The elevated-temperature tension test gives a useful estimate of the ability of metals to withstand the application of applied tensile forces. Using established and conventional relationships it can be used to give some indication of probable behavior under other simple states of stress, such as compression, shear, etc. The ductility values give a comparative measure of the capacity of different materials to deform locally without cracking and thus to accommodate a local stress concentration or overstress; however, quantitative relationships between tensile ductility and the effect of stress concentrations at elevated temperature are not universally valid. A similar comparative relationship exists between tensile ductility and strain-controlled, low-cycle fatigue life under simple states of stress. The results of these tension tests can be considered as only a questionable comparative measure of the strength and ductility for service times of thousands of hours. Therefore, the principal usefulness of the elevated-temperature tension test is to assure that the tested material is similar to reference material when other measures such as chemical composition and microstructure also show the two materials are similar.