3 min read
Weerg staff
:
Jan 14, 2026
The Brinell test is one of the oldest and most reliable methods for measuring the hardness of materials, particularly metals.
Even today it is widely used in metallurgy, quality control, industrial production and research, especially when analysing heterogeneous or coarse-grained materials.
In this guide you will learn:
The Brinell hardness test is a mechanical test that measures a material’s resistance to penetration by a hard indenter under load.
The method is named after the Swedish engineer Johan August Brinell, who developed it in 1900 to analyse metallic materials used in industry.
In practice, the test evaluates how much a material deforms when it is pressed with force by a hard ball.
Brinell hardness is expressed as HB or HBW (when using tungsten carbide) and is calculated using the formula:
Where:
F = applied load (kgf or N)
D = ball diameter (mm)
d = average diameter of the indentation (mm)
In industrial practice, the value is often read directly from tables or from the testing machine’s software.
Brinell hardness measures the surface plastic resistance of a material, i.e. its ability to resist:
permanent deformation
indentation
mechanical wear
It does not measure:
tensile strength
toughness
impact resistance
However, it provides very useful information about machinability, wear resistance and the overall mechanical behaviour of the material.
The test follows a standardised procedure:
A hardened steel or tungsten carbide ball is pressed against the surface of the material.
A constant load is applied for a defined time (typically 10–15 seconds).
After removing the load, the diameter of the indentation left on the surface is measured.
From the indentation size, the Brinell hardness number (HB or HBW) is calculated.
Larger indentation → softer material
Smaller indentation → harder material
Ball diameter: 1, 2.5, 5 or 10 mm
Applied load: from 500 to 3000 kgf
Dwell time: 10–15 seconds
Reference standards:
ISO 6506
ASTM E10
The choice of parameters depends on:
material type
expected hardness
specimen thickness
The Brinell test is particularly suitable for:
Not ideal for:
Brinell is less precise than Vickers, but more reliable on heterogeneous materials.
|
Feature |
Brinell (HB/HBW) |
Rockwell (HR) |
Vickers (HV) |
|
Indenter type |
Ball (steel or carbide) |
Diamond cone or ball |
Diamond pyramid |
|
Indentation size |
Large |
Small |
Very small |
|
Reading method |
Optical (indent diameter) |
Direct (automatic scale) |
Optical (diagonal measurement) |
|
Accuracy |
Medium |
Medium |
High |
|
Test speed |
Medium |
High |
Medium |
|
Invasiveness |
High |
Low |
Very Low |
|
Ideal materials |
Cast irons, castings, structural steels |
Heat-treated steels, finished parts |
Any material |
|
Heterogeneous materials |
Excellent |
Limited |
Limited |
|
Thin layers/coatings |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
In-line quality control |
Poorly suitable |
Ideal |
Poorly suitable |
|
Main standards |
ISO 6506 / ASTM E10 |
ISO 6508 / ASTM E18 |
ISO 6507 / ASTM E384 |
the material has a heterogeneous structure
a reliable average hardness value is required
the component is large
micrometric precision is not a priority
results must be compared with historical data
The Brinell test remains a fundamental tool for measuring metal hardness, especially when analyzing massive, heterogeneous or structural materials.
While not the most accurate method by any means, it offers a reliable and representative view of the mechanical behavior of the material, making it still an industry standard today.
The Brinell test remains a fundamental tool for measuring the hardness of metals, especially when analysing massive, heterogeneous or structural materials.
Although it is not the most precise method available, it provides a reliable and representative view of a material’s mechanical behaviour, making it an industrial standard even today.
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The three main hardness tests used in industry are:
Brinell (HB/HBW): suitable for large, non-homogeneous materials
Rockwell (HR): fast and ideal for production quality control
Vickers (HV): very precise, usable on any material and thickness
Brinell hardness is calculated by measuring the diameter of the indentation left by a ball pressed into the material under a known load.
The formula is:
Where:
F is the applied force
D is the ball diameter
d is the average diameter of the indentation
In practice, the value is often obtained using standard tables or automatic machine readings.
HBN is not a hardness value, but a material: hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN).
This material is not normally measured using the Brinell test because it is a solid lubricating ceramic.
For comparison:
h-BN → soft material, similar to graphite
c-BN (cubic boron nitride) → very high hardness of ≈ 4500–5000 HV, second only to diamond
The Brinell test uses a large-diameter indenter, producing a wide indentation.
This allows averaging of microstructural differences within the material (coarse grains, inclusions, different phases), making the result more representative than tests with smaller indentations such as Rockwell or Vickers.
For this reason, Brinell is ideal for:
cast irons
castings
structural steels
non-uniform materials
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