In this paper, stability results dedicated to sampled periodic systems are applied to a mechanical system whose stiffness exhibits quick variations: a hydraulic test bench used to achieve mechanical test on complex structures. To carry out this application, time-varying w transformation representation of sampled periodic systems are first introduced. An extension of the Nyquist Criterion to sampled periodic systems is then given. Finally, this theorem is applied to evaluate the stability degree of the hydraulic test bench controlled using CRONE control methodology