D. K.

Singh

Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering

D. K. Singh
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University of
Technology, New Delhi, India

ISBN 978-981-99-1721-1 e-ISBN 978-981-99-1722-8

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive

license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024

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Dedicated to my parents, my wife Alka and my daughters Shivangi and
Shalvi.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere thanks to many people who have
helped in the publication of this book. First and foremost, my family,
who were always supportive of my work and asking about the date of
its publication. They made me always in high spirit and confidence. I
would also like to thank my publisher Springer for publishing this book
and incorporating all my suggestions for the betterment of the book.
Also, I am very much thankful to Ms. Priya Vyas, Senior Editor, for
taking keen interest in the book. My thanks are also due to all the
people connected to the production unit of this work.
I hope this book will prove to be very useful for all the readers in the
field of Mechanical Engineering.

D. K. Singh
Contents
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About the Author
Dr. D. K. Singh is a Professor and founder Head of Mechanical
Engineering Department at Netaji Subhas University of Technology
(NSUT), New Delhi, India. He obtained his B.Tech. degree in Mechanical
Engineering from National Institute of Technology (NIT) Patna, M.Tech.
degree from Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) Mesra, Ranchi, and
Ph.D. degree from Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU), Dehradun,
India. He has over 30 years of teaching and research experience. He has
contributed over 50 papers to various journals of national and
international repute and conferences. He has also authored many books
on Mechanical Engineering. Two of his books titled Strength of
Materials and Fundamentals of Manufacturing Engineering: Concepts
and Applications’ are published from Springer. His areas of research
include fluid and thermal sciences, mechanics of materials and
processes, operations management, and supply chain management. He
is a life member of the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE),
New Delhi.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_1

A
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

3PL An Operations Management term; see Third-Party Logistics.

4PL An Operations Management term; see Fourth-Party Logistics.

5S An Operations Management term; see Five S.

6σ An Operations Management term related to quality; see Six Sigma

Approach.

80/20 Rule An Operations Management term; see Pareto Analysis.

α-Particle A Physics term; see Alpha Particle.

β-Particle A Physics term; see Beta Particle.

γ-Alloy A Materials Engineering term; see Gamma-Alloy.

ABC Analysis An Operations Management term related to inventory;

a selective inventory control technique which uses Pareto principle to
classify the inventories into three categories: A, B, and C class items
based on the value of consumption of items; A group inventories include
high-valued items in small volume, represent about 10–20% of the total
inventory items but account for about 70–80% of the total inventory
cost (e.g. finished goods, the most expensive items); B group inventories
include medium-valued items in moderate volume, represent about
30% of the total inventory items but account for about 15–25% of the
total cost (e.g. semi-finished goods); C group inventories include low-
valued items in large volume, represent about 50–60% of the total
inventory items but account for only 5% of the total cost (e.g. spare
parts, the least expensive items); this analysis helps in identifying the
few items which are very expensive and require careful watch, scrutiny
and follow-up.

ABMA American Bearing Manufacturers Association; an American

professional body.

Abraham Harold Maslow (1908–1970) A prominent humanistic

psychologist who proposed the famous ‘Need-hierarchy theory’ of
motivation which is based on a hierarchy of five human needs, namely
physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization.

Abrasion A Manufacturing term; a process in which surfaces of a

material are subjected to continuous grinding, rubbing or gouging
action due to the presence of a foreign material.

Abrasive Water Jet Machining A Nonconventional Machining term,

abbreviated as AWJM; a nonconventional machining process which
uses a high-pressure abrasive-mixed water jet to remove materials from
a workpiece; offers high material removal rate as compared to water jet
machining (WJM); can cut metallic, non-metallic, and advanced
composite materials of various thicknesses; particularly suitable for
heat sensitive materials, hence is widely used in aerospace, automotive,
and electronic industries.

Abrasive Wear A Manufacturing term; a type of wear which occurs

when a rough, hard surface slides on a softer surface; appears in the
form of grooves on the softer surface; see also Adhesive Wear and
Corrosive Wear.

Absolute Coefficient of Viscosity A Fluid Mechanics term;

see Dynamic Viscosity.
Absolute Entropy A Thermodynamics term; the entropy determined
relative to the absolute zero temperature (0 K).

Absolute Error A Metrology term; the magnitude of the difference

between the arithmetic mean and the individual measured value of a
physical quantity; given as:

where are the measured values of a physical quantity and

is their arithmetic mean, given as:

Absolute Humidity A Thermodynamics term related to

psychrometry; see Specific Humidity.

Absolute Pressure A Fluid Mechanics term; the total pressure

exerted on a system including atmospheric pressure; equals to the sum
of gauge pressure and atmospheric pressure; see also Gauge Pressure
and Vacuum.

Absolute Temperature A Thermodynamics term; the temperature

measured on the Kelvin scale; based on a hypothetical absolute zero
temperature at which matter is devoid of all thermal energy.

Absolute Viscosity A Fluid Mechanics term; see Dynamic Viscosity.

Absolute Zero Temperature A Thermodynamics term; see Absolute

Zero.
Absolute Zero A Thermodynamics term; also called Absolute Zero
Temperature; a temperature of zero on the Kelvin scale (0 K); the
temperature at which all the molecular motion ceases, according to the
kinetic theory of gases; the lowest conceivable temperature, and the
temperatures lower than this are not defined.

Absorption Dynamometer A Theory of Machines term; a type of

dynamometer in which work done by a prime mover under test is
converted into heat by friction and gets absorbed during measurement;
particularly useful for measuring power or torque developed by power
sources such as engines or electric motors; examples include Prony brake
dynamometer and rope brake dynamometer; see also Transmission
Dynamometer.

Absorption A Thermodynamics term; a process to absorb, especially

heat; the transfer of one or more constituents from a gaseous mixture
to a liquid, where the absorbed material may dissolve physically or
react chemically; see also Adsorption.

Absorptivity A Heat Transfer term; a radiation property of the

surface of a body which enables it to absorb a fraction of the radiation
energy incident on it; depends on the temperature and the wavelength
of the radiation; denoted by α (alpha); its value lies between 0 and 1;
see also Emissivity.

AC An Electrical term; see Alternating Current.

Acceleration due to Gravity A Physics term; the force of gravity

which acts on unit mass of a body placed on or near the surface of the
earth; the acceleration set up in a body when it falls freely under the
effect of gravity alone; a vector quantity which acts towards the centre
of the earth; independent of shape, size, and mass of a body, but
depends upon mass and radius of the earth; for example, two bodies of
different masses, when allowed to fall from the same height in vacuum,
will reach the earth at the same time; has maximum value at the surface
of the earth (9.81 ms−2), and becomes zero at the centre of the earth;
decreases with both height and depth (the rate of decrease with height
is twice as compared to that with depth); denoted by g; given as:
where

G = universal gravitational constant = 6.67 × 10–11 N.m2.kg−2

M = mass of the earth
R = radius of the earth.

Acceleration A Physics term; the time rate of change of velocity; a

ratio of the change in velocity to the time taken; a vector quantity
having the direction of velocity; denoted by a; given as:

Acceptance Sampling A Quality Control term; a statistical quality

control technique used to decide the acceptance or rejection of a
shipment of input or output.

Accreditation A Management term; a certification issued by a duly

recognized body regarding the facilities, capability, competence, and
integrity of any agency, service or operational group or individual to
provide the specific service(s) or operation(s) needed; NBA in India
provides accreditation to educational institutions.

Accuracy A Metrology term; the closeness of the measured value of a

physical quantity with its true value; used in conjunction with precision;
see also Precision.

Acetone A Chemistry term; a liquid chemical having the chemical

formula CH3–CO–CH3 (dimethyl ketone); has the property of absorbing
or dissolving many times of its own volume of acetylene.

Acetylene A Chemistry term; a triple-bonded unsaturated

hydrocarbon discovered by Edmund Davy (1785–1857) in the beginning
of the nineteenth century; has the chemical formula C2H2; the most
widely used of all the fuel gases; finds extensive applications in
oxyacetylene welding, heating, and cutting; produced by the chemical
reaction between calcium carbide (CaC2) and hot water (H2O).

Acheson Process A Chemistry term; a chemical process used to

produce graphite artificially in large amounts; involves strong heating
of a mixture of silica (SiO2) and powdered anthracite (or coke) in an
electric furnace continuously for 24–30 hr., which results in the
formation of silicon carbide (SiC) which decomposes into graphite and
silicon, the latter volatilizes off leaving behind graphite.

Acidic Flux A Chemistry and a Welding term; a flux used to remove

basic impurities like lime (CaO) or metallic oxides (FeO, MnO, etc.)
present in an ore; a few examples include silica (SiO2) and borax
(Na2B4O7.10H2O); see also Basic Flux.

Acidic Refractories A Materials Engineering term; refractories

which readily combine with bases; silica is their main constituent; a few
examples include quartz, sand, and silica brick; see also Basic
Refractories and Neutral Refractories.

Acoustic Velocity A Fluid Mechanics term; see Sonic Velocity.

Acoustic-Emission Inspection A Materials Engineering term; see

Acoustic-Emission Testing.

Acoustic-Emission Testing A Materials Engineering term; also called

Acoustic-Emission Inspection; a nondestructive testing in which
defects are monitored as a result of ultrasonic emissions caused by
stressing the flawed material.

Acquisition Cost An Operations Management term; the cost of

purchasing or producing a unit of a material or product.

Activated Alumina A Materials Engineering term; also called

Gamma-Al2O3 (γ-Al2O3); an oxide of aluminium (Al2O3); one of the
two common anhydrous forms of alumina in which it exists in nature;
readily dissolves in acids; finds use in column chromatography; see also
Corundum.

Activated Charcoal A Chemistry term; an amorphous allotropic and

active form of carbon; obtained by heating all other forms of charcoal at
1000 °C in a current of superheated steam to eliminate their pores
which contain impurities such as residual hydrocarbons, oxygen, etc.,
thus making the resulting charcoal more active.

Active Pressure A Civil Engineering term; a horizontal earth pressure

exerted by a soil mass against some restraining structures such as a
basement wall or a retaining wall; see also Passive Pressure.

Activity Chart A Motion Study term; also called Man–Machine Chart

or Worker–Machine Chart or Operator–Machine Chart; a chart used
to study and improve the utilization of an operator (worker) and a
machine or some combinations of operators (a crew) and machines;
helpful for minimizing worker and machine delay and for determining
the optimal number of machines assigned per worker.

Activity List A Project Management term; a list which contains all the
activities in a project.

Activity A Project Management term; indicates the smallest unit of a

work which consumes time, labour and material resources for its
completion; see also Event.

Activity-on-Arc Network A Project Management term; see AOA

Network.

Activity-on-Arrow Network A Project Management term; see AOA

Network.

Activity-on-Node Network A Project Management term; see AON

Network.

Actuator A Mechatronics term; a device used to transfer electrical,

pneumatic or hydraulic energy into mechanical energy that moves or
displaces something; a device which converts fluid pressure into
mechanical motion for the purpose of moving a load.

Acute Triangle A Mathematics term; also called Acute-Angled

Triangle; a triangle whose all the angles are acute, that is, less than 90°;
see also Obtuse Triangle.

Acute-Angled Triangle A Mathematics term; see Acute Triangle.

Adam Smith A famous economist who introduced the ‘division of

labour’ in his book ‘The Wealth of Nations’ in 1776 to enhance a
worker’s productivity, which later became part of scientific
management.

Adaptive Forecasting An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; see Exponential Smoothing Method.

Addendum Circle A Theory of Machines term related to gear; a circle

passing through the tips of all the gear teeth; its standard diameter
equals to the pitch circle diameter plus 2 modules; see also Dedendum
Circle.

Addendum A Theory of Machines term related to gear; the radial

distance between the top land and the pitch circle of the gear or the
height of a gear tooth above the pitch circle; has the standard value of
one module; see also Dedendum.

Addition Polymerization A Chemistry term; also called Chain-

Growth Polymerization; a polymerization process in which the
molecules of the same or different monomers add together to form a
large polymer molecule; unsaturated organic compounds undergo
addition polymerization; a few examples include the formation of
polyethylene from ethylene and the formation of polyvinyl chloride (pvc)
from vinyl chloride; see also Condensation Polymerization.

Additive A Materials Engineering term; a material added to a

polymer or other material to provide specific characteristics.
Adhesive Bonding A Joining term; a process of joining materials by
means of an adhesive; the bond is due to molecular attraction between
adhesive and the workpiece; useful to join metals with non-metals,
plastics, or composites.

Adhesive Force A Physics term; also called Force of Adhesion; the

intermolecular force acting between molecules of different substances;
does not obey the inverse square law of forces; increases rapidly with
decrease in distance between the molecules (varies inversely as the
seventh power of the distance between the molecules); a few examples
include wetting of the surface of a glass container by water, writing
impression left over by a lead pencil (graphite) on a paper, and glueing of
two surfaces with the use of fevicol, cement, etc.; see also Cohesive
Force.

Adhesive Wear A Manufacturing term; a type of wear which occurs

when two smooth surfaces slide over each other and the fragments are
pulled off from one surface and adhere to another; see also Abrasive
Wear and Corrosive Wear.

Adhesive A Chemistry term; a polymeric material used to join

polymers, metals, ceramics, composites or combinations of these
materials; finds applications in areas such as automotive, aerospace,
appliance, electronics, construction, and sporting equipment.

Adiabatic Compression A Thermodynamics term; a compression

process which does not involve any heat transfer; see also Isentropic
Compression.

Adiabatic Expansion A Thermodynamics term; an expansion process

which does not involve any heat transfer; see also Isentropic
Expansion.

Adiabatic Process A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic

process which does not allow heat transfer through a system (neither
heat addition nor heat rejection); see also Isentropic Process.
Adiabatic Wall A Thermodynamics term; a wall which does not allow
the flow of heat across it; see also Diathermal Wall.

Adjacent Sides A Mathematics term; any two sides starting or

originating from the same initial point, (called vertex); see also
Opposite Sides.

Adsorption A Thermodynamics term; the removal of impurities from

a gas stream by concentration on the surface of a solid or liquid, where
the substance that concentrates at the surface is termed adsorbate and
the material on the surface of which the adsorption takes place is called
adsorbent; see also Absorption.

Aerodynamics A Fluid Mechanics term; the study of the effect of air

flow on bodies; finds extensive applications in the design of an aircraft.

Aerofoil A Fluid Mechanics term; a streamlined body that is designed

to produce a streamlined flow pattern, when placed in the free stream
of a fluid.

Aerosol A Chemistry term; a colloidal system in which the dispersion

medium is a gas and the dispersed phase is a solid or liquid which is
usually smaller than 50 micron in size.

AEV An Electric Vehicle term; see Battery Electric Vehicle.

AF An IC Engine term; see Air–Fuel Ratio.

Agate A Chemistry term; one of the three naturally occurring

amorphous forms of silica (SiO2), other two include Jasper and Onyx.

Aggregate Plan An Operations Management term; a statement which

shows the production rates, the work-force levels, and the inventory
holdings based on the estimates of customer requirements and capacity
limitations of a production system.

Aggregate Planning An Operations Management term; see

Aggregate Production Planning.
Aggregate Production Planning An Operations Management term,
abbreviated as APP; also called simply Aggregate Planning; a
production plan which helps to arrive at the quantity and timing of
resources to be made available to a production system to ensure
continuous flow of goods and services to customers; serves the critical
role of translating the business plans and strategic intent to operational
decisions.

AGMA The short form of American Gear Manufacturers Association;

an American professional body which is the responsible authority for
the dissemination of knowledge pertaining to the design and analysis of
gearing.

AGV A Manufacturing term; see Automatic Guided Vehicle.

AI See Artificial Intelligence.

Air Preheater A Power Plant term related to a boiler; an important

boiler accessory used to extract (absorb) heat from the hot flue gases in
the furnace (going as waste) and use it to preheat the air required for
combustion; increases the overall boiler efficiency by 5–10%.

Air Standard Cycle A Thermodynamics term; a theoretical

thermodynamic cycle used in the analysis of internal combustion
engines such as petrol, diesel and semi-diesel engines or gas turbine
engines; a closed cycle which uses air as the working fluid (treated as
an ideal gas), and all the processes used in the cycle are reversible; a
few examples include Otto, Diesel, Dual, and Brayton cycles.

Air-Cooled Condenser A Power Plant term; a condenser which uses

air as the condensing medium; see also Water-Cooled Condenser and
Evaporative Condenser.

Air-Dried Moulding A Casting term; a moulding method in which

the surface of a sand mould is dried by leaving the mould in the air.

Air–Fuel Ratio An IC Engine term; abbreviated as AF; a ratio of the

mass of air to the mass of fuel; see also Fuel–Air Ratio.
AISI Short form of American Iron and Steel Institute; an American
Professional body.

Alclad A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of aluminium (Al)

formed of a thin layer coating (approx. 5% of the thickness) of pure
aluminium or copper-free aluminium alloys over duralumin; produced
by Alcoa in the form of sheets and plates; has high corrosion resistant.

All-Electric Vehicle An Electric Vehicle term, abbreviated as AEV; see

Battery Electric Vehicle.

Allotropy A Chemistry term; the phenomenon of existence of an

element in two or more forms which have different physical properties,
but identical chemical properties; for example, carbon (C) exists in both
crystalline and amorphous allotropic forms, where carbon’s crystalline
allotropic forms include diamond, graphite, and fullerene, whereas its
amorphous allotropic forms include coke, charcoal, and lamp black.

Allowance Time A Time Study term; also called Fraction Time: the
fraction of time added to the normal time for a job to calculate its
standard time; factors such as worker’s fatigue, rest periods or
unavoidable delays during working period are included in allowance
time, and each is about 20–30% of normal time.

Allowance A Design term; the minimum stated clearance or the

maximum stated interference for the mating parts; see also Clearance
and Interference.

Alloy Steel A Materials Engineering term; a ferrous material which

contains alloying elements in substantial amounts other than carbon to
modify its properties substantially; addition of alloying elements not
only overcomes the deficiencies and limitations of plain carbon steels,
but also improves their other properties so as to make them extremely
useful for industrial applications; classified into low alloy and high alloy
steels, depending upon less than or more than 10% alloy content; a
typical example includes stainless steel.
Alloy A Chemistry term; a material made of two or more elements,
one of which is a metal; has properties different from its constituents;
has metallic characteristics; steel is an alloy of iron (Fe) and carbon (C).

Alloyed Cast Iron A Materials Engineering term; the cast iron

obtained by adding alloying elements such as chromium, copper, nickel,
and molybdenum in various proportions.

Alpha Error A Quality Control term; see Type I Error.

Alpha Particle A Physics term, abbreviated as α-Particle; consists of

a large number of helium ions (He+2), each having two units of positive
charge and 4 times heavier than hydrogen (H) atoms; see also Beta
Particle.

Alpha Ray A Physics term; an electromagnetic radiation discovered

by Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937), a New Zealand physicist who is
known as the ‘father of nuclear physics’; emitted by radioactive
substances such as uranium (U), plutonium (Pu), and thorium (Th);
consist of helium (He) particles each having two units of positive charge
(He+2) and is 4 times as heavy as hydrogen (H) atom; moves with a very
high velocity of over 16,000 km/s; can ionize the gas through which it
passes; see also Beta Ray and Gamma Ray.

Alpha-Al2O3 (α-Al2O3) A Materials Engineering term; see

Corundum.

Alternating Current An Electrical term, abbreviated as AC; a type of

electrical current whose polarity changes in a fixed interval of time and
has positive and negative values alternatively; flows in one direction
during any half cycle and in reversed direction during the next half
cycle; see also Direct Current.

Altitude In triangle terms, the perpendicular drawn from any vertex

of a triangle to its opposite side; in mechanics terms, the height of an
object from the earth’s surface.
Alumina (Al2O3) A Chemistry term; an oxide of aluminium produced
by heating aluminium in oxygen; a white or nearly colourless
crystalline substance used as a starting material for smelting of
aluminium metal; two common forms of anhydrous alumina include α-
Al2O3 (also called Corundum) and γ-Al2O3 (also called Activated
Alumina).

Aluminium Bronze A Chemistry term; a heat-treatable copper-base

alloy containing up to 12% aluminium (Al) along with copper (Cu); has
better strength and improved corrosion resistance over brass.

Aluminum A Chemistry term; a metallic element having symbol Al

with atomic number 13; a bluish-white nonferrous metal having a
brilliant lustre which is soon destroyed due to formation of an oxide
layer; the most abundant (approx. 8.3% by mass) metal in the earth’s
crust, and also the third most abundant element in the earth’s crust
after oxygen (46.6%) and silicon (27.7%); very weak and soft in pure
form, but when mixed with small amounts of other alloying elements,
its tensile strength, yield strength and hardness can be increased; its
principal alloying elements include copper, silicon, manganese,
magnesium, and occasionally zinc, nickel and chromium; a very light
metal (specific gravity 2.7 as compared to iron’s specific gravity of 7.86,
thus making it lighter than iron by one-third for an equivalent volume);
melts at 659 °C and boils at 2450 °C; a malleable and ductile metal
which can be rolled into sheets, foils and wires; its important ores
include bauxite (Al2O3.H2O), cryolite (Na3AlF6), and corundum (Al2O3),
but is generally extracted from bauxite; pure aluminium is not affected
by pure water, but impure form is readily corroded by water containing
salts; being lighter in weight, it finds use in making household utensils,
aeroplane parts, and precision and surgical instruments; also used
extensively in paint as a paint pigment and for transporting nitric acid
(HNO3) as it is not attacked by nitric acid; generally replaces steel and
cast iron, where there is a strong need for light weight, corrosion
resistance, low maintenance cost or high thermal and electrical
conductivity; also used in making body parts, engine blocks, pistons,
manifolds and transmission cases in modern motor vehicles in order to
ensure fuel economy because of its low weight; its important alloys
include duralumin, alclad, and γ-alloy.

Ambient Temperature A Thermodynamics term; also called Sink

Temperature; the temperature (usually of the air) surrounding an
operating system; the lowest temperature in the surroundings.

Amethyst A Chemistry term; a coloured (purple) variety of quartz

used as a gem; see also Jasper and Opal.

Ammonia A Chemistry term; also called Azane; an inorganic

compound of nitrogen and hydrogen having molecular formula NH3;
industrially produced by Haber process; a colourless gas with a
characteristic pungent smell and is both caustic and hazardous;
extensively used in the manufacture of HNO3 and important fertilizers
such as ammonium sulphate, urea, calcium ammonium nitrate,
ammonium calcium phosphate; also used as a cleaning agent; a widely
used refrigerant for industrial applications in ice plants, large cold
storage, and skating rinks.

Amorphous Materials A Materials Engineering term; also called

Noncrystalline Materials; the materials which do not have a regular
periodic arrangement of constituent atoms; for example, glass and clay;
see also Crystalline Materials.

Amorphous A Chemistry term; an atomic structure in which atoms

are not orderly arranged; similar to noncrystalline structure.

Amplifier An Electronics term; a device used to increase electrical

current.

Amplitude A Physics term; the distance between the equilibrium

position (the mean position) and an extreme position of an oscillation
which represents the maximum displacement.

amu A Chemistry term; see Atomic Mass Unit.

Analog-to-Digital Converter An Electrical term, abbreviated as ADC;
the conversion of an analog signal to a digital quantity such as binary;
see also Digital-to-Analog Converter.

Andon An Operations Management term; a warning light system

installed at each assembly line of the workstation; used as a visible
control technique in total quality control (TQC); uses different colours to
signify the different types of assistance and support required at the
workstation; for example, green colour indicates that the assembly line
has no problem, red colour indicates the machine breakdown, white
colour indicates the end of a production run, blue colour indicates
about a defective unit, and yellow colour indicates about the
requirement of a set-up; when an Andon light glows, the nearby
operators quickly move to assist and solve the problem.

Aneroid Barometer A Fluid Mechanics term; a mechanical device

used to measure relatively low pressures using the elastic deformation
of a corrugated diaphragm; see also Bourdon Gauge.

Angle of Action A Cam and Follower term; the sum of the angle of
ascent, angle of descent, and angle of dwell; see also Angle of Ascent,
Angle of Dwell, and Angle of Descent.

Angle of Ascent A Cam and Follower term; the angle moved by the
cam from the instant the follower begins to rise till it reaches its highest
position; see also Angle of Descent, Angle of Dwell, and Angle of
Action.

Angle of Contact A Fluid Mechanics term; the angle made inside a

liquid between the tangent to the solid surface and the tangent to the
liquid surface at the point of contact between solid and liquid; its value
for contact between pure water and clean glass is zero, for contact
between ordinary water and glass is about 8°, for contact between
water and silver is 90° and for contact between mercury and glass is
135°.

Angle of Descent A Cam and Follower term; the angle moved by the
cam during which the follower returns to its initial position; see also
Angle of Ascent, Angle of Dwell, and Angle of Action.

Angle of Dwell A Cam and Follower term; the angle moved by the
cam during which the follower remains in the highest position; see also
Angle of Ascent, Angle of Descent, and Angle of Action.

Angle of Friction A Physics term; the angle which the resultant of the
force of limiting friction and the normal reaction between any two
surfaces in contact makes with the direction of normal reaction; equals
to the angle of repose; its tangent is equal to the coefficient of static
friction; see also Angle of Repose.

Angle of Obliquity A Theory of Machines term related to gear; see

Pressure Angle.

Angle of Repose A Physics term; also called Angle of Sliding; the

minimum angle of inclination of a plane with the horizontal, such that a
body placed over it just begins to slide down; equals to the angle of
friction; its tangent is equal to the coefficient of static friction; see also
Angle of Friction.

Angle of Sliding A Physics term; see Angle of Repose.

Angle Section A Strength of Materials term; one of the most

commonly used cross sections of structural members; resembles the
capital English alphabet L.

Angle A Mathematics term; a geometrical figure formed by two line

segments originating from the same initial point, called vertex of the
angle; a ratio of the arc length to the radius of a circular sector; denoted
by the symbols such as θ (theta), φ (phi), ψ (psi), α (alpha), β (beta), γ
(gamma), δ (delta), and others; usually measured in degree; has no
unit.

Angular Acceleration A Physics term; the time rate of change of

angular velocity of a body; a vector quantity denoted by α (alpha); the SI
unit is rad/s2; the relationship between linear acceleration (a) and
angular acceleration (α) is given as:
where

r = radius of the circular path.

Angular Deformation A Strength of Materials term; the deformation

related to change in the angular position of a solid body on being
subjected to an external force; see also Linear Deformation and
Lateral Deformation.

Angular Displacement A Physics term; the angle traced by the

radius vector of a body moving around a circular path at its centre in a
given time; a vector quantity whose direction depends upon the sense
of rotation of the body, and is given by the right-hand rule; usually
denoted by (theta), and is expressed in radian (rad).

Angular Distortion A Strength of Materials term; see Shearing

Strain.

Angular Frequency A Physics term; also called Circular Frequency;

the frequency connected to the rotation of a body; the product of cyclic
frequency (n) of oscillation of a body executing periodic motion with a
factor 2π (2πn) or (where T is the time period of oscillation);
denoted by ω (Omega); the SI unit is rad/s; see also Cyclic Frequency.

Angular Momentum A Physics term; also called Moment of

Momentum or Rotational Momentum; a property of a rotating body;
the rotational analog of linear momentum; equals to the product of
moment of inertia (I) and the angular velocity (ω) of a rigid body about
the axis of rotation; a vector quantity whose direction is given by the
right-handed screw rule or the right hand thumb rule; see also Linear
Momentum.

Angular Velocity A Physics term; the time rate (dt) of change of

angular displacement (dθ) of a body; a vector quantity whose direction
is same as that of dθ; the SI unit is rad/s; denoted by omega (ω); given
as:
Animal Charcoal A Chemistry term; also called Bone Black; an
amorphous allotropic form of carbon obtained by destructive
distillation of animal bones which involves strong heating in the
absence of air; consists of approximately 10% of carbon and remaining
calcium phosphate.

Anion A Chemistry term; a negatively charged ion which results due

to addition of an electron to a neutral atom or molecule; a few examples
include chlorine ion (Cl−1), oxygen ion (O−2), and carbonate ion (CO3−2);
see also Cation.

Anisotropic Material A Materials Engineering term; also called Non-

Isotropic Material; does not exhibit uniform properties in all
directions; see also Isotropic Material.

Anisotropic A Materials Engineering term; the characteristics of

having properties (of a material) varying with direction; for example,
materials which are single crystals or in which many grains are
oriented along a certain direction (occurring naturally or deliberately)
have anisotropic mechanical, optical, magnetic, and dielectric
properties; see also Isotropic.

Annealing A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; a

process of heating a metal above the critical temperature and leaving it
in the furnace to cool slowly; offers many changes in the metal like
removes stresses, induces softness for better machining properties,
refines crystalline structure, and changes ductility, toughness or
electrical, magnetic or other physical properties of the metal.

Anode An Electrical term; the negative terminal of a power source

(battery) and the positive terminal of an electrolytic cell; see also
Cathode.

Anodic Reaction A Chemistry term; the oxidation reaction which

occurs at the anode in an electrochemical cell; see also Cathodic
Reaction.

Anthracite Coal A Chemistry term; the purest type of coal which

contains about 95% of carbon; used as a reducing agent in
metallurgical processes and for the manufacture of graphite.

Anticipation Inventory An Operations Management term; the

inventory which is in demand at some specific periods of time and not
required throughout the year, and its demand is accordingly anticipated
and met; a few examples include inventory of fans, air conditioners, and
air-coolers before the start of summer; see also Buffer Inventory, Cycle
Inventory, and Movement Inventory.

Anticlockwise Moment A Physics term; see Counterclockwise

Moment.

Anti-Friction Bearing A Design term; also called Rolling Contact

Bearing; a bearing which offers very little friction, much less than the
sliding friction; consists of rolling elements such as balls, cylinders or
cones placed between an inner race and an outer race, and has a
separator that prevents the rolling elements from rubbing up against
one another; involves rolling friction between the moving components;
the most commonly employed bearing used in bicycle wheels, robotic
joints, and automobile transmissions; see also Journal Bearing.

Antoine Chezy (1718–1798) A French engineer who is known for

the Chezy equation, one of the oldest equations used in the area of fluid
mechanics; designed a canal for the Paris water supply system;
formulated similarity parameter for predicting flow characteristics of
one channel from measurements on another.

Anvil A Manufacturing term; the most commonly used forging tool

used to support a workpiece during its shaping; usually supported on a
wooden block or a cast iron stand; made of wrought iron or cast steel.

AOA Network A Project Management term which stands for Activity-

on-Arc Network or Activity-on-Arrow Network; an event-oriented
network diagram approach in which activities are shown on the arcs
(or arrows) between two nodes (or circles) which represent activity’s
start or completion time; used in program evaluation and review
technique (PERT); see also AON Network.

AON Network A Project Management term which stands for Activity-

on-Node Network; an activity-oriented network diagram approach in
which activities and activity times are represented by nodes (circles)
and the arrows (also called branches) between the nodes indicate the
precedence relationships between activities; used in critical path
method (CPM); see also AOA Network.

AOQ A Quality Control term; see Average Outgoing Quality.

AOQL A Quality Control term; see Average Outgoing Quality Limit.

APF A Materials Engineering term; see Atomic Packing Factor.

APICS The short form of American Production and Inventory Control

Society; an American professional body.

APP An Operations Management term; see Aggregate Production

Planning.

Apparent Viscosity A Fluid Mechanics term; the viscosity of a fluid

which depends on the shear rate; for example, most non-Newtonian
fluids have apparent viscosities; relatively high as compared to the
viscosity of water.

Appraisal Cost A Quality Management term; a part of cost of quality

associated with evaluation of quality; includes costs of inspection,
testing, and other related tasks to ensure that the products or processes
are acceptable; see also Prevention Cost.

Apron A Lathe term; a principal part of a lathe which houses the

gears and controls for the carriage and feed mechanism.

Arc Voltage A Welding term; the voltage generated between the

electrode and the workpiece during a welding operation.
Arc Welding A Welding term; a fusion welding process which uses
heat of an arc produced between two electrodes or between the
workpiece and an electrode for joining the parts; the temperature
produced may be 6000–7000 °C; produces stronger joints because of
higher temperatures involved, and hence finds extensive applications;
classified into shielded metal arc, submerged arc, electroslag, electrogas,
and atomic hydrogen welding processes; see also Gas Welding.

Arc A Welding term; see Electric Arc.

Archimedes (287–212 B.C.) A Greek mathematician and inventor

who established elementary principles of buoyancy and floatation used
in fluid mechanics.

Archimedes Principle A Fluid Mechanics term; named after the

Greek mathematician and philosopher Archimedes (287–212 BC) who
discovered and formulated the principle of buoyancy in the third
century BC; states that a solid body when immersed wholly or partially
in a fluid, experiences an upward buoyancy force equal to the weight of
the fluid displaced by the body; explains why a floating or sink body
appears lighter in weight, while it is under a fluid.

Area Moment of Inertia A Strength of Materials term; see Second

Moment of Area.

Area A Mathematics term; a measure of the two-dimensional space

that is enclosed by a shape.

Area-Moment Method A Strength of Materials term related to

deflection; see Moment-Area Method.

Arithmetic Mean A Statistics term; also called simply Mean; the

most common form of average which takes into account all the
numbers, but is affected by extreme values; may not be a whole number
even though each item is a whole number; the mean of n numbers from
x1 to xn can be mathematically expressed as:
Arthur M. Wahl A person who introduced the curvature correction
factor for helical springs; famous for his book ‘Mechanical Springs’
considered as the bible of spring design.

Artificial Diamond A Chemistry term; also called Synthetic

Diamond; a diamond first made artificially in 1955; one of its methods
of manufacturing is to subject graphite to a hydrostatic pressure of
14 GPa and a temperature of 3000 °C; has superior properties over
natural diamond as it does not contain impurities; used extensively as
abrasives for grinding and polishing for industrial applications; gem-
quality synthetic diamond has electrical conductivity 50 times higher
than that of natural diamond, and is 10 times more resistant to laser
damages; its possible applications are as heat sinks for computers, in
telecommunications, in the integrated circuit (IC) industries and as
windows for high-power lasers; see also Diamond.

Artificial Intelligence Abbreviated as AI; a process which uses

machines and computers to replace human intelligence; useful in
making decisions which optimize operations and minimize costs.

Artificial Satellite A Physics term; a man-made satellite which

revolves in an orbit around the earth or any other planet; see also
Natural Satellite.

AS 9100 A Quality Management term; a quality standard system

which stipulates the requirements for suppliers to an aerospace
industry; earlier known as AS 9000.

ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-

Conditioning Engineers; an American professional body.
ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers; an American
professional body.

ASRS An Operations Management term; see Automated Storage and

Retrieval System.

Assemble-to-Order An Operations Management term; also called

Build-to-Order; a manufacturing approach or strategy in which
products and services are produced in standard modules to which
options are added according to customer specifications; the
components are made-to-stock and then assembled to order after the
customer order comes; has the flexibility of varying the components of
the final assembly; no final product inventory exists as in case of make-
to-stock and the customer has limited input into the design of the
product; a few examples include computer systems, corporate training,
and industrial equipment; see also Make-to-Stock and Make-to-Order.

Assembly Chart An Operations Management term; the chart or table

which shows the various parts or components of a final product
requiring assembly while shaping the product.

Assembly Drawing A Machine Drawing term; the complete drawing

of a given machinery which indicates the relative positions of various
component parts assembled together; should not be overcrowded with
dimensions and dotted lines.

Assembly Line Technology An Operations Management term; a

process technology suitable for a narrow range of standardized
products in high volume (mass production); uses the product layout.

Assembly Line An Operations Management term related to facilities

planning; see Product Layout.

Assembly A Design term; a group of machined or handmade parts

that fit together to form one unit.

Assignable Variation A Statistics term; also called Special Cause

Variation; arises from external sources which are not inherent in the
process, appears sporadically and disrupts the random pattern of
common causes; can be traced to a specific reason and hence can be
explained or understood and can be eliminated; the potential sources of
assignable variations include machine wear, misadjusted equipment,
fatigued or untrained workers, or new batches of raw materials; see also
Natural Variation.

Assignment Method An Operations Research term; a linear

programming solution method used to assign jobs or personnel to
machines or departments.

Assignment Problem An Operations Research term; a special case

and a completely degenerate form of transportation problem in which
the objective is to assign a number of sources to the equal number of
destinations at a minimum cost.

Assumptions Applied for Simple Bending A Strength of Materials

term; include the following:
Beam’s material is isotropic and homogeneous.
Transverse section of the beam remains flat before and after bending.
Beam material’s modulus of elasticity remains the same in tension
and compression.
Radius of curvature of the bent beam is very large as compared to its
cross-sectional dimensions.
No resultant push or pull acts on the beam’s cross section.
Load on the beam acts in the plane of bending.

ASTM American Society of Testing Materials; an American

professional body.

Asymmetric Bending A Strength of Materials term; see

Unsymmetrical Bending.

Atkinson Cycle A Thermodynamics term; named after a British

engineer James Atkinson (1846–1914) who invented in 1882; an air-
standard cycle which consists of four reversible processes, namely
isentropic compression, constant volume heat addition, isentropic
expansion, and constant pressure heat rejection; uses variable engine
strokes (shorter compression stroke and longer expansion stroke) from a
complex crankshaft; has greater thermal efficiency than conventional
engines.

Atmospheric Air A Thermodynamics term; a mixture of dry air and

water vapour.

Atmospheric Pressure A Physics term; the normal pressure exerted

by atmospheric air upon all surfaces in contact; equals to a force of
10.13 N exerted by the gases on each square cm, which is considered as
1 atmosphere pressure, equivalent to 760 mm of Hg; varies with
altitude; pressure at a higher altitude is less, as air becomes rarer; the
atmospheric pressure is measured by a barometer; the standard
atmospheric pressure can be expressed in various units as given below:

Atom A Chemistry term; the smallest as well as a basic unit of a

chemical element which takes part in a chemical reaction; has a
spherical shape with a radius of 10–8 cm; composed of three
fundamental particles, namely electrons (negatively charged), protons
(positively charged) and neutrons (no charge); mass of an atom is
entirely due to the presence of protons and neutrons which are present
in its nucleus, whereas electrons move around the nucleus in different
orbits and are held in position by an electrostatic attraction; a few
examples include hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu);
an atom is electrically neutral as it contains equal number of electrons
and protons.
Atomic Disintegration A Chemistry term related to radioactivity; a
process of disintegration of an atom of a radioactive element; the rate of
decay is independent of temperature, pressure, or any external
conditions; the whole of the substance never disintegrates completely,
although its actual amount may become too small to be measured; the
time of complete disintegration of all radioactive elements is thus
infinity and does not carry any meaning; a half-life period is commonly
used to refer to a time span during which the radioactivity of the
element reduces to one-half of its original value.

Atomic Hydrogen Welding A Welding term; a fundamentally

different arc welding process which uses two nonconsumable tungsten
electrodes to produce the arc; the heat of the arc is not directly used for
welding as it happens in conventional arc welding processes, but is
used to break the molecules of hydrogen (H2) into atoms of hydrogen
(H), which recombine after coming out of the arc, producing large
amount of heat (temperature around 6000 °C) to be used for welding
purpose; does not require shielding atmosphere, as hydrogen itself
provides a shielding medium.

Atomic Mass Unit A Chemistry term, abbreviated as amu; the

fundamental unit of mass of an atom; approximately equals to the mass
of a proton or neutron (1.66 × 10−24 g).

Atomic Mass A Chemistry term; the mass of an individual atom

expressed in atomic mass unit (amu).

Atomic Number A Chemistry term: the number of protons in the

nucleus of an atom.

Atomic Packing Factor A Materials Engineering term, abbreviated as

APF; a ratio of the volume of atoms to the volume of unit cell of a crystal;
a measure of how dense a metal is; its higher value indicates a denser
metal; the bcc structure has the APF value of 0.68, the fcc structure has
the APF value of 0.74, and the hcp structure has the APF value of 0.74.

Atomic Radius A Chemistry term; the distance of the outermost

electron orbital from the atomic nucleus; a parameter used to measure
the size of an atom.

Attribute Characteristics A Statistics term; also called simply

Attributes; a product characteristic which can be measured with a
discrete response like yes or no, good or bad, success or failure, etc.; see
also Variable Characteristics.

Attributes A Statistics term; see Attribute Characteristics.

Audible Wave A Physics term; also called Sound Wave; the

longitudinal wave having frequency varying between 20 and 20,000 Hz,
and is audible; produced by vibrating bodies such as vocal cords
(human and animal voices), stretched strings (violin, guitar, etc.),
stretched membranes (drum, loudspeaker, etc.), air columns (flute,
clarinet, etc.), also produced by irregular motion of bodies like doors,
tree leaves, etc.; classified into musical sound waves and noise waves
depending on pleasing or irritating effect on the ear.

Audit Findings A Financial Management term; the findings or results

of the evaluation of the collected audit evidence against audit criteria;
can be positive, negative, or neutral.

Audit A Management term; a systematic, independent, and

documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it
objectively to determine the extent to which audit criteria are fulfilled.

Auditee A Financial Management term; a firm (company) which is

being audited.

Auditor A Financial Management term; an organization or a person

with the competence and authorization to conduct an audit.

Augustin Louis de Cauchy (1789–1857) A French engineer,

mathematician, and hydrodynamicist who contributed to the general
field of theoretical hydrodynamics and to the study of wave motion; well
known for the Cauchy number (a non-dimensional group) used in the
analysis of a compressible flow.
Austenite A Materials Engineering term; a solid solution of carbon or
iron-carbide in face-centered cubic gamma phase (γ) of iron or steel.

Austenitic Stainless Steel A Materials Engineering term; also called

Chromium-Nickel Steel; a corrosion-resistant ferrous alloy which
predominantly contains face-centered cubic (γ) phase of iron in which
chromium content varies between 16 and 26% and nickel between 3.5
and 22%.

Authority A Management term; the right in a position or the right of

a person occupying a position to exercise discretion in making
decisions affecting others.

Autocratic Leader A Management term; a person who commands

and expects compliance; he is dogmatic and positive, and leads by the
ability to withhold or give rewards and punishment; see also
Democratic Leader.

Autocratic Style A Management term; a method of functioning which

encourages a dictatorial way of doing the work; tends to centralize
authority, and limits employee participation.

Autogenous Joining A Joining term; see Autogenous Welding.

Autogenous Welding A Joining term; also called Autogenous

Joining; a welding process which does not use any filler metal; for
example, solid-state and resistance welding processes; see also
Homogeneous Welding and Heterogeneous Welding.

Autoignition An IC Engine term; the premature ignition of a fuel;

produces an audible noise, called engine knock.

Automated Assembly System An Operations Management term

related to automation; a production system of automated assembly
machines and automated materials handling equipment used to produce
major assemblies or completed products.
Automated Storage and Retrieval System An Operations
Management term related to automation; abbreviated as ASRS; an
automated system of receiving orders for materials, collecting the
materials, and delivering them to different workstations for various
operations.

Automatic Guided Vehicle A Manufacturing term, abbreviated as

AGV; a material handling system used in a flexible manufacturing
system (FMS) to move and transfer materials on different locations of
the manufacturing floor.

Automatic Transmission An Automobile term; a mechanism used in

automobiles to shift gears using a hydraulic torque converter; replaces
the clutch pedal found in manual transmission; allows the engine to
continue running when the vehicle comes to a stop; currently, in the
USA over 84% of the cars have automatic transmission; see also
Manual Transmission.

Automatic Welding A Welding term; a welding process which uses

automatic equipment to control the entire welding operation including
feed, speed, etc. without involving any human intervention.

Automation A Manufacturing term; a technological change which

involves the replacement of human efforts by mechanical devices; used
as a tool to gain competitive advantage through increased productivity
and improved quality; see also Soft Automation and Hard
Automation.

Autonomation An Operations Management term; the automatic

control of defects; the in-built capability of a machine to detect
abnormalities or defects in the parts and stop the production line when
defects or abnormalities occur; a tool to produce defect-free products
and eliminate the need for re-work.

Available Energy A Thermodynamics term; also called Exergy; the

energy which can be converted into work by some means (usually by
reversible engines); a few examples include kinetic energy, potential
energy, and work itself; internal energy and heat are partially available
energy as they are not convertible into work; see also Unavailable
Energy.

Average Outgoing Quality Limit A Quality Control term, abbreviated

as AOQL; the maximum average outgoing defectives leaving an
inspection process, as the actual percent defectives in lots vary; see also
Average Outgoing Quality.

Average Outgoing Quality A Quality Control term, abbreviated as

AOQ; the average percentage of outgoing defectives in lots leaving an
inspection process; see also Average Outgoing Quality Limit.

Average Speed A Physics term; a ratio of the total distance travelled

by an object to the total time taken by the object.

Avogadro’s Hypothesis A Chemistry term; see Avogadro’s Law.

Avogadro’s Law A Chemistry term; also called Avogadro’s

Hypothesis; named after an Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro (1776–
1856); states that equal volumes of all gases under similar conditions of
temperature and pressure contain equal number of molecules; see also
Avogadro’s Number.

Avogadro’s Number A Chemistry term, named after an Italian

scientist Amedeo Avogadro (1776–1856); indicates the number of
molecules in 1 mol of any substance; equals to 6.022 × 1023; see also
Avogadro’s Law.

AWJM A Nonconventional Machining term; see Abrasive Water Jet

Machining.

AWS American Welding Society; an American professional body.

Axial Flow Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a turbine in which a

fluid flows along the axis of the shaft of the turbine; for example, Pelton
turbine is an axial flow turbine; see also Radial Flow Turbine and
Mixed Flow Turbine.
Axial Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow which occurs along
the axis of the shaft of a turbine or pump; occurs in Pelton turbine; see
also Radial Flow and Mixed Flow.

Axial Force A Mechanics term; also called Axial Load; a force

directed along the axis of a member; produces either tension or
compression in the member; the truss members are subjected to axial
forces; the tension test is conducted using an axial force.

Axial Load A Mechanics term; see Axial Force.

Axial Strain A Strength of Materials term; see Longitudinal Strain.

Axial-Flow Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; a rotodynamic pump in

which a fluid enters and leaves axially, typically along the outer portion
of the pump because of blockage by the shaft, motor, hub, etc.; see also
Radial-Flow Pump and Centrifugal Pump;

Axially Loaded Members A Strength of Materials term; the

structural members (components) subjected to tension or compression
force only; solid bars with straight longitudinal axes are the most
common type; a few examples include truss members, connecting rods in
engines, spokes in bicycle wheels, and columns in buildings.

Axle A Design term; a nonrotating member which carries no torque;

used to support rotating wheels and pulleys.

Azane A Chemistry term; see Ammonia.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_2

B
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

B2B A Management term; see Business-to-Business.

B2C A Management term; see Business-to-Consumer.

Babbitt Metal A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of tin (Sn),

antimony (Sb), and copper (Cu) consisting of 90% Sn, 7% Sb, and 3%
Cu; used in making bearings for machinery.

Babcock and Wilcox Boiler A Power Plant term related to a boiler;

the most commonly used water tube boiler; categorized as an externally
fired high-pressure boiler which is horizontally placed, stationary, and
involves natural circulation; has high evaporative capacity and
produces steam at high pressures; occupies less space as compared to
fire tube boilers; see also Lancashire Boiler.

Back Order An Inventory Management term; an order which is

received at a time when there is no inventory in the stock but can be
fulfilled after the arrival of new stock; an indication of poor
management of the activities in the organization.

Backlash A Theory of Machines term related to gear; the amount by

which width of a tooth space exceeds thickness of the engaging tooth
measured on the pitch circles.

Backlog An Operations Management term; an accumulation of

customer orders which have been promised for delivery at some future
date.

Backorder Cost An Operations Management term; see Stockout

Cost.

Backward Extrusion A Manufacturing term; see Indirect

Extrusion.

Backward Scheduling An Operations Management term; another

method of job scheduling in which activities are scheduled once the due
date of a job is known; the final operation is scheduled first and then
steps within the job are scheduled in reverse order; by subtracting the
time needed for each item, the start time is obtained; used in
manufacturing environments, as well as service environments such as
catering a banquet or scheduling surgery; see also Forward Scheduling.

Badged Product A Financial Management term; an item bought in by

a company and then resold to others as its own product without
making any change; the product is often badged with the buyer’s name
so as to be considered its own product.

Bag House An Air Pollution term; an air pollution control device

which traps the gas-borne particulates by forcing the gas through filter
bags.

Bainite A Materials Engineering term; an extremely fine needle-like

microstructure consisting of ferrite (α-Fe) and cementite (Fe3C); a
structure of steel lying between pearlite and martensite.

Bakelite A Chemistry term; a common phenolic thermoset used as

adhesives, coatings, laminates, and moulded components for electrical or
motor applications.
Balance Sheet A Financial Management term; a record sheet (usually
an annual record) which presents a summary statement of a firm’s
financial position at a given point of time; balances the firm’s assets
(what it owns) against its financing which can be either debt (what it
owes) or equity (what was provided by owners).

Baldrige Award A Quality Management term; also known as

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award; a quality award started in
1988 and presented every year by the president of the USA to recognize
those companies that operate on best business practice.

Band and Block Brake A Theory of Machines term; a type of brake

which consists of a number of wooden blocks secured inside a flexible
steel band, and both embrace a certain part of the circumference of the
drum; more effective than block or band brakes as it produces more
friction; see also Band Brake, Block Brake, and Internal Expanding
Shoe Brake.

Band Brake A Theory of Machines term; a type of brake which

consists of a rope, belt or flexible steel band which embraces a certain
part of the circumference of the drum (or the wheel) and whose one
end is connected to one end of a bent lever, while its other end is fixed
to a pin on an intermediate point on the same lever; see also Block
Brake, Band and Block Brake, and Internal Expanding Shoe Brake.

Banking of a Road A Physics term; a phenomenon of raising outer

edge of a curved road above its inner edge; provides the centripetal
force to a moving vehicle required to balance the centrifugal force which
may develop at higher speeds of the vehicle, thus preventing its
overturning.

Bar Chart A Statistics term; see Bar Graph.

Bar Code An information technology tool; a computer-readable code

attached to items like products, containers, packages, and even vehicles
which flow through a supply chain; a product identifying tool which
includes information such as product description, item number, its
source and destination, special handling procedures, costs, and order
number.

