Coupon testing

A mechanical test in which a specimen is pulled along its axis until it breaks, measuring properties such as tensile strength, tensile modulus and elongation at break. For plastics and composites it is commonly performed to methods in the ISO 527 series or ASTM D638 and D3039. It is the baseline test for characterising resins, laminates and reinforcement materials.

A test in which a beam specimen is loaded in bending, usually in a three-point or four-point arrangement, to determine flexural strength and flexural modulus. Common methods include ISO 178 and ASTM D790 for plastics and ISO 14125 for fibre-reinforced composites.

The shear strength between the plies of a laminate, usually measured with a short beam shear test such as ISO 14130 or ASTM D2344. Low ILSS indicates poor fibre-to-matrix bonding or laminate quality, and correlates with susceptibility to delamination.

The ability to trace a material or product back through its production history, linking finished items to raw material batches, process records and test results via batch or lot numbers. It is required by aerospace and marine quality systems and increasingly expected in construction supply chains, enabling targeted recalls and failure investigation.