Surface Roughness Effect on Microhardness Measurements
Tribology in Industry 2025
Raimonds Šīrants, Jānis Lungevičs

Micro-Vickers hardness measurements are essential for evaluating microscale material hardness, providing insights into surface properties and material strength. However, many factors can influence the precision of hardness measurements. This study examines the influence of surface roughness on the results of micro-Vickers hardness measurements. A polished stainless steel gage block is used as a test sample. Sample surfaces are textured using different grit sandpapers. The surface texture was analysed using the 3D surface roughness measuring system. A test matrix with eight different test forces ranging from 0.01 to 0.5 kgf was used for micro-Vickers hardness measurements. The measurement results indicated that a small change in the surface roughness impacts the measurement results with a more significant effect when applied test forces are below 0.1 kgf. Obtained surface hardness values increase with surface roughness, accompanied by a rise in the standard deviation of the measurements.


Keywords
Micro-Vickers hardness, Hardness measurements, Surface 3D texture, Surface roughness, Roughness effect on hardness
DOI
10.24874/ti.1777.12.24.01
Hyperlink
https://www.tribology.rs/journals/aips/1777.pdf

Šīrants, R., Lungevičs, J. Surface Roughness Effect on Microhardness Measurements. Tribology in Industry, 2025, Vol. 47, No. 1, pp.1-9. ISSN 0354-8996. e-ISSN 2217-7965. Available from: doi:10.24874/ti.1777.12.24.01

Publication language
English (en)
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