scope:

This International Standard specifies methods of hardness testing of sintered metal materials, excluding hardmetals. Procedure 1 determines the apparent hardness of the whole material. Procedure 1 - applies to sintered metal materials which have either not been subjected to any heat treatment, or which have been heat treated in such a way that the hardness is essentially uniform to a depth of at least 5 mm below the surface, - applies to the surfaces of sintered metal materials which have been treated in such a way that the hardness is not uniform in the section to a depth of 5 mm below the surface, - therefore applies to materials in which the hardness is obtained essentially by surface enrichment by carbon, or by carbon and nitrogen (for example by carburizing, carbonitriding, nitrocarburizing or sulfidizing), and - applies to materials which have been induction hardened. Procedure 2 determines the microhardness of the metal phase