Impact testing measures a material’s toughness by calculating the energy absorbed during fracture, which indicates its behavior under sudden loads and helps classify it as brittle or ductile. This test is also key to studying the brittle-ductile transition, which varies with temperature.

Purpose of Impact Testing
The primary aim is to assess material behavior under high-speed deformation, predicting how it might perform under real-world impact conditions to estimate its service life and resilience.

Types of Impact Testing

• Pendulum Impact Testers: Measure impact energy by the rise height of the pendulum post-impact.
• Charpy: Horizontal strike, measuring absorbed energy.
• Izod: Vertical specimen positioning.
• Tensile Impact: Measures energy under tensile stress.
• Drop Weight Testers: Used for larger samples and high-energy impacts.

Mechanism of Impact Testing
When impacted, a material absorbs energy up to its yield point, with further energy causing work hardening until it fractures. Total impact energy reflects the work required to break the material, guiding design for impact resistance in real-world applications.