First, I&#x27;m not doing structural design, so maybe someone will wander by with a better answer. Anyway, it&#x27;s probably overly simplistic, but passing the load test would involve surviving the maximum expected load with zero damage. Implying that lesser loads would also never do damage.<p>In reality, cyclic fatigue is also considered.<p>This seems like a nice discussion that shows the complexity:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.coe.montana.edu&#x2F;me&#x2F;faculty&#x2F;cairns&#x2F;Introduction%20to%20Aerospace-Web&#x2F;04-DesignPhilosophy.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.coe.montana.edu&#x2F;me&#x2F;faculty&#x2F;cairns&#x2F;Introduction%20...</a>