NDT Services
Hardness Testing
Portable hardness testing verifies material properties and heat treatment effectiveness in the field, ensuring components meet specification hardness requirements without laboratory testing.
Portable hardness testers measure material resistance to indentation or impact using methods like Leeb rebound and Ultrasonic Contact Impedance (UCI). Results are displayed in common hardness scales (HB, HRC, HV, HRB) and can be converted between scales per ASTM E140. Testing is fast, non-destructive, and requires minimal surface preparation.
Hardness is directly related to tensile strength and indicates whether a material has been properly heat treated. In refinery and petrochemical service, materials that are too hard can be susceptible to stress corrosion cracking, hydrogen embrittlement, and sulfide stress cracking. Hardness testing confirms materials are within the safe operating range.
Common applications include post-weld heat treatment verification, incoming material QA/QC, heat-affected zone (HAZ) hardness surveys, sour service material qualification per NACE MR0175, failure analysis, and field material identification when PMI is not sufficient.
Testing performed per ASTM A956 (Leeb), ASTM A1038 (UCI), NACE MR0175/ISO 15156, and applicable project specifications. All instruments are calibrated and verified with certified test blocks.
Verifying material properties with portable precision instruments.