Jeff M. Routley is the director of sales at United Testing (Huntington Beach, CA). For more information, call (800) 765 9997 x 242, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.unitedtesting.com.
The purpose of tensile or mechanical testing is to measure the effect of force on a particular material or component, or on the adhesive or fastener that bonds two materials together.
A tensile test is a static measurement of the effects of tensile force on a material or component, or to determine the bond strength of two materials that have been assembled together. By applying a tensile force on a material, one can find the tensile strength, yield point, yield strength, percent elongation, reduction in area and the modulus of elasticity. Tensile test results are used to indicate strength, ductility, stiffness and the correct parameters for heat treatment or processing.
