The test is of particular use in helping to determine storage stack height limits in the design phase, and maintain formulation quality once in production.

The test is undertaken to determine four factors:

• i) Crushing yield load (where an increase in deflection occurs with no further increase in load).
• ii) Crushing load at failure (the load required to produce a fracture or other ultimate material failure).
• iii) Deflection at crushing yield load (decrease in length of the specimen at the crushing yield load).
• iv) Apparent crushing stiffness (crushing load compared to deflection at a point on the linear part of the load-deflection curve).