ASTM E290 PDF

1.1 These test methods cover bend testing for ductility of materials. Included in the procedures are four conditions of constraint on the bent portion of the specimen; a guided-bend test using a mandrel or plunger of defined dimensions to force the mid-length of the specimen between two supports separated by a defined space; a semi-guided bend test in which the specimen is bent, while in contact with a mandrel, through a specified angle of bend or to a specified inside radius of bend (r) measured while under the bending force; a free-bend test in which the ends of the specimen are brought toward each other, but in which no transverse force is applied to the bend itself and there is no contact of the concave inside surface of the bend with other material; a bend-and-flatten test, in which a transverse force is applied to the bend such that the legs make contact with each other over the length of the specimen.