What Is Vickers Hardness

The principle of Vickers Hardness is similar to Brinell hardness. Using a diamond regular pyramid indenter with a relative angle of 136 °, the material is pressed into the surface with a specified test force F. After holding for a specified time, the test force is removed. The hardness value is represented by the average pressure per unit surface area of the regular pyramid indentation, marked as HV.

HV has a wide measurement range and can measure materials with a hardness range of 10-1000HV. It has a small indentation and is generally used to measure thinner materials and surface hardening layers such as carburizing and nitriding.