The flexural test is used for determining the strength and deformation properties of plastics under flexural three-point loading. This means that tensile, compressive and shear stresses occur in the test specimen; the shear stress effect can be kept at a low level by selecting a sufficiently high ratio of span to thickness of test specimen. The flexural test is used mainly for quality control and for determining the characteristics of materials. In comparing test results obtained with different plastics care should be taken to ensure that the dimensions and pretreatment of the test specimens and the test conditions are the same (for flexural test on Dynstat test specimens see DIN 53435).