engineering are generally measured using a vickers hardness test.

The method for measuring the hardness of fine ceramics is defined in jis r 1610 iso 14705. The grading of the scale ranges from 0 to 9 and the h indicates the hardness of that specific grade. In this test a pyramidal diamond indenter is pressed into a polished surface under known loading conditions and the size of the indentation is related to the hardness of the material. The hardness of fine ceramics is generally indicated using a vickers hardness number.

The mechanical property of a material s hardness is defined as a specific and calculable measure of how resistant a material is to compressive force. Hardness is a representation of a material s resistance to localised plastic deformation. Hardness testing of ceramics hardness testing has many pitfalls but good metrological procedures and the use of srms would help to improve the accuracy of conventional tests.