The standard for advanced technical ceramics ENV 843-4 of 1995 (Vickers, Knoop and Rockwell superficial hardness tests) was validated within the framework of the CERANORM EC-project. The paper reports on depth sensing hardness measurements done for comparison with the other hardness tests. The instrumented indentation test is a modern technique (recent issue ISO/DIS 14577) that has the potential to take into account the specific response of materials in a much better way. An evaluation has been made to establish whether the instrumented hardness technique is a appropriate method for advanced technical ceramics and offers potential for additional applications.
To validate the European standard ENV 843-4 for hardness measurements on ceramics, three classes of ceramic materials, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, and aluminium oxide, involving 19 ceramics in total, were tested using the traditional techniques Vickers (HV1), Knoop (HK2), and superficial Rockwell (HR45N). The use of new ceramic reference blocks certified according to the standards ISO 4547 and ISO 6507-1 for metallic materials was studied. If the hardness response of the tested materials does not involve chipping and cracking the application of high hardness reference blocks for training users to obtain hardness values comparable with the certified HV1 and HK2 values improves the reproducibility from about 10% to 1 to 3%. The scatter between the laboratories is similar to the scatter within the laboratories. The measurement of the indentation geometry on typical commercial ceramic materials can be made only with higher scatter and reduced reproducibility compared with typical metallic materials, which is caused by the stochastic indentation response. For such materials involving chipping and cracking (for instance SiC), the application of reference blocks with well-shaped indentations does not provide improved comparability of results between the laboratories. The actual indentation response of the ceramic material tested must be considered before selecting the appropriate hardness technique and test force. There is no significant difference between the abilities of the hardness techniques HV1, HK2, and HR45N to discriminate sensitively between materials of closely similar properties.