This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining shear behaviour. It is applicable to thermal insulating products. NOTE The tests described in this standard do not determine pure shear behaviour, but measure the effects of applying two opposite parallel forces to the major faces of the test specimen. The test is however called shear in this text by convention. The application of a force tangentially to the major surface of the test specimen is considered to represent more closely the stresses imposed upon thermal insulation products in many building applications, particularly walls, than other methods of measuring shear performance e. g. bending tests.