The use of the small punch test to solve practical engineering problems

Two examples of the use of the Small Punch Test (SPT) to solve practical engineering problems are studied in this paper. The first is the mechanical characterization of powder metallurgical samples. In this case, the complex geometry of the samples does not allow the use of any other type of mechanical test, while knowledge of the mechanical properties of the sintered product before its use allows the modification of process parameters aimed at optimizing the product easily and economically. The second example is the mechanical characterization of the heat affected zone (HAZ) of a weld joint, which is currently difficult to characterize, except using hardness profiles. Application of the SPT to samples machined from the different HAZ subzones allows a precise description of the characteristic mechanical behavior of the different microstructures produced in the welding thermal cycle.