Bar Graph A Statistics term; also called Bar Chart; a pictorial

representation of the numerical data by a number of bars (rectangles)
of uniform width (erected horizontally or vertically with equal spacing
between them), where each bar represents only one value of the
numerical data.

Bar A Strength of Materials and a Thermodynamics term; in strength

of materials terms, a circular or rectangular rod used as a test specimen
in destructive tests to know the mechanical properties (tensile
strength, compressive strength, fatigue, etc.) of materials; in
thermodynamics terms, the SI unit of pressure commonly used in
meteorology; 1 bar = 105 N/m2.

Bare Electrode A Welding term; also called Uncoated Electrode; an

electrode not coated with any shielding material; normally used with
straight polarity set-up; suitable for welding of wrought iron, and low or
medium carbon steel; used as consumable and nonconsumable
electrodes; as consumable electrodes, they are used as filler metals
(MIG welding, submerged arc welding); as nonconsumable electrodes,
they are used to form the electric circuit for the flow of current (TIG
welding, atomic hydrogen arc welding, plasma arc welding); see also
Coated Electrode.

Barometer A Fluid Mechanics term; an instrument used to measure

the atmospheric pressure (given as ρgh, where ρ = density of mercury, h
= height of mercury column in barometer tube and g = acceleration due
to gravity); the barometer reading changes with atmospheric weather
and the altitude of the barometer location.

Barotropic Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid whose bulk

modulus (K) is independent of temperature and its density is only a
function of pressure.

Barrier-Free Organization A Management term; see Boundaryless

Organization.
Base Metal A Welding term; see Parent Metal.

Basic EOQ Model An Operations Management term; a mathematical

formula used to determine the optimal order size of inventory items
which minimizes the sum of inventory’s carrying costs and ordering
costs; the following assumptions are considered for basic EOQ model:
Demand is constant over time.
No shortages are allowed.
Lead time for the receipt of orders is constant.
The order quantity is received all at once.
Quantity discounts do not exist.
No safety stock is utilized; see also Production Quantity Model.

Basic Flux A Chemistry and a Welding term; a flux used to remove

acidic impurities like silica (SiO2) or phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5)
present in an ore; a few examples include limestone (CaCO3) and
magnesite (MgCO3); see also Acidic Flux.

Basic Refractories A Materials Engineering term; refractories which

readily combine with acids; magnesium oxide (MgO) is their main
constituent; a few examples include magnesite sand dolomite; see also
Acidic Refractories and Neutral Refractories.

Batch Production An Operations Management term; a type of a

production system which involves manufacturing of similar products in
batches of a definite number of items; uses general-purpose machine
tools arranged on a functional basis; involves more work-in-progress
(WIP) inventory; see also Mass Production and Continuous
Production.

Batch Technology An Operations Management term; a process

technology suitable for producing a variety of products in varying
volumes; see also Batch Production.

Battery Cell An Electric Vehicle term; the basic unit of lithium-ion

battery which stores electricity.
Battery Electric Vehicle An Electric Vehicle term, abbreviated as
BEV; also called All-Electric Vehicle (AEV); a 100% battery-powered
electric vehicle; a zero emission vehicle which is only powered by on-
board rechargeable batteries and no gasoline engine; the batteries of
the vehicle are subjected to fast charging using Level 2 charging.

Battery Management System An Electric Vehicle term; an electronic

system used to manage a rechargeable battery by monitoring and
reporting on its state for its optimal performance.

Battery Module An Electric Vehicle term; the grouping of battery

cells in 6, 8, 10, 12, or up to 24 in numbers.

Battery Pack An Electric Vehicle term; a protective battery enclosure

which contains batteries in 6, 8, 10, 12, or higher modules.

Battery An Electrical term; a device which produces electricity

through a chemical reaction between two different metal electrodes
separated by a chemical solution called an electrolyte.

BCC Structure A Chemistry term; see Body-Centred Cubic

Structure.

BDC An IC Engine term; see Bottom Dead Centre.

Beam A Strength of Materials term; a structural member in the form

of a bar of uniform rectangular or circular cross section which is
designed to support vertical loads; essentially a one-dimensional
structure as its cross-sectional dimensions are very much smaller
compared to its length; classified into statically determinate and
statically indeterminate beams; statically determinate beams include
simple beam, cantilever beam, and overhanging beam; statically
indeterminate beams include fixed beam, continuous beam, and propped
cantilever beam.

Bearing Pressure A Strength of Materials term; see Bearing Stress.

Bearing Stress A Strength of Materials term; also called Bearing
Pressure; a type of pressure exerted between contact surfaces at the
area of contact, when two bodies are pressed against each other; a few
examples include soil pressure beneath a pier and contact pressure
between a rivet and the side of its hole; can be reduced by using bearing
plates, which distribute the contact forces over a large area.

Bearing A Design term; a mechanical device used to reduce friction

where two surfaces meet and slide against each other as a result of
linear or rotary motion; used to hold a shaft which rotates relative to a
fixed support (for instance, housing of a motor, gearbox, or
transmission); enables the shaft to rotate with little resistance, while
being well-supported against forces acting in the other directions.

Bed of a Lathe A Manufacturing term; the base of a lathe on which

parts such as headstock, tailstock, carriage, etc. are mounted.

Behavioural Science A Management term; a science which explores

how human behaviour is affected by variables such as leadership,
motivation, communication, interpersonal relationships, and attitude
change.

Bell Metal A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of tin (Sn), and

copper (Cu) consisting of 25% Sn and 75% Cu; used in making bells and
gongs.

Bellows Meter A Fluid Mechanics term; a quantity-measuring device

used for gas flow measurements.

Belt Drive A Theory of Machines term; a mechanism used to transmit

motion or power between two shafts which are considerable distance
apart, using a flat belt that runs over the pulleys attached to the shafts;
a negative drive of power transmission as some power is lost due to
friction and slippage; classified into open belt drive and closed belt drive;
see also Rope Drive and Chain Drive.

Belt Friction A Physics term; the friction which occurs in a belt drive
mechanism; related to the belt tensions as:
where

T1 = tension in the belt on tight side

T2 = tension in the belt on slack side
μ = coefficient of friction between contact surfaces
β = angle of lap (radian).

Bench Moulding A Casting term; the process of making a small-sized

mould on a bench at a suitable height to the moulder.

Bench Vice A Manufacturing term; a fitting tool mounted on a bench;

used to hold a job between its two jaws while giving the desired shape
to the job.

Benchmarking A Quality Management term; an approach for setting

goals and productivity measures, for example, high standards for the
products, practices, and services based on best industry practices; a
process of achieving the best level of quality by a company which other
companies seek to achieve through continuous improvement; used as a
reference point of standard to compare the standards of actual
performance; a benchmarked product or service has the highest level of
quality standards; see also Competitive Benchmarking and
Functional Benchmarking.

Bend Test A Strength of Materials term; a destructive test used to

know the bending strength of solid materials; the bend test is
conducted on a brittle test specimen of rectangular cross section
supported at its ends and vertically loaded with one or two point loads.

Bendability A Manufacturing term; the ability (property) of a

material which enables it to be easily bent; aluminium and copper have
good bendability.
Bending Equation A Strength of Materials term; see Flexure
Formula.

Bending Formula A Strength of Materials term; see Flexure

Formula.

Bending Modulus A Strength of Materials term; see Flexural

Rigidity.

Bending Moment Diagram A Strength of Materials term related to

bending; abbreviated as BMD; a pictorial representation which shows
the distribution of bending moments at various sections of a loaded
beam; the positive values of bending moments are shown above the
axis of the beam (horizontal axis) and the negative values below the
axis (both values as vertical lines), which are connected by a inclined
straight line in case of point loads, by a parabolic curve in case of
uniformly distributed loads (udl) and by a cubic parabolic curve in case
of uniformly varying loads acting on the beam; see also Shear Force
Diagram.

Bending Moment A Strength of Materials term; a moment which

produces bending in a beam; a restoring couple developed at each cross
section of the beam due to its elasticity, when the beam is subjected to
an external couple at the elastic limit; the SI unit is N-m.

Bending Spring A Strength of Materials term related to a spring; see

Laminated Spring.

Bending Stress A Strength of Materials term; also called Flexure

Stress; a direct stress either tensile or compressive in nature which is
produced by a bending moment due to a lateral load applied on a beam;
determined by using the flexure formula.

Bending A Manufacturing term; a deformation (cold working)

process used to shape a solid material (bars, wires, tubes, structural
shapes, and sheet metal) into useful products using a bending force;
finds extensive applications in various manufacturing operations to
make useful products; see also Roll Bending.
Benefaction A Materials Engineering term related to metallurgy; a
process of increasing the concentration of an ore by removing the
unwanted earthy and siliceous impurities (called gangue or matrix)
from the ore; see also Pulverization.

Bernoulli’s Principle A Fluid Mechanics term; also called

Bernoulli’s Theorem named after Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782), the
Swiss scientist and mathematician who proposed it in 1738; states that
for all points along a streamline in an incompressible and non-viscous
steady flow, the sum of the pressure head, the velocity head, and the
elevation head is constant; expressed as:

(1)

for a flow in a horizontal plane (say pipe), the equation transforms to

(2)

Equation (2) shows that where the velocity is less, the pressure is
larger and vice versa; a powerful tool for finding the values of pressure
and velocity at two points along a streamline; in the above two
equations, the symbols used stand for.

p = pressure of the fluid

ρ = density of the fluid
g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81
v = velocity of fluid flow.

Bernoulli’s Theorem A Fluid Mechanics term; see Bernoulli’s

Principle.

Beryllium Bronze A Chemistry term; a heat-treatable copper-base

alloy containing about 2% beryllium (Be) along with copper (Cu); has
high corrosion resistance, strength, hardness, and wear resistance.

Beta Distribution A Statistics term; a probability distribution of a

random variable; traditionally used in CPM/PERT for estimating the
mean and variance of project activity times; see also Binomial
Distribution.

Beta Error A Quality Control term; see Type II Error.

Beta Particle A Physics term, abbreviated as β-Particle; consists of

fast moving electrons; lighter than an alpha particle; see also Alpha
Particle.

Beta Ray A Physics term; an electromagnetic radiation discovered by

Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937), a New Zealand physicist who is known
as the ‘father of nuclear physics’; emitted by radioactive substances such
as uranium (U), plutonium (Pu), and thorium (Th); similar to cathode
ray and consists of electrons; moves much faster than the alpha ray; can
cause ionization of air but much lesser than the alpha ray; being more
lighter and faster, it is more penetrating than the alpha ray; see also
Alpha Ray and Gamma Ray.

BEV An Electric Vehicle term; see Battery Electric Vehicle.

Bevel Gear A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; a type of

toothed gear which has teeth (of straight or spiral type) formed on a
conical surface; used to transmit motion or power between two
intersecting shafts, or shafts that lie at right angle to each other.

Bevel A Design term; an angular type of edge preparation of a

workpiece.

Bevelling A Design term; a type of chamfering.

BHP An IC Engine term; the short form of Brake Horse Power; see
Shaft Power.

Bias Error A Metrology term; see Systematic Error.

Biaxial Bending A Strength of Materials term; the bending which

takes place about both centroidal axes of a beam’s cross section; occurs
when a load is inclined at an angle with respect to the vertical plane of
symmetry of the beam; the applied load is resolved into its components
along directions of the two axes of symmetry at the section, of which
vertical component causes bending about the horizontal axis and
horizontal component causes bending about the vertical axis, and both
components produce normal stresses along the longitudinal direction;
the method of superposition is used to find the combined stresses.

Biaxial Loading A Strength of Materials term; a condition of loading

in which a member is subjected to loads in two mutually perpendicular
directions; see also Uniaxial Loading.

Biaxial Stress A Strength of Materials term; a state of stress in which

an element of a beam’s cross section is subjected to normal stresses
acting along two mutually perpendicular directions, and there is no
shear stress; for example, pure biaxial tension or pure biaxial
compression; see also Uniaxial Stress.

Big M Method An Operations Research term; one of the methods for

solving a linear programming problem; used when the constraints are of
‘≥’ or ‘=’ type.

Bill of Materials An Operations Management term, abbreviated as

BOM; an input of material requirements planning (MRP); also called
Product Structure Tree as it shows that how a product is put together;
a list of all parts, ingredients, or materials required to produce,
assemble, or put together one unit of a product.

Billet A Manufacturing term; a type of steel ingot (square or oblong);

considerably smaller than a bloom; see also Bloom and Slab.

Binary Diagram A Materials Engineering term related to phase

diagram; a two-component phase diagram; for example, Fe–C diagram.

Binary Vapour Cycle A Thermodynamics term; a vapour power cycle

which uses two working fluids, one with good high-temperature
characteristics and another with good characteristics at the lower-
temperature end of the operating range.
Binding Energy A Chemistry term; the energy released in the
formation of a nucleus from its constituent nucleons (protons and
neutrons); also the energy required to break up a nucleus into its
component nucleons; when divided by the number of nucleons, it gives
the mean binding energy per nucleon (a measure of the stability of a
nucleus); the greater the binding energy per nucleon, the more stable
the nucleus is.

Bingham Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Bingham Plastic

Fluid; a plastic fluid in which a finite stress (yield stress) is required
before the fluid begins to flow at all; a few examples include cream and
toothpaste.

Bingham Plastic Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; see Bingham Fluid.

Bingham Plastic A Fluid Mechanics term; a viscoplastic material,

named after Eugene Cook Bingham (1878–1945) who proposed its
mathematical form; behaves as a rigid body at low stresses, but flows as
a viscous fluid at high stress.

Binomial Distribution A Statistics term; a probability distribution

which uses discrete variables such as number of employees or
products; see also Beta Distribution.

Biological Science The science which deals with living things;

include subjects like botany, zoology, ornithology, anthropology,
entomology, and forensic science; see also Physical Science.

Bituminous Coal A Chemistry term; a type of coal which contains

88% of carbon.

Black Body Radiation A Physics term; the radiation emitted by a

heated black body; it is higher than the radiation emitted by all real
surfaces at the same temperatures.

Black Body A Physics term; an idealized surface which completely

absorbs the incident thermal radiations of all wavelengths; a perfect
absorber (absorptivity, α = 1) as well as a perfect emitter (emissivity, ε =
1).

Black Iron A Materials Engineering term; the untreated flat steel

which is hot rolled.

Blade Row A Fluid Mechanics term related to a pump; see Cascade.

Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) A seventeenth-century French scientist

and philosopher who is widely known for Pascal's law; has made
important contributions in the field of hydrostatics such as principles of
barometer, hydraulic press, and pressure transmissibility.

Blank Diameter A Theory of Machines term related to gear; the

diameter of the addendum circle; see also Root Diameter.

Blanking A Manufacturing term; a sheet metal operation used to cut

out a useful product from a sheet metal blank using a die-punch
assembly; see also Punching.

BLDC Motor An Electrical term; see Brushless DC Motor.

Blind Riser A Manufacturing term related to casting; also called Side

Riser; a riser contained entirely within the mould and horizontally
located adjacent to the mould cavity usually along the parting line.

Blister A Casting term; a type of casting defect and a variation of

scar; a certain portion of the casting is covered by a thin layer of metal;
see also Scar.

Block Brake A Theory of Machines term; also called Shoe Brake; a

type of brake in which motion is retarded or stopped by pressing a
wooden, rubber, or cast steel block or shoe (replaceable when worn out)
against a rotating drum; see also Band Brake, Band and Block Brake,
and Internal Expanding Shoe Brake.

Bloom A Manufacturing term; a type of steel ingot (square or oblong)

with a minimum cross-sectional area of 36 in.2; see also Billet and Slab.
Blow Hole A Welding term; a welding defect; occurs in the form of a
gas pocket in the weld metal; caused by rapid cooling of the hot metal
without escaping of all the gases (making them entrapped) present at
the time of solidification.

Blow A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs in the

form of balloon-shaped gas cavities on the surface of a casting due to
pressure of the mould gases; eliminated by improving the permeability
of the moulding sand; in Physics terms, an impulsive force.

Blower A Fluid Mechanics term; a turbomachine which is basically a

gas pump; used to move gases (mostly air) with relatively moderate to
high pressure rise (about 25 mm of Hg) and moderate to high flow rate;
a few examples include centrifugal blowers and squirrel cage blowers in
automobile ventilation systems, furnaces, and leaf blowers; see also Fan
and Compressor.

Blow-off Cock A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a boiler

accessory used to empty the boiler for the purpose of its cleaning,
repair, or inspection and to remove the accumulated mud and
sediments deposited at its bottom; fitted at the boiler’s lowest part.

BMD A Strength of Materials term; see Bending Moment Diagram.

Board of Directors A Management term; a group elected by a firm’s

stockholders which has ultimate authority to guide corporate affairs
and make general policy; include key corporate personnel as well as
outside individuals who typically are the successful business people
and executives of other major organizations; forms a part of high level
management.

Body Force A Physics term; an external force caused by one body on

another body without direct physical contact between the bodies;
usually expressed as force per unit volume or per unit mass; for
example, gravitational attraction due to earth on a body or the
electromagnetic force; see also Surface Force.
Body Language A Management term; the nonverbal communication
cues such as facial expressions, gestures, and other body movements.

Body A Physics term; a certain quantity of matter bounded by a

closed surface.

Body-Centred Cubic Structure A Chemistry term, abbreviated as

BCC Structure; one of the three basic types of atomic arrangements
found in metals in which the unit cell consists of eight atoms one each
at every corner of the unit cell and one atom at its centre; the atomic
packing factor (APF) equals to 0.68; a few examples include chromium
(Cr), manganese (Mn), sodium (Na), potassium (K), tungsten (W),
barium (Ba), iron in α-phase (below 912 °C), and iron in δ-phase (above
1394 °C); see also Face-Centred Cubic Structure and Hexagonal
Close-Packed Structure.

Boiler Accessory A Boiler term; an auxiliary or supporting part

which is required for the smooth operation of a boiler and increases its
overall efficiency; a few examples include economizer, air preheater,
superheater, fuel pump, chimney, air injector, steam separator, etc.; see
also Boiler Mounting.

Boiler Mounting A Boiler term; an integral fitting or device needed

for the operation and safety of a boiler; a few examples include safety
valves, fusible plug, water level indicator, pressure gauge, feed check
valve, blow-off cock, and steam stop valve; see also Boiler Accessory.

Boiler Operation Mounting A Boiler term; the fittings and devices

which form integral parts of a boiler and are essentially needed for its
operation; a few examples include pressure gauge, feed check valve,
blow-off cock, and steam stop valve; see also Boiler Safety Mounting.

Boiler Safety Mounting A Boiler term; an integral fitting or device

attached to a boiler from a safety point of view; a few examples include
safety valves, fusible plug, and water level indicator; see also Boiler
Operation Mounting.
Boiler Steel A Materials Engineering term; a low-carbon steel with
carbon content varying between 0.15 and 0.3%; used in making boiler
sheets for its body as it has good tensile strength.

Boiler A Power Plant term; also called Steam Generator; a closed

cylindrical vessel in which water or any other liquid is heated to
produce steam or vapour at desired pressure; finds use in power plants
to generate high pressure and high temperature steam for steam
turbines; classified into low pressure, high pressure, fire tube, or water
tube boilers.

Boiling Point A Physics term; a temperature at which a liquid

substance boils and gets converted into its vapour; for example, the
boiling point of water is 100 °C.

Boiling A Physics term; a process of formation of vapour bubbles,

when a liquid is heated at its boiling point.

BOM An Operations Management term; see Bill of Materials.

Bomb Calorimeter A Chemistry term; an instrument used to

measure the calorific value (the standard enthalpy of combustion) of
solid fuels; see also Continuous Flow Calorimeter.

Bond Energy A Chemistry term; also called Bond Strength; the

energy required to break one mole of a particular bond (Avogadro’s
number of bonds) in a substance in gaseous state; a measure of bond
strength; the higher is the bond energy, the lesser is the reactivity of a
molecule; for example, the N N bond in nitrogen molecule (N2) is
more stable than the O = O bond in oxygen molecule (O2), indicating
that the nitrogen molecule (N2) is more stable than the oxygen
molecule (O2); the bond energies of some common bonds are given
below:

Bonds Bond Energy (kJ/mol)

H–H 458.0
F–F 154.8
Bonds Bond Energy (kJ/mol)
Cl–Cl 242.7
H–Cl 430.0
I–Cl 209.2
O=O 494.6
N≡N 945.6
C–C 347.0
C=C 619.0
C≡C 836.0

Bond Length A Chemistry term; the distance between the nuclei of

two-bonded atoms in a molecule; measured in angstrom; for example,
the bond length between two hydrogen atoms (H) in hydrogen
molecule (H2) is 0.74 angstrom; the bond lengths of some common
bonds are given below:

Bonds Bond Length (Angstrom)

H–H 0.74
C–H 1.00
O–H 0.96
F–F 1.42
Cl–Cl 1.99
Br–Br 2.28
I–I 2.67
H–F 0.92
H–Cl 1.27
H–Br 1.41
H–I 1.61
C–C 1.54
C=C 1.34
C≡C 1.20

Bond Strength A Chemistry term; see Bond Energy.

Bone Black A Chemistry term; see Animal Charcoal.

Borax A Chemistry term; also called Sodium Tetraborate

Decahydrate; a chemical compound of boron (B) having the chemical
formula of Na2B4O7 · 10H2O; a white crystalline solid which is less
soluble in cold water but more soluble in hot water; a naturally
occurring borax, called tincal, is obtained from dried up lakes which
contain about 50% borax along with some other insoluble impurities
such as clay, sand, etc.; an important cleansing and bleaching agent
present in washing powders; used in the manufacture of enamels and
glazes for earthen wares such as tiles, pottery, etc. which are resistant to
heat, strain, and scratches; also used in the manufacture of heat-
resistant borosilicate glass (pyrex glass), and in the manufacture of
medicinal soaps due to its antiseptic properties; finds use as a water
softener and as a flux in soldering; also used in the laboratory for borax
bead test.

Borazon A Materials Engineering term; see Cubic Boron Nitride.

Bore An IC Engine term; the diameter of the cylinder of an engine.

Boring A Manufacturing term; a process of enlargement of a drilled

hole; see also Drilling and Reaming.

Bottle Glass A Chemistry term; an ordinary soda-lime glass which

contains MgO to the extent of 3.5% and Al2O3 · Fe2O3 to the extent of
0.5%; used in making cheap bottles.

Bottleneck Resource An Operations Management term; any

resource whose capacity is equal to or less than the demand placed on
it.

Bottleneck An Operations Management term; a constraint within a

production system which limits throughput; may include machine,
scarce of highly skilled labour or a specialized tool.

Bottom Dead Centre An IC Engine term, abbreviated as BDC; a point

where the piston is at the bottom of the cylinder of an engine; the
position of the piston when it forms the largest volume in the cylinder;
occurs when the crankshaft is rotated by 180°; once the piston nears
BDC, the intake valve closes so that the cylinder is completely sealed;
see also Top Dead Centre.

Boundary Layer Thickness A Fluid Mechanics term; the distance

from a solid boundary within which the flow velocity increases from
zero at the wall to 99%, that is, 0.99 of the free stream velocity at the
edge of the boundary layer.

Boundary Layer A Fluid Mechanics term; a very thin layer of fluid

adjacent to a surface in which viscosity is important, while the fluid
outside this layer is considered frictionless or ideal; the concept of the
boundary layer was first introduced by a German physicist Ludwig
Prandtl (1875–1953) in 1904; one of the important advances in
modern fluid mechanics, and is considered important with turbulent
flow; the velocity of a fluid particle in a boundary layer is always zero at
a fixed wall because of viscosity; see also Boundary Layer Thickness.

Boundary Lubrication A Fluid Mechanics term; a type of lubrication

in which the load-carrying surfaces sliding relative to each other are
separated by a thin film of lubricant (water, oil, or air); see also Solid
Film Lubrication.

Boundaryless Organization A Management term; also called

Network Organization, as it functions as a network of a series
of project groups or collaborations or Learning Organization, as it
facilitates the learning of all its members, and continually transforms
itself in order to gain a competitive advantage over others or Virtual
Organization as it virtually eliminates in-house business functions and
outsources many activities or Barrier-Free Organization or Modular
Organization; an organization not defined or limited by historical
boundaries or categories imposed by traditional structures; a flatter
organization which eliminates vertical, horizontal, and
interorganizational barriers by increasing its interdependence with its
environment; provides increased flexibility and adaptability to cope
with rapid technological changes.
Bourdon Gauge A Fluid Mechanics term; named after the French
engineer and inventor Eugene Bourdon (1808–1884); a mechanical
device used to measure high pressures using deflection of an elastic
element (a metallic tube, called Bourdon tube); see also Aneroid
Barometer.

Boyle’s Law A Chemistry term; named after an English scientist

Robert Boyle (1627–1691) who proposed it; relates pressure and
volume of a gas at constant temperature; states that the volume (V) of a
given mass of a gas varies inversely proportional to its pressure (P),
when temperature is held constant; expressed as:

BPR An Operations Management term; see Business Process

Reengineering.

Bragg’s Equation A Physics term; see Bragg’s Law.

Bragg’s Law A Physics term; also called Bragg’s Equation; an x-ray

diffraction law, named after English physicists William Henry Bragg
(1862–1942) and his son William Lawrence Bragg (1890–1971) who
were awarded the Nobel prize for their contribution to x-ray diffraction
in 1915; gives the condition for x-ray diffraction by a given crystal
plane; given as:

where

n = an integer number
λ = wavelength of the X-ray
d = interplanar spacing
θ = Bragg angle (one-half of the diffraction angle).

Brake Horse Power An IC Engine term, abbreviated as BHP; see

Shaft Power.
Brake Power An IC Engine term, abbreviated as BP; see Shaft
Power.

Brake Specific Fuel Consumption An IC Engine term; see Specific

Fuel Consumption.

Brake A Theory of Machines term; a device used to offer frictional

resistance to a moving body in order to stop or retard its motion or
prevent increase in its speed; classified into block, band, band and block,
and internal expanding shoe brakes.

Branch and Bound Technique An Operations Research term; a

method of optimization to solve problems having finite number of
feasible solutions; used to solve integer linear programming problems,
travelling salesman problem, and cargo loading problem.

Brayton Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to air standard cycle;

named after George Brayton (1830–1892) who originally developed it;
also called Joule Cycle; an air standard thermodynamic cycle used in
gas turbine engines; consists of four reversible processes, namely
reversible adiabatic (isentropic) compression, constant pressure heat
addition, reversible adiabatic (isentropic) expansion and constant
pressure heat rejection; the thermal efficiency depends upon its
compression ratio or pressure ratio; for the same compression ratio,
both the Otto cycle and the Brayton cycle have same thermal efficiency;
see also Otto Cycle and Diesel Cycle.

Braze Welding A Joining term; a process fundamentally different

from brazing, where the work material is heated at the joint and molten
filler metal fills up the gap between the work parts; see also Brazing.

Brazing A Joining term; a process of joining metals and alloys

without melting them; uses a filler metal (melting point more than
450 °C) which fills the gap between the work parts by capillary action;
produces a stronger joint as compared to soldering due to higher
temperature application: see also Soldering and Braze Welding.
Breakdown Maintenance An Operations Management term; a
reactive maintenance performed after the machine or equipment has
broken down; involves carrying out some repair to restore the machine
or equipment to working condition or to replace them with a new
machine or equipment; see also Preventive Maintenance and
Predictive Maintenance.

Break-Even Analysis An Operations Management term; a graphical

technique used to determine a point (called break-even point) where
the total revenue received from products sold equals to the total cost of
manufacturing; commonly used to compare the cost functions of two or
more facility alternatives; uses the following formula to calculate the
break-even point (BEP):

where

F = fixed cost
S = sale price per unit
V = variable cost per unit.

Brine A Chemistry term; the solution of NaCl or CaCl2 having freezing

point temperature lower than 0 °C; used as a coolant in cold storage, ice
plants, and skating rinks for producing low temperatures.

Brinell Hardness Test A Strength of Materials term; see Brinell

Test.

Brinell Test A Strength of Materials term; also called Brinell

Hardness Test; the oldest destructive method of hardness testing of a
material developed by Johan August Brinell (1849–1925) in 1900; a
commonly employed method which uses a 10 mm diameter hardened
steel or tungsten carbide ball that needs to be pressed against the
surface of the material being tested with a load of 500 kg, 1500 kg and
3000 kg, and the depth of penetration on the surface is an indication of
Brinell hardness number (BHN), given by
where

P = load applied on the test specimen

D = diameter of the ball
d = diameter of indentation produced; see also Rockwell Test.

Britannia Metal A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of tin (Sn),

antimony (Sb), and copper (Cu) consisting of 90% Sn, 8% Sb, and 2%
Cu; used in making table wares.

British Thermal Unit A Thermodynamics term, abbreviated as Btu;

a unit of heat energy in the English system; the amount of heat required
to raise the temperature of 1 lbm (pound mass) of water at 68°F by 1°F;
1 Btu = 1.0551 kJ = 0.252 kcal or 1 kcal equals to 3.968 Btu; a typical
match yields about one Btu of energy, if completely burned.

Brittle Material A Materials Engineering term; a material which

shows very little plastic range beyond elastic limit; the breaking point
of brittle materials lies close to the elastic limit; used in making
columns, but not in making springs and sheets; a few examples include
cast iron and glass; see also Ductile Material.

Brittle A Manufacturing term; lacking in deformability; for example,

cast iron is brittle.

Brittleness A Strength of Materials term; the tendency of a material

to fail suddenly by breaking without showing any permanent
deformation before failure.

Broaching A Manufacturing term; a machining process used for

mass production of complex geometry parts (complicated hole shapes)
using a tool called broach which has a series of cutting teeth along its
length.

Broad-Crested Weir A Fluid Mechanics term; a type of weir in the

form of a rectangular block of suitable dimensions; used to measure the
liquid flow rate in open channels; see also Sharp-Crested Weir.

Brushed DC Motor An Electrical term; a type of direct current (DC)

motor which uses internal commutation, stationary permanent magnets,
and rotating electrical magnets; some of its advantages include low
initial cost, high reliability, and simple control of motor speed, whereas
its disadvantages include high maintenance cost and low life span; see
also Brushless DC Motor.

Brushless DC Motor An Electrical term; also called BLDC Motor; a

type of direct current (DC) motor which uses a rotating permanent
magnet in the rotor and stationary electrical magnets on the motor
housing; some of its advantages include simple design, long life span,
little or no maintenance cost, and high efficiency, whereas its
disadvantages include high initial cost and more complicated motor
speed; see also Brushed DC Motor.

BSI British Standards Institution; a British professional body.

Btu A Thermodynamics term: see British Thermal Unit.

Bucket In operations management terms, the principal unit of time

measurement in a material requirements planning (MRP) system, which
is usually one week; in turbine terms, the rotating blade of a turbine,
which is also called Runner Blade; see also Impeller Blade.

Buckingham Pi Theorem A Fluid Mechanics term; a formalized

procedure developed in 1915, named after Edgar Buckingham (1867–
1940); a theory which organizes steps to ensure dimensional
homogeneity; used for deducing the dimensionless groups appropriate
for a given fluid mechanics or other engineering problem.
Buckle A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs in the
form of vee-shaped depressions on the surface of a casting.

Buckling Load A Strength of Materials term related to a column; also

called Crippling Load or Critical Load; the load which buckles or
tends to buckle a column; used in finding the critical stress for columns.

Buffer Inventory An Operations Management term; see Buffer

Stock.

Buffer Stock An Operations Management term; also called Buffer

Inventory, Safety Stock, or Safety Stock Inventory; the inventories
kept in stock (in large numbers) to meet the uncertainties in demand or
to ensure its continuous flow; needed to take care of unusual product
demand and uncertain lead time.

Build-to-Order An Operations Management term; see Assemble-to-

Order.

Bulk Deformation Processes A Manufacturing term; the processes

in which the surface area of a workpiece changes on the application of
deformation forces; a few examples include forging, rolling, and
extrusion.

Bulk Modulus of Elasticity A Physics and a Strength of Materials

term; also called Volume Modulus of Elasticity or simply Bulk
Modulus; an elastic constant denoted by K; defined as the compressive
stress per unit volumetric strain; increases with increase in pressure of
a fluid, as the resistance of fluid increases with increase in pressure; the
bulk modulus for solids are much larger than that for liquids, which in
turn, are much larger than that for gases; for a perfectly rigid body
(incompressible), the value of K is infinity; the SI unit is pascal (Pa)
which is equivalent to N/m2; has the dimension of [ML−1 T−2]; the
values of K for some materials are tabulated below:

Materials K (GPa)
Steel 158
Copper 120
Materials K (GPa)
Iron 80
Aluminium 70
Glass 36
Mercury 25
Water 2.2; see also Young’s Modulus of Elasticity and Modulus of Rigidity

Bulk Modulus A Strength of Materials term; see Bulk Modulus of

Elasticity.

Bullwhip Effect A Supply Chain Management term; the phenomenon

in which fluctuation and distortion of demand information increases
(variability magnification) as it moves up the supply chain, from
retailers, manufacturers, to suppliers; named so as inaccurate and
distorted information travels up the supply chain like a bullwhip
uncoiling; occurs due to lack of synchronization among the supply
chain members which leads to flow of distorted information among
them; tends to reduce the efficiency of a supply chain.

Buoyancy A Fluid Mechanics term; a phenomenon in which a solid

body immersed partially or wholly in a fluid experiences an upward
force exerted by the fluid.

Buoyant Force A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Force of

Buoyancy or Upward Thrust; an upward force exerted by a fluid on a
solid body immersed partially or wholly in the fluid; tends to lift the
body and acts at the centre of buoyancy.

Business Ethics A Management term; the discipline connected with

a systematic study of morals, truth, and justice; a tool for fair business.

Business Plan An Operations Management term; a statement which

details the income, costs, and profits of a company; also shows a
company’s budget, sources, and allocation of funds.

Business Process Reengineering An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as BPR; a process that is based on restructuring of the
entire business processes needed to cut short the prices, and meet
quality and service requirements.

Business Strategy A Management term; also called Business-Level

Strategy; a strategy usually occurring at the business unit or product
level; emphasizes on the improvement of the competitive position of a
corporation’s products or services in the specific industry or market
segment served by that business unit; for example, Mercedes-Benz takes
its skills in R&D and positions itself in the luxury segment of the car
market, whereas Coca-cola uses its marketing skills to defend its niche
against Pepsi-cola, and Apple Computer uses a differentiation
competitive strategy which emphasizes innovative products with
creative design.

Business-Level Strategy A Management term; see Business

Strategy.

Business-to-Business A Management term, abbreviated as B2B; a

type of e-commerce in which trade transactions take place through
electronic communication (over the Internet) between companies and
their suppliers; see also Business-to-Consumer.

Business-to-Consumer A Management term, abbreviated as B2C; a

type of e-commerce in which trade transactions take place through
electronic communication (over the Internet) between businesses and
consumers; for example, online retailing like Amazon or online stock
brokerage; see also Business-to-Business.

Butt Joint A Joining term; a joint produced by placing the two parts
end-to-end; see also Lap Joint.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_3

C
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

C Process A Manufacturing term related to casting; see Shell Mould

Casting.

Cable A Design term; also called Wire Rope; an axially loaded

flexible member subjected only to tensile forces; consists of a large
number of wires wound in some particular manner; a common type of
cable is formed by six strands wound helically around a central strand,
and each strand, in turn, is constructed of many wires that are also
wound helically; used to transmit large forces such as lifting and pulling
heavy objects, raising elevators, guying towers, and supporting
suspension bridges; unlike springs and prismatic bars, cables cannot
resist compression, but can be bent to give any shape.

CAD A Manufacturing term; see Computer-Aided Design.

Cadmium Sulphide A Materials Engineering term; a semiconducting

compound consisting of cadmium (Cd) and sulphur (S) having the
chemical formula CdS; used as a relatively low-cost solar cell used for
the conversion of solar energy to electrical energy; see also Gallium
Arsenide.
Calcination A Materials Engineering term related to metallurgy; a
chemical process of converting an ore into its metallic oxide by heating
it strongly below its melting point either in absence or limited supply of
air; commonly used to convert metal carbonates and hydroxides to
their respective metal oxides; usually carried out in a reverberatory
furnace; see also Roasting.

Calibration A Metrology term; a process of checking and adjusting a

measuring device against a standard.

Calliper Gauge A Metrology term; see Vernier Calliper.

Calorie A Physics term; the MKS unit of heat; 1 cal = 4.2 J.

Calorific Value A Chemistry term; the amount of heat released when

a unit mass of a substance (fuel) is completely burnt in presence of
oxygen; commonly measured by a bomb calorimeter; expressed in kJ/kg
or kJ/mol; for example, the calorific value of coal (anthracite) is
36 MJ/kg.

Calorimetry A Chemistry term; the science of measurement of the

calorific value of fuels.

Cam and Follower A Theory of Machines term; a mechanism used to

change continuous rotary motion into intermittent linear motion.

CAM A Manufacturing term; see Computer-Aided Manufacturing.

Cam A Theory of Machines term; a rotating or reciprocating element

of a mechanism which imparts a rotating, reciprocating or oscillating
motion to another element (follower) through its direct contact;
constitute a three-link mechanism of higher pair with follower and
frame which supports the cam; used to obtain complex motion which
are otherwise difficult to obtain; used in internal combustion engines for
operating valves, clocks, shoe-making equipment, etc.

Cantilever Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a beam; a

statically determinate beam that is fixed at one end and free at another
end; finds use in supporting balconies of houses.

Cantilever Laminated Spring A Strength of Materials term related

to a spring; see Quarter-Elliptic Leaf Spring.

Capacitor A Physics term; an electrical device involving two

electrodes separated by a dielectric; used to store electrical charge.

Capacity Flexibility An Operations Management term; the ability of a

manufacturing unit to rapidly change (increase or decrease) the
production levels or to shift production capacity quickly from one
product or service to another; can be achieved through flexible plants,
flexible processes, and flexible workers.

Capacity Requirement Planning An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as CRP; a technique used to estimate the labour and
equipment resources according to material requirements; see also
Material Requirements Planning.

Capillarity A Fluid Mechanics term; a phenomenon of rise or fall of

the level of a liquid in a capillary tube held vertically or inclined in the
liquid; the narrower the tube, the greater is the rise or fall; a few
common examples include the absorption of ink by a blotting paper (has
fine pores which act as capillary tubes), the rising of oil in a wick (has
fine threads which have narrow space), the swelling of wood in rainy
season due to moisture absorption and the soaking of water by a towel.

Capillary Tube A Fluid Mechanics term; also called simply Capillary;

a glass tube with a fine and uniform bore throughout its length and
open at its both ends; a means to show the capillarity of a liquid.

Capillary A Fluid Mechanics term; see Capillary Tube.

Capital Assets A Financial Management term; see Fixed Assets.

Capital Budgeting A Financial Management term; a process of

evaluating and selecting long-term investments which are consistent
with the firm’s goal of owner wealth maximization.
Capital Energy A Power Plant term; the energy derived from the
fuels existing in the earth such as fossil fuels and nuclear fuels.

Capital Expenditure A Financial Management term; an outlay of

funds by a firm which is expected to produce benefits over a period of
time greater than one year; see also Operating Expenditure.

Capital Gain A Financial Management term; the amount by which

the sale price of an asset exceeds the asset’s initial purchase price.

Capital Goods A Financial Management term; the high cost items

which are bought to improve the efficiency of a company; involve few
buyers and are sold after lengthy negotiations and evaluation; a few
examples include buildings, machinery, equipment, vehicles, and tools;
these are not finished goods, instead used in making finished goods.

Capital Productivity A Management term; a ratio of the output to

the capital input; a measure of growth of an organization; see also
Labour Productivity and Material Productivity.

Capital A Financial Management term; a manufactured or created

product (a physical entity) used solely for the production of goods and
services to be consumed by individuals; includes long-lived items such
as land, buildings (factories and warehouses), and equipment (machines,
trucks) which are used in production and the long-term funds of a firm;
all the items on the right-hand side of the balance sheet excluding
current liabilities; a critical resource in growing economies where
labour is combined with capital to produce goods and services; stocks
and bonds are called financial capital.

Capital-Intensive Technology An Economics term; a technology

which relies heavily on capital instead of human labour; see also
Labour-Intensive Technology.

CAPP An Operations Management term; see Computer-Aided

Process Planning.
Carbon Arc Welding A Welding term; an arc welding in which arc is
created between a pure graphite (carbon) electrode and the workpiece;
suffers from the problem of mixing of carbon disintegrated from the
carbon electrode with the workpiece, thus making the joint brittle and
weak, hence not used now a days; see also Twin Electrode Carbon Arc
Welding.

Carbon Black A Chemistry term; see Lamp Black.

Carbon Dioxide Mould A Casting term, abbreviated as CO2 Mould; a

sand mould (composed of clean sand which is free of oil, resin or clay
and sodium silicate solution) which uses carbon dioxide gas to harden
the mould; used to obtain very smooth and intricate castings.

Carbon Dioxide A Chemistry term having the chemical formula CO2;

a dioxide of carbon obtained by burning carbon in excess of air
(oxygen); prepared in laboratory by the action of cold dilute
hydrochloric acid (HCl) on marble (CaCO3); a colourless gas with a faint
pungent odour and slight acidic taste; about 1.5 times heavier than air;
dissolves in water to a small extent forming carbonic acid (H2CO3), a
weak acid; also dissolves in alkalis to form salts; unlike carbon
monoxide (CO), CO2 is not poisonous; however, it does not support life
in animals and human beings, but causes suffocation resulting in death
due to lack of oxygen.

Carbon Monoxide A Chemistry term, abbreviated as CO; a neutral

oxide of carbon (C) obtained by burning carbon in a limited supply of
oxygen; a colourless and odourless toxic gas which is slightly soluble in
water; its highly poisonous nature is due to its ability to form a complex
with haemoglobin which is about 300 times more stable than the
oxygen-haemoglobin complex which can prevent haemoglobin in the
red blood corpuscles (RBC) from carrying oxygen round the body, thus
resulting in ultimately death; an essential constituent of gaseous fuels
like water gas (CO + H2) and producer gas (CO + N2); a powerful
reducing agent which can reduce almost all metal oxides other than
those of the alkali and alkaline earth metals, aluminium and a few
transition metals; its reducing property is used in the extraction of
many metals from their oxide ores; readily combines with chlorine (Cl2)
in the presence of sunlight to give carbonyl chloride, also called
phosgene (COCl2), which is an extremely poisonous gas.

Carbon Steel A Materials Engineering term; see Plain Carbon Steel.

Carbon Tetrachloride A Chemistry term, abbreviated as CCl4; a

colourless, nonpolar liquid with high density (1.58 g/cm3) prepared
commercially by passing chlorine (Cl) into carbon disulphide (CS2) in
the presence of a small amount of iodine (I); a common laboratory and
industrial solvent for nonpolar materials; used as a fire-extinguisher as it
is noncombustible; also used in preparing Freons such as CFCl3, CF2Cl2,
and CF3Cl, which are used as refrigerants.

Carbon A Chemistry term; a nonmetallic chemical element having

symbol C with atomic number 6 and atomic weight 12; melts at 3727 °C
and boils at 4833 °C; forms a great variety of compounds with other
elements and is the major element in organic compounds; occurs hardly
up to 0.1% in the earth’s crust; it occurs in the combined form (with
oxygen and hydrogen) in all living tissues belonging to plant or animal
kingdom and in petroleum and coal deposits; also occurs as carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere and as carbonates in rocks and minerals
such as limestone and dolomite, and in pure form (as well as in free
state) as diamond and graphite and more abundantly in a contaminated
form as coal; exists in various allotropic forms, of which diamond and
graphite are crystalline, while coal, wood charcoal, animal charcoal,
lamp black, coke, and gas carbon are amorphous; exhibits the
remarkable property of catenation.

Carbonyl Chloride A Chemistry term; see Phosgene.

Carburizing Flame A Chemistry term; also called Reducing Flame; a

type of oxyacetylene gas flame which contains excess of fuel gas
(acetylene) as compared to oxygen in the mixture; finds use in gas
welding to join high carbon steel, cast iron, and cemented carbide; see
also Oxidizing Flame and Neutral Flame.
Carburization A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; see
Carburizing.

Carburizing A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; also

called Carburization; a case hardening process used to produce a hard
and wear-resistant surface in low carbon steel parts without affecting
their inner core by heating the parts in the presence of a carbon-rich
substance above critical temperatures for a prolonged time.

Cardice A Chemistry term; see Solid Carbon Dioxide.

Carlo Alberto Castigliano (1847–1884) An Italian mathematician

and physicist who is well known for his Castigliano’s theorem, which is
used for determining the displacements in a linear-elastic system using
the partial derivatives of strain energy.

Carnot Cycle A Thermodynamics term; an ideal, hypothetical

thermodynamic cycle developed by a French mechanical engineer Sadi
Carnot (1796–1832); a reversible cycle which consists of two reversible
isotherms and two reversible adiabatics; offers the maximum possible
thermal efficiency; the efficiency of the Carnot cycle is independent of
the working medium, but depends upon the maximum and minimum
temperatures used in the cycle; a benchmarked cycle (standard) cycle
which other cycles try to approach its thermal efficiency; all other
thermodynamic cycles have lower thermal efficiencies than that of a
Carnot cycle.

Carnot Efficiency A Thermodynamics term; the maximum thermal

efficiency of a reversible power cycle operating between two heat-
reservoir temperatures; given as:

where

TL = absolute temperature of the low-temperature reservoir

TH = absolute temperature of the high-temperature reservoir.
Carnot Heat Engine A Thermodynamics term; a heat engine which
operates on the reversible Carnot cycle; the thermal efficiency of Carnot
heat engine (as well as other reversible engines) is given as:

where

TL = absolute temperature of the low-temperature reservoir

TH = absolute temperature of the high-temperature reservoir.

Carnot Heat Pump A Thermodynamics term; a heat pump which

works on the reversed Carnot cycle.

Carnot Principle A Thermodynamics term; the two deductions or

corollaries derived from the second law of thermodynamics, given
below as:
No engine can be more efficient than a reversible engine operating
between the same temperature limits.
All reversible engines operating between the same temperature
limits have the same efficiency.

Carnot Refrigerator A Thermodynamics term; a refrigerator which

works on the reversed Carnot cycle.

Carriage Spring A Strength of Materials term related to a spring; see

Laminated Spring.

Carriage A Lathe term; a principal part of a lathe which consists of

tool post, saddle, cross slide, compound slide, and apron; used to carry
the cutting tool and control its movements either along the axis of the
workpiece (longitudinal direction) or perpendicular to it (transverse
direction).

Cascade A Fluid Mechanics term related to a pump; also called Blade

Row; an infinite series of two-dimensional blades of a pump.
Case Hardening A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment;
also called Surface Hardening or Skin Hardening; a heat treatment
process used to produce a hard, wear resistant outer surface (called case
or skin) on a mild steel (low-carbon steel) specimen while leaving its
interior soft and tough, using various atmospheres such as carbon,
nitrogen or their combination up to a depth of about 2 mm; a few
examples include carburizing, nitriding, cyaniding, and flame hardening.

Cast Cobalt Alloy A Materials Engineering term; see Stellite.

Cast Iron A Materials Engineering term; a ferrous metal which

contains iron between 91 and 94% together with 2–4.5% of carbon (C),
0.7–3% of silicon (Si) and small quantities of phosphorus (P), sulphur
(S), and manganese (Mn); carbon in cast iron is present partly as free
carbon in the form of graphite and partly in combination with iron as
cementite (Fe3C); the least pure form of iron as well as the least
expensive of all metals because of its abundance occurrence in nature;
extracted chiefly from its oxide ore by heating it in the presence of coke
and limestone in a blast furnace; melts at relatively low temperature
(1200 °C); molten cast iron is easily cast into complex shapes, hence
finds extensive applications in casting operations; also can be easily
machined to required tolerances; important types of cast iron include
grey, white, malleable, and nodular.

Castability A Manufacturing term related to casting; the ability of a

material which enables it to be easily cast in the shapes of desired
products; the grey cast iron has the best castability among the cast iron
group as it has high fluidity and slow solidification rate.

Castigliano’s Theorem A Strength of Materials term; a theorem

named after an Italian mathematician and physicist Carlo alberto
Castigliano (1847–1884); uses the work-energy principle to find
deflection of a straight or curved beam under various loading
conditions; states that the partial derivative of strain energy produced
(within the elastic limit) with respect to a force producing it, gives the
displacement (deflection) in the direction of force, and can be
mathematically expressed as:
alternatively, the partial derivative of strain energy produced (within
the elastic limit) due to a force acting on a member with respect to any
linear displacement, gives force in the direction of displacement, and
can be mathematically expressed as:

Casting Defects A Casting term; the defects produced in a casting;

produced due to faulty design of pattern, mould, core, and gating system
or due to defects in pouring techniques; a few examples include
shrinkage, cold shut, misrun, rat tail, hot tear, blow, pin hole, and core
shift.

Catalyst A Chemistry term; a material used to initiate a chemical

reaction.

Catenation A Chemistry term; a remarkable property of carbon (C)

to make chains of identical atoms through covalent bonds which is due
to small size and higher electronegativity of carbon atom and unique
strength of carbon–carbon bonds; helps to form millions of carbon
compounds in which carbon atoms are bonded to one another.

Cathode An Electrical term; the positive terminal of a power source

(battery) and the negative terminal of an electrolytic cell; see also
Anode.

Cathodic Reaction A Chemistry term; the reduction reaction which

occurs at the cathode in an electrochemical cell; see also Anodic
Reaction.

Cation A Chemistry term; a positively charged ion which results due

to removal of an electron from a neutral atom or molecule; a few
examples include sodium ion (Na+1), calcium ion (Ca+2), and ammonium
ion (NH4+1); see also Anion.
Cauchy Number A Fluid Mechanics term; a non-dimensional group,
named after a French engineer, mathematician, and hydrodynamicist
Augustin Louis de Cauchy (1789–1857); used in the analysis of a
compressible flow; denoted by ; expressed as:

where

ρ = density of the fluid

v = velocity of the fluid
K = bulk modulus of the fluid.

Cauchy Stress A Strength of Materials term; see Engineering Stress.

Causal Model Method An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; see Regression Method.

Cause-and-Effect Diagram A Quality Management term; also called

Ishikawa Diagram named after Kaoru Ishikawa, a famous Japanese
quality expert who evolved this diagram in 1943; a quality improving
tool used to trace the customer complaints about quality problems; a
graphical description of the elements of a specific quality problem and
the relationship between those elements; also called Fishbone
Diagram, because of its similarity to a fish’s body, where the main
quality problem is labelled as the fish’s ‘head’, the major categories of
potential causes as structural ‘bones’ and the likely specific causes as
‘ribs’.

