The most important standards for mechanical metals testing include:

ASTM E8 / ISO 6892-1: these standards establish the test methods for tensile strength, yield strength, strain and reduction of the cross-sectional area of metals. They define the procedure for tensile tests on standardized metal specimens at room temperature and enable the determination of important mechanical properties. The ASTM E21 / ISO 6892-2 standards define the tensile test on metals at high temperatures.

ASTM E23 / ISO 148-1: these standards cover the Charpy impact test method for metals. The test measures the strength and resistance of a material when subjected to impact loads.

ASTM E399 / ISO 12135:these standards establish the method for determination of the crack initiation and crack growth resistance properties of metals.

Hardness Tests on metals are described in standards ISO 6508 / ASTM E18 (Rockwell), ISO 6507 / ASTM E384 (Vickers), ASTM E92 (Vickers & Knoop) and ISO 6506, ASTM E10 (Brinell).