Establishes tension testing of metallic materials at elevated temperature to determine yield strength, tensile strength, and ductility indicators, serving as the ASTM counterpart to ISO 6892-2 in many North American specifications.
ASTM E21
Revision: 2020
Material testing
Standard test methods for elevated temperature tension tests of metallic materials
Establishes tension testing of metallic materials at elevated temperature to determine yield strength, tensile strength, and ductility indicators, serving as the ASTM counterpart to ISO 6892-2 in many North American specifications.
Test method
Heated specimens are pulled while measuring force and extension; procedures define crosshead or strain-rate limits before and through yield (for example ±0.005 in./in./min near yield), thermocouple placement, and reporting in customary ASTM formats.
Specimen requirements
Specimen dimensions and tolerances follow ASTM practice (inch and SI variants); gauge-section temperature mapping and allowable gradients are specified. High-temperature furnaces, alignment, and extensometry are required; grip heating and soak times must be controlled.
Compatible equipment
ASTM E21 covers the same elevated-temperature tensile problem as ISO 6892-2 but follows ASTM International conventions for specimen geometry, thermocouple layout, and speed control wording. Projects that cite E21 expect reports compatible with other ASTM metals methods such as ASTM E8/E8M.
Key differences from ISO 6892-2 include explicit strain-rate limits approaching yield, inch-pound reporting options, and ASTM tolerance tables for specimen preparation. Method A/B naming in ISO is replaced by ASTM procedural clauses tied to crosshead or strain control.
Hardware mirrors ISO elevated-temperature setups: a universal testing machine, furnace, temperature control, and high-temperature extensometer. Vector integrates these elements on frames with environmental chambers so elevated-temperature programmes remain traceable alongside room-temperature ISO 6892-1 workflows.