Cavitation A Fluid Mechanics term; a form of water damage

associated with the collapse of small vapour bubbles in an adjacent
liquid; occurs when the absolute pressure of the liquid becomes equal
to or lower than its vapour pressure at a given temperature; for
example, cavitation occurs at the tip of a boat’s propeller blades, and
causes damage to impeller, casing, and other components of a
centrifugal pump due to pitting of their surfaces because of erosion;
also makes the operation of a pump noisy, produces vibration problems,
and impairs the hydraulic performance.

CBN A Materials Engineering term; see Cubic Boron Nitride.

C-Chart A Quality Control term; a control chart for attributes used for
controlling the number of defects when more than one defect can be
present in a product or service; a few examples include scratches on
tables, fire alarms in a city, accidents at a particular intersection,
complaints at a hotel, and typesetting errors in a newspaper; the
control limits for a c-chart are defined as: UCL = c + z and LCL = c –
z , where ‘c’ is the mean of the distribution (the target value),
is the standard deviation, and ‘z’ is the number of standard deviation
(usually z = 3); distribution of defects for a c-chart follows the Poisson
distribution, which is based on the notion that defects occur over a
continuous region and that the probability of two or more defects at
any one location is negligible; see also P-Chart.

CCl4 A Chemistry term; see Carbon Tetrachloride.

Celestial Energy A Physics term; the energy derived from the outer
atmosphere; for example, solar energy and lunar energy.

Cell A Manufacturing term; see Manufacturing Cell.

Cellular Layout An Operations Management term related to facilities

planning; a modern, expensive plant layout in which different jobs in
small number are produced by grouping the machines in a cell (a
complete manufacturing unit consisting of computer-controlled
machines and automatic material handling system designed produce a
single parts family, that is, a few parts all with common characteristics);
an improved version of product layout as it offers increased
manufacturing flexibility to produce a variety of quality products which
meet customization; used in flexible manufacturing system (FMS).

Cellular Manufacturing A Manufacturing term; a manufacturing

methodology in which manufacturing activities to process a workpiece
are performed in cells consisting of several machines kept together and
controlled by a central robot.

Celsius Scale A Thermodynamics term; also previously called

Centigrade Scale; a temperature scale used in the SI system and now
considered in the English system; named after the Swedish astronomer
and inventor Anders Celsius (1701–1744); uses the unit degree Celsius
(°C) for temperature measurement; the ice and steam points on this
scale are assigned the values of 0 °C and 100 °C respectively; see also
Fahrenheit Scale, Kelvin Scale, and Rankine Scale.

Cemented Carbide A Materials Engineering term; also called

Sintered Carbide as it is manufactured by powder metallurgy
technique using sintering; used in making cutting tools to be operated
at high cutting speeds without affecting its hardness at increased
temperatures; lacks toughness and is brittle; mostly used in the
disposable insert form in order to replace it easily, when worn out.

Cementite A Materials Engineering term; a constituent of steel and

cast iron having the chemical formula Fe3C; it is hard and brittle.

Centigrade Scale A Thermodynamics term; see Celsius Scale.

Centimetre The CGS unit of length; the one-hundredth part of a

metre (m); denoted by cm; 1 cm = 10 mm = 10–2 m; see also Metre and
Millimetre.

Centipoise A Fluid Mechanics term; a smaller unit of viscosity equal

to one-hundredth of a poise, that is, 1 centipoise (cP) is equal to 0.01
poise (P); the viscosity of fresh water at room temperature is about 1
cP; see also Poise.

Central Force A Physics term; a force which always acts towards or

away from a fixed point (called the centre of force) and whose
magnitude depends only on the distance from that point; a few
examples include gravitational force, elastic force, and electrostatic
force.
Central Workshop A Manufacturing term; a place where
manufacturing activities are carried out on a small scale for the
purpose of making a job from a study viewpoint; classified into machine
shop, foundry shop, fitting shop, welding shop, sheet metal shop, and
carpentry shop.

Centralization A Management term; an organizational setup in

which the authority to make important decisions is retained by the
managers at the top of the hierarchy; see also Decentralization.

Centre of Buoyancy A Fluid Mechanics term; the centre of gravity of

the liquid displaced by a solid body immersed in the liquid; for a
homogeneous and isotropic body, the centre of gravity coincides with the
centre of buoyancy.

Centre of Flexure A Strength of Materials term; see Shear Centre.

Centre of Gravity A Physics term; a point where the entire weight of

a body acts, and the total gravitational torque on the body is zero; may
or may not lie within the body; the centre of gravity of a body may or
may not be the same as its centre of mass; for a small size body having
its mass uniformly distributed, the centre of gravity coincides with the
centre of mass (in case of a solid sphere, where both points lie at its
centre); for a large size body having non-uniform mass distribution, the
centre of gravity does not coincide with the centre of mass; denoted by
G; see also Centroid.

Centre of Mass A Physics term; a point where the whole mass of a

body may be assumed to be concentrated; the centre of mass of regular
shaped homogeneous bodies lies at their geometric centres; see also
Centre of Gravity and Centroid; the position of the centre of mass of a
few regular shaped bodies are tabulated below:

Body Position of the centre of mass

Uniform solid or hollow sphere Centre of the sphere
Uniform circular ring or disc Centre of the ring or disc
Uniform rod Centre of the rod
Body Position of the centre of mass
Rectangular or cubical block Point of intersection of the diagonals
Hollow and solid cylinder Middle point of the axis of the cylinder
A triangular plane lamina Point of intersection of medians of the
triangle
Plane lamina (square, rectangle or Point of intersection of diagonals
parallelogram)

Centre of Twist A Strength of Materials term; see Shear Centre.

Centric Axial Force A Strength of Materials term; an axial force

acting through the centre of a section; see also Axial Load.

Centric Loading A Strength of Materials term; a loading condition in

which a load acts through the centroid of the cross section of a body.

Centrifugal Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; a

casting process which uses centrifugal force to hold the molten metal
against the inside of a rotating mould; produces high-grade cylindrical
castings having superior mechanical properties; the typical products
made by this method include cast iron pipes, cylinder liners, gun barrels,
pressure vessels, brake drums, gears, and flywheels; classified into true
centrifugal casting, semi-centrifugal casting, and centrifuging.

Centrifugal Force A Physics term; a force which occurs, when a body

is moving along a circular path, by virtue of tendency of the body to
regain its natural straight line path; equals in magnitude but opposite in
direction to the centripetal force and is directed radially outwards; see
also Centripetal Force.

Centrifugal Governor A Theory of Machines term; a type of governor

which works on the principle of balancing a centrifugal force (produced
due to rotation of governor balls about the axis of a shaft) by a
controlling force that acts in the radially inward direction, and is
provided by a dead weight, a spring or a combination of the two; much
more frequently used than an inertia governor; a few examples of
centrifugal governors include Watt, Porter, and Proell governors; see
also Inertia Governor.
Centrifugal Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Radial-Flow
Pump; a rotodynamic pump in which a fluid enters axially (along the
axis of a rotating shaft) in the centre of the pump, but leaves along the
outer radius of the pump casing; increases the pressure of fluid by the
centrifugal action produced by the rotation of its impeller blades;
operates at high speeds; involves low initial cost; offers continuous and
smooth delivery; suitable for large discharge and low heads; see also
Reciprocating Pump.

Centrifuge Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Centrifuging.

Centrifuging A Manufacturing term related to casting; also called

Centrifuge Casting; a type of centrifugal casting used to produce large
number of small size castings which need not be symmetrical using a
rotating mould consisting of several mould cavities on its periphery;
uses relatively low rotational speeds; often used to assist in the pouring
of investment casting trees to produce gold inlays by dentist or to
produce bearing caps or small brackets; see also True Centrifugal
Casting and Semi-Centrifugal Casting.

Centripetal Acceleration A Physics term; the acceleration acting on

a particle (or a body) which undergoes a uniform circular motion; acts
along the radius and is directed towards the centre of the circular path
(radially inward); the velocity and acceleration are always at right
angles; its magnitude is given as:

where

ac = centripetal acceleration vector

v = velocity of the particle
r = radius of the circular path
ω = angular acceleration vector.
Centripetal Force A Physics term; a force required to move a body
uniformly in a circular path (circle); acts along the radius and is
directed towards the centre of the circular path; for example, the earth
exerts the centripetal force on the moon (as a gravitational force) to
make it revolving around the earth; the nucleus exerts the centripetal
force on an electron (as an electrostatic force) to make it revolving
around the nucleus; equals to the product of mass of the body and its
centripetal acceleration; given as:

where

F = centripetal force
m = mass of the body
v = linear velocity of the body
r = radius of the circular path
ω = angular velocity of the body; see also Centrifugal Force.

Centroid A Strength of Materials term; also called Geometric

Centre; the centre of gravity of a plane area; a point where the entire
areas of a plane figure can be assumed to be concentrated; see also
Centre of Gravity.

Centroidal Axis A Strength of Materials term; the axis which passes

through the centroid of a cross section of a body; classified into
horizontal centroidal axis and vertical centroidal axis.

Centroidal Load A Strength of Materials term; a load which passes

through the centroid of a cross section of a body.

Ceramic Materials A Materials Engineering term; the materials

which exhibit ionic or covalent bonds or both; can withstand high
temperatures.
Ceramic Mould Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting;
also called Ceramic Shell Process as the mould is made of ceramic
shell or Shaw Process named after its British inventors Clifford and
Shaw or Cope-and-Drag Investment Casting as the two parts of the
mould are made by using a ceramic slurry (the process is called
investment) consisting of a mixture of fine-grained zircon (ZrSiO4),
aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and fused silica mixed with bonding agent;
used to produce high precision parts made from ferrous and other high-
temperature alloys, stainless steels, and tool steels; the typical products
made by this method include turbine impellers, machining cutters,
metalworking dies including stamping dies and extrusion dies; also used
in making plastic and glass moulds.

Ceramic Shell Process A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Ceramic Mould Casting.

Ceramics A Materials Engineering term; the inorganic crystalline

materials which are strong and hard, but also very brittle; have
exceptional compressive strength; can withstand very high temperatures,
and are good electrical insulators; naturally occurring ceramics include
beach sand and rocks; usually processed by powder metallurgy
technique; used to make bricks, tableware, sanitaryware, refractories,
and abrasives; also used in consumer products such as paints, plastics,
tyres, and for industrial applications such as tiles for the space shuttles.

Cermets A Materials Engineering term; a group of cutting tool

materials consisting of ceramics (TiC, TiN, and TiCN) and metals (nickel
and molybdenum), which has the advantages of both; suitable for rough
cutting; offer higher cutting speed at increased temperatures.

Chain Drive A Theory of Machines term; a mechanism used to

transmit motion or power between two shafts which are shorter
distance apart as compared to belt or rope drive, using a chain that runs
over the shafts and consists of rigid links; a positive drive of power
transmission which offers a constant velocity ratio to some extent; see
also Belt Drive and Rope Drive.
Chain of Command A Management term; the clear and distinct line
of authority among the positions in an organization; consists of two
components, namely unity of command and scalar principle.

Chain A Theory of Machines term; a series of links which are uniform

in length and fitted together to form a continuous band.

Chain-Growth Polymerization A Chemistry term; see Addition

Polymerization.

Chance Error A Metrology term; see Random Error.

Chance Variation A Statistics term; see Natural Variation.

Channel Induction Furnace See Core Induction Furnace.

Chaplet A Manufacturing term related to casting; a metallic

supporting device used to prevent the core from shifting and keeping it
in place.

Characteristic Gas Constant A Chemistry term; a gas constant (R)

appearing in the equation of state for an ideal gas (PV = mRT, where P =
pressure, V = volume, T = absolute temperature, and m = mass of the
gas); related to universal gas constant (Ru) as R = Ru/M, where M is the
molar mass (also called molecular weight) of the gas; see also
Universal Gas Constant.

Charcoal A Chemistry term; an amorphous allotropic form of carbon

(C) which is most reactive of all the allotropic forms and readily burns
in air to give carbon dioxide (CO2); obtained in four forms, namely wood
charcoal, animal charcoal, sugar charcoal, and activated charcoal; used
as an excellent adsorbent in gas masks and for removing the offensive
odour from the air used in air-conditioning processes; used in
decolourizing sugar syrup and for refining of oils, fats, glycerine, etc.;
also finds use in the treatment of drinking water after chlorination to
adsorb the excess of chlorine.
Charge Density A Physics term; the number of charge carriers per
unit volume.

Charging Dock An Electric Vehicle term; see Electric Vehicle Supply

Equipment.

Charging Point An Electric Vehicle term; the location—whether it is

at home, at work or in a public space—where electric vehicles can be
plugged in and charged.

Charging Station An Electric Vehicle term; see Electric Vehicle

Supply Equipment.

Charging An Electric Vehicle term; the process of refilling of electric

vehicles with electricity.

Charles Augustin de Coulomb (1736–1806) A famous French

physicist whose name is inscribed on the Eiffel Tower; well known for
his Coulomb’s law of electrostatics and the coulomb (C), the SI unit of
electric charge; derived the torsion formula in about 1775.

Charpy Test A Strength of Materials term; the most commonly used

impact test used to determine the impact properties of a material like
brittleness and impact strength; the Charpy test is conducted using a
swinging pendulum which is released from a fixed height to strike on
the notched portion of a 55 mm × 10 mm × 10 mm test specimen, and
reading the energy absorbed by the specimen from a dial; see also Izod
Test.

Check Valve A Fluid Mechanics term; a type of one-way valve which

allows a fluid to flow in one direction only.

Chemical Blanking A Nonconventional Machining term; a

nonconventional chemical machining (CM) process which removes
materials from a workpiece by chemical dissolution in the form of
metallic salts; a few chemical blanking products include printed circuit
boards, decorative panels, and thin parts.
Chemical Bond A Chemistry term; the attractive force which holds
together the constituent atoms of a molecule; the base of formation of
molecules.

Chemical Compounds A Chemistry term; compounds of two or more

than two elements chemically formed; for example, water (H2O) is a
chemical compound of hydrogen and oxygen.

Chemical Energy A Chemistry term; the energy which results from a

chemical change or chemical reaction between molecules of different
substances; a stored form of energy; stored in fossil fuels such as coal
and wood, and petroleum fuels such as petrol, diesel and kerosene oil;
burning of 1 kg of coal produces 3 × 107 J of energy.

Chemical Engineer A technical person who is responsible for the

industrial-scale production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and for
managing the by-products of operations in the petroleum, electronics,
and biotechnology industries.

Chemical Equilibrium A Chemistry term; a state of equilibrium

which occurs when there is no chemical reaction or phase change in the
system; see also Mechanical Equilibrium and Thermal Equilibrium.

Chemical Machining A Nonconventional Machining term,

abbreviated as CM; the oldest nonconventional machining process
which uses a strong chemical reagent, called etchant, to remove a layer
of material either from the entire surface or form selected portions of a
workpiece; used to produce very intricate shapes, internal as well as
external, which are otherwise difficult to produce; classified into
chemical milling, chemical blanking, and photochemical blanking.

Chemical Milling A Nonconventional Machining term; a

nonconventional chemical machining (CM) process which replaces
conventional milling by chemical action, hence is so named; a chemical
machining process which uses etchant to remove materials from a
workpiece, usually to produce shallow cavities on plates, sheets,
forgings, and extrusions; extensively used in aerospace industry to
remove thin layer of materials from many aircraft components to
reduce their weights and to improve the stiffness-to-weight ratio.

Chezy Coefficient A Fluid Mechanics term; a coefficient which

appears in the Chezy equation, named after a French physicist and
hydraulic engineer Antoine Chezy (1718–1798); given as:

where

C = Chezy coefficient
Cf = skin friction factor.
g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s2.

Chezy Equation A Fluid Mechanics term; one of the oldest equations

in the area of fluid mechanics developed in 1768 by a French Physicist
and hydraulic engineer Antoine Chezy (1718–1798), who designed a
canal for the Paris water supply system, which connects the flow
velocity to channel geometry parameters like hydraulic radius and bed
slope; given as:

where

Cf = skin friction factor

Rh = hydraulic radius
Sb = bed slope of the channel
g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s2.

Chief Executive Officer A Management term, abbreviated as CEO; a

high level manager who is responsible for planning the long-term
strategic objectives of the organization and managing the organization’s
relationship with external stakeholders; the most powerful person in a
company who controls the allocation of money; reports to the chair of
the board of directors (who has the most legal authority); often the
same person is both chief executive officer and the chair of the board;
selects the key executives to occupy the topmost levels of the
managerial hierarchy; his actions and reputation have a major impact
on the organization.

Chief Operating Officer A Management term, abbreviated as COO; a

president who is next in line for the job of a chief executive officer
(CEO).

Chill A Manufacturing term related to casting; a metallic object of

high heat capacity and high thermal conductivity placed in the mould
or mould cavity to increase the cooling rate of castings or to provide
uniform or directional solidification; usually made of same material as
that of casting; classified into external and internal chills.

Chilled Cast Iron A Materials Engineering term; see White Cast

Iron.

Chilled Water A Heat Transfer term; the low-temperature water

used in central air-conditioning plants to produce cooling effect by the
absorption of heat.

Chimney A Power Plant term; a masonry structure with an opening

or outlet through which the hot flue gas can be emitted to the ambient
atmosphere.

Chip Thickness Ratio A Manufacturing term related to cutting; also

called Cutting Ratio; a ratio of the uncut chip thickness (depth of cut)
to the chip thickness; a ratio of the chip length to the length of uncut
material; a ratio of the chip velocity to the cutting tool velocity; always
less than unity; its reciprocal is called chip reduction coefficient.

Chip In electronics terms, a thin slice of crystalline semiconductor

upon which an electrical circuitry is produced by controlled diffusion;
in metal cutting terms, the undesired part of a material removed from it
during its machining by a cutting tool, and may be classified into
continuous and discontinuous chips.

Chisel A Manufacturing term; a workshop tool used for cutting

metals or nicking prior to breaking or chipping away pieces of metals
from a workpiece; classified into hot and cold chisels depending upon
whether they are used for cutting hot or cold metal respectively; cold
chisels have higher cutting angle (60°) compared to hot chisels (30°), as
the former is required to transmit more force on the workpiece; usual
cross sections of a chisel include rectangular, hexagonal, or octagonal; a
few important types of chisels include flat, cross cut, half round,
diamond point, or side chisels.

Chord A Mathematics term; a line segment with its end-points lying

on a circle; the diameter of a circle is its largest chord.

Chrome Plating A Chemistry term; a process of providing a coating

cover of chromium (Cr) over iron (Fe) and other base metals to make
them resistant to corrosion; stainless steel uses this process to make it
corrosion-resistant.

Chromium A Chemistry term; a metallic element having symbol Cr

with atomic number 24; a bluish-white lustrous metal which melts at
1875 °C and does not tarnish in air at ordinary temperatures; an
important alloying element which is added to steel to increase its
corrosion resistance; stainless steel is spotless because of the presence of
chromium; used extensively for plating metals (called chrome plating)
as it is very resistant to corrosion; alloys of nickel (Ni) and chromium
(Cr) containing about 20% Cr are used in making electrical resistances
for heaters and electric furnaces because of their tendency to resist
oxidation effectively even at red heat.

Chromium-Nickel Steel A Materials Engineering term; see

Austenitic Stainless Steel.

CI Engine An IC Engine term; see Diesel Engine.

CIM A Manufacturing term; see Computer Integrated
Manufacturing.

Circle A Mathematics term; the locus of a point which moves in a

plane such that its distance from a fixed point in that plane is always
constant (the fixed point is called centre of the circle and fixed distance
its radius); a round-shaped closed plane figure; the equation of a circle
with its centre (h, k) and radius a, area (A) and circumference (P) are
expressed as:

where

r = radius of the circle

d = diameter of the circle = 2r
π = a constant = .

Circular Frequency A Physics term; see Angular Frequency.

Circular Pitch A Gear term; also called simply Pitch; the linear
distance traveled in one revolution of a screw; the distance measured
parallel to the axis between a point on one tooth to a corresponding
point on an adjacent tooth; equals to the sum of the tooth thickness and
width of tooth space.

Circular Region A Mathematics term; a region circular in shape; the

interior part of a circle.

Circular Tube A tube having a circular cross section.

Circulation A Fluid Mechanics term; the line integral of the tangential

velocity component about any closed curve fixed in a flow; denoted by
Г; expressed as:
where

V = velocity of the fluid

dS = elemental length.

Circumference A Mathematics term; the perimeter of a circle; equals

to 2πr or πd, where r is the radius of the circle (equal to one-half of the
diameter (d)) and π is a constant which has the value of .

Circumferential Strain A Strength of Materials term; also called

Hoop Strain; the strain produced in the circumference of a cylindrical
vessel.

Circumferential Stress A Strength of Materials term; also called

Hoop Stress; a tensile stress produced in the circumference of a
pressure vessel.

Civil Engineer A technical person who designs and constructs roads,

buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, and water supply systems;
the environmental concerns are often at the centre of a civil engineer in
order to prevent contamination of ground-water, soil, and the
atmosphere.

C-Kanban An Operations Management term; see Withdrawal

Kanban.

Clamp Coupling A Design term; also called Compression Coupling

or Ribbed Coupling; a type of rigid coupling; a modification and
improvement of sleeve coupling; consists of two parts to be clamped
tightly against the surface of the shaft ends by through bolts, and are
machined to fit the shaft, and finished off around the periphery and on
both ends.

Clamped Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a beam; see

Fixed Beam.
Clapeyron Equation A Thermodynamics term; named after a French
engineer and physicist Benoit Paul Emile Clapeyron (1799–1864);
relates changes in properties for a change of phase of a substance; used
to determine the enthalpy change associated with a phase-change (hfg)
from a knowledge of pressure (p), volume (v), and temperature (T) data
alone, by simply measuring the slope of the saturation curve on a P–T
diagram and the specific volume of saturated liquid and saturated
vapour at the given temperature; given as:

Classical Physics Physics based on a macroscopic domain which

discusses the matter in its totality, includes subjects like mechanics,
thermodynamics, electrodynamics, and optics.

Clausius Inequality A Thermodynamics term; a corollary of the

second law of thermodynamics; provides the basis of entropy
production and entropy balance for a system; for any thermodynamic
cycle, the Clausius inequality is given as:

where

δQ = heat transfer
T = absolute temperature of heat transfer

the equality sign applies when there are no internal irreversibilities

when the system executes the cycle, and the inequality sign applies
when internal irreversibilities are present.

Clausius Statement A Thermodynamics term; the second statement

of the second law of thermodynamics, named after a German
mathematical physicist Rudolph Julius Emmanuel Clausius (1822–
1888); states that no device can transfer heat from a cooler body to a
hotter body without leaving an effect on the surroundings (without
consumption of some energy in the form of work); the statement
relates to refrigerators or heat pumps; see also Kelvin–Planck
Statement.

Clearance Volume An IC Engine term; the minimum volume

occupied by the air in a cylinder of an engine when the piston is at top
dead centre (TDC).

Clearance A Design term; used in the context of mating of cylindrical

parts (such as bolt and a hole) in which the internal member is smaller
than the external member; the opposite of interference; see also
Interference.

Clockwise Moment A Physics term; a moment which can rotate a

body in the direction of movement of the hands of a clock; considered
as a negative moment; see also Counterclockwise Moment.

Close-Coiled Helical Spring A Strength of Materials term related to a

spring; a cylindrical helical spring with a small helix angle which can be
approximated to zero so that the plane of coil of spring and the axis of
spring are normal to each other; see also Open-Coiled Helical Spring.

Closed Circuit An Electrical term; a path for electrical flow if voltage

is applied to it; see also Open Circuit.

Closed Curve A Mathematics term; a curve whose start and end

points coincide; a curve which cuts or crosses itself; see also Simple
Curve.

Closed System A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic system of

fixed mass; does not allow mass transfer across its boundary, but allows
only energy transfer; see also Open System.

Closed-Die Forging A Manufacturing term; also called Impression-

Die Forging, as it produces the impression of the die on the workpiece;
a hot metal working process used to shape a heated workpiece by
placing it between two shaped-dies (that confine metal between them)
and then pressed or hammered; see also Open-Die Forging.
Closed-Loop System An Electrical term; a control system which
considers the output of a system and makes adjustments based on that
output; see also Open-Loop System.

CM A Nonconventional Machining term; see Chemical Machining.

CMI An Operations Management term; see Co-Managed Inventory.

CMM A Manufacturing term: see Coordinate Measuring Machine.

CN A Chemistry term; see Coordination Number.

CNC Lathe A Manufacturing term; a type of lathe based on computer

numerical control (CNC); capable of machining complex part
geometries than a conventional lathe; widely used for contour turning
operations with precise accuracy.

CNC A Manufacturing term; see Computer Numerical Control.

CO A Chemistry term; see Carbon Monoxide.

CO2 Mould A Casting term; see Carbon Dioxide Mould.

Coal A Chemistry term; a contaminated, amorphous form of carbon

abundantly available in nature inside the earth’s crust and whose
purest form is anthracite which contains about 95% of carbon; other
varieties of coal include steam coal (93% carbon), bituminous coal
(88% carbon), lignite (67% carbon), and peat (60% carbon);
extensively used as a fuel in boilers, heat engines, and furnaces.

Coated Cemented Carbide A Materials Engineering term; a carbide

material having a thin layer coating of titanium carbide, titanium nitride,
titanium carbo-nitride or aluminium oxide; used in making cutting tools
offering increased wear resistance, which allows increased cutting
speeds at elevated temperatures; manufactured by chemical vapour
deposition or physical vapour deposition methods.

Coated Electrode A Welding term; see Covered Electrode.

Coaxial A Design term; having axes in the same straight line.

Cobalt Alloys A Materials Engineering term; contains cobalt as the

main constituent besides other elements present in various amounts;
important cobalt alloys include cobalt steel, stellite, and cochrome.

Cobalt Steel A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of cobalt (Co)

and iron (Fe) containing 35% Co; used in making permanent magnets.

Cobalt A Chemistry term; a metallic element having symbol Co with

atomic number 27 which melts at 1495 °C; a white coloured hard,
malleable and ductile metal, which has ferromagnetic nature but much
less than iron; used as an important alloying element in making many
useful alloys such as cobalt steel, stellite, and cochrome; also used for
electroplating iron and other base metals using cobalt (II) ammonium
sulphate as the bath.

Cochrome A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of cobalt (Co), iron

(Fe), and chromium (Cr); used in making electrical goods.

Code of Ethics A Management term; a formal document which states

an organization’s primary values and the ethical rules followed by the
organizational members; helps to maintain discipline in the
organization.

Code A Metrology term; a set of specifications for the analysis, design,

manufacture, and construction of something for achieving a specified
degree of safety, efficiency, and performance or quality; see also
Standard.

Coefficient of Contraction A Fluid Mechanics term; a jet coefficient; a

ratio of the area of cross-section at vena contracta to the area of cross-
section of the orifice; denoted by Cc; varies between 0.5 and 1.0; related
to other jet coefficients as given below:

where
Cd = coefficient of discharge
Cv = coefficient of velocity

see also Coefficient of Discharge and Coefficient of Velocity.

Coefficient of Discharge A Fluid Mechanics term; a jet coefficient; a

ratio of the actual discharge to the theoretical discharge of a fluid;
denoted by Cd; varies between 0.59 and 0.68; related to other jet
coefficients as given below:

Where

Cc = coefficient of contraction
Cv = coefficient of velocity

see also Coefficient of Contraction and Coefficient of Velocity.

Coefficient of Dynamic Friction A Physics term; see Coefficient of

Kinetic Friction.

Coefficient of Elasticity A Strength of Materials term; see Elastic

Constants.

Coefficient of Kinetic Friction Also called Coefficient of Dynamic

Friction; a ratio of the force of kinetic friction to the normal reaction
between two solid bodies in contact, when one body is moving over the
surface of another body; denoted by μk; always less than the coefficient
of limiting friction; see also Coefficient of Limiting Friction; the
values of coefficient of kinetic friction between some pairs of materials
are tabulated below:

Surfaces in Contact Coefficient of Kinetic Friction

Wood on Wood 0.20
Wood on Leather 0.40
Steel on Steel (mild) 0.57
Surfaces in Contact Coefficient of Kinetic Friction
Glass on Glass 0.40
Rubber on Concrete 0.80
Copper on Steel 0.40
Lubricated ball bearings < 0.01
Metal on ice 0.02

Coefficient of Limiting Friction A Physics term; also called

Coefficient of Static Friction; a ratio of the force of limiting friction to
the normal reaction between two solid bodies in contact; depends upon
the nature of surfaces in contact, that is, whether they are dry or wet,
rough or smooth, polished or unpolished; also depends on the material
of the surfaces in contact; denoted by μs; equals to the tangent of the
angle of friction (θ) between two surfaces in contact (μs = tanθ); always
greater than the coefficient of kinetic friction; see also Coefficient of
Kinetic Friction; the values of coefficient of limiting friction between
some pairs of materials are tabulated below:

Surfaces in Contact Coefficient of Limiting Friction

Wood on Wood 0.40
Wood on Leather 0.50
Steel on Steel (mild) 0.74
Glass on Glass 0.90
Rubber on Concrete 1.00
Copper on Steel 0.50
Lubricated ball bearings < 0.01
Metal on ice 0.02

Coefficient of Performance A Refrigeration term, abbreviated as

COP; also called Energy Ratio; a ratio of the useful heat to the work
input; used to measure the performance of a refrigerating machine or a
heat pump; the COP of a heat pump is greater than the COP of a
refrigerator by unity; given as:
Coefficient of Resilience A Physics term; see Coefficient of
Restitution.

Coefficient of Restitution A Physics term; also called Coefficient of

Resilience; a ratio of the relative velocity of separation after collision to
the relative velocity of approach before collision; denoted by e; for a
perfectly elastic collision, the relative velocity of separation after
collision is equal to the relative velocity of approach before collision,
hence the value of e is equal to 1; for a perfectly inelastic collision, the
relative velocity of separation after collision is 0, hence value of e for
such collision is 0; for all other collisions, the value of e lies between 0
and 1.

Coefficient of Rolling Friction A Physics term; the amount of length

which a rolling object presses on a surface on which it rolls; the harder
the rolling object, the less it deforms, and has very little coefficient of
rolling friction; usually expressed in mm; the values of coefficient of
rolling friction between some pairs of materials are tabulated below:

Surfaces in Contact Coefficient of Rolling Friction (mm)

Steel on Steel 0.03
Steel on Wood 0.20
Tyre on Road 0.10
Hardened steel ball bearings 0.10

Coefficient of Static Friction A Physics term; see Coefficient of

Limiting Friction.

Coefficient of Thermal Expansion A Physics term; a property of a

material related to the expansion or contraction of the material when it
is heated or cooled; the unit is per degree Celsius (1/°C) or per Kelvin
(1/K).
Coefficient of Velocity A Fluid Mechanics term; a jet coefficient; a
ratio of the actual jet velocity to the theoretical jet velocity of a fluid;
denoted by Cv; has the maximum value among all the three jet
coefficients; related to other jet coefficients as given below:

where

Cc = coefficient of contraction
Cd = coefficient of discharge.

see also Coefficient of Discharge and Coefficient of Contraction.

Coefficient of Viscosity A Fluid Mechanics term; see Dynamic

Viscosity.

Cogeneration Plant A Power Plant term; a plant which produces

electrical power along with meeting the process heat requirements of
certain industrial processes.

Cogeneration A Power Plant term; the production of more than one

useful form of energy (such as process heat and electrical power) from
the same energy source.

Cohesive Force A Physics term; also called Force of Cohesion; the

intermolecular force acting between molecules of the same substance;
similar to adhesive force, it also does not obey the inverse square law of
forces and increases rapidly with decrease in distance between the
molecules (varies inversely as the seventh power of the distance
between the molecules); has the highest value in solids, lesser in liquids
and least in gases; mercury (Hg) does not wet the surface of a glass
container because the force of cohesion amongst molecules of mercury
is stronger than the force of adhesion between the molecules of
mercury and glass; see also Adhesive Force.
Coining A Manufacturing term; a closed-die cold forging operation
used to produce coins, medals, jewellery, and other products with exact
size and fine details using a shaped die-punch assembly; see also
Embossing.

Coke A Chemistry term; a greyish black hard, brittle substance which

consists chiefly of carbon together with small amounts of hydrogen,
oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus; obtained as a residue left in
the retort on its roof and sides, when coal is subjected to destructive
distillation involving strong heating in the absence of air; used in the
production of steel.

Cold Extrusion A Manufacturing term; an extrusion process carried

out at room temperature; requires large extrusion force than hot
extrusion; useful for metals and alloys having good ductility like
aluminium, copper, magnesium and their alloys, and steels and stainless
steels; see also Hot Extrusion.

Cold Forging A Manufacturing term; a cold metal working process

used to shape a workpiece by repeatedly hammering it or by applying
compressive forces through a ram at room temperature; requires
greater forces as compared to hot forging; the surface finish and
dimensional accuracy of the cold forged products are superior to hot
forged products; see also Hot Forging and Warm Forging.

Cold Shortness A Manufacturing term; the ability of a metal to

become brittle at lower or room temperature; see also Hot Shortness.

Cold Shut A Casting term; a type of casting defect and a variation of

misrun; occurs due to lack of molten metal fluidity (because of low
metal temperature) in the centre of a casting having gates at its both
sides; see also Misrun.

Cold Working A Manufacturing term; a metal working process in

which the metal is shaped below the recrystallization temperature of
metals (usually room temperature) in the plastic region of the stress–
strain curve, where metals may be hammered, rolled or drawn; results
in a large increase in yield strength, an increase in ultimate strength
and a decrease in ductility; the cold-worked parts have good finish, are
more accurate, and require less machining; a few examples include
drawing, extrusion, and bending; see also Hot Working.

Cold-Chamber Die Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting;

a die casting process in which there is a separate melting furnace to
produce molten metal; usually suitable for high melting point alloys of
aluminium, magnesium, and copper along with ferrous metals; see also
Hot-Chamber Die Casting.

Collar Bearing A Design term; a collar-incorporated bearing

generally used to support a horizontal shaft under axial load, where the
shaft extends through and beyond the bearing; consists of one or more
collars which are either fitted to or integral with the shaft; in a single
collar bearing, the collar rotate against the solid bearing surface,
whereas in multi-collar bearing, more collars rotate against the
stationary split bearing surfaces; see also Foot-Step Bearing.

Co-Managed Inventory An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as CMI; a system of inventory management in which the
seller manages the inventory of consumable items at customer’s
location/premises; see also Vendor Managed Inventory.

Combination Layout An Operations Management term related to

facilities planning; see Hybrid Layout.

Combined Cycle A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic cycle

which is a combination of the Brayton cycle and the Rankine cycle; the
waste energy of the high-temperature exhaust gases of gas turbine
(Brayton cycle) is supplied to the boiler of the Rankine cycle, thus
increasing the power output of the cycle.

Combined Loading A Strength of Materials term; a loading condition

in which a structural or machine member is subjected to more than one
type of loading; a few examples include combined bending and torsion,
combined bending and axial forces, and combined torsion and axial
forces.
Combined Stress A Strength of Materials term; the stress caused due
to several loadings (two or more) applied simultaneously; the effect is
determined by using the method of superposition in which the stress
caused by each load is determined separately and then added
algebraically.

Combustion Chamber An IC Engine term; a zone in the engine

cylinder where combustion of the fuel–air mixture takes place.

Committee A Management term; a group of persons to whom some

matter is committed; a tool used to discuss about a matter collectively;
headed by a chairperson; the members of the committee must be
representative of the interests they are expected to serve and must also
possess the required authority to make decisions, make
recommendations or give the chairperson some insights into the issue
under consideration; the committee should not be too large to avoid the
problem of inadequate communication among its members and also
should not be too small to avoid the meaningful discussion and
promote vested interests.

Common Cause Variation A Statistics term; see Natural Variation.

Communication Satellite A Physics term; see Geostationary

Satellite.

Competitive Advantage A Management term; the ability of one

company to outperform another by virtue of its managers’ ability to
create more value from the resources at its disposal; a tool to increase
the market share of a company.

Competitive Benchmarking A Quality Management term; the

continuous rating of a company’s products and practices against the
world’s best firms, including other organizations in other industries;
see also Functional Benchmarking.

Complete Combustion An IC Engine term; a combustion process

which results in products of combustion such as H2O and CO2, but no
CO, C, H2, or OH; see also Incomplete Combustion.
Component A single handmade or machined part which belongs to a
larger whole.

Composite Beam A Strength of Materials term; a beam fabricated

from more than one material; a few examples include bimetallic beams
(such as those used in thermostats), plastic coated pipes, and wood
beams with steel reinforcing plates; see also Sandwich Beam.

Composite Material A Materials Engineering term; see Composite.

Composite Mould A Casting term; a mould made of two or more

different materials such as sand, plaster, graphite, and metal; used in
shell moulding and other casting processes for producing complex
shapes such as impellers for turbines.

Composite Number A Mathematics term; a number which has at

least one factor other than 1 and the number itself; a few examples
include 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, etc.; see also Prime Number.

Composite Shaft A Strength of Materials term; a shaft which consists

of two or more dissimilar sections of the same or different materials.

Composite A Materials Engineering term; also called Composite

Material; a material composed of two or more materials (metals,
ceramics, glass or polymers) or phases; has a combination of properties
not obtainable otherwise like stiffness, strength, weight, high-
temperature performance, corrosion resistance, hardness, or
conductivity.

Compound Cylinder A Strength of Materials term related to a

pressure vessel; a high-pressure bearing capacity cylindrical container
which consists of two cylinders that are shrink-fitted after placing one
over another.

Compound Gear Train A Theory of Machines term related to gear; a

gear train in which each intermediate gear shaft between the follower
and the driver carries two gears that rotate at the same speed; see also
Simple Gear Train.
Compound Semiconductors An Electronics term; the
semiconductors available in the compound form; examples include
gallium arsenide (GaAs) and cadmium sulphide (CdS); see also
Elemental Semiconductors.

Compressibility Factor A Thermodynamics term; a dimensionless

factor which accounts for the deviation of real gases from ideal-gas
behaviour; denoted by Z; given as:

where

P = pressure of the gas

v = volume occupied by the gas
R = universal Gas constant
T = absolute temperature of the gas

Z = 1 for ideal gas; for the real gases, Z can be greater than or less than
unity; the farther Z is from unity, the more it deviates from the ideal-gas
behaviour.

Compressibility A Fluid Mechanics term; the volumetric strain per

unit compressive stress; the reciprocal of bulk modulus of elasticity (K)
of a material; denoted by β; the SI unit is N−1m2; see also Bulk Modulus
of Elasticity.

Compressible Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid which can be

compressed and whose density varies with its pressure; gases are
compressible fluids; see also Incompressible Fluid.

Compression Coupling See Clamp Coupling.

Compression Ratio An IC Engine term; a ratio of the volume of a

fluid before compression to the volume of the fluid after compression
(clearance volume); a ratio of the volume in the cylinder at BDC to the
volume in the cylinder at TDC; used to find the efficiency of an IC engine
or a reciprocating pump; see also Pressure Ratio.

Compression Test A Strength of Materials term; a destructive test

conducted on a solid material to know its compressive strength;
involves a compressive load to press a solid cylindrical test specimen
placed between two flat dies; uses a stress–strain curve to know the
behaviour of the material; useful in manufacturing operations such as
forging, rolling, and extrusion; the brittle materials are more stronger in
compression than in tension as opposite to the ductile materials which
are more stronger in tension than in compression.

Compression Work A Thermodynamics term; the work input needed

in compressing a working fluid during the compression stroke of a
cycle.

Compression A Physics term; the act of two forces pushing on an

object in opposite directions, causing it to compact; see also Tension.

Compressive Strain A Strength of Materials term; a type of

longitudinal strain produced on account of decrease in length of a body
by a compression force; calculated as a ratio of decrease in length of a
body to its original length; see also Tensile Strain.

Compressive Strength A Strength of Materials term; the resistance

of a material against a compressive force which prevents its failure by
crushing.

Compressive Stress A Strength of Materials term; a negative normal

stress caused by a compression force; results in decrease in length
(called contraction) of a body in the direction of force applied; see also
Tensile Stress.

Compressor A Fluid Mechanics term; a turbomachine which is

basically a gas pump; used to move gases with a very high pressure rise
and a low to moderate flow rate; a work-absorbing device used to
compress a gas such as air or a refrigerant vapour to change its state
from low pressure to high pressure; a few examples include air
compressors used to run pneumatic tools and inflate tyres at
automobiles service stations, and refrigerant compressors used in heat
pumps, refrigerators, and air conditioners; see also Fan and Blower.

Computational Fluid Mechanics The study of solution of the

equations of a fluid flow through the use of a computer.

Computer Integrated Manufacturing A Manufacturing term,

abbreviated as CIM; a computer-assisted manufacturing methodology
which involves the computerized integration of all aspects of design,
planning, manufacturing, distribution, and management.

Computer Numerical Control A Manufacturing term, abbreviated as

CNC; a computer-assisted methodology used to control the movement
of machine components through coded instructions in the form of
numerical data.

Computer A machine which can be used to solve complex and

difficult problems in a short time, which otherwise may take a very long
time or even cannot be solved.

Computer-Aided Design A Manufacturing term, abbreviated as

CAD; a computer-assisted design system which makes use of
computers to create design drawings and product models; allows the
development of three-dimensional (3-D) designs from which two-
dimensional orthographic views with automatic dimensioning can be
produced; finds extensive use in mechanical design and geometric
modelling of products and components; see also CAM.

Computer-Aided Manufacturing A Manufacturing term,

abbreviated as CAM; a computer-assisted manufacturing system which
makes products using engineering drawings from computer-aided
design (CAD) and a numerical control system; eliminates the common
problems of conventional manufacturing; see also CAD.

Computer-Aided Process Planning An Operations Management

term, abbreviated as CAPP; a computer-assisted planning process
which makes use of computers to optimize process plans; helps to
reduce planning costs and improve the consistency of product quality
and reliability.

Computerized Inventory Control An Operations Management term

related to inventory; computerized method of inventory management
which can be programmed to track the inventory level continuously;
takes care of transactions of inventory against the existing stocks and
automatically indicates about the time of placing the order.

Concentrated Load A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; also

called a Point Load; a load or force which acts at a point; for example,
the weight of a body; see also Distributed Load.

Conceptual Skill A Management term; a management skill proposed

by Robert L. Katz (1917-) which relates to a manager’s mental ability to
coordinate all organizational activities; helps a manager to analyse and
diagnose complex situations.

Concrete A Materials Engineering term; a composite consisting of

aggregate, cement, water, and admixtures (in some cases); finds
extensive use in civil structure works.

Condensation Polymerization A Chemistry term; also called Step-

Growth Polymerization; a much slower polymerization process in
which two or more chemically different monomers are combined to
form a cross-linked or linear polymer along with by-products such as
ammonia, ethanol, methanol or water; a typical example includes the
formation of an ester by the chemical reaction between methyl alcohol
(CH3OH) and acetic acid (CH3COOH) with water as a by-product; see
also Addition Polymerization.

Condensation A Thermodynamics term; a process associated with

the phase change of a substance from vapour to liquid as a result of
rejecting heat.

Condenser In refrigeration terms; a heat exchanger which extracts

heat from a vapour passing through it and converts the vapour into a
liquid; a component of the refrigeration system which liquefies or
condenses the very hot, high-pressure refrigerant vapour from the
compressor to a high-pressure warm liquid; in power plant terms, a
component of the thermal power plants used to condense the used
steam into water; classified into air-cooled, water-cooled, and
evaporative condensers; also a component of electrical circuit,
popularly called capacitor.

Condition Monitoring An Operations Management term; see

Predictive Maintenance.

Conductance A Physics term; a measure of the ease with which

electricity can pass through a material; measured in siemens.

Conduction A Heat Transfer term; a basic mode of heat transfer

other than convection and radiation in which the more energetic
molecules of a solid material at higher temperature transmit heat
energy to the less energetic molecules at lower temperature without
changing their positions until their temperature levels become same;
results due to interaction between molecules; becoming hot of one end
of a metal rod while heating it at its other end forms example of heat
transfer by conduction; among the metals, silver is the best conductor,
followed by copper and aluminium; iron is low in comparison to copper;
see also Convection and Radiation.

Conductivity A Physics term; a material’s ability to conduct heat or

electricity.

Conductor A Physics term; see Electrical Conductor.

Conglomerate Structure A Management term; a type of

organizational structure which is typically an assemblage of legally
independent firms (subsidiaries) which operate under one corporate
umbrella, but controlled through the subsidiaries’ board of directors;
most appropriate for a large corporation with many product lines in
several unrelated industries.

Conical Pin A Design term; also called Taper Pin; a fastening

element having a conical section; used in making a pin joint to connect
two circular shafts; placed along the tangent to the shaft or on its
diameter; used for light works; see also Cylindrical Pin.

Conical Spring A Design term; a spring wound in the shape of a cone

with a round wire.

Conjugate Beam Method A Strength of Materials term; an analytical

method which uses conjugate beam theorems to find slope and
deflection at any section of loaded beams; useful for beams of variable
flexural rigidity.

Conjugate Beam A Strength of Materials term; an imaginary beam

whose length equals to the length of the actual beam but the load is not
the actual load rather the elastic weight that acts at the same point
where the actual load acts (M = bending moment produced by the load
acting on the beam, E = modulus of elasticity of beam’s material, and I =
second moment of area of beam’s cross section).

Connecting Rod An IC Engine term; a metallic rod which connects

the piston to the crankshaft of an IC engine.

Conservative Force A Physics term; a conservative is conservative, if

the particle, after going through a complete round trip, returns to its
initial position with the same kinetic energy as it had initially;
alternatively, a force is conservative, if the work done by the force in
moving a particle from one position to another is independent of the
path followed between the two positions; a few examples include
gravitational force, elastic force, electrostatic force, and central force; see
also Non-Conservative Force.

Constant Enthalpy Process A Thermodynamics term; see Free

Expansion.

Constant A Mathematics term; a quantity whose value does not

change during mathematical operations, for example, π, e, integers, and
fractions; see also Variable.
Constantan A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of nickel (Ni) and
copper (Cu) which consists of 40% Ni and 60% Cu; finds use in
electrical works.

Consumable Electrode A Welding term; an electrode which gets

consumed during the welding process; acts as a filler metal; finds use in
shielded metal arc welding, MIG welding, submerged arc welding, and
others; see also Nonconsumable Electrode.

Consumer Goods An Economics term; goods bought for personal use

or use by a household; classified into convenience goods, shopping
goods, and speciality goods.

Consumer Price Index An Economics term, abbreviated as CPI; a

parameter used to measure the retail prices of a fixed ‘market basket’ of
several thousand goods and services purchased by households.

Consumer A Management term; see Customer.

Consumer’s Risk A Quality Control term; the probability of accepting

a bad lot; see also Producer’s Risk.

Contact Friction A Physics term; see Friction.

Contaminant The unwanted material which is usually harmful or is

of a nuisance value or both.

Contingency Approach A Management term; a managerial approach

in which the design of an organization’s structure must match the
sources of uncertainty faced by an organization.

Continuity Equation A Fluid Mechanics term; an equation based on

the principle of conservation of mass; states that the mass of a fluid
flowing through a pipe remains constant at its every section; for an
incompressible fluid, the continuity equation is given as AV = constant;
for a compressible fluid, the continuity equation is given as ρAV =
constant, where A = area of cross section of the fluid flow, V = velocity of
the fluid flow, and ρ = density of the fluid.
Continuous Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a beam; a
statically indeterminate beam consisting of more than one span which
is continuously lying and supported over more than two simple
supports of which one support is essentially a roller support; widely
used in buildings, bridges, and aircraft.

Continuous Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; also

called Strand Casting because of the longer continuous length of the
castings produced; a casting process earlier used for continuous casting
of nonferrous metal strip, but is now used to produce high quality steel
with significant cost reduction; an economical method to produce
longer continuous lengths; the typical products made by this method
include blooms, billets, slabs, and tubing which are directly produced
from the molten metal.

Continuous Flow Calorimeter A Chemistry term; an instrument

used to measure the calorific value of liquid and gaseous fuels; see also
Bomb Calorimeter.

Continuous Production An Operations Management term; also

called Process Production; a type of a production system which
involves a continuous process to produce items continuously round the
clock with very little operator intervention; used in chemical, oil,
pharmaceutical, and textile industries; see also Mass Production and
Batch Production.

Continuous Quality Improvement A Quality Management term; see

Total Quality Management.

Continuous Review System An Operations Management term; an

inventory management system of continuously monitoring the status of
inventory in which order for the inventory is placed, when the stock
level touches a certain lower limit defined by the reorder point; the
ordered quantity (called economic order quantity) corresponds to the
minimum annual total cost of inventory which is the sum of holding
cost and ordering cost; the economic order quantity (EOQ) model is
based on this system; see also Periodic Review System.
Continuous Weld A Welding term; a weld which is continuously
extended for its entire length without any interruption.

Continuum A Physics term; the mathematical idealization of

continuous distribution of matter which implies that properties of the
matter are considered as continuous functions of the space variables.

Contraction A Strength of Materials term; the amount of length by

which a member has contracted or shrinked, when loaded axially under
compression; see also Elongation.

Control Charts for Attributes A Quality Control term; the most

commonly employed control charts used to control the quality of
product or service attributes include p-chart and c-chart; see also
Control Charts for Variables.

Control Charts for Variables A Quality Control term; used to

monitor the mean and the variability of the process distribution; the
two control charts used for variables include X-bar chart and R-chart;
an X-bar chart and an R-chart are frequently used to monitor the quality
of products and services; the X-bar chart monitors the average value of
the variables being measured, and the R-chart monitors the variation
among the items within samples; see also Control Charts for
Attributes.

Control Charts A Quality Control term; the most commonly

employed quality improving tool; a graphical representation of the
status of a conversion process in terms of control parameters such as
UCL, LCL, and process average; a control chart is in the form of a line
graph in which data is plotted over time (the vertical axis represents a
measurement and the horizontal axis represents the time); consists of
three horizontal lines: the upper line represents the larger value of
measurement, called the upper control limit (UCL), the central line is the
process mean or process average which is the target value to achieve,
and the lower line represents the smaller value of measurement, called
the lower control limit (LCL); a control chart is primarily used for
routine monitoring of a production process to determine if its outputs
meet quality standards and to identify when the process has gone out
of control; classified into control charts for variables and control charts
for attributes; a few control charts include R-chart, C-chart, and P-chart.

