A Brinell hardness test is performed by forcing a Tungsten Carbide indenter of specified diameter under the application of known force to produce an indentation in the material. The indenter diameter can be 1mm to 10mm and the test force can be 1kgf to 3000kgf. The diameter of the indentation is measured after removal of the force and the hardness is calculated. Most of the modern machines can indicate direct hardness values without a need of manual measurement of indentation.

The Brinell hardness test can be performed up to only 650HBW. The BHN – Brinell Hardness Number can be used to relate hardness to other hardness measuring units. AS 1816 ISO 65076and ASTM E10 are some of the common standard test methods.