Hardness
Resistance to plastic deformation, usually by indentation. The term may also refer to stiffness or temper, or to resistance to scratching, abrasion or cutting. Brinell Hardness: Brinell hardness of aluminum alloys is obtained by measuring the permanent impression in the material made by a ball indenter 10 millimeters in diameter after loading with 500 kilogram-force for 15 seconds and dividing the applied load by the area of the impression. Rockwell Hardness: An indentation hardness test based on the depth of penetration of a specified penetrator into the specimen under certain arbitrarily fixed conditions.