Control Limits A Statistics term; the limits which define the range
(boundary) of variation permitted in a product characteristic such that
a conversion process is in control; there are two control limits, namely
the upper control limit (UCL) and the lower control limit (LCL); the
higher value of a data represents the UCL and its smaller value
represents the LCL; a process data which falls between the UCL and the
LCL indicates that the process is under control and exhibits common
causes of variation and those falling outside the control limits indicates
that the process is not under control and exhibits assignable causes of
variation.

Control Surface A Thermodynamics and a Fluid Mechanics term; the

surface which surrounds the control volume; the geometric boundary
of a control volume which permits mass and energy transfer across it;
may be real or imaginary, and may be at rest or in motion.

Control System An Electrical term; a set of components working

together to perform a given task under the direction of a processor or
computer.

Control Volume A Fluid Mechanics and a Thermodynamics term; an

arbitrary volume in space bounded by a control surface through which
a fluid flows; a concept that defines a certain volume encircling a
system, which can permit mass and energy transfer across its control
surface; finds use in the analysis of an open system.

Controlling A Management term; also called Monitoring or

Progressing; a management function which is concerned with
monitoring activities to ensure that the goals are met according to
planned schedule.

Convection A Heat Transfer term; the second basic mode of heat

transfer after conduction in which heat energy is transferred by the
circulation of heated portions of a fluid; takes place between a solid
surface and the adjacent fluid in motion; cooling of a refrigerator is one
of the best examples of convection; explains why the warmest air is
usually found near the top of a refrigerator, where it comes in contact
with the cold evaporator, and gets cooled, becomes denser and starts to
settle down; classified into free convection and forced convection; see
also Conduction and Radiation.

Convenience Goods An Economics term; a type of consumer goods

which are purchased without much thought or search time; the most
frequently bought items; include household supplies and commonly
eaten foods, for example, detergent, soap, food grains, and similar other
things; usually sold through many retail outlets; heavily dependent on
promotions or advertising in order to capture more users; see also
Shopping Goods and Speciality Goods.

Conventional Sources of Energy A Power Plant term; the sources of

energy used since long times back and are exhaustible; involve high
initial costs in extraction and are not environment-friendly; a few
examples include fossil fuels (such as coal, petroleum, and natural
gases), water, and nuclear fuels; see also Nonconventional Sources of
Energy and Renewable Sources of Energy.

Conveyance Kanban An Operations Management term; see

Withdrawal Kanban.

COO A Management term; see Chief Operating Officer.

Cooling System An IC Engine term; a system which helps in cooling

an engine; a water-cooling system consists of radiator and a pump in
which water circulates through passages around the cylinders and then
travels through the radiator to cool it off; an air-cooling system uses air
in place of water; the air-cooling system although makes the engine
lighter, but keeps it hotter, and generally decreases engine life and the
overall performance.

Cooling Tower A Power Plant term; a device used to utilize waste

heat of the power plants by recovering its heat before being rejected to
surroundings and using it to produce cooling atmosphere; also used
frequently to provide chilled water for various applications.
Cooling A Thermodynamics term; a process which lowers the
temperature of a body.

Coordinate Covalent Bond A Chemistry term; proposed by Gilbert

Newton Lewis (1875–1946); also called Dative Bond; a type of covalent
bond formed between two atoms in which one atom has a complete
octet and also possesses at least one pair of unshared electrons, while
the other atom is short of two electrons; the electrons for sharing
between the atoms are contributed by one atom only; for example, the
hydronium ion (H3O+) has a dative bond.

Coordinate Covalent Compound A Chemistry term; a compound

which has a coordinate covalent bond; has properties similar to covalent
compounds, but does not form ions in water; sparingly soluble in water,
but many of them are largely soluble in organic solvents; its volatility
lies between those of electrovalent and covalent compounds.

Coordinate Measuring Machine A Manufacturing term, abbreviated

as CMM; a computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine used for the
dimensional inspection of parts; a three-dimensional CMM is the most
common, which can measure dimensions in X, Y, and Z directions.

Coordinating A Management term; see Integrating.

Coordination Number A Chemistry term, abbreviated as CN; the

number of adjacent ions (or atoms) which surround a reference ion (or
atom).

COP A Refrigeration term; see Coefficient of Performance.

Cope and Drag Pattern A Casting term; a type of pattern whose two
split parts are separately mounted on two match plates- one match
plate contains cope part of the pattern used to produce cope part of the
mould and other match plate contains drag part of the pattern used to
produce drag part of the mould; the complete mould is produced by
bringing together the cope and drag parts of the pattern; see also
Match Plate Pattern.
Cope-and-Drag Investment Casting A Manufacturing term related
to casting; see Ceramic Mould Casting.

Copolymer A Chemistry term; a polymer made from more than one

type of monomer; for example, ester; see also Homopolymer.

Copolymerization A Chemistry term; a process in which a mixture of

more than one monomeric species is allowed to polymerize.

Copper Glance A Chemistry term having the chemical formula Cu2S;

an important ore of copper (Cu).

Copper Pyrites A Chemistry term having the chemical formula

CuFeS2; an important ore of copper (Cu) from which copper is mostly
extracted.

Copper A Chemistry term; a metallic element having symbol Cu with

atomic number 29 and atomic weight 63.54; a reddish brown
nonferrous metal which melts at 1083 °C; one of the most important
technical metals after iron and aluminium; the native copper, which is
99.9% pure, is found in large quantities in Michigan state of the USA; a
malleable and ductile metal which can be drawn into wires of diameter
as small as 0.03 mm; an excellent conductor of heat and electricity (the
best conductor next to silver), but the presence of even small quantities
of other metals lowers its conductivity appreciably (presence of just
0.03% of arsenic (As) lowers its conductivity by about 15%); the
important ores of copper include copper glance (Cu2S), copper pyrites
(CuFeS2), cuprites (Cu2O), and malachite (Cu(OH)2.CuCO3), but copper
is extracted mostly from copper pyrites; a non-reactive metal which
resists the action of most of the common chemical reagents like air,
water, non-oxidizing acids, and alkalis; majority of the copper is used in
making electric cables and other electric goods due to its high electrical
conductivity; finds use in electroplating and electrotyping; used in
making utensils, containers, kettles, evaporating pans, and coins; also
used for alloying with gold and silver to make them hard for the
purpose of making ornaments and coins; forms a number of alloys with
other metals like zinc, tin, nickel, aluminium, etc.; some important
alloys of copper include brass, bronze, gun metal, bell metal, and German
silver.

Core Box A Manufacturing term related to casting; a wooden or metal

box used for making cores; imparts the desired shape to the core-sand
on ramming.

Core Competence a Management term; a manager’s skill and

abilities in value creation activities such as manufacturing, research &
development (R&D), or organizational design.

Core Competency A Management term; the organizational strengths

which represent its unique skills or resources.

Core Induction Furnace also called Channel Induction Furnace; a

type of electric furnace which uses a low frequency current passing
through a water-cooled copper coil, which surrounds only a small part
of the crucible; commonly used in nonferrous foundries for superheating
(to improve the fluidity of the molten metal) and holding the molten
metal at a constant temperature for die casting applications; see also
Coreless Induction Furnace.

Core Print A Manufacturing term related to casting; the extra

projection provided on a pattern to form core seats to support the core
against the buoyancy of the molten metal; classified into cope print,
drag print, and parting line print.

Core Sand A Casting term; a high silica sand used for making cores.

Core Shift A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs in

the form of varied thickness of a casting; occurs due to shifting of a core
from its designated position when not properly supported by a chaplet.

Core A Casting term; a sand mass inserted into the mould to produce
holes (cavity) or passages for water cooling; also refers to the interior
surface of the casting.
Coreless Induction Furnace A type of electric furnace consisting of a
crucible made of a refractory material and completely surrounded with
a water-cooled copper coil carrying a high frequency current which
produces heat using induction principle; has excellent mixing
characteristics for alloying and adding new charge of metal; see also
Core Induction Furnace.

Corollary A Physics term; the consequence or additional inference

which logically follows from an established proposition.

Corporate Culture A Management term; the collection of beliefs,

expectations, and values learned and shared by a corporation’s
members and transmitted from one generation of employees to
another; generally reflects the values of the founder and the mission of
the firm; gives a company a sense of identity like ‘this is who we are’,
‘this is what we do’, and ‘this is what we stand for’.

Corporate Mission A Management term; a set of long range goals of

an organization; includes statements about the type of business the
company wants to be in, who its customers are, its basic beliefs about
business, and its goals of survival, growth, and profitability.

Corporate Social Responsibility A Management term, abbreviated

as CSR; the consideration of the impact of a company’s actions on
society.

Corporate Strategy A Management term; also called Corporate-

Level Strategy; a strategy which describes a company’s overall
direction in terms of its general attitude towards growth and the
management of its various businesses and product lines; focuses on
corporation’s stability, growth, and retrenchment and helps in
protecting and enlarging an organization’s existing domain as well as
expanding into new domains; for example, Mercedes-Benz used its
competences in R&D and product development to enter the household
products and aerospace industries, and Coca-cola took its marketing
skills and applied them globally in the soft-drink industry.
Corporate-Level Strategy A Management term; see Corporate
Strategy.

Corporation A Management term; an intangible legal business entity

and a dominant form of a business organization, a few examples
include Indian Oil Corporation (OIL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC), Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), etc.

Corrosion A Chemistry term; a chemical process of deterioration of a

metal from atmospheric contamination and from oxidation or scaling at
elevated temperatures; for example, iron gets rusted due to corrosion.

Corrosive Wear A Manufacturing term; a type of wear which occurs

when two smooth surfaces slide over each other in a corrosive
environment; see also Abrasive Wear and Adhesive Wear.

Corthias Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Pressed Casting.

Corundum A Materials Engineering term; also called Alpha-Al2O3

(α-Al2O3); an oxide of aluminium (Al2O3) which occurs in nature as
anhydrous Al2O3; can withstand high temperatures; very hard and is
not attacked by acids; used as an abrasive; see also Activated Alumina.

Cost Index An Operations Management term; a ratio of the quality

cost to the manufacturing cost; see also Sales Index and Labour Index.

Cost of Poor Quality A Quality Management term; the cost

associated with poor quality of products or services produced; includes
costs relating to product (or service) inspection, rework, duplicate work,
scrap rejection, replacement, refunds, as well as loss of customers and
reputation; a concept first used by Philip B. Crosby (1926–2001), one of
the famous quality gurus, in his book, ‘Quality Is Free’ in 1979.

Cost of Quality A Quality Management term; the cost associated with

achieving good quality with respect to products or services in order to
meet the requirements of a customer.
Cost An Operations Management term related to cost analysis; the
expenditure incurred on an item; there are many types of cost; fixed
cost, variable cost, incremental cost, direct cost, indirect cost, etc.

Cost–Benefit Ratio An Economics term; an economic evaluation

index which relates to control costs to benefits.

Costing An Operations Management term related to cost analysis; the

process of calculating the cost of an item.

Cotter Joint with a Gib A Design term; a cotter joint formed by using
a gib; prevents the bending of the lower part of the socket end; also
helps to use parallel holes in the spigot and socket; mostly used to
connect square rod ends as in the case of big end of a connecting rod;
see also Gib.

Cotter Joint with Sleeve A Design term; the simplest of all the cotter
joints; used to fasten two circular rods with a common sleeve
(covering) over them.

Cotter Joint with Socket and Spigot Ends A Design term; a cotter
joint used to fasten (temporarily) two circular rods which does not use
a sleeve; modifies the two rod ends in which one end is used as a socket
end and other end as a spigot end, where alignment of the joint is made
by inserting the spigot end into the socket end and the cotter is fitted in
the slots already provided.

Cotter Joint A Design term; a temporary joint formed by using a cotter

for fastening two circular rods subjected to axial forces (tensile or
compressive), but not to any rotation; gets locked in position by means
of a screw; allows a convenient and rapid assembly and disassembly of
the units involved.

Cotter A Design term; a wedge-like fastening element of rectangular

cross section with uniform thickness, but tapered on one side or both
sides; finds use in a cotter joint; used to hold two parts together where
parts are subjected to axial forces (tensile or compressive) only; usually
driven in perpendicular to the axis of the connected parts; resists shear
over two transverse sections; generally made of mild steel.

Coulomb Friction A Physics term; see Dry Friction.

Coulomb A Physics term, named after Charles-Augustin de Coulomb

(1736–1806), a French physicist who is famous for Coulomb’s law; the
SI unit of electric charge; denoted by C; 1 C is the amount of electric
charge which is carried by a current of 1 A flowing for 1 s.

Coulomb’s Law A Physics term; a law used in electrostatics to find

the magnitude of the electrostatic force F acting between two static
point charges q1 and q2 separated by a distance r in air or vacuum;
given as:

where

= 9 × 109 N-m2/C2 = a constant

= absolute electrical permittivity of free space = 8.85 × 10–12
C2N−1 m−2

The charge on an electron or a proton is of the smallest magnitude

found in nature, represented by e = 1.6 × 10–19 C; the proton has charge
+ e and the electron has charge – e; all other charges have magnitude
ne, where n is an integer.

Counter Flow Heat Exchanger A Thermodynamics term; a type of

heat exchanger in which hot and cold fluids flow past the heat transfer
surface in opposite direction; see also Parallel Flow Heat Exchanger
and Cross Flow Heat Exchanger.

Counterclockwise Moment A Physics term; also called

Anticlockwise Moment; a moment which can rotate a body in a
direction opposite to the movement of the hands of a clock; considered
as a positive moment; see also Clockwise Moment.
Couple a Physics term; two equal and opposite forces having parallel
lines of action form a couple, where the sum of the forces is zero, but
the sum of the moments of two forces is not zero; effect of a couple
acting on a rigid body is to rotate it about an axis perpendicular to the
plane of the forces; for example, when we open the lid of a bottle by
turning it, our fingers apply a couple on the lid.

Covalency A Chemistry term; the number of electrons which an atom

contributes for sharing in a covalent bond; for example, covalency of
hydrogen (H), chlorine (Cl), oxygen (O), and nitrogen (N) are
respectively 1, 1, 2, and 3.

Covalent Bond A Chemistry term; a chemical bond discovered by

Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875–1946) in 1916; formed by the mutual
sharing of electrons between the combining atoms which contribute
towards the stability of both the atoms; bonding atoms may share more
than one pair of electrons depending upon their requirement of
completing the octet; for example, in the formation of oxygen molecule
(O2), every oxygen atom (O) shares two electrons each to form a double
bond (O=O), whereas in the formation of nitrogen molecule (N2), every
nitrogen atom (N) shares three electrons each to form a triple bond
(N≡N); see also Ionic Bond.

Covalent Compound A Chemistry term; a compound formed as a

result of a covalent bond; formed by the mutual sharing of electrons and
not by the transfer of electrons; does not conduct electricity in the fused
or dissolved state; has a low melting and boiling point; generally
insoluble or less soluble in water or other polar solvents, but is easily
soluble in nonpolar solvents; see also Ionic Compound.

Covered Electrode A Welding term; also called Coated Electrode;

an electrode having a cover or coating of fluxing or slagging material
over its core wire, which vaporizes in the heat of the arc to form a
protective atmosphere (usually of carbon dioxide) that stabilizes the
arc and protects the molten metal from contamination; arc welding
processes using coated electrodes are more popular; see also Bare
Electrode.
CPI An Economics term; see Consumer Price Index.

CPM A Project Management term; see Critical Path Method.

Cracks A Forging term; the forging defects which occur in the form of
breaks on the surface of the forged parts due to nonuniform distribution
of forging pressure.

Crank an IC Engine term: a bar that has one fixed pivot point and is
allowed to rotate 360º.

Crankshaft An IC Engine term; an engine shaft which converts

reciprocating motion of the piston into rotary motion.

Crash Cost a Project Management term; the cost associated with

crashing of an activity; see also Normal Cost.

Crash Time A Project Management term; the amount of time by

which an activity can be shortened using additional resources; see also
Normal Time.

Crashing A Project Management term; see Project Crashing.

Creativity A Management term; the thinking of novel and

appropriate ideas; the ability to combine ideas in a unique way or to
make unusual connections; connected to intellectual thoughts; leads to
innovation of new product development.

Creep Curve A Strength of Materials term; a graphical plot between

linear strain (deformation) and time for a material which undergoes
creep deformation; the creep curve has three distinct stages, namely
primary, secondary, and tertiary, where primary and tertiary stages are
short-lived with higher creep rates, while secondary stage is rather
longer with creep rate somewhat linear.

Creep Rate A Strength of Materials term; shows how creep changes

with respect to time; increases with temperature and applied load;
primary and tertiary stages of creep have higher creep rates than its
secondary stage; higher creep rate produces more deformation.

Creep Test a Strength of Materials term; a destructive test used to

measure creep strength of a solid material; conducted on a 1 m length
and 2–3 mm diameter lead wire, which is subjected to a constant
tension load at room temperature and measuring the change in length
over a regular interval of time.

Creep A Strength of Materials term; a time-dependent plastic

deformation of a material under a constant load acting over a long time
period; usually a characteristics of metals, but some non-metallic
materials such as thermoplastics and rubber also show this property; a
very slow process which is usually carried out at room temperatures,
but is accelerated at higher temperatures; turbine disk and blades of a
jet engine of an aircraft, a ceiling fan, reinforced concrete floors, high-
temperature pressure vessels, tools and dies when subjected to hot
working operations like forging and extrusion undergo creep.

Crippling Load A Strength of Materials term related to a column; see

Buckling Load.

Cristobalite A Chemistry term; one of the three naturally occurring

crystalline forms of silica (SiO2), other two being quartz and tridymite;
tridymite when heated above 1470 °C changes into cristobalite which
melts at 1740 °C.

Criteria A Design term; the specific standards against which a design

will be judged acceptable or unacceptable.

Critical Activity A Project Management term; an important project

activity which should not be delayed at any cost and has zero slack; if
the critical activity consumes more time than its estimated time, the
project will be delayed; see also Non-Critical Activity.

Critical Load A Strength of Materials term related to a column; see

Buckling Load.
Critical Path Method A Project Management term, abbreviated as
CPM; one of the two project network approaches which was developed
in 1956 as a computerized system for scheduling and planning by James
E. Kelly, a Remington-Rand computer specialist, and Morgan R. Walker,
a du Pont engineer; a deterministic approach of project management
which uses definite time estimates for every activity; uses four time
estimates, namely the earliest start time (EST), the earliest finish time
(EFT), the latest start time (LST) and the latest finish time (LFT);
especially useful for repetitive and large projects consisting of many
activities such as construction projects, for example constructing a
major hospital, building a ship and constructing an oil pipeline; see also
Program Evaluation and Review Technique.

Critical Reynolds Number A Fluid Mechanics term; the Reynolds

number at which the flow becomes turbulent; varies with different
geometries and flow conditions; the value of the critical Reynolds
number for a flow in a circular pipe is 2300.

Critical Speed A Design term; the speed at which a shaft becomes

unstable while rotating and vibrates loudly; causes a large deflection in
the shaft and occurs due to a large centrifugal force.

Croning Process A Manufacturing term related to casting; see Shell

Mould Casting.

Crookes Glass A Chemistry term; a special type of glass which

contains cerium oxide; used for optical purposes.

Cross Flow Heat Exchanger A Thermodynamics term; a type of heat

exchanger in which hot and cold fluids flow past the heat transfer
surface at right angles to each other; see also Parallel Flow Heat
Exchanger and Counter Flow Heat Exchanger.

Cross Product of Vectors A Physics term; see Vector Product of

Vectors.

Cross Section A Strength of Materials term; the section of a body

normal to its longitudinal axis.
Cross Slide A Lathe term; a principal part of a lathe which allows
movement of the cutting tool at right angle to the lathe centre line, and
can also support compound slide.

Crossed Belt Drive A Theory of Machines term; a belt drive in which

two parallel shafts move in opposite direction, and the total length of
the crossed belt is given as:

where

r1 = radius of the bigger pulley

r2 = radius of the smaller pulley
X = centre-to-centre distance between two pulleys; see also Open
Belt Drive.

Cross-Linking A Chemistry term; a process of joining of adjacent

linear molecules by a chemical bonding; for example, vulcanization of
rubber.

Cross Section A Strength of Materials term; a section perpendicular

to the longitudinal axis of a member.

CRP An Operations Management term; Capacity Requirement

Planning.

Crucible Furnace A furnace in the form of a crucible heated from

outside by gas flames, fuel oil, fossil fuel, or electricity; the oldest furnace
earlier used for making steel castings, but is now mainly used for
nonferrous castings.

Cryogenics A Thermodynamics term; the science of producing and

using temperatures below − 250 °F.

Crystalline Materials A Materials Engineering term; the materials in

which the constituent atoms are arranged in a regular, repeating
pattern; for example, all metals are crystalline materials; see also
Amorphous Materials.

Crystalline A Materials Engineering term; the property of having the

constituent atoms of a material being arranged together in a regular,
repeating pattern.

Crystallization A Chemistry term; a chemical process which makes

the materials attain regularity in their atomic or molecular
arrangements by forming new strain-free grains; results in completely
new properties in the materials.

CSR A Management term; see Corporate Social Responsibility.

Cubic Boron Nitride A Materials Engineering term; a cutting tool

material, abbreviated as CBN; sometimes also called artificial diamond
due to its artificial preparation and extreme hardness next to natural
diamond; also known as Borazon, when used as abrasives; finds use in
making cutting tools offering many advantages over the cemented
carbide tools such as higher cutting speeds, higher metal removal, and
better surface finish (cutting speed and metal removal rate are
approximately five times higher than cemented carbide tools); used
with negative rake angle cutting tools which can withstand high
temperatures, and can be subjected to interrupted cutting; also finds
use in the machining of difficult-to-machine materials such as hardened
steel, chilled cast iron, and super alloys.

Cup Drawing A Manufacturing term; see Deep Drawing.

Cupola Furnace The simplest furnace used in casting to convert pig

iron into grey cast iron; its main advantages include its simple
construction, high melting rate, less maintenance cost and wide range of
capacity; the charging of the cupola furnace consists of alternate layers
of coke, pig iron mixed with scrap castings and a flux, usually limestone
(CaCO3).

Cuprites A Chemistry term having the chemical formula Cu2O; an

important ore of copper (Cu).
Cupronickel A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of copper (Cu)
and nickel (Ni) consisting of 20% Ni; used in making bullet sheaths.

Curie A Chemistry term related to radioactivity; the unit of

radioactivity named after Marie Curie (1867–1934) and her husband
Pierre Curie (1859–1906) who together discovered two radioactive
elements, namely polonium (Po) (atomic number 84 and atomic weight
210) and radium (Ra) (atomic number 88 and atomic weight 226); the
amount of a radioactive substance which has a decay rate of 3.7 × 1010
dis/s, which is equivalent to 1 g of radium which disintegrates at the
rate of 3.7 × 1010 dis/s; millicurie (mci) and microcurie (μci) are the
other units of radioactivity, where 1 mci = 3.7 × 107 dis/s and 1 μci =
3.7 × 104 dis/s.

Curing A Materials Engineering term; a process by which a material

transforms from a liquid or plastic state to a permanent solid state.

Curl V A Mathematics term; represents the curl of the velocity vector

(V); expressed as: × V.

Current Assets A Financial Management term; also called Working

Capital or Revenue Assets; the short-term assets which are expected
to be converted into cash within one year or less; represents the
portion of investment which circulates from one form to another in the
ordinary conduct of business; include stocks and work-in-progress
(WIP) which are used up fairly quickly; see also Current Liabilities.

Current Liabilities A Financial Management term; the liabilities of

short-term which need to be met within the coming year (within one
year or less) such as money owed to suppliers or bank overdrafts; see
also Current Assets.

Curved Bar A Strength of Materials term; a bar curved to a definite

curvature.

Curved Beam A Strength of Materials term; a beam which is curved

in shape and whose neutral axis does not coincide with the centroidal
axis of the cross section; the flexural stress distribution for a curved
beam is nonlinear with the distance from the neutral axis; used in
frames of machines like planers, shapers, drilling machines as well as
crane hooks.

Customer A Management term; also called Consumer or External

Customer; the people who buy a firm’s products or services; usually
the end-user of the products or services; the largest outside
stakeholder group of an organization.

Cut-off Ratio An IC Engine term; a ratio of the volume in the cylinder

at the end of combustion to the clearance volume in a diesel cycle.

Cutting Ratio A Manufacturing term; see Chip Thickness Ratio.

Cutting Torch A Welding term; a device used to mix oxygen and

acetylene or any other fuel gas in the required proportion for cutting
operation; see also Welding Torch.

Cyaniding A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; a surface-

hardening process in which carbon and nitrogen are absorbed in the
outer layer of low carbon steel parts, when they are heated at a
temperature of 1550–1600 °F in a cyanide atmosphere; results in
surface hardness to a depth of 0.003–0.020 in.

Cycle Inventory An Operations Management term; also called Lot

Size Inventory; the inventory ordered or purchased in lots of some
specified number in order to reduce the production costs, rather than
procuring them as and when required; the EOQ formula is based on
cycle inventory; see also Buffer Inventory, Movement Inventory, and
Anticipation Inventory.

Cyclic Engine A Thermodynamics term; an engine which operates in

a thermodynamic cycle.

Cyclic Frequency A Physics term; the frequency with which a

process repeats itself; denoted by f, n or υ; measured in cycles per
second which is equivalent to hertz (Hz) named after the German
physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857–1894); 1 Hz = 1 cycle/s; see also
Angular Frequency.

Cyclic Heat Engine A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic

device which works on the principle of a thermodynamic cycle where
there is a net heat transfer to the system and a network transfer from
the system.

Cyclic Motion A Physics term; see Periodic Motion.

Cycloid A Theory of Machines term related to gear; a parameter used

to define the geometrical shape of a gear tooth; the locus of a point on
the circumference of a circle which rolls without slipping on a fixed
straight line; classified into epicycloid and hypocycloid; see also
Involute.

Cyclotron A Chemistry term related to radioactivity; a device

invented by Ernest Orlando Lawrence (1901–1958), for which he was
awarded the 1939 Physics Nobel Prize; used to increase the velocity of
alpha (α) particles, protons, and deuterons in order to make them more
effective for nuclear reactions; uses very high frequency A.C. voltage of
the order of 10,000–20,000 V to produce the particle's velocity of about
40,000 km/s.

Cylinder A cylindrical container which may be used to contain high

pressure gas or liquid; may be thin- or thick- walled; an important
component of an IC engine in which fuel is burnt to produce power; the
piston reciprocates in the cylinder of an engine; usually made of grey
cast iron.

Cylindrical Pin A Design term; also called Straight Pin; a fastening

element having a uniform cylindrical section; used in making a pin joint
to connect two circular shafts; also used as a key; most suitable for low
power drives; see also Conical Pin.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_4

D
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

DA A Chemistry term; see Dissolved Acetylene.

Dam A Civil Engineering term; an engineering structure constructed

across a river, mostly for the purpose of irrigation and electricity
generation.

Damped Oscillation A Physics term; see Free Oscillation.

Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782) A Swiss scientist and mathematician

who presented the famous Bernoulli’s equation in 1738, used as a very
powerful tool in fluid mechanics.

Darcy Friction Factor A Fluid Mechanics term; see Darcy–Weisbach

Friction Factor.

Darcy-Weisbach Equation A Fluid Mechanics term; also called

Darcy-Weisbach Formula; an equation named after a French hydraulic
engineer Henri Philibert Gaspard Darcy (1803–1858) and a German
mathematician Julius Weisbach (1806–1871); used to find the major
frictional head loss (hf) for any fully developed, steady and
incompressible pipe flow; given as:
where

f = friction factor
l = length of the pipe
D = diameter of the pipe
v = velocity of the flow in the pipe
g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s2.

Darcy–Weisbach Formula A Fluid Mechanics term; see Darcy–

Weisbach Equation.

Darcy–Weisbach Friction Factor A Fluid Mechanics term; also called

simply Darcy Friction Factor, named after the French engineer Henry
Darcy (1803–1858) and the German engineer Julius Weisbach (1806–
1871); a dimensionless quantity associated with frictional head loss of
a fluid flow in a pipe; related to Reynolds number (Re); denoted by f,
given as:

where

Δp = pressure drop in the pipe

l = length of the pipe
D = diameter of the pipe
v = velocity of the flow in the pipe
ρ = density of the fluid.
Dative Bond A Chemistry term; see Coordinate Covalent Bond.

Datum Energy A Physics term; see Potential Energy.

Datum Head A Fluid Mechanics term; see Elevation Head.

DBT A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry; see Dry Bulb

Temperature.

DC Charging An Electric Vehicle term; see Level 3 Charging.

DC Motor An Electrical term; an electric motor which runs on direct

current (DC) electricity; finds use in electric razors, electric car windows,
and remote control cars; classified into brushed dc motor and brushless
dc motor.

DC An Electrical term; see Direct Current.

Debt Capital A Financial Management term; all long-term borrowing

which is incurred by the firm including bonds; see also Equity Capital.

Decagon A Mathematics term; a polygon having ten (10) sides; see

also Polygon.

Decarburization A Welding term; the loss of carbon from a ferrous

alloy in a reactive atmosphere at high temperatures; see also
Carburization.

Decay Constant A Chemistry term; see Disintegration Constant.

Deceleration A Physics term; see Retardation.

Decentralization A Management term; a process of delegating the

authority of making important decisions about the organizational
resources and initiating new projects to managers at all levels in the
hierarchy; democracy is based on decentralization; see also
Centralization.
Decision-Making A Management term; the selection of a course of
action from among alternatives; a major part of planning.

Dedendum Circle A Theory of Machines term related to gear; a circle

passing through the roots of all the gear teeth; its standard diameter
equals to the pitch circle diameter minus (2 × 1.157) module; see also
Addendum Circle.

Dedendum A Theory of Machines term related to gear; the radial

distance from the bottom land to the pitch circle of the gear or the
depth of a gear tooth below the pitch circle; has the standard value of
1.157 times of one module; see also Addendum.

Deep Drawing A Manufacturing term; also called Cup Drawing or

Radial Drawing; a metal working process used to produce cup-shaped
objects by forcing a sheet metal blank into a die cavity using a punch.

Defects Per Million Opportunities A Quality Control term

abbreviated as DPMO; a six sigma approach which does not allow more
than 3.4 defects per million of products or services produced.

Deflection Curve A Strength of Materials term; see Elastic Curve.

Deformation A Strength of Materials term; a process of producing

change in shape or size of a body caused by the application of force,
pressure, heat or any other physical phenomenon; classified into linear,
lateral, angular, volumetric, elastic, or plastic deformations.

Deforming Force A Physics term; a force which tends to deform or

change the configuration (shape or size) of a body.

Degree of Freedom A Materials Engineering term; the number of

independent variables required to specify an equilibrium
microstructure.

Degree of Polymerization A Chemistry term; the number of

repetitive units (or mers) present in the chain of a linear polymer; the
average length of the chains in a linear polymer.
Degree of Reaction A Fluid Mechanics term; a ratio of the energy
transfer by means of static pressure to the total energy transfer for an
incompressible flow turbomachine; also defined as a ratio of the energy
transfer by means of enthalpy change to the total energy transfer for
compressible flow machines; a parameter used to classify a
turbomachine based on its value, which varies between 0 and 1; for
pure impulse machine (Pelton turbine), the degree of reaction is zero,
whereas a degree of reaction of 0.4–0.6 are most frequently employed
for reaction machines (Francis turbine); the unit value of degree of
reaction is not possible in practice.

Degree of Saturation A Thermodynamics term related to

psychrometry; a psychrometric property; a ratio of the actual specific
humidity (of moist air) to the specific humidity of saturated air at a
given temperature; indicates the capacity of air to absorb moisture;
denoted by μ; given as:

where

ω = actual specific humidity

ωs = specific humidity of saturated air
= relative humidity =
ps = partial pressure of saturated air
pv = partial pressure of water vapour
p = total atmospheric pressure; see also Specific Humidity.

Dehumidification A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry;

a process which removes the moisture content of the air through
heating; see also Humidification.

Del Operator A Mathematics term; see Gradient Operator.

Delphi Method An Operations Management term related to
forecasting; also called Delphi Technique; a qualitative forecasting
technique developed by Olaf Helmer (1910–2011), a German-American
logician and futurologist and his colleagues at the Rand Corporation;
involves making a consensus at the forecast value using a questionnaire
shared among 6 to 8 executives anonymously in five-six rounds; a highly
unbiased method which has wide acceptance, and eliminates the
problem of personality conflicts; useful for long-range forecasts of
product demand and new-product sales projections.

Delphi Technique An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; see Delphi Method.

Demand Pattern An Operations Management term; the general

behaviour of the pattern of a product with respect to time; may be of
constant, seasonal, trend type, or combination of these types.

Demand An Economics term; the amount of a product which people

are willing to purchase at every possible price during a given period of
time; a measure of the relationship between the price and quantity of a
particular good or service demanded.

Deming Award A Quality Management term; also called Deming

Prize; a quality award/prize established by the Japanese government in
1951 in honour of an American quality expert W. Edwards Deming
(1900–1993) to honour his contributions in the field of quality
management; awarded annually to a company which distinguishes
itself in quality management programs.

Deming Cycle An Operations Management term; see Deming Wheel.

Deming Prize A Quality Management term; see Deming Award.

Deming Wheel An Operations Management term; also called Plan-

Do-Check-Act Cycle or PDCA Cycle or Shewhart Cycle or Deming
Cycle; a four-step quality improvement process originally formulated
by Walter A. Shewhart (1891–1967), but renamed after American
quality expert W. Edwards Deming (1900–1993); represents the
concept of continuous improvement as an endless cycle of any action;
involves four steps of continuous improvement such as plan, do, check
and act, where the first step involves planning for the necessary
improvement, the second step is the implementation of the plan, the
third step is to check the results of the plan, and the last step is to act
upon the results of the plan.

Deming’s 14 Points of Management A Management term; 14

guidelines for improving quality proposed as part of total quality
control by Willium Edwards Deming (1900–1993) who is known as the
‘father of quality control’ in Japan.

Democratic Leader A Management term; also called Participative

Leader; a person who consults with subordinates on proposed actions
and decisions, and encourages participation from them; see also
Autocratic Leader.

Density A Physics and a Fluid Mechanics term; also called Mass

Density; the mass contained in unit volume of a body; an intensive
property of a substance and a scalar quantity which depends on
temperature and pressure; the density of solids, liquids and gases
decreases with rise in temperature, but the density of solids and liquids
does not change with pressure, as they are incompressible substances;
the density of gases increases with pressure, as they are compressible
in nature; the SI unit is Kg/m3, has the dimension of [ML−3]; the density
of water at 4 °C (277 K) is 1000 kg/m3, which is considered as its
standard value.

Departmentalization A Management term; a process of grouping

jobs or tasks according to some logical arrangement; the five most
commonly used groupings include business function, process, product or
service, customer, and geography.

Dependent Demand An Operations Management term; the demand

for an item which depends on the demand for some other items; for
example, the demand of component parts, raw materials, and
subassemblies; see also Independent Demand.
Dependent Variable A Mathematics term; a variable quantity whose
value depends upon the numerical value assigned to the independent
variable; see also Independent Variable.

Deposition Rate A Welding term; the speed at which a filler metal is

added to a weld joint; measured in terms of volume of metal deposited
per minute.

Deriaz Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a diagonal-flow propeller

turbine having adjustable blades, where the flow is directed inwards as
it passes through the blades.

Derived Units A Physics term; the units of measurement expressed

in terms of fundamental units of meter (m), second (s) and kilogram
(kg); a few examples in SI unit include newton (the unit of force), joule
(the unit of work and energy), m2 (the unit of area) and m3 (the unit of
volume); see also Fundamental Units and Supplementary Units.

Desiccant A Refrigeration term; a solid material capable of removing

moisture from a gas, liquid, or solid; finds use in the drier to trap
moisture from the refrigerant.

Design of Experiment A Statistics term abbreviated as DOE; the

science of designing sets of experiments which will generate enough
useful data to make sound decisions without involving too much costs
or taking too much time; a very useful tool for conducting research.

Design Stress A Strength of Materials term; see Working Stress.

Destructive Inspection A Materials Engineering term; see

Destructive Testing.

Destructive Testing A Strength of Materials term; also called

Destructive Inspection; a mechanical test in which a test material gets
damaged during the test and can’t be reused; the destructive test is
conducted to know the important properties of a material like its
soundness, strength, toughness, etc.; a few examples include tension
test, compression test, impact test, fatigue test, and bend test; see also
Nondestructive Testing.

Determinants of Demand An Economics term; the factors other

than the price of the good which influence demand; include income,
tastes, prices of related goods and services, expectations, and number of
buyers.

Detonation An IC Engine term; an undesirable phenomenon

associated with a petrol engine; analogous to knocking in a diesel
engine; see also Knocking.

Deviation A Metrology term; the difference between a single value

and the mean value.

Dew Point Temperature A Thermodynamics term related to

psychrometry; abbreviated as DPT; the temperature to which the moist
air must be cooled at constant pressure to start condensation.

Diagonal A Mathematics term; a straight line which connects the

opposite corners of a rectangle, square, or parallelogram.

Dial Caliper A Metrology term; a type of vernier calliper which

contains a dial to show the measurements; a precision measurement
device which is accurate to at least 1/1000th of an inch; used to
measure inside and outside dimensions and depths of materials with
the output read from a dial.

Diameter A Mathematics term; a line segment which passes through

the centre of a circle and forms the end-points on the circle; the largest
chord of a circle which is equal to two times the radius of the circle;
expressed in the units of length such as mm, cm, inch, or m.

Diametral Pitch A Theory of Machines term related to gear; the

number of gear teeth per inch of pitch circle diameter.

Diamond Pyramid Hardness Test A Strength of Materials term; see

Vickers Test.
Diamond A Chemistry term; the purest and crystalline form of carbon
(C) which contains 100% carbon; the hardest naturally occurring
material whose hardness varies between 7000 and 8000 HK where HK
represents the Knoop hardness number; a colourless and transparent
substance which has a three-dimensional tetrahedral structure
consisting of a large number of carbon atoms arranged tetrahedrally by
utilising their sp3 hybrid orbitals; its increased hardness, high density
(3.51 g/cm3 at 25 °C) and unusually high melting point (being close to
3500 °C) are due to strong covalent bonds holding numerous carbon
atoms together; a bad conductor of electricity but has the highest
thermal conductivity of any known substance (about 5 times that of
copper), that is why, diamond tipped tools do not overheat, and hence
they are extensively used for drilling and cutting purposes; chemically
resistant towards almost all chemical reagents, but burns in air when
heated at 900 °C giving carbon dioxide; stable in vacuum up to 1500 °C,
but changes into graphite at 1800 °C and more rapidly at 2000 °C; finds
use in cutting glass, making cutting tools for grinding and polishing of
hard materials, and making abrasives; its high refractive index (2.417)
helps light to refract from its surfaces, making it looking shining when it
is cut and polished, and hence finds use in making precious gems and
jewellery; also used for making dies for drawing thin wires from metals;
the value of the diamond is expressed in terms of its weight and purity,
and 1 carat = 200 mg; the famous ‘Kohinoor’ diamond which decorates
the crown of the British queen at present weighs 108.93 carats; see also
Artificial Diamond.

Diathermal Wall A Thermodynamics term; a wall which permits the

flow of heat across it; see also Adiabatic Wall.

Dichlorodifluoromethane A Refrigeration term; a refrigerant

widely known as Freon-12; finds wide use for domestic purposes.

Die Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; also called

Pressure Die Casting as it involves high pressure (0.6 to 275 MPa) to
force-fed the molten metal into the mould cavity: does not use any
riser; can produce thin-walled parts (0.5 mm thickness) with complex
shapes, good dimensional accuracy and surface details and good
strength (not obtainable by other methods); castings usually does not
require any further machining but suffer from gas porosity and chilling
effect; commercially used to produce castings made from nonferrous
metals and alloys such as zinc, aluminium, magnesium, and copper-based
alloys; the typical products made by this method include carburettors,
motors, hand tools, and toys; classified into hot-chamber die casting and
cold-chamber die casting.

Die In casting terms, a metallic mould (also called permanent mould)

which can be used repeatedly many times to produce castings of better
surface finish and high-dimensional accuracy; offers high rate of
production; in gearing terms, a tool to produce external threads on a
round bar such as a bolt; see also Tap.

Dieing A Manufacturing term; also called Threading; a process of

making external threads on a solid bar by means of a die (e.g. on a bolt);
see also Tapping.

Dielectric An Electrical term; an electrically insulating material; for

example, a plastic.

Diesel Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to air standard cycle; an

air standard thermodynamic cycle used in diesel engine; named after its
German inventor Rudolf Diesel (1858–1913); consists of four reversible
processes, namely reversible adiabatic (isentropic) compression,
constant pressure heat addition, reversible adiabatic (isentropic)
expansion, and constant volume heat rejection; for the same
compression ratio and same heat rejection, the Diesel cycle has lower
thermal efficiency than the Otto cycle; see also Otto Cycle.

Diesel Engine An IC Engine term; an internal combustion engine

named after its German inventor Rudolph Diesel (1858–1913); works on
the principle of Diesel cycle; also called Compression Ignition Engine
abbreviated as CI Engine in which ignition is initiated by the high
temperature of air compressed alone in the cylinder (instead of
compressing fuel–air mixture in case of petrol engine) and the fuel is
injected in the cylinder in the spray form that catches fire by the high
temperature of compressed air; uses a very high compression ratio;
used in heavy and transport vehicles such as bus, trucks, railways, and
tractors; also used for small power generation in a captive power plant;
produces more air pollution than petrol engine and also suffers from
noise and vibration; see also Petrol Engine.

Differential Control Volume A Fluid Mechanics and a

Thermodynamics term; an infinitesimal control volume.

Differential Cost An Operations Management term related to cost

analysis; see Marginal Cost.

Differential Equation of Elastic Curve A Strength of Materials term;

see Differential Equation of Flexure.

Differential Equation of Flexure A Strength of Materials term; also

called Differential Equation of Elastic Curve; a differential equation
which incorporates the flexural rigidity (EI) of a beam, where E =
modulus of elasticity of the beam’s material and I = second moment of
area of the beam’s cross section; used to find slope and deflection at
various sections of a loaded beam.

Differential Gear A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; a gear

set which permits variable motion to the inner and outer wheels of an
automobile while taking a turn.

Differential Manometer A Fluid Mechanics term; a metering device

used to measure the difference in pressure between two points of a
fluid flow, using Bernoulli’s principle.

Differential Pressure A Fluid Mechanics term; the difference

between two pressures.

Diffuser A Fluid Mechanics term; a flow passage device of varying

cross-sectional area in which pressure of a fluid (gas or liquid)
increases in the direction of flow at the expense of its velocity drop; see
also Nozzle.
Diffusion A Chemistry term; the movement and mixing of atoms or
molecules from one material (or from high concentration zone) to
another (or low concentration zone).

Digital Signal An Electrical term; an electrical signal which has an

integral number of discrete levels or values within a given range.

Digital Thermometer A device which uses a sensor called a

thermoresistor or thermistor to measure the temperature.

Digital-to-Analog Converter An Electrical term, abbreviated as DAC;

the conversion of digital signal to an analog equivalent such as a
voltage; see also Analog-to-Digital Converter.

Dilatant Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Shear

Thickening Fluid; a fluid whose viscosity increases with increase in
applied shear stress; example includes quicksand (a mixture of sand
and water); see also Pseudoplastic Fluid.

Dilatation A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; see

Volumetric Strain.

Dimension An Engineering Drawing and a Machine Drawing term; a

numerical value usually expressed in mm; dimension is shown on the
drawings of an object using lines, symbols, holes, etc. so that all its
features are completely defined.

Dimensional Analysis A Fluid Mechanics term; a tool as well as the

foundation of the theories of similitude and modelling based on the
notion of dimensional homogeneity; used for checking the dimensional
consistency of a physical equation and to understand the behaviour of a
physical system without the need for complex mathematics; used to
determine the number and form of the dimensionless groups
describing any fluid system using the Buckingham Pi theorem; provides
a means to design an efficient experimental program.

Dimensional Constants A Physics term; the dimensional physical

quantities whose values are constant; a few examples include velocity of
light in vacuum, universal gas constant, Boltzmann constant, and
Planck’s constant; see also Dimensional Variables.

Dimensional Homogeneity A Fluid Mechanics term; a condition

which ensures that all the terms of a physical equation must have the
same dimensions; see also Dimensional Analysis.

Dimensional Variables A Physics term; the dimensional physical

quantities whose values are variable; a few examples include area,
volume, density, velocity, and acceleration; see also Dimensional
Constants.

Dimensioning An Engineering Drawing and a Machine Drawing

term; a process of producing dimension using lines, symbols, figures,
and notes for furnishing information about the size of a drawing of an
object; includes information such as the distance between the surfaces,
the location of holes, the nature of surface finish, and the type of object
material.

Dimensionless Constants A Physics term; the nondimensional

physical quantities whose values are constant; a few examples include
pure numbers like 1, 2, 3 …, and mathematical constants such as π and
e; see also Dimensionless Variables.

Dimensionless Group A Fluid Mechanics term; a nondimensional

group of physical quantities having a dimensional representation of
unity, when multiplied together; for example, the term ‘ρVL/μ’, called
the Reynolds number (ρ = flow density, V = flow velocity, μ = dynamic
viscosity of the fluid, and L = characteristic length) is a dimensionless
group, since.

Other dimensionless groups include Euler number, Mach number,

Froude number, and Weber number.
Dimensionless Variables A Physics term; the nondimensional
physical quantities whose values are variable; a few examples include
angle, strain, and specific gravity; see also Dimensionless Constants.

Dipole Moment A Chemistry term; the product of charge and the

separation distance between centres of positive and negative charges in
a dipole; see also Dipole.

Dipole A Chemistry term; the asymmetrical distribution of positive

and negative charge associated with a secondary bonding; see also
Dipole Moment.

Direct Cost An Operations Management term related to cost analysis;

the direct costs are directly attributable to a specific output or work
activity; for example, material and labour costs associated with a
product, service or construction activity are categorized as direct costs;
direct cost increases in proportion to volume of product or service; see
also Indirect Cost.

Direct Current An Electrical term, abbreviated as DC; a type of

electrical current whose polarity is always fixed and always flows in the
same direction; more dangerous than the alternating current; see also
Alternating Current.

Direct Extrusion A Manufacturing term; also called Forward

Extrusion; the most basic extrusion process in which metal confined in a
chamber is forced to come out through a stationary shaped-die opening
in the form of required product in the direction of force applied; see
also Indirect Extrusion.

Direct Strain A Strength of Materials term; see Longitudinal Strain.

Direct Stress A Strength of Materials term; see Normal Stress.

Dirt A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs in the form
of small angular holes (called dirts) left out on the surface of a casting;
occurs when the sand particles are removed that have fallen and
embedded on the surface of the casting from the cope part of the
moulding flask.

Discharge A Fluid Mechanics term; see Volume Flow Rate.

Disintegration Constant A Chemistry term related to radioactivity;

also called Decay Constant; the fraction of the total number of atoms of
a radioactive substance at any time which disintegrates per second; a
characteristic of a radioactive element; denoted by λ; the relationship
between the original number of atoms (No) of a radioactive element
and the number of atoms (N) at any time t is given as:
(1)
The relationship between decay constant (λ) and half-life period (t1/2)
of a radioactive element is given as:

(2)

Dislocation A Materials Engineering term; also called Linear Defect;

a one-dimensional (linear) imperfection (defect or disorder) in a
material primarily associated with mechanical deformation; classified
into edge dislocation, screw dislocation, and mixed dislocation; see also
Point Defect.

Dispatching An Operations Management term; the process of

initiating the scheduled work on the shop floor; dispatching includes
giving out order tickets, route sheets, part drawings, and job instructions.

Displacement Volume An IC Engine term; see Swept Volume.

Disposable Pattern A Manufacturing term related to casting; a

pattern made from polystyrene (a type of plastic) which gets consumed
and is not required to be removed from the mould; offers advantages
such as better surface finish of castings, less time consuming, and no need
for the pattern allowances; see also Removable Pattern.
Dissolved Acetylene A Chemistry term, abbreviated as DA; the trade
name of acetylene; acetylene kept dissolved in acetone to contain its
increased volume in a small space.

Distributed Force System A Physics term; a force system in which

forces may act continuously along a line or on a surface or on a volume;
a few examples include linear, surface, and body forces.

Distributed Force A Strength of Materials term; see Distributed

Load.

Distributed Load A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; a load

which is not concentrated at a point but is exerted along a line, over an
area, or throughout an entire solid body; see also Point Load and
Uniform Load.

Divergence Theorem A Mathematics term; also called Gauss’s

Theorem, named after the German mathematician Johann Carl
Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855); used to transform a volume integral of
the divergence of a vector into an area integral over the surface which
defines the volume.

Dividend A Financial Management term; the periodic distribution of

earnings to the stockholders of a firm or the gains which are realized
through increase in share price.

Division of Labour An Operations Management term, coined by a

Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723–1790) in his book ‘The Wealth of
Nations’ in 1776; a process of dividing a job into a series of small tasks
to be separately performed efficiently by different workers and to
extract the economic benefits out of it; helps in increasing the efficiency
of a worker because of expertness and dexterity of works.

Divisional Manager A Management term; a manager who sets the

strategy not for the organization as a whole, but for the division which
he heads.
Divisional Structure A Management term; a type of organizational
structure in which functions are grouped together according to the
specific demands of products, markets or customers; helps to create
smaller, more manageable subunits within an organization; suitable for
a large corporation with many product lines in several related
industries; for example, General Motors groups its various auto lines
into the separate divisions of Chevrolet, Pontiac, Saturn, Oldsmobile,
Buick, and Cadillac.

DOE A Statistics term; see Design of Experiment.

Dot Product of Vectors A Physics term; see Scalar Product of

Vectors.

Double Integration Method A Strength of Materials term related to

deflection; an analytical method used to find the slope and deflection at
various sections of a loaded beam; involves two times integration of the
differential equation of flexure, where the first integration gives slope
and the second integration gives deflection at any section of a loaded
beam.

