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 In engineering, shear strength is the strength of a material or component against the type of yield or structural failure when the material or component fails in shear. A shear load is a force that tends to produce a sliding failure on a materi ...

tensile strength Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), often shortened to tensile strength (TS), ultimate strength, or F_\text within equations, is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials t ...

, 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 An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hear it. This limit varies ...

, and

ground-penetrating radar Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a Geophysics, geophysical method that uses radar pulses to Geophysical imaging, image the subsurface. It is a non-intrusive method of surveying the sub-surface to investigate underground utilities such as concrete, ...

, among others, to assess the quality of the object.

Structural engineers Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of safety, technical, economic ...

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.

References

Structural engineering Product testing {{Engineering-stub

See also

References