Steel impact testing is mainly conducted to test the toughness of the material. It is important because it would show the ability of the metal in absorbing energy, during plastic deformation. Brittle objects would have low toughness, as a result, they can withstand only slight deformation. The impact value would change with temperature as well. The lower temperature would mean a decrease in impact energy.

Many manufacturing units would conduct these tests before cutting steel plate. This would assure that the sheet metal is strong enough to manufacture various objects. In a few tests, the size of the specimen would also affect the test results, as it would allow a different number of imperfections in the material, which could act as a stress riser and lower impact energy.

The energy used for the test would also help in deciding the toughness, impact strength, fracture resistance etc. In short, it would give an idea about the characteristic of the item that is manufactured from the metal sheet. The values of the test are important while the selection of materials that would be used in applications that require the material to undergo very rapid loading process such as vehicular collisions.

The results obtained from the test would help in assessing the suitability of the material for a certain application. It would provide the manufacturer with an idea about the durability of the products manufactured with the raw material.

Most of the materials would benefit from impact testing. The most common items that undergo this test are metals, plastic, wood, composites, ceramic and polymers.

A professional would be able to conduct the test and provide the results with ease.