Double Sampling A Quality Control term; the acceptance sampling

carried out on a large size sample, when results are inconclusive with a
small sample.

Double-Acting Cylinder A Mechatronics term; a common type of

linear actuator controlled by fluid pressure in both directions; see also
Single-Acting Cylinder.

Double-Acting Engine A Thermodynamics term; an engine in which

the working fluid is made to act on both sides of the piston; most of the
reciprocating steam engines and marine diesel engines are double-
acting; theoretically develops twice the power developed by a single-
acting engine; see also Single-Acting Engine.

Double-Helical Gear A Gear term; see Herringbone Gear.

Douglas McGregor (1906–1964) An American motivation expert
who is best known for his formulation of two sets of behavioural
assumptions, called Theory X and Theory Y, which are used as
important theories of motivation.

Downsizing A Management term; an activity in an organization

which aims to reduce the size of the organization’s workforce in order
to create greater efficiency by eliminating certain jobs.

Downsprue A Manufacturing term related to casting; see Sprue.

DPMO A Quality Control term; see Defects Per Million

Opportunities.

DPT A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry; see Dew

Point Temperature.

Draft Allowance A Casting term; see Draft.

Draft Tube A Fluid Mechanics term; a gradually expanded closed

passage provided at the exit of a hydraulic reaction turbine; enables the
turbine to be set above the tailrace water level (downstream water)
without losing any head, that is, negative (suction) head can be
established at runner exit of the turbine; also acts as a recuperator of
energy as it converts a large proportions of kinetic energy of the fluid
rejected from the runner by reducing its flow speed into useful
pressure energy.

Draft In casting terms, a type of pattern allowance (also called Draft

Allowance) provided in sand-mould patterns in the form of small taper
to facilitate their withdrawal from the mould without damaging the
latter; in forming terms, the difference between initial thickness and
final thickness of a blank in a rolling operation.

Drag Force A Fluid Mechanics term; see Drag.

Drag A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Drag Force; a force that a
fluid flow exerts on a body in the direction of the flow; see also Lift.
Drawing Sheet An Engineering Drawing and a Machine Drawing
term; a standard size paper on which the drawings of objects are
prepared; the preferred sizes for the drawing sheets are indicated
below:

Designation Dimensions (mm)

A0 841 × 1189
A1 594 × 841
A2 420 × 594
A3 297 × 420
A4 210 × 297

Drawing A Manufacturing term; a metal working process used to

reduce the cross section and increase the length of a metal bar, wire or
tube by pulling it through a series of conical, tapering holes in a die
plate; can be performed in both cold and hot states; also a picturization
process of the imagination of a scene (e.g. an object) in its totality by an
individual; see also Tube Drawing.

Drikold A Refrigeration term; the trade name of the commercial

refrigerant solid carbon dioxide.

Drill press A Manufacturing term; a standard machine tool used for

drilling; the upright drill press is the most basic one.

Drilling A Manufacturing term; a process of making a circular hole in

a workpiece by means of a drill; see also Boring and Reaming.

Driving Dynamometer A Theory of Machines term; a type of

dynamometer used to measure torque or power as well as to supply
energy to operate the device under test; useful in determining
performance characteristics of pumps and compressors.

Drop Forging A Manufacturing term; a method of applying forces in

a forging operation in which a hated workpiece is shaped by an impact
force using closed matching dies; most of the impact energy is wasted
unutilized as it is absorbed by the machine and foundation; see also
Press Forging.

Drop A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs in the

form of some projection; produced when a cope part of a casting falls on
the drag surface due to poor cohesiveness of the moulding sand.

Drum Gate A Fluid Mechanics term; another common type of

underflow gate which has a circular cross section with a streamlined
surface; used to control the liquid flow rate in open channels; see also
Sluice Gate.

Dry Bulb Temperature A Thermodynamics term related to

psychrometry; abbreviated as DBT; the actual temperature of the moist
air; see also Wet Bulb Temperature.

Dry Friction A Physics term; also called Unlubricated Friction or

Solid Friction or Coulomb Friction, named after a French physicist
and engineer Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1736–1806); occurs
between bodies having dry or unlubricated contact surfaces due to
their microscopic roughness; causes high rate of wear.

Dry Ice A Chemistry term; see Solid Carbon Dioxide.

Dry Sand Mould A Casting term; a mould made of dry sand which
does not contain any moisture.

Dry Sand A Casting term; the moulding sand which does not contain
any moisture, and is dry.

Dryness Fraction A Thermodynamics term related to steam; a

measure of quality of the wet steam; calculated as a ratio of the mass of
dry steam (mg) to the mass of total wet steam (mg + mf), where mf is the
mass of water vapour; denoted by x; see also Wetness Fraction.

Dual Combustion Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to air

standard cycle; see Dual Cycle.
Dual Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to air standard cycle; also
called Dual Combustion Cycle or Mixed Cycle or Solid Injection
Cycle; a thermodynamic cycle of an engine in which combustion takes
place both at constant volume and at constant pressure; consists of five
reversible processes, namely isentropic compression, constant volume
heat addition (that forms one part of heat addition), constant pressure
heat addition (that forms another part of heat addition), isentropic
expansion, and constant volume heat rejection.

Duct Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Internal Flow; the
flow of liquids or gases in a duct (completely bounded by solid
surfaces); satisfies the steady-flow conditions, and thus can be analysed
as a steady-flow process; for example, water flow in a pipe; see also
External Flow.

Duct A Fluid Mechanics term; a closed conduit of non-circular cross

section.

Ductile Cast Iron A Materials Engineering term; see Nodular Cast

Iron.

Ductile Iron A Materials Engineering term; see Nodular Cast Iron.

Ductile Material A Materials Engineering term; a material which

shows large plastic range beyond elastic limit, and can withstand a
significant amount of stretching before it fractures; the breaking point
of ductile materials is widely separated from elastic limit on the stress–
strain curve; can be easily drawn into wires; well suited for use in
structures and machines; undergoes neck formation before it finally
breaks; used in making springs and sheets; a few examples include
copper, silver, iron, and aluminium; see also Brittle Material.

Ductility A Strength of Materials term; a mechanical property,

usually of a ductile material, which enables the material to be drawn
into thin wires or to be stretched significantly before it fractures; a few
high ductility materials include copper, aluminium, and mild steel.
Dummy Activity A Project Management term; a fictitious activity
which does not consume any time, labour or material resources;
inserted into a project network just to show a precedence relationship.

Duralumin A Materials Engineering term; an important alloy of

aluminium (Al) which consists of 95% aluminium (Al), 4% copper (Cu),
0.5% magnesium (Mg), and 0.5% manganese (Mn); due to light weight,
it finds use in making parts of aircrafts and automobiles.

Durometer A Strength of Materials term; an instrument used to

measure the hardness of soft materials such as rubber and plastic.

Dye A Chemistry term; a soluble, organic colorant used for polymers.

Dynamic Equilibrium A Physics term; also called Translational

Dynamic Equilibrium; the equilibrium connected to a rigid body in
uniform motion (constant velocity) along a particular direction; the
body under dynamic equilibrium has constant linear momentum and
zero linear acceleration; see also Static Equilibrium.

Dynamic Friction A Physics term; see Kinetic Friction.

Dynamic Load A Physics term; a load which changes its magnitude

with time, and tends to set oscillations in a body; classified into impact
and fluctuating loads. See also Static Load.

Dynamic Pressure A Fluid Mechanics term; the pressure linked to

motion of a fluid; represents the pressure rise when a fluid in motion is
brought to a rest isentropically; see also Static Pressure, Hydrostatic
Pressure, and Stagnation Pressure.

Dynamic Programming An Operations Research term; named after

Richard Bellman (1920–1984), an American applied mathematician
who developed it in the 1950s; a method based on Bellman’s principle
of optimality; used to solve a variety of problems such as finding the
shortest path from one station to another, cargo loading problem,
reliability problem, capital budgeting problem, and inventory problem.
Dynamic Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; see Rotodynamic Pump.

Dynamic Similarity A Fluid Mechanics term; the similarity of forces

acting on a model and its prototype; see also Geometric Similarity and
Kinematic Similarity.

Dynamic Viscosity Coefficient A Fluid Mechanics term; Dynamic

Viscosity.

Dynamic Viscosity A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Coefficient

of Viscosity or Absolute Viscosity or Absolute Coefficient of
Viscosity or Dynamic Viscosity Coefficient or Kinetic Viscosity; a
viscous force which acts tangentially on unit area of a liquid layer
having a unit velocity gradient perpendicular to the direction of liquid
flow; denoted by η (eta) or μ (mu); strongly depends on temperature;
its CGS unit is poise, named after a French physician and scientist Jean
Poiseuille (1797–1869), which is equivalent to dyne s cm−2 or gm cm−1
s−1; the SI unit is N s m−2 or kg m−1 s−1; the relationship between its CGS
and SI unit is: 1 poise = 0.1 N s m−2; has dimension of [ML−1 T−1]; see
also Kinematic Viscosity.

Dynamics A Physics term; a branch of mechanics which deals with

the action of forces on a body in motion; classified into kinematics and
kinetics; see also Statics.

Dynamometer A Theory of Machines term; a brake incorporating

mechanical device used to measure frictional resistance offered by a
brake or to measure energy, torque or power developed by a prime
mover at its rated speed; classified into absorption, driving, and
transmission dynamometers.

Dyne A Physics term; the CGS unit of force; exerted on a body of mass
1 g and produces an acceleration of 1 ; newton and dyne are related
as: 1 dyne = 10–5 N; see also Newton.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_5

E
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Earliest Finish Time (EFT) A Project Management term; the earliest

time an activity can be completed; finds use in critical path method
(CPM); equals to the earliest start time (EST) of the immediate
predecessor activity plus activity time (t); EFT = EST + t; when more
than one activity immediately precedes the activity, the maximum of
the EST of all the preceding activities is considered as the EFT of the
activity; see also Latest Finish Time (LFT).

Earliest Start Time (EST) A Project Management term; the earliest

time an activity can start subject to preceding activities; finds use in
critical path method (CPM); see also Latest Start Time (LST).

Earning Assets A Financial Management term; see Fixed Assets.

EBM A Nonconventional Machining term; see Electron Beam

Machining.

E-Business A Management term; see Electronic Commerce.

Eccentric Axial load A Strength of Materials term; an axial load

which does not pass through the centroid of the cross section of a body.
ECG A Nonconventional Machining term; see Electrochemical
Grinding.

ECM A Nonconventional Machining term; see Electrochemical

Machining.

E-Commerce A Management term; see Electronic Commerce.

Economic Good An Economics term; an item which is scarce or

anything for which a condition exists that the amount of the good which
people want is greater than the amount that is available; see also Free
Good.

Economic Growth An Economics term; the increase in the total

output of an economy which occurs when a society acquires new
resources or when it learns to produce more using existing resources.

Economic Life A Financial Management term; the length of time an

asset is economically useful.

Economic Order Quantity An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as EOQ; an optimal order quantity of inventory which
results in minimum total inventory cost which consists of annual
ordering cost and inventory holding cost; proposed by F. W. Harris in
1915; denoted by Q; calculated as:

where

D = annual demand of items

S = setup cost or ordering cost (cost per order)
H = annual holding (carrying) cost per item.

Economic Production Quantity Model An Operations Management

term; see Production Quantity Model.
Economics The study of how individuals and societies choose to use
the scarce resources which nature and previous generations have
provided so as to satisfy their unlimited wants; classified into
macroeconomics and microeconomics.

Economizer A Power Plant term related to a boiler; an important

boiler accessory used to extract (absorb) heat from the hot flue gases in
the furnace and use it to heat the feed water being supplied to the
boiler; reduces heat input to the boiler and increases its efficiency;
fitted near the chimney of the boiler; see also Superheater.

EDD An Operations Management term; one of the priority rules for

sequencing jobs which stands for earliest due date; earlier due date jobs
are assigned first; minimizes maximum tardiness, which may be
necessary for jobs which have a very heavy penalty after a certain date.

Edgar Buckingham (1867–1940) An American scientist who used

the symbol π (pi) to represent a dimensional product; well known for
the Buckingham pi theorem used in dimensional analysis.

Edge Dislocation A Materials Engineering term; a type of linear

defect in a material which runs along the edge of the extra row of
atoms; the Burgers vector is perpendicular to the dislocation line; see
also Screw Dislocation and Mixed Dislocation.

Edge Preparation A Welding term; a process of preparing the edges

of a workpiece (making them straight) to be joined to ensure a strong
weld joint; a butt joint requires edge preparation, but a lap joint does
not.

EDI An Operations Management term; see Electronic Data

Interchange.

EDM A Nonconventional Machining term; see Electrical Discharge

Machining.

Effective Length A Strength of Materials term related to a column;

also called Equivalent Length; the distance between the adjacent
points of inflexion on the elastic curve of a column; the effective length
varies according to end conditions of the column; for actual length L of
the column, the values of effective length for various end conditions are
tabulated below:

End conditions Effective length

Both ends of the column are hinged/pinned L
Both ends of the column are fixed L/2
One end of the column is fixed, while its other end hinged L/
One end of the column is fixed, while its other end free 2L

Efficiency Ratio An IC Engine term; a ratio of the thermal efficiency

of an actual heat engine to the thermal efficiency of the corresponding
ideal heat engine in which all the processes are reversible; used as an
index of performance for a heat engine; see also Work Ratio.

Effort Force A Physics term; an input force generated by a person,

motor, engine, magnetic field, spring, moving water, wind, or by any
other phenomenon which serves to impart energy into a machine or
system.

EGL A Fluid Mechanics term; see Energy Gradient Line.

Ego Need A Management term related to motivation; see Esteem

Need.

Elastic Body A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; a body

which regains its original shape and size after the removal of external
load applied on it; a perfectly elastic body is an ideal concept and does
not exist in practice as some deformation always stays with the
material; see also Rigid Body.

Elastic Collision A Physics term; the collision involving no loss of

kinetic energy, that is, the kinetic energy remains conserved; the linear
momentum and the total energy of the system are also conserved; the
forces involved during elastic collisions are conservative forces; the
collisions between atomic, nuclear, and fundamental particles are
usually elastic; also the collisions between two ivory balls or two glass
balls are approximately elastic; see also Inelastic Collision.

Elastic Constants A Strength of Materials term; also called

Coefficient of Elasticity; a ratio of the stress to the strain produced
within elastic limit; three elastic constants include Young’s modulus of
elasticity (E), modulus of rigidity (G), and bulk modulus of elasticity (K);
their relationships are expressed as: E = 2G (1 + υ); E = 3 K (1 − 2υ); E =
9 kg/(3 K + G), where υ is the Poisson’s ratio.

Elastic Curve A Strength of Materials term; also called Deflection

Curve; a curve obtained as a result of deflection of a loaded beam.

Elastic Deformation A Strength of Materials term; a process of

deforming a body with the application of an external force which
vanishes immediately after the removal of the force, and the body
recovers its original shape and size; the civil structures undergo elastic
deformation; see also Plastic Deformation.

Elastic Demand An Economics term; the demand for a product or

service is said to be elastic, if a price reduction gives more than a
proportionate increase in demand, or if a price increase gives more
than a proportionate decrease in demand; for example, demand of
luxury goods; see also Inelastic Demand.

Elastic Fatigue A Strength of Materials term; a property of an elastic

body by virtue of which its behaviour becomes less elastic under the
action of repeated alternating deforming forces, and the material
regains its original degree of elasticity, when allowed to rest for some
time.

Elastic Limit A Strength of Materials term; the maximum limit of

elasticity of a material, when stress is linearly proportional to strain
and the body recovers its original conditions fully on the removal of the
deforming force, but at a slightly slower rate as compared to the limit of
proportionality; beyond this point, the material no longer remains
elastic, and it reaches into plastic state; see also Limit of
Proportionality.
Elastic Material A Materials Engineering term; a material which fully
recovers its unstrained (original) state on the removal of the load
applied on it, when stressed within the elastic limit; the unloading path
coincides with the loading path, and the process is reversible; for
example, steel is an elastic material; see also Plastic Material.

Elastic Modulus A Strength of Materials term; see Young’s Modulus

of Elasticity.

Elastic Potential Energy A Physics term; the energy stored in an

elastic body such as a spring or a bar on being stretched or bent and has
always positive value; for a spring, it is expressed as:

where

U = elastic potential energy stored in the spring

K = stiffness of the spring
ΔL = elongation or compression in the spring.

Elastic Strain Energy A Strength of Materials term; the strain energy

which can be recovered during unloading of a member; see also
Inelastic Strain Energy.

Elastic-After-Effect A Physics term; a temporary delay in regaining

the original configuration by an elastic body after the removal of a
deforming force that usually occurs when an elastic body is stressed
beyond its limit of proportionality till it reaches the elastic limit;
negligibly small for quartz and phosphor bronze, which makes them
suitable as suspension elements in galvanometers and electrometers,
but is very large for glass fibre.

Elasticity of Demand An Economics term; also called Price

Elasticity of Demand; a phenomenon of change in demand of a
product with rise or fall in its price.
Elasticity A Physics term; a property of a metallic body which
enables it to resist a deforming force and helps to regain its original
conditions (shape and size) after the removal of the deforming force; an
important property used in structural members; see also Plasticity.

Elastomer A Materials Engineering term; a material for which the

stress–strain relationship is not linear within elastic limit; the elastic
region is very large; does not obey Hooke’s law over most of the elastic
region; has no plastic range; the breaking point lies just close to the
elastic limit; a few examples include rubber and veins which carry blood
from the heart.

Elbow Meter A Fluid Mechanics term; one of the simplest types of

flow measuring device used in a pipeline; uses the pressure difference
created due to the centrifugal effects at the bend to measure the flow;
consists of piezometer taps installed at the inner and outer walls of a
90° elbow in the pipeline.

Electric Arc Welding A Welding term; a type of welding process

which uses heat of an arc to join metals; one of the most extensively
used welding processes.

Electric Arc A Welding term; also called simply Arc; a flash produced
between two current carrying conductors when they are touched
momentarily; discovered by Sir Humphry Davy (1778–1829) in 1801
while he was conducting experiments in electricity.

Electric Furnace A furnace which uses electricity to produce heat

using a continuous arc between two or three graphite electrodes and
the charged metal; used extensively to produce steels because of its
high production rate, non-polluting nature, and the ability to hold the
molten metal for prolonged duration.

Electric Vehicle Battery An Electric Vehicle term, abbreviated as

EVB; a battery used to power an electric vehicle (EV); can be recharged
by plugging the EV into an electrical output.
Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment An Electric Vehicle term,
abbreviated as EVSE; also called the Charging Station or the Charging
Dock; a commercial station having infrastructural facilities for charging
the batteries of electric vehicles safely in large numbers; analogous to
petrol/diesel pump stations.

Electric Vehicle A relatively new automobile term, abbreviated as

EV; a vehicle completely powered by electricity and driven by on-board
motors.

Electrical Circuit An Electrical term; a closed path through which

electricity can flow between the terminals of a power source and
through one or more electrical components.

Electrical Conductivity An Electrical term; a physical property of a

substance which indicates its ability to conduct electrical current;
chiefly depends on the number of free electrons in the materials; an
important design consideration while selecting a material for electrical
appliances; metals are the good conductor of electricity, and insulators
are the bad conductor of electricity.

Electrical Conductor A Physics term; often called simply Conductor;

a material which offers very low or no resistance to current flow and is
able to conduct the electrical current; for example, all metals; see also
Insulator.

Electrical Discharge Machining A Nonconventional Machining term,

abbreviated as EDM; also called Electro Discharge Machining; one of
the most widely used nonconventional machining processes which uses
electrical spark or thermal energy to erode materials from a workpiece
to produce the desired shape; capable of machining hard and difficult-
to-machine materials (like thin and fragile) or brittle materials without
producing any distortion; used to produce parts with complex, precise,
and irregular shapes for forgings, press tools, extrusion dies, and
difficult internal shapes for aerospace and medical applications; used
only for electrically conducting materials; see also Wire-EDM.
Electrical Energy A Physics term; the energy associated with the
movement of electrical charges, (electrons); the most common form of
energy which has vast domestic and commercial applications; electrical
energy causes a bulb to glow, a fan and a turbine to rotate, and a bell to
ring.

Electrical Engineer A technical person who is involved in the design

and production of integrated circuits, wireless communication
networks, aviation electronics, robot control systems, and the
transmission and distribution of electrical power.

Electrical Resistance An Electrical term; the opposition to electrical

current as it flows through a conductor; measured in ohm (Ω); lead has
10 times electrical resistance as compared to copper.

Electrical Torsionmeter A Metrology term; a device used to

measure torque by measuring the angle of twist over a fixed length of a
shaft using electrical means such as transducers which are placed on
two identical toothed wheels attached to the shaft at a fixed distance
apart.

Electrical Work A Thermodynamics term; the work produced by an

electric current; for example, lifting of a weight by a pulley attached to
the shaft of a motor driven by an electric current or moving of an
electric fan.

Electricity A Physics term; the flow of electrons through a conductor.

Electro Discharge Machining A Nonconventional Machining term;

see Electrical Discharge Machining.

Electrochemical Grinding A Nonconventional Machining term,

abbreviated as ECG; also called Electrolytic Grinding; a
nonconventional machining process in which material from a
workpiece is removed by the combined action of electrochemical
machining (ECM) and conventional grinding, the former contributes
about 90%; a fast process in which tool wear is less; suitable only for
electrically conducting materials.
Electrochemical Machining A Nonconventional Machining term,
abbreviated as ECM; a nonconventional machining process which uses
the principle of reverse electroplating to remove material from a
workpiece; capable of producing complex shapes in hard and difficult-
to-machine materials.

Electrode Holder A Welding term; a device used to mechanically

hold an electrode and allow the current to flow through it.

Electrolytic Grinding A Nonconventional Machining term; see

Electrochemical Grinding.

Electromagnet A Physics term; a device consisting of a coil of

conductive wire wrapped around an iron core which generates a
magnetic field when current passes through the coil.

Electromagnetic Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting;

also called Levitation Casting; a casting process which uses an
induction coil to produce and confine the molten metal through
magnetic suspension and then allowed to flow into an investment
casting mould placed directly below the coil; the process combines the
advantages of both induction heating and investment casting; produces
smooth surface castings having homogeneous and fine-grained
structure free from refractory inclusions and gas porosity.

Electromagnetic Force A Physics term; a force which acts between

charged particles; called an electrostatic force, when charges are at rest.

Electromagnetic Induction A Physics term; the generation of

voltage within a conductor as a result of passing the conductor through
a magnetic field.

Electromagnetic Radiation A Physics term; the radiation which has

the ability to transfer energy through empty space, unlike conduction
and convection, which need matter to transfer energy; a few examples
of electromagnetic radiation include X-rays, gamma rays, microwaves,
radio waves, and television waves; see also Thermal Radiation.
Electromotive Force An Electrical term, abbreviated as emf; an
electrical pressure which moves through the electrical circuit of an
instrument and pushes electrons through a conductor; measured in
volts.

Electron Affinity A Chemistry term; the amount of energy released

when an electron is added to a gaseous isolated atom of an element,
producing a negatively charged ion (anion); shows the affinity of a
neutral atom to attract electron towards itself; the greater the energy
released in the process of taking extra electron, the greater is the
electron affinity; noble gases have zero electron affinities, because of
their stable electronic configuration which does not allow any addition
of extra electron; generally decreases in going from top to bottom in a
group and increases in going from left to right across a period; see also
Ionization Energy.

Electron Beam Machining A Nonconventional Machining term,

abbreviated as EBM; a nonconventional machining process which
removes material with the help of a high-energy electron beam.

Electron Volt A Physics term, abbreviated as eV; a unit of energy of

an electron; the energy associated with an electron having a charge of
1.602 × 10–19 C moving under a potential difference of 1 V; 1 eV = 1.602
× 10–19 Joule (J).

Electron A Chemistry term; one of the three fundamental particles of

an atom of a chemical element discovered by J. J. Thomson (1856–
1940), a British physicist in 1897; a negatively charged particle which
moves around the nucleus of an atom in different circular orbits; has an
absolute charge equal to 1.60206 × 10–19 C and a mass equal to 9.1091
× 10–31 kg; see also Proton and Neutron.

Electronegativity A Chemistry term; the tendency of an atom to

attract electrons towards itself; atoms with almost completely filled up
outermost orbits are strongly electronegative and readily accept
electrons; for example, chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and
fluorine (F) have the highest electronegativity in the periodic table;
atoms with nearly empty outermost orbits have low electronegativity
as they readily give up electrons, for example, sodium (Na) and
potassium (K); atoms having high atomic number have low
electronegativity.

Electronic Commerce A Management term which is more commonly

called E-Commerce or E-Business; a trade which makes use of
electronic means such as internet, intranets, and extranets to run the
business activities between businesses; has made a business process
hassle-free, transparent, responding, accountable, and quicker; the two
widely used forms of e-commerce include business-to-business (B2B)
and business-to-consumer (B2C).

Electronic Data Interchange An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as EDI; a paperless communication method which uses a
computer-based system to electronically transfer business data within
and between organizations; offers faster transmission of data at low
cost and with fewer errors.

Electronic Materials A Materials Engineering term; the materials

used for making electrical and electronic devices for various
applications; a few examples include silicon (Si), copper (Cu), aluminium
(Al), superconductors, and dielectric materials; silicon is used to make
integrated circuits for computer chips, and superconductors are used to
make powerful magnets; copper and aluminium are used as conductors
in power transmission and in microelectronics; dielectric materials such
as barium titanate (BaTiO3) and tantalum oxide (Ta2O5) are used to
make ceramic capacitors and other devices.

Electrostatic Force A Physics term; a force which acts between

charged particles at rest; governed by Coulomb’s law; force between
like charges is repulsive and between unlike charges is attractive;
directly proportional to the product of charges and inversely
proportional to the square of distance between the charges.

Electrostatic Precipitation An Air Pollution term; an air pollution

control equipment used to remove the particulates under the influence
of an electrostatic field.
Electrovalent Bond A Chemistry term; see Ionic Bond.

Electrovalent Compound A Chemistry term; see Ionic Compound.

Element A Chemistry and a Theory of Machines term; in chemistry

terms, a pure substance which contains only one kind of particles like
atoms or molecules; a few examples include carbon, sulphur, iron, lead,
mercury, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; in theory of machines terms, a
machine part more commonly called a link.

Elemental Semiconductors An Electronics term; the

semiconductors available in the elemental form; for example,
germanium (Ge), silicon (Si), and tin (Sn); see also Compound
Semiconductors.

Elevation Head A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Potential Head

or Datum Head; an energy parameter which appears in the Bernoulli
equation; represents the potential energy of the fluid; denoted by z; see
also Pressure Head and Velocity Head.

Elongation A Strength of Materials term; also called Extension; the

amount of length by which a member has increased, when loaded
axially under tension; see also Contraction.

Embossing A Manufacturing term; a cold metal working process in

which impressions of the mating die and punch are produced on a thin
metal blank, and one side of the product is the reverse of its other side;
used in making nameplates, medals, or aesthetic design on a thin sheet
metal or foil; see also Coining.

emf An Electrical term; see Electromotive Force.

Emissive Power A Heat Transfer term; the thermal radiation emitted

by a body per unit area of its surface; proportional to the fourth power
of absolute temperature of the body; for a black body, the emissive
power is given as:
where

Eb = emissive power
σ = Stefan-Boltzmann Constant
= 5.67 × 10–8 Wm−2 K−4
T = absolute surface temperature; see also Emissivity.

Emissivity A Heat Transfer term; a radiation property of the surface

of a body; a dimensionless property which indicates how efficiently the
surface emits radiative energy; a ratio of the emissive power of a body
to the emissive power of a black body; depends on the temperature and
the wavelength of the radiation; denoted by ε (epsilon); its value lies
between 0 and 1; for a black body ε = 1; see also Emissive Power.

Employee Empowerment An Operations Management term; an

approach of assigning authority and responsibility to an employee to
take ownership of his job; helps in improving the employee
performance.

Employee A Management term; the people who are working in an

organization for which they are paid wages or salary to satisfy their
worldly needs.

Empowerment A Management term; a process of giving employees

the responsibility and authority to make decisions without asking their
superiors for permission.

Emulsion A Fluid Mechanics term; a mixture of two immiscible

liquids along with other additives.

End Condition A Strength of Materials term related to column; the

positioning of the two ends of a column; used to find the effective length
of columns; the four end conditions of a column include both ends
hinged, both ends fixed, one end fixed while other end hinged, and one end
fixed while other end free.
End measurement A Metrology term; the measurement of distance
between surfaces by using end faces of gauge blocks or slip gauges; the
most common method of measurement in industrial practice, as it can
produce accuracy of higher order; see also Line Measurement.

Endurance Limit A Strength of Materials term; also called

Endurance Strength or Fatigue Limit; the maximum stress which
results from cyclic or periodic loading of a material before its fatigue
failure; depends on the ultimate tensile strength of the metals; for
example, the endurance limit of steel is about one-half of its tensile
strength.

Endurance Strength A Strength of Materials term; see Endurance

Limit.

Energy Balance A Fluid Mechanics term; a condition in which energy

of the components on input and output sides of a device is balanced;
the concept is used in Bernoulli's equation; see also Mass Balance.

Energy Gradient Line A Fluid Mechanics term, abbreviated as EGL;

also called Total Energy Line, abbreviated as TEL; a line joining the
points having the total head (the sum of pressure head (P/ρg), velocity
head (v2/2 g), and elevation head (z)) at the various cross section of a
fluid flow in a pipe; always a distance v2/2 g (velocity head) above the
hydraulic gradient line (HGL); the slope of EGL is equal to the rate of
energy loss; see also Hydraulic Grade Line.

Energy in Transition A Thermodynamics term; the energy which

crosses the boundary of a system; a few examples include heat, work,
and electricity; see also Stored Energy.

Energy Level A Chemistry term; see Orbit.

Energy Ratio A Refrigeration term; see Coefficient of Performance.

Energy Shell A Chemistry term; see Orbit.

Energy A Physics term; the capacity of a body to do the work which
causes it to move or transform; a body capable of doing more work is
said to possess more energy; like work, energy is also a scalar quantity;
the CGS unit is erg, and the SI unit is joule (1 J = 107 erg); its other units
include kilowatt-hour (kWh) and electron volt (eV); classified into
kinetic energy, potential energy, chemical energy, nuclear energy, solar
energy, etc.

Engine Lathe A Manufacturing term; a basic machine tool previously

driven by a steam engine and was mainly used for turning operations.

Engineer A technical person who applies the theories and principles

of science and mathematics in the design and development of
technological solutions to human problems; turns concepts into
functioning hardware; often described as being can-do people with
excellent problem-solving skills can be classified into mechanical, civil,
electrical, computer, electronics and chemical engineers.

Engineering Design An important subject of engineering discipline;

a process of applying science and engineering methods to define a
structure or system in detail to permit its realization.

Engineering Drawing A basic subject of all engineering disciplines;

a visual representation of an object carried out scientifically according
to certain national and international standards of practice; a graphic
language for an engineer.

Engineering Graphics The engineering drawing which deals with

plane and solid geometry.

Engineering Strain A Strength of Materials term; see Nominal

Strain.

Engineering Stress A Strength of Materials term; also called Cauchy

Stress, named after the French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy
(1789–1857); a direct or normal stress obtained by dividing load by the
original cross-sectional area of a metal test specimen during tension or
compression test; see also True Stress.
Engineering A technical course which uses the tools of mathematics
and science to develop hardware that can produce cost-effective
solutions to the technological problems facing our society; acts as a
bridge between scientific discovery and product applications; a driver of
social and economic growth; generally classified into five traditional
fields, namely mechanical, electrical, civil, materials, and chemical
engineering, which are further subdivided into other fields.

Enterprise Resource Planning An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as ERP; a computerized technique used to integrate various
functions of an organization (enterprise) by consolidating its supply
chain processes; reduces non-productive activities and ensures smooth
flow of information between different functions of the organization.

Enthalpy of Combustion An IC Engine term; the energy released

when a compound undergoes complete combustion at constant
temperature and pressure.

Enthalpy of Formation An IC Engine term; the energy absorbed or

released when a compound is formed from its components.

Enthalpy A Thermodynamics term; a composite thermodynamic

property which consists of internal energy (U) and flow work (pV);
denoted by H; the SI unit is J or kJ; expressed as:

Enthalpy–Entropy Diagram A Thermodynamics term; see Mollier

Diagram.

Entrepreneur A Management term; a person who organizes,

manages, and assumes the risks of a firm and who takes a new idea or a
new product and turns it into a successful business.

Entrepreneurship A Management term; a process by which people

recognize opportunities to satisfy needs and then gather and use
resources to meet those needs.
Entropy Change A Thermodynamics term; the difference in the
values of entropy of a working fluid between two equilibrium states;
denoted by dS or ΔS.

Entropy A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic property which

measures the disorder of a system; a measurement of the amount of
unusable energy in a system; always increases in real processes so that
available energy decreases; the existence of entropy is inferred as a
corollary of the second law of thermodynamics; denoted by S; always
defined in terms of change between equilibrium states; expressed as:
, where is the incremental heat addition to the system
maintained at temperature T; the SI unit is J/K; see also Specific
Entropy.

EOQ An Operations Management term; see Economic Order

Quantity.

Epicyclic Gear Train A Theory of Machines term related to gear; the

gear train in which the axes of the gear shafts move relative to a fixed
axis; gives higher velocity ratio for a given number of gears; used in
differential gears of automobiles, wrist watches, hoists, and pulley blocks.

Epicycloid A Theory of Machines term related to gear; the locus of a

point on the circumference of a circle, which rolls without slipping
outside another circle of a definite radius; used in making tooth profile
of a gear; see also Hypocycloid.

Equal Vectors A Physics term; two or more vectors having the same
magnitude, direction, and sense; produce the same effect.

Equation of Continuity A Fluid Mechanics term; see Principle of

Continuity.

Equation of State A Chemistry term; also called Ideal Gas Equation;

an equation which relates the state properties of a gas such as pressure
(p), volume (v), and temperature (T); given as:
where

n = number of moles of a gas

R = universal gas constant.

Equations of Rotational Motion A Physics term; the equations of

motion for a body which undergoes rotation; the following equations
are used for a rotating body:
(1)

(2)

(3)
where

ω0 = initial angular velocity of the rotating body

ω = final angular velocity of the rotating body
α = angular acceleration (constant)
θ = angle traced by the body after time t
t = time of rotation.

Equatorial Orbit A Physics term; the orbit which encircles the

equator of the earth.

Equatorial Plane A plane which contains the equator of the earth.

Equilateral Triangle A Mathematics term; a triangle whose all the

three sides are of equal lengths and whose three angles are also equal
(60°); an acute-angled triangle; see also Scalene Triangle.

Equipotential Lines A Fluid Mechanics term; the fluid lines along

which velocity potentials have the same value.
Equity Capital A Financial Management term; the long-term funds
which are provided by a firm’s owners, that is, the stockholders; see
also Debt Capital.

Equity A Management term; one of the 14 principles of management

proposed by Henri Fayol (1841–1925); indicates kindness and fairness
to subordinates.

Equity-Holder A Financial Management term; a person who owns a

company and is next to receive payment left over after being paid to
debtors.

Equivalent Fractions A Mathematics term; the fractions having

same value; a few examples include , , , etc. (value of each fraction
is ).

Equivalent Length A Strength of Materials term related to a column;

see Effective Length.

E-REV An Electric Vehicle term; see Extended-Range Electric

Vehicle.

Erg A Physics term; the CGS unit of work and energy; equivalent to
dyne-cm; 1 J = 107 erg or 1 erg = 10–7 J; see also joule.

Ergonomics The science which deals with the application of human

sciences like anatomy, physiology, and psychology to the design of work
environment and jobs; fitting the task to a person.

Ericsson Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to air standard cycle;

named after John Ericsson (1803–1889), a Swedish-American engineer
who invented it; a gas power thermodynamic cycle which uses gas (hot
air) as the working fluid; a closed cycle which consists of two reversible
isotherms (constant temperature process) and two reversible isobars
(constant pressure process); heat addition and heat rejection take place
at constant pressures, but compression and expansion processes take
place at constant temperatures; a regenerative Ericsson cycle has the
same thermal efficiency as the Carnot cycle; see also Stirling Cycle.
Ernst Mach (1838–1916) An Austrian physicist, philosopher, and
one of the pioneers in the field of supersonic aerodynamics who
investigated the shock waves of supersonic projectiles in the 1880s;
best known for the Mach number (a nondimensional group).

ERP An Operations Management term; see Enterprise Resource

Planning.

Error Due to External Causes A Metrology term; a type of

systematic error affected by external conditions such as changes in
temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind velocity.

Error A Metrology term; the difference between the measured value

and the true value of a physical quantity; the true value indicates the
actual magnitude of an input signal to a measuring instrument, and the
measured value is the value indicated by the instrument; classified into
systematic error, random error, and gross error.

Escape Velocity A Physics term; the minimum velocity with which if

a body is projected upward from the surface of the earth (or any other
planet), it goes out of the gravitational field of the earth (or other
planet), and never returns back on its own; does not depend upon the
mass of the body and its angle of projection from the surface of the
earth or planet, but depends on the mass and radius of the earth (or
planet); has different values for different planets; for earth, the escape
velocity is 11.2 km/s, and for sun, it is 618 km/s; given as:

where

Ve = escape velocity of the body

G = universal gravitational constant = 6.67 × 10–11 N m2 kg−2
M = mass of the earth (or any other planet)
R = radius of the earth (or any other planet)
g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 ms−2
ρ = mean density of the material of the earth (or any other planet)
π = A constant = = 3.14.

Esprit De Corps A Management term; one of the 14 principles of

management proposed by Henri Fayol (1841–1925); indicates the team
spirit, harmony, and unity within an organization.

Esteem Need A Management term related to motivation; also called

Ego Need; one of the five levels of human needs proposed by Abraham
Harold Maslow (1908–1970) in his ‘Need-Hierarchy Theory’ of
motivation; represents self-esteem need and the esteem need of others;
self-esteem need relates to the development of self-confidence, whereas
the esteem need of others represents the need for status and
recognition from others.

Etching A Chemistry term; a process of chemical attack on a material;

chemical machining uses this principle for material removal from a
workpiece.

Ethics A Management term; the discipline which deals with what is

good and what is bad; focuses on moral duty and obligation; see also
Business Ethics.

Euler Number A Fluid Mechanics term; a dimensionless

(nondimensional) group, named after Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), a
great Swiss scientist who is credited with being the first to recognize
the role of pressure in fluid motion; a ratio of the pressure force to the
inertia force; denoted by Eu, given as:

where

Δp = pressure drop
V = velocity of fluid flow
ρ = density of the fluid.
Euler’s Formula A Strength of Materials term related to column;
named after Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), a great Swiss scientist; a
mathematical formula most commonly used to find the crippling
(critical) load for long columns; expressed as:

where

P = Euler’s crippling load

E = modulus of elasticity of the column material
I = second moment of area of the column’s cross section
le = Equivalent/effective length of the column
π = (22/7) a constant.

Eulerian Method A Fluid Mechanics term; named after Leonhard

Euler (1707–1783), a Swiss mathematician and physicist who proposed
it; a mathematical method used to describe the motion of various fluid
particles at some fixed points in space; the most widely used method
because of its simplicity; see also Lagrangian Method.

Eutectic Reaction A Materials Engineering term related to phase

diagram; a chemical reaction which transforms a eutectic liquid (L) to a
relatively fine-grained microstructure of two solid phases (α and β)
upon cooling; expressed as:

Eutectoid Reaction A Materials Engineering term related to phase

diagram; a conversion process in iron-carbon phase diagram which
occurs at 723 °C to convert austenite to ferrite and cementite; a solid-
state reaction which transforms a eutectoid (a solid-state
microstructure means eutectic-like) into microstructure of two solid
phases (α and β) upon cooling; expressed as:
Eutectoid Steel A Materials Engineering term; a state of phase of
steel in iron-carbon phase diagram which contains 0.77% carbon;
classified into hypo-eutectoid and hyper-eutectoid steels.

eV A Physics term; see Electron Volt.

EV See Electric Vehicle.

Evangelista Torricelli (1608–1647) An Italian physicist who is

known for the Torricelli equation used to obtain free jet velocity and
related barometric height to weight of atmosphere; invented the
barometer.

Evaporating Cooling A Thermodynamics term; the cooling which

results from the evaporation; effective in hot and relatively dry
climates; involves either spraying liquid water into air or forcing air
through a water-soaked pad; for example, cooling of a space using an
air cooler.

Evaporation A Thermodynamics term; also called Vaporization; a

process associated with a phase change from liquid to vapour as a
result of absorbing heat; results when the vapour pressure is less than
the saturation pressure of the liquid at a given temperature; a few
examples include drying of clothes, fruits, and vegetables, and the
evaporation of sweat to cool the human body.

Evaporative Condenser A Power Plant term; a condenser which

uses both air and water as the condensing medium; see also Air-
Cooled Condenser and Water-Cooled Condenser.

Evaporator A Refrigeration term; a component of the refrigeration

system used to take away the heat from the refrigerator to maintain low
temperature.

EVB An Electric Vehicle term; see Electric Vehicle Battery.

Even Number A Mathematics term; any number divisible by 2; a few

examples include 4, 6, 20, etc.; the sum of any two even numbers is
always an even number; see also Odd Number.

Event A Project Management term; indicates the beginning or

completion point of an activity; does not consume any time or involve
any labour or material resources; see also Activity.

Exact Differential A Thermodynamics term; the differential of a point

function whose integral depends only on the end points; for example,
differential of temperature, symbolized as dT is expressed as:

where

T1 = temperature at state 1
T2 = temperature at state 2; see also Inexact Differential.

Exergy A Thermodynamics term; see Available Energy.

Exhaust Valve An IC Engine term; a valve through which the

combustion products are expelled from the cylinder of an engine; see
also Intake Valve.

Expanded Polystyrene Casting A Manufacturing term related to

casting; see Full-Mould Casting.

Expansion Stroke A Thermodynamics term related to an IC engine;

see Power Stroke.

Expectancy Theory of Motivation A Management term related to

motivation; see Vroom’s Expectancy Theory.

Expected Time A Project Management term; the time duration (te) in

which a project activity is expected to be completed; represents the
mean of a beta distribution curve, and its value is more close to the most
likely time, given as:
where

a = optimistic time of the activity

b = pessimistic time of the activity
m = most likely time of the activity.

Expenses An Operations Management term related to cost analysis;

the expenses are the cost other than material and labour costs;
classified into direct and indirect expenses and also fixed and variable
expenses; direct expenses include cost of designs or drawings produced
for a specific job or transportation cost or consultation fees; a few
examples of indirect expenses include rent of the building, insurance
premium, telephone bill, electricity bill, etc.; fixed expenses remain
relatively constant, and its example include taxes on land and building,
rent, etc.; variable expenses vary with volume of production, and its
example includes royalties paid by a publisher to an author.

Experience Curve A Management term; see Learning Curve.

Expert System A complex computer program capable of performing

and solving difficult real-life problems in a way that human minds do.

Explosive Welding A Welding term; a solid-state welding in which a

detonator is exploded to produce a high-velocity impact to bring
workpieces together to make a weld.

Exponential Smoothing Method An Operations Management term

related to forecasting; also called Exponentially Weighted Moving
Average Method as it gives the highest weightage to the most recent
data, and the weightage reduces exponentially with older data; also
called Adaptive Forecasting as it corrects for the past errors in
demand forecasting; the most frequently used formal forecasting
method because of its simplicity and the small amount of data needed
in this method; requires only three data: the last period’s forecast, the
demand of this period, and a smoothing constant (α) whose value lies
between 0 and 1.0; useful for short-range forecasts; uses the following
formula to find the forecast value:

where

Ft+1 = forecast for the current period

Dt = actual demand for the past period
Ft = forecast for the past period
α = smoothing constant.

The zero value of α indicates that the current period’s forecast becomes
equal to the past’s period forecast, that is, the forecast does not change;
when α is 1, then the current period’s forecast becomes equal to the
past’s period actual demand, that is, demand once set never changes;
larger value of α points towards recent data.

Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Method An Operations

Management term related to forecasting; see Exponential Smoothing
Method.

Extended-Range Electric Vehicle An Electric Vehicle term,

abbreviated as E-REV; an electric vehicle which uses a small gasoline
engine to extend the range.

Extension Spring A Design term; a spring subjected to a tensile

loading.

Extension A Strength of Materials term; see Elongation.

Extensive Property A Thermodynamics term; a property which

depends on mass of a system and varies proportional to the mass of a
body; a few examples include volume, surface area, and energy of all
kinds; see also Intensive Property.
Extensometer A Strength of Materials term; a mechanical gauge or
electromechanical sensor used to measure the elongation of a bar
during its tensile loading.

External chill A Manufacturing term related to casting; a metallic

object placed externally in the mould adjacent to the casting; often used
to reduce the number of risers (by retarding the solidification process)
required for a casting; see also Internal chill.

External Combustion Engine An engine in which combustion of the

fuel takes place outside the cylinder of the engine; for example, steam
engine.

External Customer A Management term; see Customer.

External Failure Cost A Quality Management term; a part of the cost

of quality related to the defects which pass through the system;
includes costs for customer warranty replacement, loss of customers or
goodwill, handling complaints, and products repair; see also Internal
Failure Cost.

External Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a flow that occurs on an

immersed body in an unbounded fluid, for example, water flow over a
submarine or air flow over a ball; see also Internal Flow.

External Force A Physics term; a force which acts on a body,

including the reactive forces caused by the supports; classified into
surface and body forces; see also Internal Force.

External Friction A Physics term; see Friction.

Extrapolation A Mathematics term; the calculation of a parameter

outside the range of observations; see also Interpolation.

Extrinsic Factors A Management term related to motivation; also

called Hygiene Factors; one of the two factors of Frederick Herzberg
(1923–2000)’s ‘Two-Factor Theory’ of motivation; include lower level
needs which form external factors of motivation such as company
policies, supervision, working conditions, interpersonal relations, salary,
status, and security; their absence creates dissatisfaction, and their
presence does not create satisfaction (may be because of greedy nature
of human beings); see also Intrinsic Factors.

Extrinsic Semiconductor An Electronics term; the semiconductor in

which impurities are added (the process is called doping); its
conductivity is higher because of doping and is dependent on doping
concentration, but is not affected by the temperature; classified into n-
type semiconductor and p-type semiconductor; see also Intrinsic
Semiconductor.

Extrusion A Manufacturing term; a manufacturing operation carried

out to shape a product by applying a large pressure on a metal billet or
blank (the raw material) which causes it to flow through a restricted
orifice (shaped-die opening); capable of producing any solid or hollow
cross section; the most widely used technique for processing
thermoplastics; classified into hot extrusion and cold extrusion.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_6

F
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

F. W. Harris (1877–1962) An American production engineer who

formulated the basic economic order quantity (EOQ) inventory model in
1914.

FA An IC Engine term; see Fuel–Air Ratio.

Face A Theory of Machines term related to gear; the surface of a gear

tooth along its width above the pitch surface; see also Flank.

Face-Centred Cubic Structure A Chemistry term, abbreviated as FCC

Structure; one of the three basic types of atomic arrangements found
in metals in which the unit cell consists of eight corner atoms and one
atom at the centre of each face; the atomic packing factor (APF) equals
to 0.74; materials having fcc structure have very high formability (the
ability to be plastically deformed without fracture); a few examples
include calcium (Ca), aluminium (Al), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), silver
(Ag), lead (Pb), and iron in γ-phase (that occurs between 912 and
1394 °C); see also Body-Centred Cubic Structure and Hexagonal
Close-Packed Structure.

Facility Layout An Operations Management term related to facilities

planning; also called Plant Layout; a process of physically arranging
the resources (material and human) such as space, raw materials,
machines and equipment, and workforce in a plant to facilitate smooth
flow of materials and information; can be suitably modified as per the
requirements of the plant; includes planning for the location of all
machines, utilities, employee workstations, customer service areas,
material storage areas, offices and customer rooms, and other facilities;
a bad plant layout produces production bottlenecks, increases level of
in-process inventory, delays production schedule, increases production
costs, and renders unpleasant working environment.

Facing Sand A Casting term; a freshly prepared sand which contains a

small amount of carbonaceous material; used to form the face (inner
surface) of a mould; that is, this sand is rammed around the pattern;
provides better surface finish to the castings.

Factor Earnings An Economics term; the incomes earned from the

factors of production, namely land, labour, and capital.

Factors of Production An Economics term; also called Resources;

the inputs into a production process or goods used to produce other
goods; for example, land, labour, and capital are the three key factors of
production.

Factory Cost An Operations Management term related to cost

analysis; the sum of prime cost and factory overhead, which includes all
the overheads needed to produce a good.

Fahrenheit Scale A Thermodynamics term; a temperature scale used

in the SI system and now considered in the English system; named after
the German instrument maker Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736);
uses the unit degree Fahrenheit (°F) for temperature measurement; the
ice and steam points on this scale are assigned the values of 32 °F and
212 °F, respectively; see also Celsius Scale, Kelvin Scale, and Rankine
Scale.

Failure Criteria A Strength of Materials term; also called Failure

Theories or Theories of Failure; the stress conditions useful in
predicting the failure of materials; expressed in terms of various
theories such as Rankine’s theory, Saint Venant’s criterion, Haigh’s
criterion, Tresca’s yield criterion, and von Mises yield criterion.

Failure Theories A Strength of Materials term; see Failure Criteria.

Fan Draught A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a boiler

accessory used to produce air to be supplied to the grate to increase
heat supply to the boiler; fitted near the grate of a boiler; see also Jet
Draught.

Fan A Fluid Mechanics term; a turbomachine which is basically a gas

pump; used to move gases (mostly air) with relatively low pressure rise
and high flow rate; a few examples include ceiling fans, house fans, and
propellers; see also Blower and Compressor.

Fanning Friction Factor A Fluid Mechanics term; see Friction

Coefficient.

Fastener A Design term; also called Fastening Element; a device

used to connect two parts together; classified into temporary and
permanent fastener; a few examples include nail, screw, key, cotter, nut
and bolt, rivet, etc.

Fastening Element A Design term; see Fastener.

Fatigue Limit A Strength of Materials term; see Endurance Limit.

Fatigue Test A Strength of Materials term; a destructive test used to

measure the fatigue strength of a solid body; the test is conducted by
subjecting a test specimen under cyclic loading (usually in alternate
tension and compression mode) or torsion; the stress amplitudes (S)
and the number of stress cycles (N) required to produce the failure are
recorded and drawn into a curve, called S–N curve.

