Structural testing
Measuring the ability of an object or assembly to withstand physical loading
Structural testing is the evaluation of an object (which might be an assembly of objects) to ascertain its characteristics of physical strength. Testing includes evaluating compressive strength, shear strength, tensile strength, all of which may be conducted to failure or to some satisfactory margin of safety. Evaluations may also be indirect, using techniques such as x-ray ultrasound, and ground-penetrating radar, among others, to assess the quality of the object.
Structural engineers conduct structural testing to evaluate material suitability for a particular application and to evaluate the capacity of existing structures to withstand foreseeable loads.
Items may include buildings (or components), bridges, airplane wings or other types of structures.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Structural testing”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Composite pylon test step 6.jpg by Савин Игорь Игоревич, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Umgeni River Bridge Load Test.jpg by Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
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