What are the similarities between Hardness, impact strength?

 

Hardness is the property of a material which defines its ability to resist deformation that may be caused by indentation, friction or abrasion. While the Impact strength of a material is measured through the magnitude of energy that it can withstand when a sudden force is applied. This force is instantaneous such that the material can deform, crack or rupture when its corresponding impact strength is reached.

These two parameters are closely related because they mainly describe the strength of a material. Through analyzing their values, other material properties can be determined such as the tensile strength, yield strength and the ultimate strength. Hardness and impact strength can both show the capacity of a material to resist deformations and indentations from sudden application of forces. They can both show how much force is needed for a material to break. Although impact strength can do more quantitative analysis due to the other parameters closely related to it, the hardness of a material can help in qualitative analysis and determining other material properties such as malleability, ductility, etc.

Both of these parameters are essential especially in choosing the most efficient materials for designing and building supports, foundations and other infrastructures.