What does the Charpy test determine?

The Charpy test is a standardized method used to determine the toughness of materials, particularly metals. Toughness reflects a material's ability to absorb energy and deform plastically before fracturing. The test involves striking a notched specimen with a swinging pendulum and measuring the energy absorbed by the specimen during fracture. A higher energy absorption indicates greater toughness, which is crucial in applications where materials are subjected to impact or shock loads.

While brittleness, tensile strength, and ductility relate to material properties, they do not specifically address a material's capacity to withstand sudden loads without breaking. Brittleness refers to a material's tendency to fracture without significant deformation; tensile strength measures the maximum stress a material can withstand while being stretched; and ductility is a measure of how much a material can deform under tensile stress. The Charpy test is fundamentally designed to assess toughness, making the determination of this property the key focus of the test.