This standard specifies the Vickers hardness test for steel, which has the following principle of test.
The indenter, which is in the form of a right pyramid with a square base and with a specified angle between opposite faces at the vertex shall be forced into the surface of the test piece, The diagonal of the indentation left in the surface after removal of the load shall be measured.
The Vickers hardness is the quotient obtained by dividing 0,102 P
(when the test load P is expressed in N) or P (when the test load F
2 is expressed in kgf) by the sloping area (expressed in mm ) of the
indentation, considered as a right pyramid with a square base, having
a diagonal, and an angle at the vertex the same angle as the
indenter,