In recent years rapid advances have been made in materials technology, and the trend is set to continue with substantial investments being made by countries world-wide in materials development, processing and applications. The use of modern materials pervades all of industry and has a strong influence on its competitiveness. However, to convert these materials into competitive engineering products, the designer requires access to appropriate design methodologies that specify material property requirements. The need for reliable design data generated using validated and widely recognized measurement methods then becomes crucial. Furthermore, quantitative assessment of materials behaviour and performance is essential to achieve quality and reliability of products. Materials measurements have an important and widespread impact. This is illustrated in Fig. 9.1, which shows that the demand for the development of new or improved measurement methods originates from materials producers to enable them to provide reliable data that the market needs. There is also demand for data from users of materials so that products can be made and supplied to the market with a reliable expectation of performance.