ASTM E18

Introducing ASTM E18 – Industrial Physics  

ASTM E18 is a global ASTM standard test method to measure the rockwell hardness of metallic materials.  

So what is an ASTM rockwell hardness test? The rockwell hardness test is an empirical indentation hardness test that can provide useful information about all types of materials. ASTM E18 if for use with metal samples only.   

Hardness is a characteristic of a material rather than a fundamental physical property. It’s defined as the resistance to indentation and it’s determined by measuring the permanent depth of the indentation.  

When using the rockwell hardness scale, the smaller the indentation after applying a fixed load, the harder the material. 

Rockwell hardness testing results

The information you collect from ASTM E18 testing can involve tensile strength, wear resistance, ductility and other physical characteristics of metallic materials. It’s an ASTM hardness test that may be useful in both quality control and selection of materials. 

When you carry out a rockwell hardness test you focus on a specific part of the sample, so therefore the measurement may not represent the physical characteristics of the whole product. 

A clever thing about the rockwell hardness test is that it provides traceability to a set of national rockwell hardness standards. These standards are considered suitable for acceptance testing of commercial shipments. In fact, they’ve been used extensively for this purpose. 

The ASTM E18 standard provides the requirements for rockwell hardness testers and it also details the procedures for performing successful rockwell hardness tests. 

Two types of rockwell hardness tests

There are two main types of rockwell hardness test that can be performed using ASTM E18: the standard test and the rockwell superficial hardness test.

So, what’s the difference? The main difference between the two rockwell hardness tests is that the test forces are smaller for the rockwell superficial hardness test. Even so, you can typically use the same type and size indenters for either inspection.  

Need more info to help you to answer the question: what is the rockwell hardness test? You can learn more about the process of rockwell hardness scale testing in our blog.

ASTM E18 rockwell hardness testing equipment

So, how can Industrial Physics improve your ASTM E18 testing?  

Tru-Blue II Rockwell Hardness Tester 

The TB-II uses innovative digital controls and a high-precision load cell to give you highly accurate rockwell hardness testing data.   

This rockwell hardness tester meets or exceeds ASTM E18 and ISO 6508 standards and is available in a variety of sizes. So you can use it to test most parts and components.

Your global test and measurement partner for ASTM E18