What term describes the act of determining the effect of a discontinuity on a part's usefulness?

The term that describes the act of determining the effect of a discontinuity on a part's usefulness is "evaluation." Evaluation involves assessing the significance of a defect or discontinuity and its potential impact on the performance, safety, and reliability of the component in question. This process is crucial for deciding whether a part can be used as is, requires repair, or must be discarded.

This is different from inspection, which primarily focuses on the act of examining or observing the part to identify any discontinuities or defects without necessarily assessing their impact. Interpretation involves drawing conclusions from test results, while determination generally refers to the process of establishing facts or conclusions, but not specifically the assessment of a part's functionality as related to discontinuities. Hence, evaluation captures the necessary comprehensive understanding of how a defect affects usability.