It’s important to understand what a Charpy test is so that you can focus on structural integrity. Any time you use steel, you should be having this test conducted so that you know more about strain-rate.
Essentially, the test is going to show whether a metal should be classified as ductile or brittle. If you don’t take the time to understand how it is classified, you could end up using it in the wrong application.
How the Test is Conducted
The Charpy test is conducted in a relatively simple manner. However, you will generally use a third-party to conduct the test for you. It will provide you with all of the statistics needed so that you can learn more about the parent metal.
A standard notched specimen is struck with a controlled weight pendulum, which is one from a second site. There is an anvil and a pendulum in order to make sure that the specimen is struck in the right location. The amount of energy absorbed is recorded to identify how tough the test material is.
It’s also possible to have the tests carried out under different temperature settings. This will help to generate more information about the ductile to brittle transition curve.
Why Get it Done?
Even though you may have already done plenty of research to find out about the different alloys and their characteristics, you need to know as much as possible about how ductile or brittle a metal is. It will ensure you know more about how it is going to hold up in various situations.
A Charpy test will not take very long to conduct. The information can be extremely important to help you determine how easily the metal will break and under what situations. If you know that the metal is going to become more brittle after a certain temperature, you will know not to expose the metal to such a temperature – or choose a different alloy entirely.
The absorbed energy will always be reported when conducting the test. You will get these results on the report. There are a few other aspects that may or may not be reported, including crystallinity and lateral expansion. You want this data on the report, you will need to let the company who is conducting the test know this.
You will also need to remember that this information will not be used to calculate the toughness of a weld.
Now that you know what a Charpy test is, you can decide whether you need one or not. It may be beneficial for you to get the information so that you can learn more about the metal and whether it is capable of performing under the environment you plan on exposing it to.
Further, you want to make sure that you choose a company that will be able to carry out the test in the best conditions. It’s a good idea to discuss the test with several different third parties so that you can learn more about what kinds of information they can provide on the test. You want to work with someone who uses the highest quality standards and who has competitive prices. Further, you want someone who is going to build a long-lasting relationship with you as it is likely that you will need more Charpy tests in the future.