Abstract
THE Meyer hardness (Hm) of a metal is defined as the ratio of the load on a spherical indenter (radius r) to the projected contact area of the resulting indentation (diameter, 2a). The relation between the diameter of the indentation and the corresponding Meyer hardness is given by the following empirical expression1,2: 
The constant Hu is called the ultimate Meyer hardness. Experimentally, both Hu and n are independent of the radius of the indenter. For cubic metals, n decreases (from 2.5 to 2.0), whereas Hu increases, with increasing amounts of cold work. Recent experimental work by Finniston, Jones and Madsen3 seems to suggest that, for non-cubic metals, both Hu and n increase with cold work.
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References
Meyer, E., Z. VDI, 52, 645, 740, 835 (1908).
O'Neill, H., “The Hardness of Metals and its Measurements” (London, 1934).
Finniston, H. M., Jones, E. R. W., and Madsen, P. E., Nature, 164, 1128 (1949).
Taylor, G. I., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 145, 388 (1934). Seitz, F., “Physics of Metals”, 85 (McGraw-Hill, 1943).
Tabor, D., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 192, 247 (1948).
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MEYER, M., VAN LAER, K. Plastic Deformation and the Meyer Constants of Metals. Nature 169, 237–238 (1952). https://doi.org/10.1038/169237a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/169237a0
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