ASTM_E_18_-_15.pdf

Designation:E1815An American National StandardStandard Test Methods forRockwell Hardness of Metallic Materials1,2This standard is issued under the fixed designation E18;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of originaladoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.Anumber in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscriptepsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the U.S.Department of Defense.1.Scope*1.1 These test methods cover the determination of theRockwell hardness and the Rockwell superficial hardness ofmetallic materials by the Rockwell indentation hardness prin-ciple.This standard provides the requirements for Rockwellhardness machines and the procedures for performing Rock-well hardness tests.1.2 This standard includes additional requirements in an-nexes:Verification of Rockwell Hardness Testing MachinesAnnex A1Rockwell Hardness Standardizing MachinesAnnex A2Standardization of Rockwell IndentersAnnex A3Standardization of Rockwell Hardness Test BlocksAnnex A4Guidelines for Determining the Minimum Thickness of aTest PieceAnnex A5Hardness Value Corrections When Testing on ConvexCylindrical SurfacesAnnex A61.3 This standard includes nonmandatory information inappendixes which relates to the Rockwell hardness test.List of ASTM Standards Giving Hardness ValuesCorrespondingto Tensile StrengthAppendix X1Examples of Procedures for Determining RockwellHardness UncertaintyAppendix X21.4 UnitsAt the time the Rockwell hardness test wasdeveloped,the force levels were specified in units ofkilograms-force(kgf)and the indenter ball diameters werespecified in units of inches(in.).This standard specifies theunits 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 andcontinued common usage,force values in kgf units and balldiameters in inch units are provided for information and muchof the discussion in this standard refers to these units.1.5 The test principles,testing procedures,and verificationprocedures are essentially identical for both the Rockwell andRockwell superficial hardness tests.The significant differencesbetween the two tests are that the test forces are smaller for theRockwell superficial test than for the Rockwell test.The sametype and size indenters may be used for either test,dependingon the scale being employed.Accordingly,throughout thisstandard,the term Rockwell will imply both Rockwell andRockwell superficial unless stated otherwise.1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:3A370 Test Methods and Definitions for Mechanical Testingof Steel ProductsA623 Specification for Tin Mill Products,General Require-mentsA623M Specification for Tin Mill Products,General Re-quirements MetricB19 Specification for Cartridge Brass Sheet,Strip,Plate,Bar,and DisksB36/B36M Specification for Brass Plate,Sheet,Strip,AndRolled BarB96/B96M Specification for Copper-Silicon Alloy Plate,Sheet,Strip,and Rolled Bar for General Purposes andPressure VesselsB103/B103M Specification for Phosphor Bronze Plate,Sheet,Strip,and Rolled BarB121/B121M Specification for Leaded Brass Plate,Sheet,Strip,and Rolled BarB122/B122M Specification for Copper-Nickel-Tin Alloy,Copper-Nickel-Zinc Alloy(Nickel Silver),and Copper-Nickel Alloy Plate,Sheet,Strip,and Rolled BarB130 Specification for Commercial Bronze Strip for BulletJacketsB134/B134M Specification for Brass Wire1These test methods are under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E28 onMechanical Testing and are the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E28.06 onIndentation Hardness Testing.Current edition approved Feb.1,2015.Published March 2015.Originallyapproved in 1932.Last previous edition approved in 2014 as E18 14a.DOI:10.1520/E0018-15.2In this test method,the term Rockwell refers to an internationally recognizedtype of indentation hardness test as defined in Section 3,and not to the hardnesstesting equipment of a particular manufacturer.3For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.*A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this standardCopyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 B152/B152M Specification for Copper Sheet,Strip,Plate,and Rolled BarB370 Specification for Copper Sheet and Strip for BuildingConstructionE29 Practice for Using Significant Digits in Test Data toDetermine Conformance wi