How does it work?

At its simplest, mechanical testing involves the application of strain to a material followed by the measurement of the subsequent induced stress. A number of different methods of applying the strain, including change the strain rate, direction, can be used to induce different stress regimes:

Hardness Testing is the measure of how resistant solid matter is to various kinds of permanent shape change when a force is applied.

Tensile Testing subjects a sample to uniaxial tension until it fails.

Torque Testing is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis.

Fatigue Testing is performed on parts and materials to simulate the progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when a material is subjected to cyclic loading.

Charpy Testing: The Charpy impact test, also known as the Charpy v-notch test, is a standardized high strain-rate test which determines the amount of energy absorbed by a material during fracture.

Bend Testing determines the ductility or the strength of a material by bending the material over a given radius.

Proof Load Testing is often used interchangeably with yield strength; it refers to the tension-applied load that a test sample must support without evidence of deformation.

Shear Testing: Shear strength measures a material's response to shear load, a force that tends to produce a sliding failure on a material along a plane that is parallel to the direction of the force.