A physical test is a qualitative or

quantitative Quantitative may refer to: * Quantitative research, scientific investigation of quantitative properties * Quantitative analysis (disambiguation) * Quantitative verse, a metrical system in poetry * Statistics, also known as quantitative analysis ...

procedure that consists of determination of one or more characteristics of a given product, process or service according to a specified procedure.

ASTM ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, an ...

E 1301, Standard Guide for Proficiency Testing by Interlaboratory Comparisons Often this is part of an

experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

. Physical testing is common in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which relat ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, and

quality assurance Quality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to ensure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design ...

Purposes

Physical testing might have a variety of purposes, such as: * if, or verify that, the requirements of a

specification A specification often refers to a set of documented requirements to be satisfied by a material, design, product, or service. A specification is often a type of technical standard. There are different types of technical or engineering specificati ...

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

, or contract are met * Decide if a

new product development In business and engineering, new product development (NPD) covers the complete process of bringing a new product to market, renewing an existing product or introducing a product in a new market. A central aspect of NPD is product design, along wi ...

program is on track: Demonstrate

proof of concept Proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is a realization of a certain method or idea in order to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle with the aim of verifying that some concept or theory has prac ...

* Demonstrate the utility of a proposed

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

* Provide

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted. ...

for other scientific, engineering, and

functions * Validate suitability for end-use * Provide a basis for

Technical communication Technical communication is used to convey scientific, engineering, or other technical information. Individuals in a variety of contexts and with varied professional credentials engage in technical communication. Some individuals are designated as ...

* Provide a technical means of comparison of several options * Provide

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

in legal proceedings

Performance testing

Some physical testing is ''performance testing'' which covers a wide range of engineering or functional evaluations where a material, product, or system is not specified by detailed material or component specifications. Rather, emphasis is on the final measurable performance characteristics. Testing can be a qualitative or

procedure. Many

Acceptance testing In engineering and its various subdisciplines, acceptance testing is a test conducted to determine if the requirements of a specification or contract are met. It may involve chemical tests, physical tests, or performance tests. In systems eng ...

protocols employ performance testing e.g. In the stress testing of a new design of chair.

Examples of performance testing

* Structural testing: building and Construction Performance Testing *

Fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...

(

D176) *

Packaging Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a co ...

Performance (

hazardous materials Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllab ...

dangerous goods Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllab ...

D4169) * Performance Index for

Tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...

s (

F538) * Performance Test Code on Compressors and Exhausters (

ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

PTC 10 - 1997) *

Personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, ele ...

performance * Several

Defense Standard A United States defense standard, often called a military standard, "MIL-STD", "MIL-SPEC", or (informally) "MilSpecs", is used to help achieve standardization objectives by the U.S. Department of Defense. Standardization is beneficial in achievin ...

s * Wear of Textiles (

D123)

Gallery

File:Three point flexural test.jpg,

Test fixture A test fixture is an environment used to consistently test some item, device, or piece of software. Test fixtures can be found when testing electronics, software and physical devices. Electronics In testing electronic equipment such as circuit ...

universal testing machine A universal testing machine (UTM), also known as a universal tester, materials testing machine or materials test frame, is used to test the tensile strength and compressive strength of materials. An earlier name for a tensile testing machine i ...

File:US Navy 070409-N-3038W-002 Aviation Structural Mechanic 3rd Class Rene Tovar adjusts a connection point on a fixture hydraulic supply servo cylinder test station in the hydraulics shop aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier U.jpg, Hydraulic system testing File:Drop test haz-mat.jpg, Drop test of

shipping container A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context o ...

for missile File:ISEE-C_(ISEE_3)_in_dynamic_test_chamber.jpg, Engineers in NASA dynamic test chamber File:Honda Fit - Impact Still.jpg,

Crash test A crash test is a form of destructive testing usually performed in order to ensure safe design standards in crashworthiness and crash compatibility for various modes of transportation (see automobile safety) or related systems and compone ...

of car striking a wall File:Cmp test 10.jpg, Fire testing materials and structures

References

* Pyzdek, T, "Quality Engineering Handbook", 2003, * Godfrey, A. B., "Juran's Quality Handbook", 1999, {{ISBN, 007034003X Metrology Measurement Quality control Tests Product testing

Purposes

Performance testing

Examples of performance testing

Gallery

See also

References