The load-bearing area of a hardness indentation

Abstract

An experimental investigation is described in which it is shown that the piled-up region of a hardness indentation in metals also supports the indenter load and that the normal pressure is distributed uniformly over the projected area of the indentation. It is cautioned that if the piled-up region is not taken into account, as has been done by some investigators working with ultra-low hardness testing machines, then the estimated hardness values may have significantly high errors.