The Charpy impact test is a standardized high strain-rate test which determines the amount of energy absorbed by a material during fracture.
This absorbed energy is a measure of a given material's toughness and acts as a tool to study brittle-ductile transition. It is widely applied in industry, since it is easy to prepare and conduct and results can be obtained quickly and cheaply. But a major disadvantage is that all results are only comparative.
The qualitative results of the fracture may be used to determine the toughness of the material. Also, this test may be done with the material at various temperatures to determine the brittle-ductile transition temperature.
