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IMPORTANT!!! PLEASE READ BELOW

Dear Charpy Machine Verification Program Customer,

The NIST Boulder campus has reopened in July 2020 on a part-time basis and until 

further notice. We are therefore able to receive and handle again packages containing

questionnaires and broken Charpy samples, however we still recommend electronic 

submission of your results following the instructions provided below, for faster and 

more efficient response.

We can provide remote evaluation of your indirect verification results, through the 

verification of your questionnaire and inspection of your test samples via high-quality 

digital pictures. 

After completing your tests, you are kindly requested to download the NIST fillable PDF 

questionnaire from https://www-s.nist.gov/srmors/questionnaires/2092.pdf. After saving 

the questionnaire, you can fill it out (please NOTE: filling it out first and then downloading 

it won’t work, as the field contents will be erased) and email it to us at charpy@nist.gov, 

along with digital pictures of your tested samples. Please note that the hyperlinked, 

fillable PDF questionnaire can be used for SRMs 2092, 2096, and 2098. 

For the photos, please: 

• Take photos of the specimens grouped or taped together (with transparent scotch

tape only, please) so that the marks left by the anvils are clearly visible and

can be examined, as in the examples shown below.

• Send photos of both specimen halves bearing anvil marks.

• The required minimum resolution for the digital photos is 1024 × 768.

• Specimens from different energy levels can either be grouped in the same picture

(as shown below), or photographed separately, i.e., low-energy in photo 1, highenergy in photo 2, and super-high energy in photo 3.

• Do not send pictures of individual specimens (we need to verify the alignment of

the anvil marks among the different specimens tested).

• Make sure that the specimens in the pictures are clearly identified (energy level

and lot number). This can be achieved in one of the following ways:

(a) Taking pictures of broken specimens together with the box(es) that contained

the samples when they were purchased (see example below).
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(b) Adding a label to the photo, indicating which lot pictured specimens come from

(see example below).

(c) Indicating the full lot id in the name of the electronic file(s), e.g., “LL-170.jpg”,

“HH-165.jpg”, “SH-51.jpg”, etc.

Again, what we need to examine in the photos are primarily the marks/indents created by 

the anvils on the specimens during the fracture process (see below). 

The required minimum resolution for the digital photos is 1024 × 768. 

ANVIL MARKS
Note that, if your pictures are not adequate for our evaluations, you may be asked to 

take them again. Once we receive the questionnaire and the digital photos by email, we 

will be able to evaluate your results and, if these are found acceptable, issue and email 

to you Verification Letters and Stickers according to ASTM E23 and/or ISO 148-2.

If you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact charpy@nist.gov. For 

technical questions, please email enrico.lucon@nist.gov. 

Enrico Lucon & Ray Santoyo

Charpy Machine Verification Program

NIST – Division 647

325 Broadway

Boulder, Colorado 80305-3337

NIST Charpy Website

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