Verifying the results of application software used to calculate the mechanical properties of materials is the subject of a new standard developed by ASTM International Committee E08 on Fatigue and Fracture. The new standard, E 2443, Guide for Verifying Computer-Generated Test Results Through the Use of Standard Data Sets, is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee E08.03 on Advanced Apparatus and Techniques.

The two purposes of Guide E 2443 are to provide guidelines for creating standard data sets for verifying computer-generated test results and to describe how users can verify whether the calculations in their applications software produce accurate, acceptable results.

Lorenzo Majno, business development manager, Instron Corporation, says that E 2443 will be useful in verifying testing software for tensile, compression, and flexural testing. "Basically the standard is applicable to any software associated with mechanical testing for now, but one can imagine applications beyond testing," says Majno.

Majno states that any laboratory concerned about accuracy, verification and traceability will benefit from use of E 2443. Companies that will find the standard useful are those that might outsource testing and want to ensure the system on which their testing is performed meets a certain level of conformance. "A company could say to a contract test lab, ’I want you to test my plastic materials, but send me proof that the machines you use meet ASTM E 2443,’" says Majno.

Majno says E08.03 is seeking participation in the further development of Guide E 2443, particularly in the area of creating data sets for the standard. "The guide is an infrastructure, a way to use standard data sets to test software. We now need as many people as possible to understand and for ASTM task groups to step up and help generate data sets that they will attach to their standards," says Majno.

ASTM International standards are available for purchase from Customer Service (phone: 610/832-9585; https://www.astm.org/contact) or http://www.astm.org.

For further technical information, Lorenzo Majno, Instron Corporation, Norwood, Mass. (phone: 781/575-5241; lorenzo_majno@instron.com). Committee E08 will meet May 15-16, in conjunction with the Ninth International Fatigue Conference in Atlanta, Ga. For membership or meeting details, contact Jeffrey Adkins, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9738; jadkins@astm.org).

Release #7328