Like tension stress/strain curves, compression tests also produce valuable physical data about a composite material. Instead of placing the sample into load cells and pulling on the material, it is compressed. Many times the stress vs. strain curve for a compression test will not mimic the form of a tensional test because the properties which cause a material to perform well under tension are not the same for compression. Compression tests tend to be characteristic of the pure polymer, while tension tests are more characteristic of the flaws in the material. A good example would be polystyrene, a fairly brittle polymer. Under tension, the polymer fails in a brittle-like fashion, but under compression the material behaves like a ductile polymer with a yield point and higher elongation till break.
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