Fatigue A Strength of Materials term; a deformation phenomenon

which results from repeated loading and unloading or when a solid
material is subjected to a fluctuating (cyclic or periodic) load which
causes it to fail earlier than its expected life; wings of an aircraft,
crankshaft of an automobile engine, and gear teeth in a machinery are
subjected to fatigue.

FBD A Physics term; see Free Body Diagram.

FCC Structure A Chemistry term; Face-Centred Cubic Structure.

FCFS An Operations Management term; one of the priority rules for

sequencing jobs which stands for first come first served; jobs are
completed in the order they arrived; has the advantage of being fair to
customers.

Feather Key A Design term related to a key; a variation of parallel

sunk key fitted to one member of the pair and permits relative axial
movement; usually fitted into the hub of the mounting, but not on to the
shaft; classified into peg, single-headed, double-headed, and splined keys
(splined shaft); see also Parallel Sunk Key.

Feed Check Valve A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a boiler

mounting used to continuously feed and regulate water supply to the
boiler; fitted in the feed water supply line very close to the furnace area.

Feed Pump A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a boiler accessory

used to feed (supply) water to a boiler; feed pump is usually a
reciprocating pump (single stage) or a rotary pump.

Feed Water A Power Plant term; the water which enters a boiler
from a pump.

Ferro-Chrome Alloy A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of iron

(Fe) and chromium (Cr).

Ferro-Molybdenum Alloys A Materials Engineering term; the alloys

of iron (Fe) and molybdenum (Mo); a steel containing just 2% of
molybdenum does not soften on heating (increased hot hardness) and
hence finds use in making cutting tools for high-speed lathes; a steel
containing molybdenum along with nickel (called nickel-molybdenum
steel) is used in making gun barrels; a steel containing molybdenum (2–
3%) and chromium (about 60%) is acid-resistant; an alloy containing
molybdenum (about 4%), nickel (79%), and iron (17%) has high
magnetic permeability and is used in making magnetic cores.

Ferrous Metals A Materials Engineering term; metals having high

iron (Fe) content along with some alloying elements; include many
types of steel and its alloys, cast iron, and wrought iron; offer good
mechanical properties, especially high strength and hardness, which
make them suitable for extensive industrial applications; see also
Nonferrous Metals.

Ferro-Vanadium Alloy A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of iron

(Fe) and vanadium (V) containing 35–45% of vanadium; finds use in
steel industry as a scavenger for oxygen and nitrogen, and also as a
strengthening agent; for example, when added to molten steel,
vanadium takes up oxygen and nitrogen and at the same time dissolves
in the molten iron to improve its ductility, strength, and shock-
resistance.

Fick’s Law of Diffusion A Mass Transfer term; named after a German

physician and physiologist Adolf Eugen Fick (1829–1901) who
proposed it in 1855; a law connected to the diffusion of two gases;
states that the mass flux of an element per unit area (also called the
diffusion rate) is proportional to the concentration gradient; expressed
as:

where

m = mass flow per unit time (kg/h)

A = area through which mass flows (m2)
D = diffusion coefficient (m2/h)
C = mass concentration of the component (kg/m3).
File A Manufacturing term; the most commonly used fitting tool used
to remove undesired material from a workpiece in small quantity
(usually in the form of dust particles) while shaping the workpiece;
made of high carbon steel; classified into flat, hand, square, triangular,
pillar, round, needle, and warding files.

Filler Metal A Welding term; a metal used to fill up the gap between
two thicker parts being joined so as to make a stronger joint; has
composition similar to that of parent metals that are being joined.

Film Coefficient A Heat Transfer term; see Heat Transfer

Coefficient.

Finance A Management term; the art and science of managing

money; deals with the process, institutions, markets, and instruments
which are involved in the transfer of money among and between
individuals, businesses, and governments; the study of finance helps to
make better financial decisions.

Financial Capital A Financial Management term; includes stocks and

bonds; see also Capital.

Financial Management An important discipline of management

which is connected with the acquisition, financing, and management of
assets.

Financial Manager A Management term; a manager who manages

the financial affairs of any type of business, whether financial or
nonfinancial, private or public, large or small, profit-seeking or not-for-
profit.

Financial Statement: A Financial Management term; a statement

which includes three components, namely the balance sheet, the profit
and loss statement, and the source and application of the fund statement.

Finite Element Analysis A Design term abbreviated as FEA; a

computer-based design analysis tool which allows the user to apply
virtual forces and pressures to a 3-D CAD model in order to determine
deflections, stress concentrations, and other effects.

Fins and Rags A Forging term; the forging defects which occur in the
form of projections on the surface of the forged parts due to attachment
of loose metal.

Fire Tube Boiler A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a type of

boiler in which products of combustion (hot flue gases) pass through
one or more tubes surrounded by water; important features of a fire
tube boiler include slow steam generation, low evaporative capacity,
and low steam pressure range; free from the limitations of using only
soft water; suitable for small power plants and locomotives; a few
examples include Lancashire boiler, locomotive boiler, and Cornish
boiler; Lancashire boiler is the most commonly used fire tube boiler;
see also Water Tube Boiler.

Firm An Economics term; an organization which transforms

resources (inputs) into products (outputs); the primary producing unit
in an economy.

First Angle Projection An Engineering Drawing and a Machine

Drawing term; a projection method in which an object is imagined to be
placed in the first quadrant for the purpose of its projection; as the
observer normally looks from the right side of the quadrant to obtain
the front view, here the object lies between the observer and the vertical
plane of projection; the object in this case has to be transparent, and the
projectors (the projection lines) are imagined to be extended from
various points of the object to meet the projection plane, and the
meeting points on being joined together (in order) form the image of
the object on the plane of projection; the Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS) [SP-46:1988] prefers this method of projection; see also Third
Angle Projection.

First Conjugate Beam Theorem A Strength of Materials term; a

conjugate beam-based theorem used to find slope at any section of a
loaded beam; states that the slope at any section of a loaded beam is
equal to the shear force at the corresponding section of the conjugate
beam; see also Second Conjugate Beam Theorem.

First Law of Thermodynamics A Thermodynamics term; a

statement of the conservation of energy for a system.

First Line Manager A Management term; see Low Level Manager.

First-Class Lever A Physics term; a lever in which the fulcrum is

positioned between the load and the effort; only class of lever in which
the effort force and the load force act in the same direction; also the
only class of lever which can be modified to amplify an effort force or
the distance that is moved by the load; moving the fulcrum towards the
load will decrease the effort force needed to lift the load; moving the
fulcrum towards the effort will increase the distance travelled by the
load but require an effort force that is greater than the load; a few
common examples of first-class lever include a pry-bar (used to remove
nails from furniture) and a see-saw (a playing device for children).

Fishbone Diagram A Quality Management term; see Cause-and-

Effect Diagram.

Fitting Shop A Manufacturing term; a part of the central workshop

where an object is given the desired shape through cutting or removing
materials from a given raw metal stock and secures proper fit, using
various fitting tools.

Fitting Tools A Manufacturing term; tools used in the fitting shop to

make a right size job; a few examples include scriber, chisel, try square,
hacksaw, and files.

Five S An Operations Management term, abbreviated as 5S; a

management tool used to effectively organize the workplace in an
organization; consists of five Japanese words starting with English
alphabet S, namely Seiri, Seiton, Seison, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke which
mean housekeeping, workplace organization, clean up, cleanliness, and
discipline, respectively.
Fixed Assets A Financial Management term; also called Earning
Assets or Capital Assets; the long-term assets used in the long-term
production of goods and not to be converted to cash in the near future;
a few examples include land, buildings, plant, machinery, and equipment
which have a much longer life; entered in the balance sheet at their
original cost value; generally provide the basis for the firm’s earning
power and value.

Fixed Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a beam; also

called Restrained Beam or Fixed-End Beam or Fixed–Fixed Beam or
Clamped Beam; a statically indeterminate beam that is confined or
fixed between the two supports; can resist a force in any direction, as
well as a moment or a couple at both support points.

Fixed Costs An Operations Management term related to cost analysis;

the fixed costs remain constant or unchanged with the volume of
output produced; they are considered even if no units are produced; a
few examples of fixed costs include the annual cost of renting or buying
new equipment and facilities (including depreciation, interest, taxes,
insurance, debt, and mortgage payments, salaries, etc.; see also Variable
Costs.

Fixed Error A Metrology term; see Systematic Error.

Fixed Order Quantity An Operations Management term; a lot sizing

rule by which orders are placed always for a fixed order quantity
irrespective of the nature of demand; see also Periodic Order
Quantity and Lot-for-Lot.

Fixed Support A Strength of Materials term; a support which neither

translates nor rotates, and hence can resist both a moment and a force
in any direction.

Fixed Vector A Physics term; a vector which has a fixed point of

application.

Fixed-End Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a beam; see

Fixed Beam.
Fixed–Fixed Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a beam;
see Fixed Beam.

Fixed-Position Layout An Operations Management term related to

facilities planning; a type of plant layout in which the product being
manufactured remains in a fixed position and the machines, materials,
and workers are transported to and from the product; used when a
product is very bulky, large, heavy, or fragile; a few examples include
missile assembly, ship construction, dam, or bridge construction, large
aircraft assembly, and making of large pressure vessels.

Fixed-Simple Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a beam;

see Propped Cantilever Beam.

Fixture A Manufacturing term; a device used to locate and hold a

workpiece in a definite position while working on it during a process;
used in conjunction with a jig; usually secured to the table of a machine,
but does not guide the cutting tool; the cutting tool is either moved into
position for the operation, or the table is moved under the cutting tool;
helps in rapid and accurate manufacturing; see also Jig.

Flame Hardening A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; a

surface-hardening process which involves heating of low carbon or low
alloy steel parts in an oxyacetylene gas flame and then cooled quickly by
water; suitable for parts which are too bulky to put into a furnace;
typical applications include ways of lathes, spindles, shafts, pulleys, and
gear teeth.

Flange Coupling A Design term; a temporary fastening device and a

type of rigid coupling; consists of two cast iron flanges keyed to the shaft
ends and bolted together, but the best practice is to press or shrink the
flanges on the shafts; for more accurate connection, the ends of the
flange couplings and the centring surfaces are machined after assembly
on the shaft; ensures the most accurate, rigid, and strong connection of
shafts; the shafts of steam turbo generators in three bearings, the shafts
of vertical hydroturbines, and the marine propeller shafts are usually
connected by flange coupling.
Flank A Theory of Machines term related to gear; the surface of a gear
tooth along its width below the pitch surface; see also Face.

Flash Butt Welding A Welding term; see Flash Welding.

Flash Welding A Welding term; also called Flash Butt Welding; a

type of resistance welding; the joint is produced when two abutting
work surfaces are pressed after being heated by a flash (arc) produced
by a high voltage in the circuit; see also Upset Welding.

Flash In casting terms, the metal squeezed out in space near the
parting line or into clearances around the core due to high pressure in
the die casting, which may be machined off as being undesirable; in
welding terms, an arc to produce heat for joining.

Flat File A Manufacturing term; one of the types of a file used in the
fitting shop which has a rectangular cross section and is parallel for
about two-third of its length and then tapered in width and thickness;
consists of double cut on its both faces and single cut on edges; used for
filing flat surfaces; see also Hand File.

Flat Organization A Management term; an organization which has

few levels in its hierarchy relative to its size; experiences less
communication, motivation, and cost problems than a tall organization;
see also Tall Organization.

Flat Saddle Key A Design term related to a key; a saddle key which is
similar to hollow saddle key, except that its underside surface is flat
which fits on the flat surface provided on the shaft; see also Hollow
Saddle Key.

Flat Spring A Strength of Materials term related to a spring; a spring

made of a flat strip of usually rectangular section and may be in the
form of a cantilever or a simple beam; acts as a structural member as
well as an energy absorbing device; used as a device for diving into a
swimming pool.

Flexible Automation An Automation term; see Soft Automation.

Flexible Coupling A Design term; a temporary fastening device or a
coupling that provides flexibility in connecting two machine shafts so
as to take care of any misalignment between them; helps to absorb the
impact from the fluctuation of torsional moment or of angular speed; a
few examples include Oldham coupling, universal joint coupling, and
pin-type coupling.

Flexible Manufacturing System A Manufacturing term related to

automation; abbreviated as FMS; a computer-assisted, highly efficient,
modern manufacturing system which consists of numerous
programmable machine tools connected by an automated material
handling system and controlled by a common computer network; offers
high degree of flexibility which helps to produce an enormous variety
of items including customized products.

Flexible Plant An Operations Management term; a plant with

equipment easy to install and dismantle as per the requirements; can
quickly adapt to changes.

Flexible Workers An Operations Management term; the workers

having multiple skills and abilities which make them switch over easily
from one kind of task to another; helps in attaining the goals of JIT.

Flexural Centre A Strength of Materials term; see Shear Centre.

Flexural Rigidity A Strength of Materials term related to bending;

also called Bending Modulus; the product of Young’s modulus (E) and
the second moment of area (I); the external bending moment which can
produce unit radius of curvature in a loaded beam; used as a measure
of resistance of a beam against bending; a beam having higher value of
flexural rigidity is difficult to bend; hence, it is a requirement of a strong
beam; the SI unit is N-m2.

Flexure Equation A Strength of Materials term; see Flexure

Formula.

Flexure Formula A Strength of Materials term; also called Bending

Formula or Flexure Equation or Bending Equation; valid for pure
bending of a beam; used to determine the bending stresses; given as:

where

σ = stress due to bending

y = distance from the neutral axis
M = bending moment due to applied load
I = moment of inertia of beam’s cross-sectional area
E = modulus of elasticity of the beam material
R = radius of curvature of the bent beam.

Flexure Stress A Strength of Materials term related to bending; see

Bending Stress.

Flint Glass A Chemistry term; a glass of high refracting power

prepared by fusing litharge, potassium carbonate, and silica in proper
proportions; has higher density and transparency than ordinary glass;
approximately includes 45% silica (SiO2), 4% sodium oxide (Na2O), 4%
potassium oxide (K2O), 3% calcium oxide (CaO), and 44% lead oxide
(PbO); used for making optical instruments and also for ornamental
purposes.

Floor Moulding A Casting term; the process of making a mould on

the floor of the foundry shop; useful for large size castings which are
difficult to handle.

Floor Rammer A Manufacturing term; a foundry tool and a type of

rammer used to ram the sand mass in floor moulding for making large
size moulds; see also Peen Rammer and Hand Rammer.

Flow Area A Fluid Mechanics term; the cross section of a fluid flow
perpendicular to the flow direction.
Flow Control Valve A Fluid Mechanics term; a type of valve used to
control the volume of a fluid as it flows in one direction only; often used
to control the speed of an actuator.

Flow Energy A Thermodynamics and a Fluid Mechanics term; see

Flow Work.

Flow Meter A Fluid Mechanics term; a device used to measure the

flow rate of a fluid.

Flow Process A Thermodynamics term; a process which involves

flow of mass across the boundary of an open system or control volume.

Flow Rate A Fluid Mechanics term; see Volume Flow Rate.

Flow Separation A Fluid Mechanics term; a process in which a fluid

stream detaches itself from the surface of a solid body; occurs at
sufficiently high velocities at sharp corners of a body or where there are
abrupt changes in the shape of the solid surface.

Flow Velocity A Fluid Mechanics term; a ratio of the distance

travelled by a drop of fluid to the amount of time that it takes to travel
that distance.

Flow Work A Thermodynamics and a Fluid Mechanics term; also

called Flow Energy; the work produced by the pressure force of a fluid,
which can move the fluid; analogous to displacement work; significant
only in a flow process or an open system; calculated as the product of
pressure (of the working fluid) and change in its volume during
expansion or compression; see also Flow Process.

Flowchart An Operations Management term; see Process Flowchart.

Fluctuating Load A Physics term; a dynamic load which persists for

long periods of time and continuously varies in intensity; produced by
rotating machinery, traffic, water waves, earthquakes, and
manufacturing processes; see also Impact Load.
Flue Gas A Power Plant term; the gaseous emissions discharged
through a flue or stack; see also Fly Ash.

Fluid Dynamics A Fluid Mechanics term; also called

Hydrodynamics; a branch of fluid mechanics which deals with the
properties and behaviour of a fluid in motion; see also Fluid Statics.

Fluid Friction A Fluid Mechanics term; see Viscosity.

Fluid Machine A Fluid Mechanics term; a device which either

performs work or extracts work (or power) from a fluid; a few
examples include hydraulic turbine, steam turbine, and pump.

Fluid Mechanics A core subject of mechanical as well as civil

engineering; the study of the properties of gases and liquids that are at
rest or in motion; classified into fluid statics and fluid dynamics.

Fluid Particle A Fluid Mechanics term; the particle of a fluid.

Fluid Power A Fluid Mechanics term; the use of a confined fluid

flowing under pressure to transmit power from one location to another.

Fluid Statics A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Hydrostatics; a

branch of fluid mechanics which deals with the properties and
behaviour of a fluid at rest, or there is no relative motion between fluid
particles; that is, no shearing stresses exist, and the only stress that
exists is a normal stress, called pressure; see also Fluid Dynamics.

Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a substance which begins to flow when

an external force is applied on it; a substance which deforms
continuously when subjected to shear forces, however small the shear
force may be; characterized by the presence of a free surface; examples
include liquid and gas.

Fluidity A Fluid Mechanics term; the tendency of a substance to

undergo continuous deformation when subjected to shear forces.
Flux A Chemistry and a Welding term; a substance which chemically
combines with gangue (earthy impurities) present in an ore to form
slag; helps to remove the impurities from the ore; classified into acidic
and basic fluxes.

Flux-Cored Arc Welding A Welding term; an arc welding process

which uses a continuous length consumable tubular electrode that
contains flux in its central part (core) along with some alloying
elements to produce shielding atmosphere around the weld pool;
mainly used for joining steels and stainless steels.

Fly Ash A Power Plant term; the unburned particulate matter

discharged from a stack; see also Flue Gas.

Flywheel Vortex A Fluid Mechanics term; see Forced Vortex.

Flywheel A Theory of Machines term; a heavy rotating body used to

store and deliver energy in intermittent operations such as in punch
presses and bulldozers; used to control the fluctuation of speed caused by
the non-uniform flow of power during each cycle of operation as in case
of internal combustion engines, reciprocating engines, and steam
engines; see also Governor.

FMS A Manufacturing term related to automation; see Flexible

Manufacturing System.

Focused Factory A factory which produces customized products for

particular markets to fulfil the specific requirements of a customer.

Foot The FPS unit of length; 1 foot = 12 in. = 30.5 cm; its plural is feet;
see also Inch.

Foot-Step Bearing also called Pivot Bearing; a type of thrust

bearing used to support a vertical shaft under axial load which
terminates at the bearing on its disc-shaped surface; the bush fitted in
the main body supports the shaft in position and takes care of possible
radial loads coming on the shaft; see also Collar Bearing.
Force of Adhesion A Physics term; see Adhesive Force.

Force of Buoyancy A Fluid Mechanics term; see Buoyant Force.

Force of Cohesion A Physics term; see Cohesive Force.

Force of Friction A Physics term; see Frictional Force.

Force of Gravity A Physics term; see Gravity.

Force A Mechanics term; an external action on a body which changes

or tends to change the state, orientation, shape, or size of the body;
specified by the magnitude, direction, and sense as well as the line of
action; classified into point, line, surface, and body forces; quantitatively,
it is equal to the product of mass and acceleration; the SI unit is newton
(N); see also Load.

Forced Convection A Heat Transfer term; a mode of heat transfer by

convection in which heat is transferred by a fluid whose flow is
produced by an external source such as a pump or a fan; a few examples
include the flow of water maintained by a pump in shell and tube
condenser of a refrigeration plant and the flow of air maintained by a fan
in the air-cooled condenser of an air-conditioner; see also Free
Convection.

Forced Oscillation A Physics term; the oscillation of a body which

occurs under the action of an external periodic force, where the body
oscillates with the frequency of the applied force; the amplitude of the
forced oscillation depends on the relationship between the frequency of
the applied force and the natural frequency of the body; for example, a
stretched string carrying an alternative current kept between two poles
of a magnet oscillates with the frequency of the current; see also Free
Oscillation.

Forced Vortex A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Flywheel Vortex;

a fluid flow in which the fluid particles spin about their own axes, while
moving along circular streamlines; see also Free Vortex.
Forecast Accuracy An Operations Management term related to
forecasting; indicates how close forecast values come to actual data; if
forecast values are very close to the actual data, it implies that
forecasting has high accuracy, and the forecast error is low.

Forecast Error An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; the difference between the actual demand and the forecast
value.

Forecast An Operations Management term; see Forecasting.

Forecasting: An Operations Management term; also called Forecast;

a process which aims to determine what is likely to happen in future
using past data, if no major changes occur; uses the scientific tools and
techniques to arrive at an informed guess.

Forgeability A Manufacturing term; the ability (property) of a

material which enables it to be easily forged (hammering a heated
workpiece) into useful products; mild steel and medium carbon steel
have good forgeability.

Forging Defects A Forging term; the defects produced in forged

parts; may arise due to initial defects in the work material, incorrect
design of forging dies, poor forging design, improper forging method,
non-uniform heating and cooling of the work material, or
microstructural changes in the work material because of phase
transformation; some important forging defects include laps, scale pits,
cracks, and fins and rags.

Forging A Manufacturing term; also called Hot Forging; a hot metal

working process used to shape a heated workpiece using a die by
repeatedly hammering it or by applying compressive forces through a
ram; produces grain alignment in a particular direction and results in
increased strength and toughness of the workpiece; the typical forged
products include connecting rods, bolts, rivets, and shafts for turbines;
see also Cold Forging and Warm Forging.
Formability A Strength of Materials term; the ability of a material to
be plastically deformed without fracture so as to give the desired shape
to materials; high ductility materials and materials having face-centred
cubic (fcc) structure show high degree of formability, whereas materials
having hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure have poor formability.

Formal Organization A Management term; the intentional structure

of roles in a formally organized enterprise; see also Informal
Organization.

Formalization A Management term; a process of making use of

written rules and procedures to standardize the operations.

Forming A Manufacturing and a Theory of Machines term; in

manufacturing terms, a manufacturing process which involves
permanently changing the shape of the material by applying pressure; a
few forming operations include drawing, bending, spinning, etc; in
theory of machines term, a slow method of gear manufacturing
(copying); used to produce gear teeth on a gear blank using a former
tool; best suited for limited manufacturing; see also Generating.

Forward Extrusion A Manufacturing term; see Direct Extrusion.

Forward Scheduling An Operations Management term; one of the

two methods of job scheduling in which activities are scheduled once
the job requirements are known; used in organizations such as
hospitals, clinics, restaurants, and machine tool manufacturers, where
jobs are performed to customer order, and delivery is typically
scheduled at the earliest possible date; see also Backward Scheduling.

Fossil Fuels A Power Plant term; the naturally occurring fuels

preserved in the earth’s crust and formed from the remains of tiny
plants and animals that died millions of years ago; consist of
hydrocarbons and produce heat on combustion; a few examples include
coal, petroleum, and natural gases; mostly used in industrial
applications for producing power and for transportation.
Foundry Shop A Manufacturing term; a part of the central workshop
where casting-related activities are carried out.

Foundry Tools A Manufacturing term; tools used in the foundry shop

to shape a job in the molten state; a few examples include moulding box,
rammer, swab, trowel, draw spike, shovel, and riddle.

Four-Stroke Engine A Thermodynamics term related to an IC engine;

an internal combustion engine which works on a four-stroke cycle
consisting of suction, compression, expansion, and exhaust strokes; the
cyclic operation is completed in every two revolutions of the
crankshaft; widely employed for large power requirements, for
example, heavy vehicles for transportation such as bus, trucks, and cars;
see also Two-Stroke Engine.

Four-Bar Linkage A Theory of Machines term; a common type of

linkage system consisting of three movable bars, two fixed pivot joints,
two pin joints, and a fixed bar which is often a part of a machine’s
frame.

Fourier’s Law of Dimensional Homogeneity See Principle of

Dimensional Homogeneity.

Fourier’s Law A Heat Transfer term; named after the French scientist
Jean Baptist Joseph Fourier (1768–1830); used to find the heat flow by
conduction along the length of a metal rod; given as:

where

Q = quantity of heat that flows along the rod

k = thermal conductivity of the material of the rod
A = cross-sectional area of the rod
Δt = time interval of heat flow
L = length of the rod
= high temperature of one end of the rod
Th = low temperature of the other end of the rod.
Tl

Four-Stroke Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to an IC engine; a

thermodynamic cycle which is completed in four strokes of a piston or
in two revolutions of the crankshaft of an internal combustion (IC)
engine; consists of suction, compression, expansion, and exhaust strokes;
finds use in petrol or diesel engines; see also Two-Stroke Cycle.

Fourth-Party Logistics An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as 4PL; the non-asset-owning third-party logistics firms,
which only provide coordination services; see also Third-Party
Logistics.

Fraction Time A Time Study term; see Allowance Time.

Fraction A Mathematics term; a number which represents a part of a

whole single object or a group of objects; expressed as a ratio of two
numbers or in decimal form; classified into proper, improper, and mixed
fractions.

Fractional Error A Metrology term; see Relative Error.

Fracture The act of breaking apart a component; represents total

structural failure.

Frame of Reference A Physics term; a geometric reference with

respect to which measurements are made; a coordinate system which is
fixed at the earth's surface.

Frame A Strength of Materials term; a stationary and fully

constrained civil structure used to support loads; consists of multi-
force members, and its members are acted upon by three or more
forces, unlike a truss where each member is a two-force member: see
also Truss.

Francis Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a hydraulic turbine, named

after James B. Francis (1815–1892), an eminent American hydraulic
engineer who designed, built, and tested the first efficient inward-flow
hydraulic turbine in 1849; a mixed-flow, single-stage, inward-flow
reaction hydraulic turbine; suitable for medium head installations (15 m
≤ H ≤ 300 m); has self-governing property against speed instability.

Frank Gilbreth (1868–1934) and Lillian Gilbreth (1878–1972)

The two American pioneers (husband and wife) of scientific management
who proposed therbligs; Frank Gilbreth is probably best known for his
experiments in reducing the number of motions in bricklaying; Lillian
Gilbreth was a psychologist; the two Gilbreths used motion picture films
to study work arrangements in order to eliminate wasteful hand-and-
body motions; also experimented with design and use of the proper
tools and equipment for optimizing work performance; devised an
instrument, called microchronometer which recorded time to 1/2000 of
a minute.

Frederick Herzberg (1923–2000) An American psychologist who

introduced the ‘Motivator-Hygiene theory’, also called ‘Two-Factor
Theory’ of motivation. His 1968 publication, ‘One More Time, How Do
You Motivate Employees?’ has sold 1.2 million reprints by 1987 and was
the most requested article from the Harvard Business Review.

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856–1915) An American mechanical

engineer who originated the scientific management principles and is
called the ‘father of scientific management’; introduced scientific
methods to improve the production efficiency; authored the famous
book ‘Principles of Scientific Management’ in 1911; emphasized on
scientific way of doing the job and using tools such as flow diagrams
and process charts to find the most economic way to perform a task;
invented high-speed steel (HSS) cutting tools and developed the famous
Taylor’s tool life equation V Tn = constant, which finds use in metal
cutting operations (V = velocity of cutting tool, T = time of cutting, and
n = an exponent which depends on material being cut); his ideas were
embraced and further extended by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, Henry
Gantt, and Henry Ford.

Free Body Diagram A Physics term, abbreviated as FBD; the sketch

or diagram of a body which is completely isolated (free) from all other
bodies or its assembly and shows all the external forces (both known
and unknown) acting on the body including their location, magnitude,
and direction along with its own weight; a useful concept in the analysis
of an engineering problem.

Free Convection A Heat Transfer term; also called Natural

Convection; a mode of heat transfer by convection in which heat is
transferred by a fluid motion caused by buoyancy forces which are
induced by the difference in its density due to the variation of
temperature; an example includes the flow of air in the air-cooled
condenser of a domestic refrigerator; see also Forced Convection.

Free Expansion A Thermodynamics term; also called Constant

Enthalpy Process; an irreversible process which involves expansion of a
gas without any change in its internal energy or enthalpy and without
doing any external work; see also Throttling.

Free Fall A Physics term; the falling down of a body under the action
of gravity towards the centre of the earth; an ideal motion of a body in
which air resistance and the small variations in acceleration with
latitude and altitude are ignored.

Free Good An Economics term; an item for which there is no scarcity,

is abundantly available, and does not require any price to pay for (zero
price); for example, air, sunlight, and river water; see also Economic
Good.

Free Market System An Economics term; a market system left to

operate on its own with no outside interference; there is no
government involvement and is not affected by the government’s plan
or directives; the individuals pursuing their own self-interest will go
into business and produce the products and services which people
want.

Free Oscillation A Physics term; also called Damped Oscillation as

its amplitude decreases to zero due to frictional resistance (damping);
the oscillation of a body which occurs by itself and is not influenced by
an external periodic force; produced when a body is displaced from its
equilibrium position and then released; the frequency of free oscillation
of a body is called natural frequency of the body.

Free Slack A Project Management term; the amount of spare (slack)

time for an activity, when all the succeeding activities in the network
can be started as early as possible; that is, the earliest start times (EST)
of the succeeding activities are not affected; an activity may have total
slack, but not a free slack; the free slack is always less than or equal to
the total slack; see also Total Slack.

Free Surface A Fluid Mechanics term; the upper layer of water, where
atmospheric pressure acts.

Free Vector A Physics term; a vector which can be moved freely

anywhere in space, provided its magnitude, direction, and sense remain
fixed; examples include moment of a force vector and area vector.

Free Vortex A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Potential Vortex or

Simple Vortex; a fluid flow in which the fluid particles move along
circular streamlines without rotating about their own axes; formed due
to flow separation in the wake region; has zero vorticity; resembles a
common whirlpool that is found while paddling a boat or while
emptying water from a bathtub; see also Forced Vortex.

Freehand Sketching An Engineering Drawing and a Machine

Drawing term; one of the most effective ways to communicate a
pictorial or verbal idea to a workman; it helps in visualizing the
components.

Freely Falling Body A Physics term; a body falling towards the centre
of the earth under the action of acceleration due to gravity; the
following equations are used for a freely falling body:
(1)

(2)

(3)
 In case of bodies moving vertically upward, the acceleration due to
gravity acts in the opposite direction, that is, it is a case of retardation,
and the equations are accordingly modified as:
(4)

(5)

(6)
where

u = initial velocity of the body (when t = 0)

v = final velocity of the body (at time t)
t = time of motion
g = acceleration due to gravity of the body = 9.81 m/s2
y = vertical displacement of the body.

Free-Stream Velocity A Fluid Mechanics term; the velocity of the

fluid approaching a body.

Freezing Point A Physics term; a temperature at which a liquid

substance is converted into a solid; for example, the freezing point of
water is 0 °C.

Freon-11 A Refrigeration term; also called R11; a methane-based

fluorocarbon refrigerant having chemical formula CCl3F.

Freon-12 A Refrigeration term; also called R12; a methane-based

fluorocarbon refrigerant having chemical formula CCl2F2; widely used
for domestic purposes.

Freon-22 A Refrigeration term; also called R22; a methane-based

fluorocarbon refrigerant having chemical formula CHClF2.
Freon A Refrigeration term; the trade name for fluorocarbon
refrigerants derived from hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, and
others; a few examples include Freon-11 or R11 (CCl3F), Freon-12 or
R12 (CCl2F2), and Freon-22 or R22 (CHClF2).

Frequency A Physics term; the number of oscillations or periodic

motions executed by a body in one second; the reciprocal of the periodic
time, that is, ( ); usually denoted by n; the SI unit is hertz (Hz) named
after the German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857–1894).

Friction Coefficient A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Fanning

Friction Factor, named after the American engineer John Fanning
(1837–1911); a friction factor denoted by Cf; equals to one-fourth of the
Darcy-Weisbach friction factor; see also Darcy-Weisbach Friction
Factor.

Friction Stir Welding A Welding term; see Friction Welding.

Friction Welding A Welding term; also called Friction Stir Welding;

a solid-state welding process which uses frictional heat to join metals
without fusion or filler metals produced by a rotating tool when
pressed against the parts being joined; particularly suitable for joining
aluminium alloyed parts in the form of plates, sheets, and hollow pipes;
can also join dissimilar metals; finds application in ship building,
aerospace, railway, and automotive industry.

Friction A Physics term; also called External Friction or Contact

Friction; the resistance which occurs, when two solid bodies in contact
with each other try to move, or there is an actual relative motion
between the two; see also Internal Friction.

Frictional Force A Physics term; also called Force of Friction; an

opposing force which comes into play when one solid body moves
(slides or rolls) or even tries to move over the surface of another solid
body; occurs due to interaction between molecules of the contacting
surfaces; acts always in the direction opposite to the direction of
motion; disadvantageous in some machines and processes such as
bearings, gears, power screws, and fluid flow in pipes where it is
desirable to reduce its effect, whereas in other machines such as
brakes, clutches, and belt drives, it is advantageous.

Front View An Engineering Drawing and a Machine Drawing term;

the view of an object obtained as a projection on a vertical plane of
projection by looking at the object normal to its front surface; the object
is usually positioned in such a way that its view from the front reveals
most of the important features; see also Top View.

Frosting A Physics term; the reverse process of a vapour turning

directly into a solid.

Froude Number A Fluid Mechanics term; a dimensionless

(nondimensional) number, named after William Froude (1810–1879), a
British civil engineer, mathematician, and naval architect who
pioneered the use of towing tanks for the study of ship design; a ratio of
the inertia force to the gravity force; useful for the flows influenced by
gravity such as wave action set up by a ship (ship hydrodynamics), the
flow of water in open channels, the forces of stream on a bridge pier,
the flow over a spillway and a weir, and the flow of a jet from an orifice;
denoted by Fr, given as:

where

V = fluid velocity
L = length (liquid depth in case of an open-channel flow)
g = acceleration due to gravity.

FSN Analysis An Operations Management term related to inventory; a

selective inventory control technique which classifies the inventories
based on the consumption pattern of components into three categories:
F (fast moving) items, S (slow moving) items, and N (no moving) items; F
items are regularly used items (e.g. eggs, milk, fruits and vegetables,
etc.); S items are time-specific items (old cars, old furniture, housing
units, etc.); N items are overstocked goods.

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle An Electric Vehicle term; a vehicle which

employs fuel cells, usually hydrogen-based, to produce electricity that
powers an on-board motor to drive the vehicle.

Fuel–Air Ratio An IC Engine term, abbreviated as FA; a ratio of the

mass of fuel to the mass of air; the reciprocal of air–fuel ratio; see also
Air–Fuel Ratio.

Fulcrum A Physics term; the point around which a lever, wheel, or

linkage pivots.

Full-Mould Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; also

called Lost-Foam Casting as the mould made from foamed polystyrene
is finally consumed in the process or Expanded Polystyrene Casting
as the hard beads of polystyrene are first steam expanded and dried; a
casting process which uses an expanded polystyrene pattern that gets
melted by the heat of the molten metal being poured, thus creating a
space to act as a full-mould cavity; offers advantages such as reusable
mould sand, its simplified handling, no need for the separate cope and
drag parts of the mould, and the reasonable precision of cast parts
which do not require many machining and finishing operations; the
typical products made by this method include cylinder heads,
crankshafts, brake components, and manifolds for automobiles and
machine bases which are commonly cast from aluminium, iron, steel,
nickel alloys, copper, and stainless steel.

Full Proofing An Operations Management term; see Poka-Yoke.

Fullerene A Chemistry term; a recently discovered (1985) third

crystalline allotrope of carbon (C), other than two previously well-
known allotropes, diamond and graphite; discovered collectively by
three scientists, namely Richard Smalley (1943–2005) and Robert Floyd
Curl (1933-) of Rice University, Houston (USA), and Harry Walter Kroto
(1939–2016) of the University of Sussex, Brighton (UK), for which they
were awarded Nobel Prize of Chemistry in 1996; made by heating
graphite in an electric furnace in the presence of inert gases such as
helium (He) or argon (Ar); being covalent, fullerenes are soluble in
organic solvents but diamond and graphite are not.

Functional Benchmarking A Quality Management term; a process of

comparing functions such as administration, customer service, and sales
operations with those of outstanding firms in any industry; for example,
the Xerox benchmarked its distribution function against L. L. Bean’s, as
Bean is a leading retailer in distribution efficiency and customer
service.

Functional Layout An Operations Management term related to

facilities planning; see Process Layout.

Functional Manager A Management term; a manager who is

responsible for developing the core competences in the organization’s
various departments; trains and develops the subordinates to ensure
that the organization has skills which match or exceed the skills of its
competitors.

Functional Organization A Management term; the organizational

structure suggested by F. W. Taylor (1856–1915), called the ‘father of
scientific management’; based on the functional requirements (works
speciality) in an organization such as manufacturing, marketing,
finance, and human resources; the work quality and productivity
improve because of works speciality; suitable for medium-sized firm
with several related product lines in one industry.

Functional Strategy A Management term; also called Function-

Level Strategy; the approach taken by a functional area to achieve
corporate and business unit objectives and strategies by maximizing
resource productivity; relates to developing and nurturing a distinctive
competence; for example, Mercedes-Benz invests heavily to improve its
skills in R&D and product design, and Coca-cola invests heavily to devise
innovative approaches to marketing.

Functional Structure A Management term; an organizational design

which groups similar or related occupational specialities together.
Function-Level Strategy A Management term; see Functional
Strategy.

Fundamental Laws of Motion A Physics term; see Laws of Motion.

Fundamental Particles A Chemistry term; the basic particles of an

atom of a chemical element; include electron, proton, and neutron.

Fundamental Quantities A Physics term; the most basic physical

quantities which cannot be obtained from one another; all other
physical quantities can be obtained from them; seven fundamental
quantities include mass, length, time, temperature, electric current,
luminous intensity, and amount of a substance.

Fundamental Units A Physics term; the units of measurement of

seven fundamental physical quantities in SI system of units; include
kilogram (kg) for mass, metre (m) for length, second (s) for time, Kelvin
(K) for temperature, ampere (A) for electric current, candela (cd) for
luminous intensity, and mole (mol) for amount of a substance; see also
Supplementary Units and Derived Units.

Fusible Plug A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a boiler

mounting which melts in case of low water level in the boiler and thus
preventing boiler’s overheating by allowing water and steam to escape
and extinguish the fire in the furnace of the boiler.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_7

G
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Gabriel Lame (1795–1870) A famous French mathematician whose

name is inscribed on the Eiffel Tower; proposed Lame curves and
introduced Curvilinear curves in mathematics; also known for Lame’s
constants used in the design of pressure vessels in strength of materials.

Galena A Chemistry term having the chemical formula of PbS; the

chief ore of lead (Pb) which contains 6–8% of lead along with small
quantities of silver (up to 0.1%).

Gallium Arsenide A Materials Engineering term; a semiconducting

compound consisting of gallium (Ga) and arsenic (As) having the
chemical formula GaAs; used as a high-temperature rectifier and as a
laser material; see also Cadmium Sulphide.

Galvanization A Chemistry term; see Galvanizing.

Galvanized Steel A Materials Engineering term; the zinc-coated mild

steel used for corrosion protection.

Galvanizing A Chemistry term; also called Galvanization; a method

of providing a coating (a thin film) of zinc over iron components, such
as iron rods or sheet to prevent them from rusting and corrosion,
popularly called the GI pipes or GI sheet.

Game Theory An Operations Research term; proposed by John von

Neumann (1903–1957), who is known as the ‘Father of Game Theory’;
the mathematical analysis of game that is fundamentally based upon
the minimax criterion; has only theoretical aspects rather than its
application to solving the real problems.

Game An Operations Research term; an activity between two or more

people governed by a set of rules, at the end of which each person
receives some benefits or suffers loss; a few examples include bidding,
advertisements, elections, and sports.

Gamma Ray A Physics term; an electromagnetic radiation discovered

by Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937), a New Zealand physicist who is
known as the ‘father of nuclear physics’; emitted by radioactive
substances such as uranium (U), plutonium (Pu), and thorium (Th);
consists of neutral particles; not frequently emitted radiation as
compared to alpha or beta ray emission; arises from energy
rearrangements within the nucleus after the emission of an alpha or
beta particles; cannot be deflected even in the strongest electric or
magnetic field; has an extremely high penetrating power, even greater
than that of X-ray, and can pass through 0.15 mm of steel; harmful to
living tissues; see also Alpha Ray and Beta Ray.

Gamma A Mathematics term; a mathematical function which is

denoted by ϒ; used as a symbol to denote an angle; also a ratio of the
two specific heats (Cp/Cv); air has the ϒ value of 1.4.

Gamma-Al2O3 (γ-Al2O3) A Materials Engineering term; see

Activated Alumina.

Gamma-Alloy A Materials Engineering term, abbreviated as γ-Alloy;

an alloy of aluminium (Al) which contains 3.5–4.5% copper (Cu), 1.8–
2.3% nickel (Ni), 1.2–1.7% magnesium (Mg), and remaining aluminium
(Al); can maintain its strength at elevated temperatures, hence used in
the casting of engine parts such as pistons; used largely in the form of
sheet and strip.

Gangue A Chemistry term; also called Matrix; the earthy and

siliceous impurities (in addition to the impurities of other minerals)
present in an ore.

Gantt Chart An Operations Management term; an important project

management tool used for scheduling work and monitoring its
progress; developed by a famous American industrial engineer Henry
Laurence Gantt (1861–1919) in 1914; a type of bar chart which plots
activities (jobs) both planned and actual on y-axis against time on x-
axis; shows a job’s progress graphically or compares actual against
planned performance over a period of time; used as a scheduling tool
for planning production activities.

Gas Cutting A Manufacturing term; a process of splitting a workpiece

by the heat of a gas flame.

Gas Cyaniding A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; a

case hardening process used to produce hardened surface in low carbon
steel parts by heating the parts in an ammonia atmosphere at a
temperature of 1700 °F and then quenched in oil; see also Liquid
Cyaniding.

Gas Dynamics A Fluid Mechanics term; the study of a compressible

fluid in motion.

Gas Metal Arc Welding A Welding term; see Metal Inert Gas
Welding.

Gas Tungsten Arc Welding A Welding term; see Tungsten Inert Gas
Welding.

Gas Turbine A Power Plant term; a work-producing device

(turbomachine) which converts the heat energy of a compressible gas
(the working fluid) into work, which is further used in generating
electricity in power plants; also used in modern commercial jet
engines; see also Steam Turbine and Hydraulic Turbine.

Gas Welding A Welding term; a fusion welding process which uses

mainly heat of an oxyacetylene gas flame for heating the parts being
joined; produces a temperature of around 3300 °C; see also Arc
Welding.

Gas A Physics term; a state of matter which has neither definite shape
nor definite volume; see also Solid and Liquid.

Gasket A Design term; an elastic or plastic device used to prevent the

flow of fluids across mating surfaces of a mechanical assembly having
no relative motions; for example, a gasket is placed between the
cylinder head and the cylinder block of an engine to make the joint
tight.

Gate A Manufacturing term related to casting; an inlet which runs

into the mould cavity; a part of the gating system.

Gated Pattern A Casting term; a type of pattern consisting of many

small patterns connected to each other through suitable channels,
called gate formers; used to produce multicavity moulds, which are fed
by the gate formers using a single runner; suitable for mass production
of small castings.

Gating System A Manufacturing term related to casting; a network of

channels used to deliver molten metal in the mould cavity; consists of
pouring basin, sprue, runner, and gate.

Gauge Blocks A Metrology term; the rectangular-shaped steel blocks

with highly polished and parallel surfaces; used to provide dimensional
standards between a given range by stacking them one over another;
available as a set of 86 or 45 pieces.

Gauge Length A Strength of Materials term; the specified length of a

test specimen for which test is conducted and analysis carried out
(usually 60 mm for conducting a tension test).
Gauge Pressure A Fluid Mechanics term; a pressure relative to the
atmospheric pressure; the SI unit is pascal (Pa) which is equivalent to
N/m2; see also Absolute Pressure and Vacuum.

Gauss’s Theorem A Mathematics term; see Divergence Theorem.

Gaussian Distribution Curve A Statistics term; see Normal

Distribution Curve.

GDP An Economics term; see Gross Domestic Product.

Gear Drive A Design term related to a gear; a positive drive which

uses a gear mechanism for power transmission; offers a constant speed
ratio without any slippage; a highly compact, efficient, and reliable
power transmission system; important parameters used in the design
of gear drive mechanism include the pressure angle, pitch circle
diameter, and diametral pitch.

Gear Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; a hydraulic control system

consisting of a pair of identical spur gears, which revolve in opposite
directions in a closely fitted casing; the theoretical discharge through a
gear pump is given as:

where

Z = number of teeth in one gear

V = volume of one tooth (m3)
N = number of revolutions per minute (rpm).

Gear Ratio A Theory of Machines term related to gear; abbreviated as

GR; in a gearset, a ratio of the number of revolutions (rotational speed)
of the input (driving) gear to the number of revolutions (rotational
speed) of the output (driven) gear; also a ratio of the number of teeth
on the gear to the number of teeth on the pinion; gear ratio is always a
positive number greater than 1 regardless of the direction in which the
power flows through the gearset; see also Velocity Ratio.

Gear Train Value A Theory of Machines term related to gear; see

Train Value.

Gear Train A Theory of Machines term related to gear; a mechanism

consisting of two or more gears in mesh, which is used to increase or
decrease rotational speed and torque and change or maintain
rotational direction between the input and output shafts of a
mechanical system; used to obtain a specific train value while
transmitting motion or power between two shafts; used in clocks,
watches, and lathes; classified into simple, compound, reverted, and
epicyclic gear trains; see also Train Value.

Gear A Theory of Machines term; a rotating circular machine part

(wheel) having teeth cut over its periphery; a device used to transmit
rotation, torque, and power without any loss between closer shafts with
a constant speed ratio; the most common means of power transmission
in many machines such as automobiles, tractors, metal cutting machines
tools, rolling mills and marine engines; the shape of a gear’s tooth is
mathematically defined and precisely machined according to well-
defined codes and standards.

Gearset A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; a pair (set) of

two gears having complementary teeth profiles that mesh with one
another; forms the building block of a transmission system which
transmits rotation, torque, and power between shafts; smaller of the
two gears is called pinion (driving gear), and the larger one is called
simply gear (driven).

General-Purpose Machines A Manufacturing term; machines which

can perform basic manufacturing functions such as turning, drilling,
and facing; for example, lathe is a general-purpose machine.

Generalized Hooke’s Law A Strength of Materials term; a set of six

equations which gives the relationships between a general state of
stress and strain; applicable only to homogeneous isotropic materials
under multiaxial loading condition; obtained using the principle of
superposition from the simpler stress–strain equations; given as:

where

εx = axial strain in x-direction

εy = axial strain in y-direction
εz = axial strain in z-direction
σx = normal stress in x-direction
σy = normal stress in y-direction
σz = normal stress in z-direction
γxy = shear strain in xy-plane
γyz = shear strain in yz-plane
γzx = shear strain in zx-plane
τxy = shear stress in xy-plane
τyz = shear stress in yz-plane
τzx = shear stress in zx-plane
E = modulus of elasticity
G = modulus of rigidity
= Poisson’s ratio.
Generating A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; a faster
method of gear manufacturing; useful for mass production to produce
gear teeth on a gear blank using a hob or a pinion-type cutter; see also
Forming.

Generator Efficiency An Electrical term; a ratio of the electrical

power output to the mechanical power input; see also Motor Efficiency.

Generator An Electrical term; a device which converts mechanical

energy into electrical energy; an important means of power generation.

Genetic Algorithm An Operations Research term; the computerized

search and optimization algorithm based on the mechanics of natural
genetics and natural selection; extensively used as an optimization
technique.

Genichi Taguchi (1924–2012) A well-known Japanese quality

expert who is known for a concept called ‘design of experiments’ to
product design; stressed on improving quality efforts during the ‘design
stage’ of a product; coined the word ‘robust quality’ of a product which
makes the product suitable to perform over a wide range of conditions;
a winner of the Deming Award.

Geometric Centre A Strength of Materials term; see Centroid.

Geometric Similarity A Fluid Mechanics term; the similarity of

shapes between a model and its prototype; see also Dynamic
Similarity and Kinematic Similarity.

Geometrical Moment of Inertia A Strength of Materials term; see

Second Moment of Area.

Geometrical Similarity A Fluid Mechanics term; the similarity of

shapes between a model and its prototype; see also Kinematic
Similarity and Dynamic Similarity.

George Elton Mayo (1880–1949) A Harvard Business School

professor who was one of the key figures involved in the famous
Hawthorne studies conducted at the Hawthorne Plant of the Western
Electric Company of the USA during 1927–1932; see also Hawthorne
Studies.

George Gabriel Stokes (1819–1903) An English physicist and

pioneering investigator of viscosity; widely known for the Navier–Stokes
equations; the unit of kinematic viscosity in the metric system (called
stoke, which is equivalent to cm2/s) is named after him; proposed
Stokes law (F = 6πμRv, where F = drag force, μ = dynamic viscosity, R =
radius of the spherical object, and v = terminal flow velocity relative to
the object) in 1851 related to drag force exerted on spherical objects
moving through a viscous fluid.

Geostationary Satellite A Physics term; called so as the satellite

appears to be at a fixed position at a definite height from the earth and
appears stationary to an observer; also called Communication
Satellite as it is used for the purpose of communication or
Geosynchronous Satellite as it revolves around the earth in an orbit
(concentric and coplanar with the equatorial plane) with the same
angular speed in the same direction as is done by the earth around its
own axis (from west to east), that is, both speeds are synchronized; the
time period of revolution is 24 h, the orbital speed is 3.1 km/s, and it is
placed at a height of 36,000 km above the equator of the earth; Telstar
was the first communication satellite launched by the USA in 1962; see
also Polar Satellite.

Geosynchronous Satellite A Physics term; see Geostationary

Satellite.

German Silver A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of copper (Cu),

nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) consisting of 60% Cu, 20% Ni, and 20% Zn;
used in making domestic utensils.

Gib A Design term; a mild steel piece which finds use in a cotter joint
to prevent the bending of the lower part of the socket end; also helps to
use parallel holes in the spigot and socket; has the same thickness as
that of cotter; increases the bearing area of contact between the mating
surfaces; one or two gibs can be used to take care of both sides of the
joint (one gib is used when the cotter has taper on one side, and two
gibs are used when the cotter has taper on its both sides).

