A tensile test, also known as a tension test, is one of the most fundamental and common types of mechanical testing. Tensile strength test means application of tensile (pulling) force to a material and measures the specimen’s response to the stress. It involves the application of uniaxial force to measure the performance of a test specimen, up to the point of it yielding or breaking, whether sharply or gradually.
In simple terms, it is pulling a specimen apart in a straight line and recording the changes that occur. By doing this, tensile tests help to determine the strength a material is and how much it can elongate. Tensile tests are typically conducted with the helps of force testing or universal testing machines and these are fully standardized.