# Structural testing

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{{Short description|Measuring the ability of an object or assembly to withstand physical loading}}
{{For|software testing|White-box testing}}
thumb|Testing a pylon for ability to resist wind loads
thumb|Load testing a railroad bridge, 1883
'''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](/source/compressive_strength), [shear strength](/source/shear_strength), [tensile strength](/source/tensile_strength), 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](/source/x-ray)  [ultrasound](/source/ultrasound), and [ground-penetrating radar](/source/ground-penetrating_radar), among others, to assess the quality of the object.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=Structural Testing |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/641784main_Structures_Test_Lab_FTI.pdf |website=NASA Johnson Space Flight Center}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bransby-Zachary |first1=Charles |last2=Crevello |first2=Gina L. |date=2016-09-01 |title=Ground Penetrating Radar for Use on Concrete Structures |url=https://www.structuremag.org/?p=10434 |journal=STRUCTURE Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

[Structural engineers](/source/Structural_engineering) 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<ref>{{cite journal
 | last =Groth
 | first =C
 | title =Structural validation of a realistic wing structure: the RIBES test Structural validation of a realistic wing structure: the RIBES test
 | journal =Procedia Structural Integrity, AIAS 2018 International Conference on Stress Analysis
 | volume =12
 | issue =
 | pages =448–456
 | date =2018
| doi =10.1016/j.prostr.2018.11.073
 | url= https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452321618301768
| access-date =11 September 2022
 | hdl =11573/1262267
 | hdl-access =free
 }}</ref> or other types of structures.

==See also==
*[Structural analysis](/source/Structural_analysis)
*[Structural load](/source/Structural_load)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Structural engineering
Category:Product testing

{{engineering-stub}}

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