A hardness tester based on thermal contact resistance

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
When a hard probe of relatively low thermal conductivity is pressed against a number of softer materials of much higher conductivity, the thermal contact resistance should depend only on the radius of contact. Thus, the authors have applied a device, that consists of a heated copper-constantan thermocouple with a ruby tip, to several high conductivity metals and alloys and may have shown that the resultant thermoelectric EMF is directly related to the diagonal length of the indentation produced by a conventional pyramid hardness tester under a given load. They have also found that the probe can be used in studying the hardness of a material that is a poorer conductor of heat but it is then necessary to apply a correction factor.

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit: