6. Tests on industrial parts

This is all the more important as calculation methods have not yet achieved a sufficient degree of reliability, especially when it comes to predicting long-term behavior. The choice of tests will depend on the application and the size of the series: after checking the quality of the constituent materials, a prototype can be tested under dynamic and/or static fatigue conditions for a time and in an environment representative of the structure's intended duration and conditions of use, and then until failure, in order to assess the overall safety coefficient, followed by periodic checks and tests on series components. Extensometric measurements are often carried out, to determine the average rate of deformation and compare it with the critical deformation rate of the material used.