The force and the elongation of the sample are measured from start to finish. Stress and strain are the properties of the material that are reported. These are presented on an XY plot called the stress strain curve.

Tensile strength testing is one of the most common mechanical testing methods. It is used to determine the behavior of a sample while an axial stretching load is applied. These types of tests may be performed under ambient or controlled (heating or cooling) conditions to determine the tensile properties of a material.

A variety of materials including metals, plastics, elastomers, paper, composites, rubbers, fabrics, adhesives, & films can be analyzed using tensile testing.

This type of test is commonly used to determine the maximum load (tensile strength) that a material or a product can withstand. Tensile testing may be based on a load value or elongation value.

Common tensile testing results include:

• Deflection of Maximum Load
• Maximum Load
• Work at Maximum Load
• Load at Break
• Stiffness
• Deflection at Break
• Work at Break
• Chord Slope
• Stress
• Strain

More about the topic can be found here.