Gibbs Function A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic property

used in the analysis of a chemical system; named after an American
scientist Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839–1903), who received from Yale
University in 1863 the first Ph.D. in engineering in America; denoted by
G; expressed as:

where

H = enthalpy of the working fluid

T = absolute temperature of the working fluid
S = entropy of the working fluid; see also Helmholtz Function.

Gigapascal A Physics term; the larger SI unit of pressure and stress,

abbreviated as GPa; 1 GPa = 109 Pa; see also Kilopascal and
Megapascal.

Glass A Chemistry term; an amorphous material obtained from silica

(SiO2); usually processed by melting and casting; when heated, it does
not melt at a fixed temperature (melts into a liquid at a very high
temperature), rather gradually softens to be moulded into any desired
shape; a transparent material which can transmit visible light (as well
as ultraviolet and infrared radiation); brittle and fragile and chemically
inert; various colouring materials are used to prepare glasses of
different colours; for example, ferric oxide (Fe2O3) is added to get
yellow colour, chromic oxide (Cr2O3) to get green colour, manganese
oxide (MnO) to get purple colour, and cobalt oxide (CoO) to get blue
colour in glass; the ordinary glass (also called soda glass or window
glass) has the approximate chemical formula of Na2O · CaO · 6SiO2;
classified into soda glass, potash glass, flint glass, crown glass, Pyrex
glass, Jena glass, Crookes glass, bottle glass, ground glass, and safety
glass; extensively used in houses, cars, computer and television screens,
and hundreds of other applications.
Global Positioning System An information technology tool,
abbreviated as GPS; a wireless technology which uses satellite
transmission to communicate exact locations; extensively used in
logistics by transport companies to identify the exact locations of their
vehicles carrying goods for distribution.

Globalization A Management term; the internationalization of

markets and corporations in which activities are expanded and
operated worldwide; characterized by an increased cross-border flow
of trade in goods, services, and financial assets along with an increased
international mobility of technology, information, and individuals; a few
examples of globalization include global markets, global operations,
global financing, and global supply chains.

Globular Transfer A Welding term; a mode of metal transfer in gas

metal arc welding (GMAW) in which the consumable electrode is
transferred across the arc in large droplets; see also Spray Transfer.

GMAW A Welding term; the short form of Gas Metal Arc Welding;
see Metal Inert Gas Welding.

Gold A Chemistry term; a yellow, heavy, highly ductile, and malleable

noble metal which has the specific gravity of 19.3 and the melting point
of 1063 °C; usually alloyed with silver and copper; extensively used in
making jewellery and coinage; white gold is an alloy of gold with nickel.

GOLF Analysis An Operations Management term related to inventory;

a selective inventory control technique which classifies the inventories
based on their source of availability into four categories: G
(government) items, O (ordinary) items, L (local), and F (foreign) items;
G items are imported by government agencies like State Trading
Corporation, Metals Trading Corporation, etc. using special procedures,
and normal rules of procurement are not applicable for them; O items
are the most general items like groceries, and their procurement does
not require special procedures; L items are locally available items
confined to a particular place (e.g. Maner ladoo, Silav khaaja, and
Mathura petha); F items are specially manufactured items procured
from a distant source (foreign), and their procurement procedures are
different than for local goods (e.g. excise duty-paid items).

Gotthilf Heinrich Ludwig Hagen (1797–1884) A German hydraulic

engineer who conducted original studies of resistance in and transition
between laminar and turbulent flow.

Governor A Theory of Machines term; a device used to maintain a

constant mean speed of rotation of the crankshaft of an engine under
variable load on the engine; does not control the cyclical fluctuations of
speed; generally classified into two broad groups, namely centrifugal
and inertia governors; see also Flywheel.

GPa A Physics term; see Gigapascal.

GPS An information technology tool; see Global Positioning System.

Gradient Operator A Mathematics term; also called Del Operator; a

vector operator; denoted by ; defined in Cartesian coordinates (i, j,
and k are the unit vectors along x-, y-, and z-directions, respectively) as:

Gradual Usage and Non-instantaneous Receipt Model An

Operations Management term; see Production Quantity Model.

Gradually Applied Load A Physics term; see Static Load.

Grain Boundary A Materials Engineering term; the boundary which

separates each grain from other grains in a polycrystalline
microstructure.

Grain In measurement terms, a unit of weight equivalent to 64.8 mg

or 1/7000 of a pound; in materials terms, any small, hard particle; a
minutely small crystalline body that has definable limits; the individual
crystallite in a polycrystaline microstructure; in cereal terms, a small,
hard seed of a food plant.
Graph A pictorial representation which shows the relationship
between two variable quantities in the form of a straight line or curve;
represented by some mathematical relation.

Graphical Method A method based on the use of a graph for the

solution of a problem; a method for solving linear programming
problems involving only two variables; the method is based on drawing
a graph to find a feasible region containing all possible feasible
solutions to the problems that satisfy all the constraints of the problem;
points lying within the feasible region satisfy all the constraints;
optimal value of the objective function occurs at the corner points; in
case of a maximization problem, corner points at which the objective
function has a maximum value represent the optimal solution; in case
of a minimization problem, corner points at which the objective
function has a minimum value represent the optimal solution.

Graphite A Chemistry term; the greyish-coloured, the purest (like

diamond), soft form of carbon (C) which contains 95–97% of carbon;
has high density (2.25 g/cm3); occurs in nature in free state but is also
prepared artificially in large amounts using Acheson process; a good
lubricating agent used as a solid lubricant (dry) in machines running at
high speeds, where oil cannot be used as a lubricant; a good conductor
of heat and electricity which makes it suitable for making electrodes and
carbon rods for dry cells; used as a moderator for fast-moving neutrons
in atomic reactors; also used in the manufacture of crucibles which can
withstand high temperatures; the so-called lead pencils which mark
paper black (called black lead), actually contain graphite mixed with a
little clay.

Graphitic Carbon A Materials Engineering term; the free,

uncombined carbon found in a metallic material in the form of flakes.

Gravimetric Analysis A Chemistry term; the analysis of a mixture of

gases based on the mass (or weight) of each component; see also
Volumetric Analysis.

Gravitation A Physics term; also called Gravitational Force; the

force of attraction acting between any two bodies in the universe;
discovered by Sir Issac Newton (1643–1727) in 1665 when he saw an
apple falling down from a tree; plays an important role in controlling
the entire structure of the universe; a conservative as well as a central
force which acts through the line joining the centres of two bodies and
can be zero, if separation between two bodies becomes infinity; see also
Gravity.

Gravitational Field A Physics term; the space around a material

body (earth or any other planet or sun) in which its gravitational pull
can be experienced.

Gravitational Force A Physics term; see Gravitation.

Gravitational Mass A Physics term; the mass related to the

gravitational pull of a body; defined by the Newton’s law of gravitation
as the magnitude of gravitational pull which is experienced by a body in
a gravitational field of unit intensity; measured by a spring balance;
equivalent to inertial mass; expressed in the same unit as inertial mass;
see also Inertial Mass.

Gravitational Potential Energy A Physics term; the energy

possessed by a body by virtue of its position above the surface of the
earth; a function of height; given as:

where

m = mass of the body

g = acceleration due to gravity and
h = height (altitude) of the body; see also Potential Energy.

Gravitational Potential A Physics term; the amount of work done in

bringing a body of unit mass from infinity to a point in the gravitational
field of the body without acceleration; a scalar quantity with a negative
value; has the maximum value of zero at infinity; the SI unit is J/kg;
given as:
where

G = universal gravitational constant = 6.67 × 10−11N m2 kg−2

M = mass of the gravitational body
r = distance between gravitational body and unit mass body
R = radius of the earth.

Gravitational Pull A Physics term; see Gravity.

Gravity Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Permanent Mould Casting.

Gravity Die Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Permanent Mould Casting.

Gravity Force A Physics term; see Gravity.

Gravity Pull A Physics term; see Gravity.

Gravity Segregation A Manufacturing term related to casting; a

process of separation of the heavier component of a mixture material
from its lighter component; usually found in centrifugal casting due to
centrifugal force acting on the rotating mould.

Gravity A Physics term; also called Gravitational Pull or Force of

Gravity or Gravity Pull or Gravity Force; the force that pulls an object
towards the centre of earth; it is zero at the centre of the earth and is
directed towards the centre; a measure of weight of a body.

Grey Iron A Materials Engineering term; see Grey Cast Iron.

Grease A Fluid Mechanics term; a highly viscous, solid or semisolid
substance; generally consists of soaps, mineral oil, and various additives;
extensively used as a lubricant to reduce friction and wear between
contact surfaces.

Greenhouse Gas A gas which contributes to greenhouse effect by

absorbing infrared radiation; includes gases such as carbon dioxide and
chlorofluorocarbons.

Green Sand Mould A Casting term; a mould made of green sand.

Green Sand A Casting term; the most commonly used moulding sand
which contains silica, clay, and water; named so because of moisture
present in it.

Grey Cast Iron A Materials Engineering term; also called Grey Iron;
one of the most widely used materials in casting as it can be easily cast;
has a very low cost; easily machinable because of graphite present in
the form of thin flakes, but is brittle; cannot be readily welded as it leads
to the formation of crack which can be prevented by preheating the
part before welding; the tensile strength varies from 100 to 400 MPa,
and the compressive strength is 3–4 times its tensile strength.

Grinding A Manufacturing term; a micromachining process which

uses tiny hard abrasive particles to remove very small amounts of
material from a workpiece; produces better surface finish and close
tolerances; used in cutting hard brittle materials.

Gross Domestic Product An Economics term, abbreviated as GDP;

one of the two widely used measures of aggregate output of an
economy other than the gross national product (GNP); a measure of all
currently produced final goods and services evaluated at market prices;
the most comprehensive measure of a nation’s economic activity; policy
makers use GDP figures to monitor short-run fluctuations in economic
activity as well as long-run growth trends; usually measured on per
year basis; changes with change in overall price level as well as when
the actual volume of production changes; stocks and bonds are not part
of GDP.
Gross Error A Metrology term; an error which occurs due to sheer
carelessness of an observer; a few examples include wrong recording of
the observations, use of wrong values of observations in the calculations,
or taking of reading without setting the instrument properly.

Ground Glass A Chemistry term; a type of glass prepared by grinding

ordinary soda glass by emery and turpentine oil or by sand blasting.

Group Cohesiveness A Management term; the degree to which

group members are attracted to one another and share the group’s
goals.

Group Technology A Manufacturing term, abbreviated as GT; a

manufacturing methodology in which parts are grouped and produced
in families based on similarities in their design and manufacturing
requirements.

Group A Management term; an association of two or more

interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to
achieve specific goals.

GT A Manufacturing term; see Group Technology.

GTAW A Welding term; the short form of Gas Tungsten Arc

Welding; see Tungsten Inert Gas Welding.

Guided-Bend Test A Strength of Materials term; a bending test in

which a specimen is bent to a desired shape by means of a jig.

Guidelines A Management term; a set of directions to follow.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_8

H
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Hacksaw A Manufacturing term; the simplest metal cutting tool

which has a straight blade containing a number of cutting teeth; an
important fitting tool used in fitting shop; can be operated manually or
by using power (called power hacksaw); generally used for cutting off
bars, rods, and structural shapes.

Haematite A Chemistry term; also called Red Iron; the chief ore of
iron having the chemical formula of Fe2O3; contains about 70% iron;
see also Magnetite.

Hagen-Poiseuille Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; often called simply

Poiseuille Flow, named after the German hydraulic engineer Gotthilf
Heinrich Ludwig Hagen (1797–1884) and the French physician Jean
Louis Poiseuille (1799–1869); a steady, incompressible, laminar flow
through a straight circular tube of constant cross section; has a
parabolic profile.

Haigh’s Criterion A Strength of Materials term related to theory of

material’s failure; see Maximum Total Strain Energy Theory.

Half Section An Engineering Drawing and a Machine Drawing term;

the one-half section of an object or a machine or its component part
either symmetrical about a horizontal line or about a vertical line.

Half-Life Period A Chemistry term related to radioactivity; a

characteristic of every radioactive element; the time span during which
the radioactivity of the element reduces to one-half of its original value;
its value remains constant for each radioactive element; for example,
the half-life period of radium (Ra) is 1590 years, whereas for other
elements are a few seconds only; see also Disintegration Constant.

Hall Effect A Physics term; the appearance of a transverse voltage

difference on a current carrying conductor when placed perpendicular
to a magnetic field; the effect is directly proportional to the magnetic
field strength; finds use in making sensors.

Hammer Forging A Manufacturing term; see also Smith Forging.

Hand File A Manufacturing term; one of the types of a file used in the
fitting shop which has a rectangular cross section and is parallel for its
full length; consists of double cut on its both faces and single cut on one
edge, and there is no cut on other edge (safe edge); used in the filing of
square corners of the work, without affecting its already filed adjacent
surface.

Hand Rammer A Manufacturing term; a foundry tool and a type of

rammer used to ram the sand mass in bench moulding which uses a
bench; see also Peen Rammer and Floor Rammer.

Hard Automation An Automation term; a process of using computer-

driven automated machines which is capable of producing a particular
type of product only; cannot produce customized products; see also
Soft Automation.

Hard Glass A Chemistry term; see Potash Glass.

Hard Mould Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Permanent Mould Casting.
Hardenability A Manufacturing term; the ability (property) of a
material which enables it to be easily hardened; classified into core
hardenability and surface hardenability; mild steel has good
hardenability.

Hardener A Chemistry term; a catalyst which causes polymer

macromolecules in a resin to cross-link to each other.

Hardness Test A Strength of Materials term; a destructive test used to

measure the resistance to penetration, indentation, or scratching of the
surface of a material by a hard object; a qualitative measure of strength
of a material which is based on finding a number, called a hardness
number whose higher value is indicative of increased hardness of the
material; three important hardness measuring tests include Brinell,
Rockwell, and Vickers tests.

Hardness A Strength of Materials term; the resistance of a material

against scratching or penetration by a pointed tool, an important
mechanical property of materials.

Harmonic Mean A Statistics term; the inverse of the mean of the

reciprocals of each individual item; for example, for n items of values
from x1 to xn, the harmonic mean (ah) is given as:

or

Harmonic Motion A Physics term; see Harmonic Oscillation.

Harmonic Oscillation A Physics term; also called Harmonic

Motion; the oscillation (motion) which can be expressed in terms of
single harmonic function like sine function or cosine function; see also
Non-harmonic Oscillation.
Hart Mechanism A Theory of Machines term; a mechanism used to
generate exact straight-line motion; consists of six links as compared to
eight links contained in the Peaucellier mechanism, but requires more
space; see also Peaucellier Mechanism.

Hastelloys A Materials Engineering term; a nickel alloy group; an

alloy of nickel, molybdenum, and iron.

Hatching Lines An Engineering Drawing and a Machine Drawing

term; the continuous thin parallel lines normally drawn at 45° to the axis
or to the main outline of the section lines; used to show the areas of
sections of a component; the separate areas of a section of the same
component are shown by identical hatching lines, but the hatching lines
with different directions or spacing can be used for showing the
sections of adjacent components (usually drawn at 45°, but in opposite
direction to those on the part sectioned earlier); the spacing between
the hatching lines should be uniform and should be chosen in
proportion to the size of the section.

Hawthorne Studies An Operations Management term; a series of

studies conducted at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric
Company of the USA during 1927–1932 aimed at improving the
production efficiency by considering work environment (the impact of
lighting), social group pressure and employee–management
relationship which had an important effect on productivity; the study
provided new insights into group behaviour of the workers.

HAZ A Welding term; see Heat-Affected Zone.

HCP Structure A Chemistry term; see Hexagonal Close-Packed

Structure.

Head Loss A Fluid Mechanics term; the loss of energy associated with
a fluid flow; the additional height which a fluid needs to be raised by a
pump in order to overcome the frictional losses in a pipe; caused by
viscosity; directly related to the wall shear stress of the pipe; expressed
in terms of height of a liquid column.
Head on Collision A Physics term; see One-Dimensional Collision.

Head A Fluid Mechanics term; a unit of pressure in terms of a column

of a liquid; usually expressed as column of mercury or water; for
example, atmospheric pressure is equal to 760 mm of mercury (Hg).

Heading A Manufacturing term related to forming; a cold working

process commonly used to produce heads of screws and rivets; also
indicates the title of a topic in general terms.

Headstock A Lathe term; a principal part of a lathe which lies on the

left side; contains a gear box for operating the spindle at various speeds
while machining a workpiece; see also Tailstock.

Heart and Square A Manufacturing term; a foundry tool which

resembles a heart-like structure at its one end and a square structure at
the other end; used to finish the mould cavity.

Heat-Affected Zone A Welding term, abbreviated as HAZ; the area of

a workpiece which lies in close proximity to the fusion zone, where
metallurgical changes take place by the heat of welding or cutting.

Heat Capacity A Physics term; the product of mass of a body and its
specific heat; classified into heat capacity at constant pressure and heat
capacity at constant volume; the SI unit is J/K.

Heat Conductor A Physics term; also called Thermal Conductor; a

material which conducts heat; for example, all metals; aluminium
conducts heat about three times faster than iron.

Heat Engine A Thermodynamics term; a work-producing device

which delivers net work output using heat input while operating in a
mechanical cycle (in place of a thermodynamic cycle), as the working
fluid does not undergo a complete cycle; examples include gas turbines
and car engines; see also Heat Pump.

Heat Exchanger A Thermodynamics term; a device used to transfer

heat between a heat source (or sink) and a fluid passing through the
device or to transfer heat from one fluid to another; a few examples
include evaporators, boilers, and condensers; classified into parallel
flow, counter flow, and crossflow heat exchangers.

Heat Flux A Heat Transfer term; the amount of heat transferred per
unit area per unit time from or to a surface of a body; the SI unit is
W/m2; an important parameter used in design systems like gas turbine
blades, combustor walls in rocket motors, and locations of supersonic
aircraft to avoid the development of excessive temperatures; denoted
by q.

Heat Pump A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic system which

while operating in a cycle removes heat from a low-temperature body
by taking work input; see also Heat Engine.

Heat Reservoir A Thermodynamics term; a body of infinite heat

capacity which is capable of absorbing or rejecting an unlimited
quantity of heat without undergoing any change in its temperature,
because of its extremely large mass; examples include heat source and
heat sink; see also Heat Source and Heat Sink.

Heat Sink A Thermodynamics term; a low-temperature energy

reservoir whose temperature remains unchanged, if some heat is added
to or rejected from it; used for absorbing heat rejected by a system; a
few examples include atmospheric air, river, and sea; see also Heat
Source.

Heat Source A Thermodynamics term; a high-temperature energy

reservoir whose temperature remains unchanged, if some heat is added
to or rejected from it; used for supplying heat to a system; a few
examples include boiler furnace, combustion chamber, nuclear reactor,
and sun; see also Heat Sink.

Heat Transfer Coefficient A Heat Transfer term; also called Film

Coefficient or Surface Conductance; a parameter which appears as a
proportionality constant in the Newton’s law of cooling; the heat flux
from or to a surface which results from the unit temperature difference
between the surface and a moving fluid in contact with it; used to find
the heat transfer by convection; it is not a property of the fluid, but
depends on heat transport properties of the fluid such as thermal
conductivity, dynamic viscosity, density, and specific heat as well as on
the velocity of flow and characteristic dimensions; denoted by h or f;
the SI unit is W/m2-K.

Heat Transfer Rate The time rate of heat transfer; the SI unit is J/s.

Heat Transfer An interdisciplinary subject of science and an

important subject of mechanical engineering related to the transfer of
heat energy from one system to another as a result of a temperature
difference; most of the engineering design involves the consideration of
heat transfer and its prediction for reliable operation of the designed
system or product; the mathematical foundation for the study of heat
transfer was laid by the work of Newton, Fourier, Laplace, and later by
the work of Prandtl, Nusselt, and others; three basic modes of heat
transfer include conduction, convection, and radiation.

Heat Treatment A Manufacturing term; a process of heating and

cooling a metal to improve its structural or physical properties; usually
performed to remove stresses caused by welding, casting, or heavy
machining; four important variables which affect any heat treatment
process include carbon content, temperature of heating, time allowed for
cooling, and cooling medium (water, oil, or air); some important heat
treatment processes include annealing, normalizing, and tempering.

Heat A Thermodynamics term; a form of energy which can be

transferred between two systems (or a system and its surroundings) by
virtue of a temperature difference; see also Temperature.

Heating Value A Chemistry term; the amount of heat released when

a unit amount of a fuel is burnt completely at room temperature, and
the combustion products are cooled to the room temperature.

Heating A Thermodynamics term; a process which raises the

temperature of a body.
Heinrich G. Magnus (1802–1870) A German scientist who first
observed the Magnus effect in 1852.

Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle A Chemistry term; see

Uncertainty Principle.

Helical Gear A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; a toothed

gear used to transmit motion or power between two parallel shafts; an
improvement over the spur gear, but is more complex and expensive to
manufacture; produces less noise and vibration at higher speeds, because
of smooth engagement and disengagement of teeth; used in
automobile’s automatic transmission system; can be subjected to greater
torque and power compared to similarly sized spur gears, as the tooth-
to-tooth forces are spread over more surface area that reduce contact
stresses.

Helical Spring A Strength of Materials term related to a spring; also

called Torsion Spring because of being subjected to torsion; a spring in
the form of a helix made of metallic wires of usually circular cross
section and shaped in cylindrical or conical form; helical springs having
non-circular section find use in heavy-duty applications; conical helical
spring finds use, where there is a space problem or variable stiffness is
required; cylindrical helical springs are classified into close-coiled
helical spring and open-coiled helical spring.

Helmholtz Function A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic

property (other than Gibbs function) used in the analysis of a chemical
system; named after a German physicist Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von
Helmholtz (1821–1894), who proposed it in 1882; denoted by A;
expressed as:

where

U = internal energy of the working fluid

T = absolute temperature of the working fluid
S = entropy of the working fluid; see also Gibbs Function.
Henri Fayol (1841–1925) A French engineer and the managing
director of a large French coal-mining firm who proposed the functional
approach of management; suggested ‘14 principles of management’; a
contemporary of F. W. Taylor (1856–1915).

Henri Pitot (1695–1771) A French hydraulic engineer who

constructed a double-tube device, called Pitot tube, used to indicate
water velocity through a differential head.

Henry Ford (1863–1947) The founder of the US’s Ford Motor

Company; used the concept of assembly lines to produce automobiles
which involved the chief elements of scientific management such as
standardized product designs, mass production, low manufacturing costs,
mechanized assembly lines, specialization of labour, and interchangeable
parts.

Henry Gantt (1861–1919) One of the famous disciples of F. W.

Taylor (1856–1915); an American mechanical engineer and a pioneer of
scientific management who developed the famous Gantt Chart,
extensively used for the scheduling and control of production
operations; also introduced an incentive system (bonus) for workers to
motivate them to complete jobs in less time than the allowed standard.

Heptagon A Mathematics term; a polygon having seven (7) sides; see

also Polygon.

Heron’s Formula A Mathematics term, named after Hero of

Alexandria; used to find the area of a triangle in terms of its three sides,
namely a, b, and c, and is given as:

where = semi-perimeter of Δ ABC; this formula is applicable

for all types of triangles, whether it is right-angled, equilateral, or
isosceles.

Herringbone Gear A Gear term; also called Double-Helical Gear; a

helical gear used to eliminate thrust loading on support bearings when
high horsepower is required to be transmitted; consists of two sets of
helical teeth of opposite hand cut side by side on the same gear blank
and integrally manufactured on a single pinion.

Hertz A Physics term; the number of repetitions of a regular

occurrence in 1 s; the SI unit of frequency is hertz, which is equivalent
to cycles/sec.

Heterogeneous Joining A Joining term; see Heterogeneous

Welding.

Heterogeneous System A Chemistry term; a system of more than one

phase; a few examples include a mixture of water and steam, a mixture
of water and ice, and a mixture of water and oil; see also Homogeneous
System.

Heterogeneous Welding A Joining term; also called Heterogeneous

Joining; a welding process which uses a filler metal whose composition
is different than the materials being joined; for example, soldering and
brazing; see also Homogeneous Welding and Autogenous Welding.

Heuristic Approach Also called Hungarian Method or simply

Heuristic; an algorithm or a probabilistic approach in which a set of
rules is systematically applied to find the solution of many business
problems; useful when it is difficult to construct a mathematical model
or when the constructed model has no exact solution.

Heuristic See Heuristic Approach.

HEV An Electric Vehicle term; see Hybrid Electric Vehicle.

Hexagon A Mathematics term; a polygon having six (6) sides.

Hexagonal Close-Packed Structure A Chemistry term, abbreviated

as HCP Structure; one of the three basic types of atomic arrangements
found in metals in which the unit cell consists of an average of six
atoms; the atomic packing factor (APF) equals to 0.74; materials having
hcp structure have poor formability (ability to be plastically deformed
without fracture); a few examples include beryllium (Be), cadmium
(Cd), magnesium (Mg), and zinc (Zn); see also Body-Centred Cubic
Structure and Face-Centred Cubic Structure.

HGL A Fluid Mechanics term; see Hydraulic Gradient Line.

Hierarchy A Management term; a classification of people according

to the authority and rank in an organization; useful in distributing the
tasks and responsibility among the people for effective carrying of the
works.

High Carbon Steel A Materials Engineering term; a plain carbon steel

of high carbon content (0.6–1.75%, although the highest practical limit
is 1.3%); has increased hardness and good wear resistance; used in
making cutting tools, cable, springs, and cutlery; see also Low Carbon
Steel and Medium Carbon Steel.

High Grade Energy A Thermodynamics term; the energy which can

be completely transformed into shaft work without any loss; a few
examples include mechanical work, electrical work, wind energy, tidal
energy, and kinetic energy of a jet; see also Low Grade Energy.

High Head Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a hydraulic turbine

operating at a high head (100 m and above); for example, Pelton
turbine; see also Low Head Turbine and Medium Head Turbine.

High Level Manager A Management term; also called Top Manager;

the individual at the top of an organization; formulates goals and
objectives for the organization; responsible for making decisions about
the direction of the organization; the different designations used for a
high level manager include chief executive officer (CEO), chief operating
officer (COO), president, vice president, managing director, chancellor,
vice chancellor of a university, or chairperson of the board; see also
Middle Level Manager and Low Level Manager.

High-Speed Steel A Materials Engineering term, abbreviated as HSS;

a high-speed cutting tool material invented by F. W. Taylor (1856–
1915); can maintain its hardness at elevated temperatures (around
650 °C) and has higher wear and abrasion resistance; contains
tungsten, molybdenum, chromium, cobalt, and vanadium as alloying
elements; classified into molybdenum-based HSS (M-HSS) or tungsten-
based HSS (T-HSS); one of its popular varieties is called 18-4-1 HSS with
composition of 18% tungsten, 4% chromium, and 1% vanadium.

High-Temperature Materials A Materials Engineering term; see

Superalloys.

Higher Level Needs A Management term related to motivation; the

human needs which find mention in Abraham Maslow’s Need-Hierarchy
Theory of motivation and are lying at the upper (higher) level of
hierarchy which cannot be completely satisfied; the higher level needs
include esteem and self-actualization needs; see also Lower Level
Needs.

Higher Pair A Theory of Machines term; a mechanism in which two

links have point or line contact while in motion; found in a motion
combining sliding and turning; a few examples include ball and roller
bearings, cams, gears, and belt, rope, and chain drives; see also Lower
Pair.

Hindalium A Chemistry term; an alloy of aluminium and magnesium

with a small percentage of chromium; used mainly for the manufacture
of anodised utensils.

Hinge Support A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; also called

Pin Support; a type of simple support which prevents movement in
horizontal and vertical directions but does not prevent rotation; has
two reaction force components in two directions but has no reaction
moment; see also Roller Support.

Hinged Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a beam; see

Simple Beam.

Historical Analogy Method An Operations Management term

related to forecasting; a qualitative method of demand forecasting
based on analysis and comparison of the growth and development of
similar products, called analogous products, which already exist; for
example, the assumption can be made that four wheeler cars may
follow the general sales pattern similar to two wheeler motorcycles;
similarly the consumption of CNG fuel in automobiles may follow the
similar consumption pattern as that of other petroleum fuels like petrol
and diesel.

HML Analysis An Operations Management term related to inventory;

a selective inventory control technique which classifies the inventories
based on the unit value of components into three categories: H (high
unit-valued) items, M (medium unit-valued) items, and L (low unit-
valued) items; this technique lists inventory items in descending order
of their unit values and exercises control accordingly; high unit-valued
items require more control than low unit-valued item.

Hogging A Strength of Materials term related to bending; a negative

bending moment which produces the downward concavity in a beam, as
in case of a loaded cantilever beam; see also Sagging.

Holding Cost An Operations Management term; the cost of holding

the inventory; holding cost includes costs associated with insurance,
security, warehouse rentals, taxes, and losses due to breakage, spoilage,
pilferage, and obsolescence; a part of total annual cost of inventory;
increases with inventory size; one of the costs that finds use in
determining economic order quantity (EOQ); see also Ordering Cost
and Setup Cost.

Hollow Saddle Key A Design term related to a key; a saddle key

which fits into the keyway provided in the hub of the mounting, while
its underside which is hollow fits on to the curved surface of the shaft;
see also Flat Saddle Key.

Homogeneous Body A Chemistry term; a body whose mass is

distributed uniformly across its volume.

Homogeneous Joining A Welding term; see Homogeneous

Welding.
Homogeneous System A Chemistry term; a system of a single phase;
a few examples include a mixture of air and water vapour, solution of
ammonia in water (aqua ammonia), and dilute acids; see also
Heterogeneous System.

Homogeneous Welding A Joining term; also called Homogeneous

Joining; a welding process which uses a filler metal whose composition
is similar to that of parent materials being joined; for example, gas, arc,
and thermit welding processes; see also Heterogeneous Welding and
Autogenous Welding.

Homogeneous A Chemistry term; a state of a material which ensures

that all the atoms within the material are uniformly positioned at their
designated locations; removes the possibility of defects in a material.

Homopolymer A Chemistry term; a polymer made from only one

type of monomer; for example, polyethylene; see also Copolymer.

Honing A Manufacturing term; an abrasive micromachining process

primarily used to size and finish bored holes or to remove the tool
marks left by the cutting tools using a rotating honing tool containing
abrasive particles; see also Lapping.

Hooke’s Joint A Design term; more frequently called Universal Joint

or U-Joint; a joint used to connect two non-parallel shafts which
intersect at angles larger than can be accommodated by flexible
couplings; classified into single universal joint and double universal
joint; typical applications of U-joints include automotive drive shafts,
articulating farm tractors, industrial rolling mill drives, and mechanical
control mechanisms.

Hooke’s Law A Strength of Materials term; also called Law of

Elasticity or Theory of Elasticity; a law proposed by Robert Hooke
(1635–1703) in 1660 which defines the proportionality of stress and
strain within elastic limit; states that within elastic limit (when strain is
small), the stress is proportional to the strain; applies to all types of
deformations such as tension, compression, bending, and twisting; the
proportionality constant is called the modulus of elasticity of the body
that depends upon the material of the body and can be different for
different types of strain produced in the same material; evolved the
definitions of Young’s modulus of elasticity (E or Y), modulus of rigidity
(G), and bulk modulus of elasticity (K).

Hoop Strain A Strength of Materials term; see Circumferential

Strain.

Hoop Stress A Strength of Materials term; see Circumferential

Stress.

Horizontal Centroidal Axis A Strength of Materials term; the axis

which is horizontal to the cross section of a body; see also Vertical
Centroidal Axis.

Horizontal Range A Physics term related to a projectile; the

horizontal distance covered by a projectile between its point of
projection and the point of hitting the ground; independent of mass of
the projectile; denoted by R; given as:

where

u = velocity of projection
θ = angle of projection
g = acceleration due to gravity.

Horse Power A Physics term, abbreviated as hp; a unit of power first

adopted by a Scottish scientist James Watt (1736–1819); indicates the
power exerted by a horse in pulling a load a non-SI unit of power which
is equivalent to moving a 550 lb load a distance of 1 foot in 1 sec.
Hot Extrusion A Manufacturing term; an extrusion process carried
out at elevated temperatures; used when metals and alloys being
extruded lack ductility or a large extrusion force is required; commonly
employed for low melting materials such as aluminium, copper,
magnesium, lead, tin, and zinc; see also Cold Extrusion.

Hot Forging A Manufacturing term; see Forging.

Hot Hardness A Manufacturing term; see Red Hardness.

Hot Shortness A Manufacturing term; the ability of a metal to

become brittle when it is heated at high temperatures; see also Cold
Shortness.

Hot Tears A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs in

the form of ruptures; produced by the tensile stresses on a casting; most
commonly found in malleable, steel, and nonferrous castings.

Hot-Wire Anemometer A Fluid Mechanics term; a thermal device

consisting of a very small diameter (a few μm)
tungsten or platinum wire used to measure the velocity of a hot
fluid (air/gas); particularly useful for measuring turbulence in fluid
motion; also used to measure velocity profile in the boundary layer.

Hot Working A Manufacturing term; a metal working process in

which the metal before shaping is heated above its recrystallization
temperature; a few examples include forging, hot rolling, hot extrusion,
and hot pressing; see also Cold Working.

Hot-Chamber Die Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting;

a die casting process in which the melting pot is integral part of the
machine setup; used to produce castings from low melting point alloys
of zinc, tin, and lead; see also Cold-Chamber Die Casting.

Hot-Die Forging A Manufacturing term; also called Isothermal

Forging; a hot metal working process used to shape a heated
workpiece by pressing it in a heated die, both maintained at the same
temperature.
House of Quality A Quality Management term; a part of quality
function deployment (QFD) process which utilizes a planning matrix to
relate customer ‘wants’ (voice of the customer (VOC)) to ‘how’ the firm
is going to meet those ‘wants’.

Household An Economics term; a consuming unit in an economy

which may consist of a single person or any number of people.

Housekeeping An Operations Management term; a process of

maintaining an orderly environment at a workstation in order to avoid
confusion and errors; a management tool which is a part of 5S, which
separates essential items from non-essential items, and thrusts upon
the placement of only required items on the shop floor.

hp A Physics term; see Horse Power.

H-S Diagram A Thermodynamics term; see Mollier Diagram.

HSS A Materials Engineering term; see High-Speed Steel.

Hubbing A Manufacturing term; a hot metal working process used to

produce multiple identical cavities economically in a flat metal blank by
pressing it against a shaped-hub; useful for plastic moulding and die
casting.

Human Error An incorrect act or decision by a person through

either ignorance or accident.

Human Resource Planning A Management term; a process of

determining human resource requirements of an organization.

Human Skill A Management term; see Interpersonal Skill.

Humid Specific Heat A Thermodynamics term related to

psychrometry; the specific heat of moist air per kg of dry air.

Humidification A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry; a

process used to increase the moisture content of the air by using either
liquid water spray or steam; see also Dehumidification.
Humidity Ratio A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry;
see Specific Humidity.

Hungarian Method See Heuristic Approach.

Hybrid Electric Vehicle An Electric Vehicle term, abbreviated as

HEV; a vehicle which uses a combination of an electric motor driven by
on-board batteries and a gasoline engine to drive the car; the battery of
the vehicle is charged only through regenerative braking and can be
used to drive the vehicle for shorter distances (1–2 miles), before the
gasoline engine takes over; see also Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle.

Hybrid Layout An Operations Management term related to facilities

planning; also called Combination Layout; a combination of product
and process layouts; has the merits of both layouts but eliminates their
demerits; useful for a manufacturing activity involving fabrication and
assembly, where fabrication uses process layout and assembly uses
product layout; a retail store is another example of a hybrid layout; see
also Product Layout and Process Layout.

Hybridization A Chemistry term; a process of redistribution of

energy in different orbitals of an atom to give new orbitals of equivalent
energy (new orbitals are hybrid orbitals, and the bond formed by such
orbitals is called hybrid bond).

Hydel Energy A Power Plant term; the energy obtained from water
stored in reservoirs at certain heights by constructing a dam on a river
or any other sources of water; the falling water is allowed to strike and
run the blades of a hydraulic turbine to start a generator for producing
electrical power.

Hydraulic Efficiency A Fluid Mechanics term; a ratio of the actual

head to the theoretical head; considered because of the internal losses
of the machine (pump) occurring in the impeller and in the casing due
to friction and separation.

Hydraulic Energy A Fluid Mechanics term; the energy associated

with flowing water; includes pressure energy, kinetic energy, and
potential energy (datum energy) of water.

Hydraulic Grade Line A Fluid Mechanics term; see Hydraulic

Gradient Line.

Hydraulic Gradient Line A Fluid Mechanics term, abbreviated as

HGL; also called Hydraulic Grade Line; a line which represents the
piezometric head (the sum of pressure head (P/ρg) and elevation
(datum) head (z)) of a fluid; see also Energy Grade Line.

Hydraulic Jump A Fluid Mechanics term; a phenomenon of transition

from a rapid flow to a slow flow of a liquid in a relatively short distance;
involves an abrupt decrease in velocity, increase in depth, and a
substantial head loss; comparable to some extent to that of sudden
enlargement in a pipeline; may occur on an inclined or horizontal bed
and in a channel of any shape; a hydraulic jump can occur only when
the flow is supercritical, that is, when the Froude number is greater than
one.

Hydraulic Press A Fluid Mechanics term; a device used to press a

part or component of an assembly using pressure of a fluid to give it the
desired shape; used in diverse applications such as brakes of
automobiles, hydraulic, and pneumatic controls of machinery in industry,
hydraulic lifts, and automatic transmission in automobiles; see also
Mechanical Press.

Hydraulic Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Hydro

Turbine; a work-producing device (turbomachine) which converts the
potential energy of water (the working fluid) into work, which is
further used in generating electricity in hydropower plants by rotating
the shaft of a generator; the French engineer Benoit Fourneyron (1802–
1867) developed the first commercially successful hydraulic turbine; a
few examples include Francis, Pelton, and Kaplan turbines; see also Gas
Turbine and Steam Turbine.

Hydraulics A Fluid Mechanics term; the physical science and

technologies associated with liquids that are at rest or flowing under
pressure; a subcategory of hydrodynamics which deals with the liquid
flows in pipes and open channels.

Hydro Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; see Hydraulic Turbine.

Hydrocarbon A Chemistry term; an organic compound or a molecule

which contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms; produces carbon
dioxide and water on burning; classified into saturated and unsaturated
hydrocarbons; saturated hydrocarbons have single bonds between
carbon atoms, whereas unsaturated hydrocarbons have double or triple
bonds between carbon atoms; a few examples of saturated
hydrocarbons include methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8),
etc.; a few examples of unsaturated hydrocarbons include ethylene
(C2H4) and acetylene (C2H2).

Hydrodynamic Force A Fluid Mechanics term; a force which acts on

a fluid in motion; see also Hydrostatic Force.

Hydrodynamic Lubrication A Design term; a type of lubrication

which uses oil pressure to take up the load and does not allow metal-to-
metal contact; for example, the journal bearing works on the principle
of hydrodynamic lubrication.

Hydrodynamic Machining A Nonconventional Machining term; see

Water Jet Machining.

Hydrodynamics A Fluid Mechanics term; see Fluid Dynamics.

Hydromagnetics A Fluid Mechanics term; see Magneto-Fluid

Mechanics.

Hydrometer A Fluid Mechanics term; an instrument used to measure

the specific gravity of liquids; operates on the principle of buoyancy.

Hydrostatic Extrusion A Manufacturing term; a cold metal working

process used to shape a metal blank (billet) confined in a fluid chamber
which exerts pressure on it through a ram; involves less extrusion force
than conventional extrusion process due to nonphysical contact
between billet and its chamber.

Hydrostatic Force A Fluid Mechanics term; a force which acts on a

fluid at rest; see also Hydrodynamic Force.

Hydrostatic Pressure A Fluid Mechanics term; a pressure which

depends on the reference level selected; equals to ρgh (where ρ =
density of the fluid, g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s2, and h =
elevation/depth from the reference level); increases with the fluid
depth; see also Static Pressure, Dynamic Pressure, and Stagnation
Pressure.

Hydrostatics A Fluid Mechanics term; see Fluid Statics.

Hygiene Factors A Management term related to motivation; see

Extrinsic Factors.

Hygiene Theory A Management term related to motivation; a

motivation theory proposed by Frederick Herzberg (1923–2000); also
called Motivator-Hygiene Theory or Two-Factor Theory as this
theory divides five levels of human needs as proposed by Abraham
Maslow in his ‘Need-Hierarchy Theory’ into two levels: the lower level
needs and the higher level needs; the lower level needs (also called
extrinsic factors or dissatisfiers or hygiene factors) are related to pay and
working conditions such as company policies, supervision, interpersonal
relations, salary, status, and security, whereas the higher level needs
(also called intrinsic factors or motivation factors or motivators or
satisfiers) include achievement, recognition (for work well done), job
interest, responsibility, growth, advancement, and belonging to a group.

Hygrometer A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry; an

instrument used to measure the water vapour content in the air.

Hyper-Eutectoid Steel A Materials Engineering term; a state of

phase of steel in iron-carbon phase diagram that contains more than
0.77% carbon (highest being 2.11%); see also Hypo-Eutectoid Steel.
Hypersonic Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow for which the
Mach number (M) is greater than 7; see also Supersonic Flow.

Hypocycloid A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; the locus

of a point on the circumference of a circle, which rolls without slipping
inside another circle of a definite radius; used in making tooth profile of
a gear; see also Epicycloid.

Hypo-Eutectoid Steel A Materials Engineering term; a state of phase

of steel in iron-carbon phase diagram that contains less than 0.77%
carbon; see also Hyper-Eutectoid Steel.

Hysteresis A Physics term; the difference in the output for a given

input when this value is approached from the opposite direction.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_9

I
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

IC Engine A Thermodynamics term; see Internal Combustion Engine.

Ice Point A Thermodynamics term; the temperature at which water

freezes (or ice melts); a state of equilibrium between ice and water at a
pressure of one atmosphere (101 kPa); equals to 0 °C or 32 °F; see also
Steam Point.

Ideal Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid which does not involve
friction and is inviscid (its viscosity is zero); does not exist in reality;
many fluids approximate frictionless flow at sufficient distances from
solid boundaries and are considered ideal fluids; see also Real Fluid.

Ideal Gas Equation A Chemistry term; see Equation of State.

Ideal Gas A Chemistry term; see Perfect Gas.

Idler Gear A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; an

intermediate wheel gear which has no effect on the gear train value or
the velocity ratio of the gear train system; used in simple gear trains
when distance between two gear shafts is large.

IHP An IC Engine term; the short form of Indicated Horse Power;

see Indicated Power.
Immediate Predecessor A Project Management term; an activity
which must immediately precede a given activity in a project.

Impact Extrusion A Manufacturing term; a cold metal working

process used to produce collapsible tubes from a metal blank kept in a
die using a strong single blow (through a punch), which causes the
metal to flow plastically around the punch; suitable for metals having
good ductility like zinc, lead, tin, and aluminium; typical impact
extruded products include medicine tubes, toothpaste tubes, shaving
cream tubes, and food cans.

Impact Load A Physics term; also called Shock Load as it produces

shocks; a dynamic load which is applied and removed suddenly or a
load falling freely through a certain height; produced when two objects
collide or when a falling object strikes another object; the work done
(W) by a falling load is given as:

where

P = free falling load

h = height through which the load falls
= linear deflection produced; see also Fluctuating Load.

Impact Test A Strength of Materials term; a destructive test used to

measure the fracture toughness of solid materials; particularly useful in
finding the ductile–brittle characteristic of solid materials; there can be
two types of impact test: Charpy test and Izod test.

Impedance An Electrical term; the combination of resistance and

reactance which opposes the flow of current in an alternating current
(AC) circuit; denoted by Z; the SI unit is ohm (Ω).

Impeller Blade A Fluid Mechanics term related to a pump; also called

simply Impeller; the rotating blade of a pump; see also Bucket.
Impeller A Fluid Mechanics term related to a pump; see Impeller
Blade.

Impression-Die Forging A Manufacturing term; see Closed-Die

Forging.

Improper Fraction A Mathematics term; a fraction whose

numerator is either equal to or greater than the denominator; a few
examples include , , , etc.; see also Proper Fraction.

Improvement Curve A Management term; see Learning Curve.

Impulse Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a hydraulic turbine in

which a high-velocity fluid jet coming out of a nozzle impinges on the
blades of the rotor and exerts force on it by impulsive action under
atmospheric pressure conditions; involves no pressure change across
the rotor blades; fluid is not required to flow through the entire
periphery of the runner as is required in a reaction turbine; Pelton
wheel is the example of an impulse turbine; see also Reaction Turbine.

Impulse Wheel A Fluid Mechanics term; see Pelton Turbine.

Impulse A Physics term; the product of a force acting on a body and

its time duration; equals to the change in momentum of the body; a
vector quantity; the SI unit is newton-second (N-s); a cricketer stretches
his hand behind to reduce the impact of a cricket ball so as to get less
hurt, while catching it, by increasing its time duration, as impulse is
conserved.

Impulsive Force A Physics term; also called Blow; a force which acts
over a body for a very short interval of time and has a very large
magnitude.

Incentive A Management term; an inducement or reward given to

workers for their efficiency and hard works; used as a tool to motivate
and encourage workers to produce more and better.
Inch Another FPS unit of length; the one-twelfth part of a foot, that is,
1 in. = foot = 2.54 cm; see also Foot, Centimetre, and Millimetre.

Inclined Plane A Mathematics and a Physics term; a plane inclined at

a certain angle to the horizontal; a stationary flat surface set at an angle
and used to bridge two planes which are offset by some vertical
distance.

Incomplete Combustion An IC Engine term; a combustion process

in which some unburnt fuel remains in the products even after the
process is over, because of deficiency of oxygen in the reactants which
leads to the formation of C, CO, H2, or OH; see also Complete
Combustion.

Incompressible Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid which cannot

be compressed and whose density is independent of its pressure; water
or any other liquid is usually incompressible in nature; see also
Compressible Fluid.

Inconels A Materials Engineering term; a nickel alloy group which is

higher in nickel and iron content than the monels; see also Monels.

Incremental Cost An Operations Management term related to cost

analysis; see Marginal Cost.

Independent Demand An Operations Management term; the

demand for an item which is not related to the demand for any other
item; for example, the demand of finished products and spare parts; see
also Dependent Demand.

Independent Variable A Mathematics term; a variable quantity

which can have any value within the specified limits, and that does not
depend on other variables; see also Dependent Variable.

Indicated Horse Power An IC Engine term, abbreviated as IHP; see

Indicated Power.
Indicated Power An IC Engine term, abbreviated as IP; also called
Indicated Horse Power; the power developed inside the cylinder of an
engine; greater than the brake power (brake horsepower); given as:

where

P = mean effective pressure (N/m2)

L = stroke length of the piston or length of the cylinder (m)
A = cross-sectional area of the cylinder (m2) = 2/4

D = diameter of the cylinder (m)

N = number of revolutions per minute (rpm) of the crankshaft (N in
case of a
two-stroke engine and N/2 in case of a four-stroke engine)
n = number of cylinders in the engine.

also, IHP = (P in Kgf.m); see also Brake Power.

Indicator Diagram An IC Engine term; the plot between pressure and

volume of a working fluid used in an engine; the area of the indicator
diagram represents the magnitude of the net work done by the system
in one engine cycle and is measured by an instrument called
planimeter.

Indirect Cost An Operations Management term related to cost

analysis; the indirect costs are not attributable to a specific output or
work activity; for example, the costs of common tools, general supplies
like grease, oils, etc., and equipment maintenance in a plant are treated
as indirect costs; see also Direct Cost.

Indirect Extrusion A Manufacturing term; also called Backward

Extrusion or Reverse Extrusion or Inverted Extrusion; an extrusion
process in which a shaped-die is pushed towards the billet, and metal
comes out in the opposite direction to the force applied in the form of
required product; see also Direct Extrusion.

Induced Radioactivity A Chemistry term related to radioactivity; a

process in which a heavy nucleus formed during a nuclear reaction
starts disintegrating like a natural radioactive element as being
unstable.

Induction Furnace A type of electric furnace which works on

induction principle to produce heat; produces the highest temperature
of 1750 °C; particularly suitable for small foundries; classified into
coreless induction furnace and core (or channel) induction furnace.

Induction Motor An Electrical term; see also Synchronous Motor

and BLDC Motor.

Inductor A Physics term; an electrical device which makes use of the

magnetic effect of electric current.

Industrial Engineering A branch of engineering related to the

design, improvement, and installation of integrated systems of men,
materials, and equipment usually found in an industry.

Inelastic Collision A Physics term; the collision involving some loss

of kinetic energy, that is, the kinetic energy is not conserved, but the
linear momentum as well as the total energy of the system both are
conserved; some or all the forces involved in an inelastic collision may
be non-conservative in nature; the collisions we come across in our
daily life are generally inelastic; see also Elastic Collision.

Inelastic Demand An Economics term; the demand for a product or

service which does not proportionately increase or decrease with the
change in its price; that is, the demand is relatively static even if the
price changes; for example, the demand of the essential items such as
food grains, fruits and vegetables, clothing, drugs, etc.; see also Elastic
Demand.
Inelastic Strain Energy A Strength of Materials term; the strain
energy lost in the process of permanently deforming a member; see
also Elastic Strain Energy.

Inert Gas A Chemistry term; a gas which does not chemically

combine with other elements; for example, helium (He), argon (Ar),
krypton (Kr), and xenon (Xe); helium and argon are used in welding
operations to provide a shielding atmosphere around the welding arc to
protect the molten metal pool from atmospheric contamination.

Inert A Chemistry term; the condition of having limited ability to

react chemically with other elements.

Inertia Governor A Theory of Machines term; a speed-control device

which uses suspended masses (balls) that respond to speed variations
due to their inertia.

Inertia A Physics term; a property of a body which enables it to resist

any change in its present state (rest or uniform motion); evolved from
Newton's first law of motion.

