Johan August Brinell

August Brinell (10 October 1849 – 17 November 1925) was a Swedish metallurgical engineer.

His name is also commemorated in the description of a failure mechanism of material surfaces known as Brinelling.

In 1903 he became Chief Engineer at Jernkontoret, the Swedish Ironmasters' Association.

He was awarded the Bessemer Gold Medal of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1907.

The depth to which the ball penetrates the material surface is an indication of the Brinell Hardness Number, which is calculated as follows: BHN = load in kilograms divided by the spherical area of the indentation in square millimetres (refer to Brinell scale for method of calculation) It is a rapid, non-destructive (except at the surface being tested) means of determining the hardness of metals.

Brinell in 1920