Mechanical testing

Tests which are used to determine the mechanical properties of a material used for manufacturing components.

There are a great many tests that can be carried out but those most-commonly used following heat treatment are the tensile test, impact test (called Charpy or Izod, depending on the test piece being used) and hardness test. Since these tests are destructive, they are generally carried out on test pieces representative of the components, to avoid the expense of destroying a component. Hardness tests can be carried out on components that have a suitable area which will not be damaged by the impression left by the test.