ISO 20501:2003涵盖了单轴强度数据的报告和脆性失效高级陶瓷的概率分布参数的估计。将先进陶瓷的失效强度视为一个连续的随机变量。通常，许多具有明确几何形状的试样在明确定义的等温加载条件下发生失效。记录每个试样失效时的载荷。由此产生的破坏应力用于获得与潜在总体分布相关的参数估计。 ISO 20501:2003仅限于以下假设，即破坏强度的分布是具有尺寸缩放的双参数威布尔分布。此外，本国际标准仅限于主要承受单轴应力状态的试样（拉伸、弯曲、加压环等）。 测量失效时的强度有两个原因:一是比较两种材料的相对质量，二是预测相关结构的失效概率（或断裂强度）。 ISO 20501:2003允许对两种情况所需的分布参数进行估计。此外，本国际标准鼓励整合机械性能数据和断口分析。

ISO 20501:2003 covers the reporting of uniaxial strength data and the estimation of probability distribution parameters for advanced ceramics which fail in a brittle fashion. The failure strength of advanced ceramics is treated as a continuous random variable. Typically, a number of test specimens with well-defined geometry are brought to failure under well-defined isothermal loading conditions. The load at which each specimen fails is recorded. The resulting failure stresses are used to obtain parameter estimates associated with the underlying population distribution. ISO 20501:2003 is restricted to the assumption that the distribution underlying the failure strengths is the two-parameter Weibull distribution with size scaling. Furthermore, this International Standard is restricted to test specimens (tensile, flexural, pressurized ring, etc.) that are primarily subjected to uniaxial stress states. Measurements of the strength at failure are taken for one of two reasons: either for a comparison of the relative quality of two materials, or the prediction of the probability of failure (or alternatively the fracture strength) for a structure of interest. ISO 20501:2003 permits estimates of the distribution parameters which are needed for either. In addition, this International Standard encourages the integration of mechanical property data and fractographic analysis.