Transportation is the backbone of our economy, and metal hardness plays a vital role in keeping roadways, airports, and railways safe and secure.
On the ground and on roadways, cargo trucks and vans move cargo from one place to another. According to road regulations, all loaded cargo vehicles cannot exceed a specific weight. Ensuring that certain vehicles weigh less than the maximum weight means the vehicles must go through verification of weight to maintain road safety. Most commercial cargo vehicles are weighed at government-operated weigh stations along highways.
The weigh station platforms are made of metal and must be certified according to the National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP). Metals must be tested for hardness (Brinell test) to verify the capacity or longevity of metals.
In the air and at airports, metal hardness is used in both fixed structures and airframes. Before metals are used, the manufacturer must conduct hardness testing to approve/certify metal quality for safety and performance purposes. Metal hardness testing helps manufacturers verify and certify the quality of their products.
On the rails, locomotives, freight cars, passenger trains, and even the rails themselves are all made of metal. The performance of the metal depends on its hardness to understand its strength, sustainability, durability, and longevity.
In the last decade, the development of new steel alloys is leading to new high-performance railroad components, with metal longevity being of the utmost concern, and manufacturers depend on the King Portable Brinell Hardness Tester to help direct the research in determining the best metal.
The King Portable Brinell Hardness Tester has been an integral part of testing to ensure metal performance in transportation for over 80 years.
