Significance and Use
Flexural properties as determined by these test methods are especially useful for quality control and specification purposes. Materials that do not fail by the maximum strain allowed under these test methods (3-point bend) may be more suited to a 4-point bend test. The basic difference between the two test methods is in the location of the maximum bending moment and maximum axial fiber stresses. The maximum axial fiber stresses occur on a line under the loading nose in 3-point bending and over the area between the loading noses in 4-point bending.