Inertial Mass A Physics term; the mass of a body related to its inertia
in linear motion as defined by Newton’s second law of motion; equals to
the magnitude of external force required to produce unit acceleration in
the body; opposes motion along a straight line caused by an external
force; does not depend on shape, size, and state of the body, as well as,
its temperature, but is proportional to the quantity of matter contained
in the body; not affected by gravity or by the presence/absence of other
nearby bodies, but increases with speed of the body, irrespective of its
material; can be added by simple laws of algebra; given as:

where

m = inertial mass of the body

mo = rest mass of the body
v = velocity of the body
c = velocity of light in vacuum; see also Gravitational Mass.

Inexact Differential A Thermodynamics term; the differential of a

path function whose integral depends on the path between the end
points; denoted by the symbol ; for example, work done in a process
is represented by ; see also Exact Differential.

Infinitesimal Element A Design term; an element of a body which

has a very small area; used in finding the total force or moment on the
body.

Inflexion Point A Strength of Materials term; see Point of

Contraflexure.

Informal Organization A Management term; a network of

interpersonal relationships which arise when people associate with
each other; a few examples include the machine shop group, the fifth
floor crowd, and the morning coffee regulars; see also Formal
Organization.

Information System A system of information needed to be shared

between different units of an organization for its successful operation;
its elements include hardware, software, and communication networks
such as internet, intranets and extranets, and data resources; see also
Information Technology.

Information Technology A technology which enables

communication, storage, and processing of information within and
between firms; see also Information System.

Infrared Thermometer A Physics term; a thermometer commonly

used in high-temperature applications such as furnaces and kilns, where
other types of thermometers would not be possible.

Infrasonic Wave A Physics term; the longitudinal wave having

frequency less than 20 Hz; the human ear is not sensitive to this wave;
usually produced by large vibrating bodies such as during an
earthquake; see also Ultrasonic Wave.

Initiative A Management term; a process which allows to originate

and carry out plans to ensure their success.

Innovation A Management term; a process of using a creative idea

and putting it into practice to produce useful products, services, or
work methods; science and technology play key role in innovation; also
affected by the organizational design, for example, the way an
organization’s structure links its people in different specializations
such as research and marketing, determines how fast the organization
can introduce new products in the market; closely related to invention;
see also Invention.

Inorganic Compound A Chemistry term; a chemical compound

which lacks carbon-hydrogen bonds; see also Organic Compound.

Inorganic Materials A Chemistry term; the materials that do not

contain animal or vegetable cells or carbon compounds; dissolve in
water, and have better heat-resisting characteristics than organic
materials; see also Organic Materials.

Inside Stakeholders A Management term; people who are closest to

an organization and who have the strongest or the most direct claim on
the organizational resources; include shareholders, managers, and the
workforce; see also Outside Stakeholders.

Inspection A Metrology term; a process of observations and

measurements of input and output parameters of a system.

Instantaneous Acceleration A Physics term; the acceleration

calculated at a particular point or at a particular instant; when the
acceleration is constant, the instantaneous acceleration is equal to the
average acceleration.

Instantaneous Speed A Physics term; the speed of an object at a

given instant of time; equals to its uniform speed in case of a uniform
motion.

Insulator An Electrical and a Heat Transfer term; in electrical terms,

a material which offers extremely high resistance to the current flow or
has low electrical conductivity; for example, ceramic materials; in heat
transfer terms, a material which does not allow the transfer of heat
energy through it; for example, glass wool, rock wool, and loose asbestos
packing are the effective heat insulators as air is entrapped in the small
cells of these materials.

Intake Valve An IC Engine term; a valve through which air or air–fuel

mixture is drawn into the cylinder of an engine; see also Exhaust Valve.

Intangible Factors A Statistics term; see Qualitative Factors.

Integer Linear Programming Problem An Operations Research

term; see Transportation Problem.

Integer A Mathematics term; any positive or negative number

including zero (0) such as − 3, − 2, − 1, 0, 1, 2, and 3; numbers such as 1,
2, and 3 are called positive integers, and numbers such as − 1, − 2, and −
3 are called negative integers.

Integrating A Management term; also called Coordinating; one of

the important functions of a manager; a process of coordinating various
tasks, functions, and divisions to make them directed towards the
organizational goals; in the absence of it, the organization cannot
achieve the desired results or outcome, even if a well-planned work has
been nicely organized.

Intensive Property A Thermodynamics term; a property which is

independent of mass of a system; a few examples include temperature,
pressure, density, velocity, and height; see also Extensive Property.

Interference A Design term; used in the context of mating of

cylindrical parts in which the internal member is larger than the
external member; the opposite of clearance; see also Clearance.
Intermediate-Length Column A Strength of Materials term related
to a column; see Medium Column.

Intermetallic Compound A Chemistry term; a compound formed by

the combination of two or more metallic elements; is very hard and
brittle; has mechanical properties similar to that of ceramic materials.

Intermittent Something which occurs at irregular intervals.

Intermolecular Force A Chemistry term; a short-range force acting

over short distances between molecules of similar or dissimilar
substances; classified into adhesive and cohesive forces.

Internal Chill A Manufacturing term related to casting; a metallic

object placed within the mould cavity to absorb heat and promote more
rapid solidification; must be made of the same material as that of
casting, because it ultimately becomes part of the final casting; see also
External Chill.

Internal Combustion Engine Abbreviated as IC Engine; a non-cyclic

heat engine where combustion of the fuel–air mixture (the working
fluid) takes place inside the cylinder of the engine; petrol and diesel
engines are the two commonly used IC engines; used in automobiles,
scooters, motorbikes, power boats, aircraft, agricultural machinery, and
earth moving equipment.

Internal Energy A Thermodynamics term; the energy stored in a

substance which results from the internal motion of its atoms and
molecules; exists in many forms including thermal, nuclear, chemical,
and electrostatic; the internal energy of an ideal gas is a function of
temperature alone; denoted by U.

Internal Expanding Shoe Brake A Theory of Machines term; a type

of brake which consists of two semi-circular shoes lined externally with
a frictional material (ferodo) which are pressed against the inner flange
of the drum at the time of braking; commonly used in motor cars and
light trucks; see also Band Brake, Block Brake, and Band and Block
Brake.
Internal Failure Cost A Quality Management term; a part of the cost
of quality related to the defects within the system; includes costs for
scrap, repair, and rework; see also External Failure Cost.

Internal Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; see Duct Flow.

Internal Force A Physics term; a force which results from the

interaction between the particles of the constituent material; a force
which acts in the connections between members; see also External
Force.

Internal Friction A Fluid Mechanics term; see Viscosity.

Internet A Computer term; the short form of International Network;

the computer network gateway to websites; an extensively used tool of
information technology.

Interpersonal Skill A Management term; also called Human Skill; a

management skill proposed by Robert L. Katz (1933-2010) which
relates to a manager’s ability to interact (work) with and understand
other people (individually or in groups) in order to communicate,
motivate, and delegate.

Interpolation A Mathematics term; the calculation of a parameter

within the range of observations; see also Extrapolation.

Interstitial Atom A Materials Engineering term; also called

Interstitial or Interstitialcy; an atom which occupies an interstitial
site (position normally not occupied by an atom in a perfect crystal).

Interstitial Defect A Materials Engineering term; a defect in a

material which occurs when an extra atom or ion is inserted into a
crystal structure at a normally unoccupied position (interstitial site).

Interstitial A Materials Engineering term; see Interstitial Atom.

Interstitialcy A Materials Engineering term; see Interstitial Atom.

Intrinsic Factors A Management term related to motivation; also
called Motivation Factors or Motivators or Satisfiers; one of the two
factors of Frederick Herzberg (1923–2000)’s ‘Two-Factor Theory’ of
motivation; include higher level needs which form internal factors
relating to human being’s characteristics such as achievement,
recognition, job interest, responsibility, growth, and advancement; their
absence does not create satisfaction or dissatisfaction; see also
Extrinsic Factors.

Intrinsic Semiconductor An Electronics term; an ideal

semiconductor which is chemically pure with no lattice defects and no
impurity; belongs to group VI in the periodic table; exhibits diamond
cubic crystal structure; its conductivity strongly depends on
temperature; examples include germanium (Ge) and silicon (Si); see
also Extrinsic Semiconductor.

Intrusive Method A Metrology term; also called Probe Method; the

measurement of a physical quantity which uses a probe, which is placed
inside the system; see also Non-intrusive Method.

Invar A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of nickel (Ni) and iron

(Fe) containing about 36% Ni; the coefficient of linear thermal
expansion (α) of invar is approximately equal to zero which makes it
suitable for being used in the best grades of surveyor’s tapes, watch
springs, pendulums for clocks, and other precision instruments.

Invention A Management term; a process of finding something new;

pertains to new ideas and processes; see also Innovation.

Inventory File An Operations Management term; also called

Inventory Status File; one of the three components of material
requirements planning (MRP); a computerized file with a complete
record of each material held in inventory.

Inventory Management An Operations Management term related

to inventory; a process of managing the inventory in a firm in order to
minimize the investment in inventory and also to ensure its optimal
availability for the smooth functioning of the firm; more relevant for
manufacturing organizations.

Inventory on Hand An Operations Management term related to

inventory; the unused inventory carried over from the previous period.

Inventory Status File An Operations Management term; see

Inventory File.

Inventory An Operations Management term: quantities of goods in

stock; available in three forms, namely raw materials, semi-finished
goods (work-in-process), and finished goods; an essential part of a
production system.

Inversion Line A Thermodynamics term; a line which passes through

the maximum temperature points of the constant enthalpy lines for a
substance; the Joule–Thomson coefficient is positive to the left of the
inversion line and is negative to the right of the this line; expansions
that occur to the left of the inversion line between states of equal
enthalpy result in a decrease in temperature, whereas expansions
occurring to the right of the inversion line result in a temperature rise.

Inverted Extrusion A Manufacturing term; see Indirect Extrusion.

Investment Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; also

called Lost-Wax Process or Lost-Pattern Casting as the wax pattern is
lost during the process or Precision Casting because of the high
dimensional accuracy of the cast parts; a casting process which uses an
expandable wax pattern which gets melted by the heat of the molten
metal, thus creating a space for it to act as mould cavity; an expensive
process used to produce small precision parts of intricate design from
both ferrous and nonferrous alloys such as jewellery items and dental
caps; the name ‘investment’ is used to indicate the application of a
refractory material slurry over the pattern consisting of very fine-
grained silica, ethyl silicate, water, and acids.

Inviscid Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid having zero viscosity;

an ideal fluid is an inviscid fluid.
Involute A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; a parameter
used to define the geometrical shape of a gear tooth; the locus of a point
on a straight line which rolls on the circumference of a circle without
slipping; see also Cycloid.

Ion A Chemistry term; a charged particle which results when an

electron is added to or removed from a neutral atom or molecule;
classified into Anion and cation; a few examples include sodium ion
(Na+1), calcium ion (Ca+2), chlorine ion (Cl−1), and ammonium ion
(NH4+1).

Ionic Bond A Chemistry term; also called Electrovalent Bond; a

chemical bond formed by the complete transfer of one or more
electrons from the outermost energy shell (valence shell) of one atom
to the outermost energy shell of the other atom; a bond between a
cation (a positive ion) and an anion (a negative ion); losing of electrons
by an atom and gaining of these electrons by another atom help the two
atoms to acquire the stable electronic configuration of the nearest
noble gases; see also Covalent Bond.

Ionic Compound A Chemistry term; also called Electrovalent

Compound; a compound formed as a result of an ionic bond; does not
conduct electricity in solid state, but conducts electricity in the molten
state; has a high melting and boiling point, but has a low volatility; freely
soluble in water, but is only slightly soluble in organic solvents; see also
Covalent Compound.

Ionization Energy A Chemistry term; the amount of energy required

to remove an electron from an isolated gaseous atom of an element,
resulting in the formation of a positively charged ion (cation); the
smaller the value of ionization energy, the easier it is for the neutral
atom to change into a cation; also there are second, third, or higher
ionization energies of the element corresponding to elimination of one,
two, or more electrons from the cations produced earlier; see also
Electron Affinity.

IP An IC Engine term; see Indicated Power.

Iron Ore A Chemistry term; an ore of iron that is combined with
oxygen and other elements and is mixed with rocks, clay, and sand; a
few examples include magnetite (Fe3O4), haematite (Fe2O3), limonite,
and siderite.

Iron A Chemistry term; a metallic element having symbol Fe with

atomic number 26; the most abundant and the most useful of all metals;
does not exist in free state except in basalts and meteorites in limited
quantities; its important ores include magnetite (Fe3O4), haematite
(Fe2O3), and iron pyrites (FeS2); a greyish white lustrous ferrous metal
which is malleable and ductile and has a very high tensile strength;
melts at 1536 °C and boils at about 3000 °C; one of the heaviest metals
with specific gravity 7.86; possesses strong magnetic properties (called
ferromagnetism) which is lost when heated above Curie point (766 °C);
its three allotropic forms include α-iron, δ-iron, and γ-iron which differ
from one another in crystalline shape only; its three commercial
varieties include cast iron, wrought iron, and steel; finds extensive
industrial applications, perhaps most of all other metals; an essential
component of blood (haemoglobin).

Ironing A Manufacturing term; a cold metal working process used to

produce uniform thickness by straightening the walls of the drawn cup
obtained in deep drawing.

Irreversible Cycle A Thermodynamics term; a cycle consisting of

irreversible processes; see also Reversible Cycle.

Irreversible Engine A Thermodynamics term; an engine which

operates on irreversible thermodynamic processes and has losses; see
also Reversible Engine.

Irreversible Process A Thermodynamics term; a process in which a

system passes through a sequence of non-equilibrium states; cannot be
exactly restored to its initial state after the process has taken place as
its initial and final states differ; occurs only in one direction; all the
spontaneous processes are irreversible; friction, heat transfer across a
finite temperature difference or spontaneous chemical reaction makes
a process irreversible; a few examples include throttling, free expansion,
adiabatic mixing, and plastic deformation; see also Reversible Process.

Irrotational Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Potential

Flow; a fluid flow in which the fluid particles do not rotate about their
mass axes; the flow of an ideal fluid is an irrotational flow; for an
irrotational flow, the vorticity is zero; the condition of irrotationality for
a plane flow in x–y plane is given as:

where u and v are the respective velocities of flow in x- and y-

directions; see also Rotational Flow.

I-Section A Strength of Materials term; one of the most commonly

used cross sections of structural members; resembles the capital
English alphabet I.

Isentropic Compression A Thermodynamics term; a reversible

adiabatic compression process which does not allow any heat transfer
(neither heat addition nor heat rejection) and for which the entropy
change, ΔS = 0; follows the equation PVϒ = constant (where P =
pressure, V = volume, and ϒ = adiabatic exponent = Cp/Cv = 1.4); see
Isentropic Expansion.

Isentropic Efficiency A Fluid Mechanics and a Thermodynamics

term; a ratio of the ideal work associated with an adiabatic and
frictionless compression process to the actual work required to achieve
the same total pressure rise.

Isentropic Expansion A Thermodynamics term; a reversible

adiabatic expansion process which does not allow any heat transfer
(neither heat addition nor heat rejection), and for which the entropy
change, ΔS = 0, and follows the equation PVϒ = constant (where P =
pressure, V = volume, and ϒ = adiabatic exponent = Cp/Cv = 1.4); see
Isentropic Compression.
Isentropic Process A Thermodynamics term; a reversible adiabatic
process in which entropy remains constant, that is, the change in
entropy for an isentropic process, ΔS = 0; see also Adiabatic Process.

Ishikawa Diagram A Quality Management term; see Cause-and-

Effect Diagram.

ISO 14000 A Quality Management term; an international quality

standard for an environment management system; consists of five series
of standards which cover a number of areas such as keeping track of the
use of raw materials, their generation, treatment, and disposal of
hazardous wastes.

ISO 9000 A Quality Management term; it is the international

standard for quality certification developed in 1987 by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO), based in Geneva, Switzerland; it
defines quality system standards and consists of a series of
international quality management standards (from 9001 to 9004),
which set uniform guidelines for processes to ensure that products
conform to customer requirements; compliance with ISO 9000
standards says nothing about the actual quality of a product; the ISO
9000 standards were first revised in 1994 and again (significantly) in
2000, and the later was referred to as ISO 9000:2000; a major revision
to ISO 9000 was completed in December 2008; the new standard is
commonly referred to as ISO 9000:2008; plays a major role in setting
quality standards for global manufacturers.

ISO 9001 A Quality Management term; the most comprehensive ISO

9000 quality standards difficult to attain; focuses on 20 aspects of a
quality programme relating to design, production, installation, and
servicing of products and includes management responsibility, quality
system documentation, purchasing, product design, inspection, training,
and corrective action; the latest modifications of the standard ISO
9001:2015 follow a structure which makes it more compatible with
other management systems; the modified version ISO 9001:2015 gives
greater emphasis to risk-based thinking, attempting to prevent
undesirable outcomes.
ISO 9002 A Quality Management term; this standard covers the same
areas as ISO 9001 for companies that produce the customer’s designs
or have their design and service activities at another location.

ISO 9003 A Quality Management term; this standard is used only for
inspecting and testing procedures.

ISO 9004 A Quality Management term; the section of ISO 9000

quality standards which contains guidelines for interpreting the other
quality standards and to provide detailed guidance to a company for the
continual improvement of its quality management system in order to
achieve and sustain customer satisfaction.

Isobaric Process A Thermodynamics term; also called Isopiestic

Process; a process which occurs at constant pressure; the boiling of
water to steam or the freezing of water to ice occur at constant
pressure, which are examples of isobaric processes; the work done
during an isobaric process undergoing between two states 1 (initial
state condition) and 2 (final state condition) is given as:

Isochoric Process A Thermodynamics term; also called Isometric

Process; a process which occurs at constant volume; the heat added or
rejected during this process is only used in increasing or decreasing the
internal energy of a system; the work done during an isochoric process
is zero; the work done during an isochoric process undergoing between
two states 1 (initial state condition) and 2 (final state condition) is
given as:

Isolated System A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic system

of fixed mass and fixed energy; does not allow mass or energy transfer
across its boundary and also does not interact with its surrounding; see
also Open System and Closed System.

Isometric Process A Thermodynamics term; see Isochoric Process.

Isopiestic Process A Thermodynamics term; see Isobaric Process.

Isosceles Trapezium A Mathematics term; a trapezium whose non-

parallel sides are equal.

Isosceles Triangle A Mathematics term; a triangle whose any two

sides are equal; see also Scalene Triangle and Equilateral Triangle.

Isothermal Forging A Manufacturing term; see Hot-Die Forging.

Isothermal Process A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic

process which occurs at a constant temperature; follows the equation,
PV = constant (where P = pressure and V = volume); the Boyle’s law is
valid for an isothermal process.

Isotropic Material A Materials Engineering term; exhibits uniform

properties throughout in all directions; see also Anisotropic Material
and Orthotropic Material.

Isotropic A Materials Engineering term; the characteristics of having

properties (of a material) not varying with direction or having similar
properties in every direction; for example, most crystalline materials
exhibit isotropic properties; one of the important assumptions applied
in the validity of flexure formula and torsion formula; see also
Anisotropic.

Izod Test A Strength of Materials term; a least-used impact test which

is conducted using a swinging pendulum to apply an impact load on a
notched test specimen of size 75 mm × 10 mm × 10 mm supported as a
cantilever beam, in which the load breaks the test specimen at its
notched portion and the energy stored in the specimen is measured;
see also Charpy Test.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_10

J
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

J. B. Johnston Formula A Strength of Materials term related to

column; see Parabolic Formula.

Jasper A Chemistry term; a naturally occurring amorphous form of

silica; a coloured (red) variety of quartz used as a gem; see also
Amethyst and Opal.

Jean le Rond d’Alembert (1717–1783) A French mathematician

and philosopher who is known for d’Alembert’s paradox; he was the first
to show that the drag on bodies immersed in inviscid fluids is zero;
originated concepts such as notion of velocity and acceleration and
differential expression of continuity.

Jean Louis Poiseuille (1799–1869) A French physician who is

known for Poiseuille flow; deduced experimentally the resistance laws
for a laminar flow through capillary tubes.

Jena Glass A Chemistry term; a type of glass stronger than ordinary

soda glass; obtained by decreasing the alkali content and increasing the
alumina content in ordinary soda glass; contains oxides of barium and
zinc (BaO and ZnO) along with boron trioxide (B2O3) in place of some
silica; more resistant to the action of acid and alkali.
Jet Draught A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a boiler accessory
used to produce a jet of high-speed air to be supplied to the grate to
increase the heat supply to the boiler; fitted near the grate of a boiler;
see also Fan Draught.

Jidoka An Operations Management term; a Japanese term used to

mean the authority given to the workers to stop the production
(assembly) line, when quality problems are encountered; prevents
production of defective parts/products, and focuses on understanding
the problem; Taiichi Ohno (1912–1990) used it as a quality improving
tool.

Jig A Manufacturing term; a device used to hold and support a

workpiece, and also to guide the path of a cutting tool during a process;
used in conjunction with a fixture; need not be secured to the machine;
see also Fixture.

JIT II An Operations Management term; a registered trademark of the

Bose Corporation; an example of a close relationship between supplier
and manufacturer; an outsourcing activity in which a supplier’s
representative functions as a member of the customer’s purchasing
department while being paid by the supplier and issues order to its
own company on behalf of the customer; the representative is also
involved in activities such as design, production planning, and value
analysis.

JIT Inventory System An Operations Management term; a system

based on JIT philosophy to provide the right materials, in right quantity,
at right place, and at right time; a system of eliminating inventory
which does not add any value to a product; conceptualizes on zero
inventories.

JIT Manufacturing An Operations Management term; also called JIT

Production or Stockless Production or Zero Inventory System;
producing goods using JIT principle; a pull system of inventory
management which emphasizes on the production of right products, in
right quantity, and at right time; a zero inventory-based production
system; see also Lean Production.
JIT Production An Operations Management term; see JIT
Manufacturing.

JIT An Operations Management term; the short form of just-in-time; a

Japanese management philosophy to control wastes and a technique to
manage inventory effectively; evolved during the 1980s; connected to
production of goods to meet a customer’s demand on time; emphasizes
on zero inventory and producing only those goods which are needed.

Job Analysis An Operations Management term; a process of assessing

the work methods used in a job to see how it should be done, and the
knowledge, skills, and abilities which individuals need to perform the
jobs adequately; see also Job Evaluation.

Job Description An Operations Management term; a statement

indicating what a job entails; see also Job Analysis.

Job Design An Operations Management term; an approach which

specifies the content of each job including the employee skills and
training needed to perform the job and the degree of specialization
appropriate for the job; determines how work is distributed within an
organization; helps to incorporate flexibility needed in the workforce;
job specialization and job expansion are two important components of
job design.

Job Enlargement An Operations Management term; the process of

expanding a job horizontally to give the worker more variety of the
same job (although not necessarily more responsibility); thrusts upon
more skills of the workers; an example includes giving a production-
line worker the task of building an entire product rather than a small
subassembly; see also Job Enrichment.

Job Enrichment An Operations Management term; the process of

expanding a job vertically to give the worker more responsibility which
includes planning, inspecting, and other management functions
necessary for job accomplishment; for example, an assembly worker
may be given the added responsibility of testing a completed assembly
(considering him as a quality inspector); see also Job Enlargement.
Job Evaluation An Operations Management term; a process which
specifies the relative value of each job in an organization; see also Job
Analysis.

Job Expansion An Operations Management term; another

component of job design other than job specialization; classified into job
enlargement and job enrichment (see them separately explained); see
also Job Specialization.

Job Rotation An Operations Management term; a process of moving

employees horizontally or vertically or the periodic exchange of a job
among workers to expand their skills, knowledge, or abilities; a few
examples include rotating nurses among hospital wards or flight crews
on different airline routes; see also Job Enrichment.

Job Sequencing An Operations Management term; the process of

determining the order in which jobs should be done at each
workstation.

Job Specialization An Operations Management term; a component of

job design; the specialized knowledge of a task which makes the range
of a job narrow; requires a high degree of repetition, higher efficiency,
and high quality; an example is a heart specialist who can diagnose and
treat heart problems better than a general practitioner; see also Job
Expansion.

Job A Management term; a group of related tasks or activities

performed by an employee to meet an organization’s objectives such as
manufacturing of a product or delivery of a service.

Jobbing Production An Operations Management term; also called

One-Off Production or Job-Lot Production; a type of a production
system used to make one-off items according to a customer’s
specification where each product is unique and different in some aspect
from previous ones; uses a wide range of general-purpose machines
and equipment, where machines are arranged on function basis for
maximum flexibility, and requires highly skilled personnel, but involves
high level of work-in-progress (WIP); an example includes the
construction of a railway station which will be different from other
railway stations, even though there will be many similarities.

Job-Lot Production An Operations Management term; see Jobbing

Production.

Johnson’s Rule An Operations Management term; a sequencing rule

or an approach used for sequencing any number of jobs on two
machines/workstations in order to minimize the time required to
complete all the jobs; gives an optimal sequence for jobs processed
serially through two processes; also minimizes total idle time on the
machines; from the list of unscheduled jobs, the job with the shortest
processing time in either workstation is selected; if the shortest time is
at the first workstation, the job is scheduled first otherwise scheduled
in the last.

Joint Penetration A Welding term; the minimum depth a groove

weld extends from its face into a joint.

Joint A Design term; the junction of members or the edges of

members to be joined; two commonly used joints include butt and lap
joints.

Joule Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to air standard cycle; see

Brayton Cycle.

Joule A Physics term; the SI unit of work and energy, named after the
British scientist James P. Joule, (1818–1889); the British scientist who
established a relationship between work and heat and paved the way to
the formulation of the first law of thermodynamics; denoted by J, which
is equivalent to N-m; 1 J = 107 erg; see also Erg.

Joule–Thomson Coefficient A hermodynamic coefficient as well as a

property of a pure substance; used to find the value of specific heat;
denoted by μ; the symbols T, p and h stand for temperature, pressure
and enthalpy respectively; the coefficient is given as:
Journal Bearing A Design term; a commonly employed bearing as
well as the main crankshaft bearing used in the engine of an automobile
which has no rolling elements, rather the shaft simply rotates (slides)
within a polished sleeve lubricated by oil or any other fluid; see also
Rolling Contact Bearing.

Judgement Methods An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; see Qualitative Methods.

Junction Rule An Electrical term; see Kirchhoff’s Current Law.

Junction Valve A Power Plant term related to a boiler; see Steam

Stop Valve.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_11

K
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Kaizen An Operations Management term; a Japanese term for an

organization’s commitment to continuous improvement that helps to
improve a product’s quality and customer service; can be applied to
manufacturing as well as service organizations.

Kanban An Operations Management term; a Japanese word coined by

the Toyota Motor Company in the 1950s to indicate a card to be used as
an inventory management technique in a pull production system to
control the flow of materials on the assembly line; kanbans allow
arrivals at a workstation to match the processing time; the absence of
kanban indicates no production or no movement of materials in a
production system; a simple system of planning and controlling
production and a means of signalling to the upstream workstation that
the downstream workstation is ready for the upstream station to
produce another batch of parts; an integral part of a JIT manufacturing
system; suitable for repetitive manufacturing; the most commonly used
is dual kanban system which uses two types of kanban, namely
production kanban and withdrawal kanban.

Kaoru Ishikawa (1915–1989) A well-known Japanese quality guru

and one of the pioneers of quality management who is best known for
his quality tool developed in 1943, called ‘cause-and-effect diagram’
(used to diagnose quality problems), also called ‘Ishikawa diagram’ or
‘fishbone diagram’; also evolved the concept of ‘quality circle’.

Kaplan Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a hydraulic turbine, named

in honour of its inventor Viktor Kaplan (1876–1934); an axial-flow,
single-stage, reaction hydraulic turbine with adjustable blades; more
compact in design than Francis turbine; most suited for low head (15 m
or less) and high volume flow rate conditions; see also Propeller
Turbine and Francis Turbine.

KCL An Electrical term; see Kirchhoff’s Current Law.

KDM The short form of Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines;

also called Theory of Machines or Mechanics of Machines; a core
subject of mechanical engineering which deals with motions involved in
a machine and forces acting on its components.

Kelvin Scale A Thermodynamics term; an absolute temperature scale

as well as a thermodynamic temperature scale used in the SI system;
named after its inventor Lord Kelvin (1824–1907); uses the unit kelvin
(K) for temperature measurement; the lowest temperature on the
Kelvin scale is absolute zero (0 K); see also Celsius Scale, Fahrenheit
Scale, and Rankine Scale.

Kelvin A Thermodynamics term; the SI unit of temperature, named

after Lord Kelvin (1824–1907) (originally called William Thomson);
denoted by K; 1 K of temperature is equal to 1/273.16 of the
thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water.

Kelvin-Planck Statement A Thermodynamics term; the first

statement of the second law of thermodynamics, named after Lord Kelvin
(1824–1907) who proposed the Kelvin scale of temperature and Max
Planck (1858–1947) whose work on radiation laid to the foundation of
quantum theory; the statement relates to heat engines; states that no
heat engine can produce a net amount of work while exchanging heat
with a single reservoir; see also Clausius Statement.
Kerf A Welding term; the width of the cut made in a workpiece
during a cutting operation.

Kernel A Chemistry term; the nucleus and electrons other than those
present in the outermost shell.

Key A Design term; a fastening element usually made of mild steel;

used to prevent relative rotation between a shaft and the shaft-
supported elements such as pulleys, gears, wheels, or couplings; usually
driven parallel to the axis of the shafts subjected to torsional or twisting
stresses; can resist shear over a longitudinal section; classified into
saddle, sunk, and round keys.

kgf A Physics term; see Kilogram Force.

Kilogram Force A Physics term, abbreviated as kgf; the MKS unit of

force; exerted on a body of mass 1 kg and produces an acceleration of
9.81 ; kilogram force and newton are related as: 1 kgf = 9.81 N; see
also Newton.

Kilojoule A Physics term; the bigger SI unit of energy; denoted by kJ;

equivalent to kN m; 1 kJ = 103 J.

Kilopascal A Physics term; the larger SI unit of pressure and stress;

abbreviated as kPa; 1 kPa = 103 Pa; see also Megapascal and
Gigapascal.

Kilowatt-hour An Electrical term, abbreviated as kWh; the

commercial unit of power; corresponds to a power consumption of 1 kW
in 1 h; 1 kWh = 3600 kJ.

Kinematic Coefficient of Viscosity A Fluid Mechanics term; see

Kinematic Viscosity.

Kinematic Similarity A Fluid Mechanics term; the similarity of

motions between a model and its prototype; indicates that both model
and prototype must undergo similar velocities and accelerations; see
also Geometric Similarity and Dynamic Similarity.
Kinematic Viscosity A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Kinematic
Coefficient of Viscosity; a ratio of the absolute viscosity (μ) to the
density (ρ) of a fluid; a measure of the relative magnitudes of absolute
viscosity and inertia of the fluid; its two common units include m2/s
and stoke, named after Sir George Stokes (1819–1903), an English
physicist and pioneering investigator of viscosity; 1 stoke = 1 cm2/s =
0.0001 m2/s; has dimension [L2T−1]; see also Absolute Viscosity.

Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines See KDM.

Kinematics A Physics term; a branch of dynamics which deals with

the motion of a body without considering the forces causing the
motion; see also Kinetics.

Kinetic Energy of Rotation A Physics term; the energy possessed by

a body on account of its rotation about a given axis; given as:

where

I = moment of inertia of the body about an axis

ω = angular velocity of the body.

Kinetic Energy A Physics term; the energy associated with the

motion of a body.

Kinetic Friction A Physics term; also called Dynamic Friction; the

friction occurring between two surfaces of the bodies in motion; has
lesser value than the static friction; classified into sliding and rolling
friction; see also Static Friction and Limiting Friction.

Kinetic Head A Fluid Mechanics term; see Velocity Head.

Kinetic Viscosity A Fluid Mechanics term; Dynamic Viscosity.

Kinetics A Physics term; a branch of dynamics which deals with both
the motion of a body as well as the forces causing the motion; see also
Kinematics.

Kirchhoff’s Current Law An Electrical term; an electric circuit law,

abbreviated as KCL; also called Junction Rule; the algebraic sum of all
the currents meeting at a node is zero; see also Kirchhoff’s Voltage
Law.

Kirchhoff’s Law of Radiation A Heat Transfer term; states that the

emissivity and the absorptivity of a surface are equal at the same
temperature and wavelength.

Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law An Electrical term; an electric circuit law,

abbreviated as KVL; also called Loop Rule; the algebraic sum of the
voltage drops taken in a specified direction around a closed path is
zero; see also Kirchhoff’s Current Law.

Knocking An IC Engine term; an undesirable phenomenon in which a

diesel engine vibrates badly with a loud noise due to high compression
ratio and incomplete combustion of the fuel in the engine cylinder;
adversely affects the performance of the engine; see also Detonation.

Knuckle Joint A Design term; a temporary fastening device used to

connect two circular rods or bars whose axes are collinear or coplanar
and intersecting and are subjected to tensile forces; permits a small
amount of flexibility or angular movement and is very common in both
machines and structures; a few examples involving knuckle joint
include valve and eccentric rods, tension links in bridge structures, link
of a cycle chain, and link of suspension chain.

kPa A Physics term; see Kilopascal.

KVL An Electrical term; see Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law.

kWh An Electrical term; see Kilowatt-hour.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_12

L
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Labour Cost An Operations Management term related to cost

analysis; the price paid in return for the work done by an employee; a
few examples includes wages, salaries, commissions, bonus, etc. of an
employee; classified into direct labour cost and indirect labour cost;
direct labour cost is directly related to the manufacture of a product,
and its examples include wages of a welder fabricating a structure or
wages of construction workers; indirect labour cost is not directly related
to the production of a product but is essential for the progressive
movement and handling of the product to the point of dispatch, and its
examples include the cost incurred on maintenance men, helpers in a
machine shop or foundry shop or machine setters, etc.

Labour Index An Operations Management term; a ratio of the quality

cost to the direct labour hours; see also Cost Index and Sales Index.

Labour Productivity A Management term; a ratio of the units of

goods and services produced to the number of hours worked (labour
input); a measure of performance of an organization; see also Capital
Productivity and Material Productivity.

Labour Standards An Operations Management term related to work

study; the amount of time required to perform a job (or part of a job)
under ordinary operating conditions; helps a firm to determine the
labour cost, the staffing requirements to meet production targets and
estimate time and cost for making make-or-buy decisions; used to plan
and control operations.

Labour An Economics term; the physical and intellectual services of

the people including the training, education, and the abilities of the
individuals in a society; the economic growth of a country depends on
the size and quality of the labour force, which in turn, is a function of
the size of the working-age population.

Labour-Intensive Technology An Economics term; a technology

which relies heavily on human labour instead of capital; see also
Capital-Intensive Technology.

Ladder Logic An Electronics term; a computer programming

language which resembles a ladder with two vertical lines and
horizontal rungs that is often used for a programmable logic controller
(PLC).

Lagrangian Method A Fluid Mechanics term; named after Joseph

Louis Lagrange (1736–1813), an Italian mathematician and astronomer
who proposed it; a mathematical method used to describe the motion
of individual fluid particles at various instants of time in a fluid flow;
involves a lot of difficulties in solving the flow equations, hence is not
preferred; see also Eulerian Method.

Lame’s Theory A Strength of Materials term related to a pressure

vessel; used in the analysis of thick-walled pressure vessels for finding
the hoop and radial stresses across the section of the vessels.

Lami’s Theorem A Physics term; states that if three coplanar forces

acting at a point are in equilibrium, then each force is proportional to
the sine of the angle between the other two forces; finds use in
determining magnitude and direction of a force when other two forces
are known, assuming that all forces are in equilibrium.
Laminar Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; an orderly fluid flow in which
fluid particles move in a smooth path in layers or laminas, with one
layer sliding smoothly over an adjacent layer; usually occurs when the
velocity of flow is small or when the fluid viscosity is high; the Reynolds
number (Re) for a laminar flow is less than 2000; the shear stress in a
laminar flow can be calculated by using Newton’s law of viscosity; the
flow of oil through a pipe is laminar; see also Turbulent Flow.

Laminated Spring A Strength of Materials term related to a spring;

also called Leaf Spring or Carriage Spring, because being used for
load carrying applications or Bending Spring, because of being
subjected to bending only; consists of a number of thin curved plates of
different lengths (called leaves) and uniform thickness which are
placed over one another and bent to the same curvature and clamped
together at the centre; may be of cantilever, semi-elliptical or elliptical
type of which semi-elliptical leaf spring is the most common one; finds
application in suspension system of front or rear axle of cars, buses,
trucks, trains, etc.

Lamp Black A Chemistry term; also called Carbon Black; the almost
pure form of amorphous carbon (C) which contains 98–99% of carbon;
obtained as soot when hydrocarbons such as natural gas and other
substances rich in carbon (e.g. kerosene oil, petroleum, turpentine oil or
acetylene) are burnt in a limited supply of air; used as a black pigment
in making printing inks, paints, and shoe polish; also extensively used as
a filler material in making rubber tyres in automobile industries.

Lancashire Boiler A Power Plant term related to a boiler; the most

commonly used fire tube boiler; categorized as an internally fired low-
pressure boiler which is horizontally placed, stationary, and involves
natural circulation; has low evaporative capacity and produces steam at
low pressures; occupies more space, but is economical and involves low
maintenance costs; see also Babcock and Wilcox Boiler.

Lancing A Manufacturing term; a sheet metal operation used to

produce a line cut (slit) in a blank.
Land An Economics term; all the natural resources such as minerals,
forests, and water as well as the land itself which can be combined with
labour and capital to produce goods and services.

Lap Joint A Joining term; a joint produced by placing the two parts
one over another; a stronger joint than butt joint because of the large
area in contact; see also Butt Joint.

Lapping A Manufacturing term; an abrasive micromachining process

used to produce a high degree of surface finish with close dimensional
tolerances (≥ 0.5 μm) by means of a rotating tool (called lap) containing
abrasive particles; see also Honing.

Laps A Forging term; the forging defects which occur on the surface of
the forged parts in the form of small sharp cavities.

Laser Beam Cutting A Manufacturing term, abbreviated as LBC; a

process which uses a laser beam to cut materials precisely; see also
Laser Beam Drilling and Laser Beam Welding.

Laser Beam Drilling A Manufacturing term, abbreviated as LBD; a

process which uses a laser beam to produce an accurate hole in
materials; see also Laser Beam Cutting and Laser Beam Welding.

Laser Beam Machining A Nonconventional Machining term,

abbreviated as LBM; a nonconventional machining process which uses
a high-energy, coherent laser light beam to melt and evaporate the
materials from metallic and non-metallic workpieces; capable of
producing very accurate holes as small as 0.005 mm in refractory
metals, ceramics, and composite materials without warping the
workpieces; can be used for cutting, welding, and marking; used
extensively in electronic and automotive industries.

Laser Beam Welding A Manufacturing term, abbreviated as LBW; a

welding process which uses a laser beam to fuse a joint; see also Laser
Beam Cutting and Laser Beam Drilling.
LASER A Physics term; the short form of Light Amplification by
Stimulated Emission of Radiation; a highly concentrated and coherent
beam of light used for very precise work in many fields including
medical and engineering.

Latent Heat of Fusion A Physics term; the quantity of heat required

to melt unit mass of a solid into liquid or to freeze unit mass of a liquid
into solid; the latent heat of fusion of ice at atmospheric pressure is
equal to 80 cal/gm; see also Latent Heat of Sublimation and Latent
Heat of Vaporization.

Latent Heat of Sublimation A Physics term; the quantity of heat

required to convert unit mass of a solid directly into vapour without
converting it into liquid or to convert unit mass of a vapour directly into
solid without converting it into liquid; the SI unit is J/kg; see also
Latent Heat of Vaporization and Latent Heat of Fusion.

Latent Heat of Vaporization A Physics term; the quantity of heat

required to vaporize unit mass of a liquid into vapour or to condense
unit mass of a vapour into liquid at a given temperature or pressure;
highly sensitive to pressure; decreases as pressure or temperature
increases and becomes zero at the critical point; the latent heat of
vaporization of water at atmospheric pressure is equal to 540 cal/gm;
see also Latent Heat of Sublimation and Latent Heat of Fusion.

Latent Heat A Physics term; the quantity of heat required to produce

a phase change in a substance in its unit mass at constant pressure and
temperature; the SI unit is J/kg; see also Sensible Heat.

Lateral Deformation A Strength of Materials term; the deformation

which occurs in a solid body in its lateral dimensions (breadth, height
or diameter) on being subjected to an external force; see also Linear
Deformation and Angular Deformation.

Lateral Strain A Strength of Materials term; the strain produced in

the lateral dimensions of a body such as breadth, thickness, or
diameter; quantified as a ratio of the change in lateral dimension of a
body to its original lateral dimension; connected to the longitudinal
strain through the Poisson’s ratio; its value is smaller than the
longitudinal strain; see also Longitudinal Strain.

Latest Finish Time (LFT) A Project Management term; the latest

time an activity can be completed without delaying the critical path
time of the project; finds use in critical path method (CPM); see also
Earliest Finish Time (EFT).

Latest Start Time (LST) A Project Management term; the latest time
an activity can start without delaying critical path time of the project;
finds use in critical path method (CPM); equals to the latest finish time
(LFT) of the immediately succeeding activity minus activity time: LST =
LFT − t; when more than one activity immediately follows the activity,
the minimum of the LFT of all the following activities is considered as
the LST of the activity; see also Earliest Start Time (EST).

Lathe A Manufacturing term; the most basic and one of the oldest
machine tools used to remove the material from a workpiece during its
machining; the various operations performed by a lathe include
turning, facing, drilling, boring, reaming, threading, cutting, knurling,
etc.

Lattice Energy A Chemistry term; the amount of energy released

when cations and anions are brought from infinity to their respective
equilibrium sites in the crystal lattice to form one mole of an ionic
compound; the higher the magnitude of the lattice energy, the greater is
the tendency to form an ionic bond; for higher lattice energy, the force of
electrostatic attraction between the constituent ions (given by
Coulomb’s Law) should be high, which in turn, depends on the small
sizes of cations and anions.

Lattice Parameter A Materials Engineering term; a parameter which

describes the size and shape of a unit cell of a crystal structure; includes
the dimensions of the sides of the unit cell and the angles between the
sides; for example, a cubic crystal requires only length of one of the
sides of the cube to completely describe the unit cell.
Law of Action and Reaction A Physics term; see Newton’s Third
Law of Motion.

Law of Conservation of Linear Momentum A Physics term; see

Principle of Conservation of Linear Momentum.

Law of Demand An Economics term; states that the quantity of a

good or service which people can demand decreases or increases with
rise or fall in the price of that good or service, everything held constant;
concludes that people purchase more of something when the price of
that item falls and vice versa.

Law of Dimensional Homogeneity A Physics term; see Principle of

Dimensional Homogeneity.

Law of Elasticity A Strength of Materials term; see Hooke’s Law.

Law of Gravitation A Physics term; see Newton’s Law of

Gravitation.

Law of Inertia A Physics term; see Newton’s First Law of Motion.

Law of Momentum A Physics term; see Newton’s Second Law of

Motion.

Law of Parallelogram of Forces A Physics term; also called

Parallelogram Law of Forces; states that if two coplanar forces acting
at a point are represented in magnitude and direction by the two
adjacent sides of a parallelogram, then their resultant is given in
magnitude and direction by the diagonal of the parallelogram passing
through the same point.

Law of Polygon of Forces A Physics term; also called Polygon Law of

Forces; states that if three or more coplanar forces acting at a point are
represented in magnitude and direction by the sides of a polygon taken
in order, then their resultant is given in magnitude and direction by its
closing side taken in opposite order; see also Law of Triangle of
Forces.
Law of Triangle of Forces A Physics term; also called Triangle Law
of Forces; states that if three coplanar forces acting at a point are
represented in magnitude and direction by the three sides of a triangle
taken in order, then they are said to be in equilibrium; gives the
condition of equilibrium of a body which is acted upon by three
coplanar forces.

Law of Viscosity A Fluid Mechanics term; see Newton’s Law of

Viscosity.

Laws of Coulomb Friction A Physics term; see Laws of Limiting

Friction.

Laws of Dry Friction A Physics term; see Laws of Limiting Friction.

Laws of Limiting Friction A Physics term; also called Laws of

Coulomb Friction or Laws of Dry Friction or Laws of Solid Friction;
the five laws connected to dependency of the frictional force are stated
below:
The frictional force is directly proportional to the normal reaction
between the two bodies in contact.
The frictional force is independent of sliding velocity.
The frictional force acts in a direction opposite to that in which
motion is to impend.
The frictional force depends upon the nature of material of the
surfaces in contact, that is, force of adhesion and their roughness and
smoothness.
The frictional force does not depend on the shape and area between
contact surfaces.

Laws of Motion A Physics term; also called Newton’s Laws of

Motion or Fundamental Laws of Motion; proposed by Sir Isaac
Newton (1642–1727); relate to the linear motion of a solid body; there
are three laws of motion, namely the first law of motion (also called the
law of inertia), the second law of motion (also called law of momentum),
and the third law of motion (also called the law of action and reaction).
Laws of Solid Friction A Physics term; see Laws of Limiting
Friction.

LBC A Manufacturing term; see Laser Beam Cutting.

LBD A Manufacturing term; see Laser Beam Drilling.

LBM A Nonconventional Machining term; see Laser Beam

Machining.

LBW A Manufacturing term; see Laser Beam Welding.

Lead Burning A Welding term; a misnomer for the welding of lead.

Lead Time An Operations Management term; the time required to

complete a job from start to finish; manufacturing involves two types of
lead time, namely ordering lead time and manufacturing lead time.

Lead A Chemistry and a Gear term; in chemistry terms, a greyish

coloured nonferrous metallic element having symbol Pb with atomic
number 82 and atomic weight 207.19; extracted from galena (PbS)
which contains about 6–8% of lead along with small quantities of silver
(up to 0.1%); shows a bright metallic lustre on being freshly cut, but
becomes dull on exposure to air due to the formation of a thin layer of
the oxide on its surface; a soft, malleable (but not very ductile) metal
which can mark paper, and can be cut with a knife and scratched with
the finger-nail; a heavier metal (specific gravity 11.34) which melts at
327.4 °C and boils at 1725 °C, and is not attacked by pure air-free
water; used in making lead pipes (for carrying water), bullets, lead
accumulators, and in making lead alloys such as type metal, solder, and
pewter, and in making pigments like chrome yellow, chrome red, red lead
and white lead; also used in making telegraph and telephone wires
buried in the earth; a gear screw thread term which indicates the axial
distance which a nut moves on the thread in one turn.

Leading A Management term; a management function related to

directing the work of others.
Leaf Spring A Strength of Materials term related to a spring; see
Laminated Spring.

Lean Manufacturing An Operations Management term; see Lean

Production.

Lean Mixture An IC Engine term; a mixture of fuel and air where air
is in excess.

Lean Production An Operations Management term; also called Lean

Manufacturing; a management philosophy developed by Toyota Motor
Company of Japan which focuses on elimination of all the wasteful
activities from a production system; uses lean tools such as kaizen,
Kanban, and Poka-yoke.

Learning Curve A Management term; also called Wright’s Law,

named after a US aeronautical engineer Theodore Paul Wright (1895–
1970) who introduced it in an article in the Journal of Aeronautical
Sciences in 1936; also called Improvement Curve or Experience
Curve; a graphical plot between the number of units produced (x-axis)
and the cycle time per unit (y-axis); a tool related to improvement in
performance by way of learning over time (of workers); concludes that
repetition of the same job results in decrease in cycle time;
organizational costs are reduced due to experience and learning effects
that result from processing a higher volume; usually expressed in terms
of 100% minus the percentage rate of improvement; an 80% learning
curve indicates an improvement rate of 20% each time production
doubles, and a 90% learning curve indicates a 10% improvement rate,
and so on.

Learning Organization A Management term; see Boundaryless

Organization.

Least Count Error A Metrology term; a type of systematic error

associated with the resolution of a measuring instrument; for example,
in the measurement of length, the reliability is up to cm using a
metre scale, up to cm using a vernier scale, up to cm using a
screw gauge; all the readings or values measured by the instrument are
good only up to its least count, and deviation from these values
produces least count errors.

Least Count A Metrology term; the smallest value which can be

accurately measured by a measuring instrument; the least count of the
vernier calliper is 0.01 cm and that of a spherometer or screw gauge is
0.001 cm.

Le Chatelier’s Principle A Chemistry term; states that if the number

of moles of reactants exceeds that of the products, then increasing the
pressure at which the reaction occurs forces the reaction towards
completion.

LED An Electronics term; see Light Emitting Diode.

Lee and Shaffer Theory A Manufacturing term related to machining;

a metal cutting theory which explains the process of orthogonal cutting
and is based on the stress–strain distribution in a perfectly plastic
material; given as:

where

Φ = shear angle
β = angle of friction
α = rake angle of the cutting tool; see also Merchant’s Theory.

Left Hand/Right Hand Chart A Motion Study term; see Operation

Chart.

Length A Mathematics term; the size of a line segment.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) A famous Italian painter who is

widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and
perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived; widely
known for his painting ‘Mona Lisa’; expressed elementary principle of
continuity; observed and sketched many basic flow phenomena;
suggested design for hydraulic machinery.

Leonhard Euler (1707–1783) A pioneering Swiss mathematician

and physicist who is known for the Euler number (a non-dimensional
group); pioneered work on the relationship between pressure and flow;
introduced the concept of cavitation and principle of centrifugal
machinery.

Level 1 Charging An Electric Vehicle term; a type of charging device

which uses a 120 V electrical outlet for charging the battery; a common
household charging outlet; uses a 8–20 amperes current; takes around
17–25 h to fully charge a 100-mile battery; see also Level 2 Charging
and Level 3 Charging.

Level 2 Charging An Electric Vehicle term; a type of charging device

which uses a 208–240 V installed electrical outlet for charging the
battery; uses up to a 80 amperes current; offers faster charging than
Level 1 charging, and takes around 4–5 h to fully charge a 100-mile
battery; see also Level 2 Charging and Level 3 Charging.

Level 3 Charging An Electric Vehicle term; also called DC Charging; a

commercial charging device which uses a 480 V direct current electrical
outlet installed at the charging station for charging the battery; takes
about 30 min to fully charge a 100-mile battery; see also Level 1
Charging and Level 2 Charging.

Lever A Physics term; a rigid bar that is allowed to rotate at some

angle about a pivot point called a fulcrum; used to move a load when an
effort force is applied to the bar; depending on the position of the
fulcrum on the lever, the lever may be used to change the direction of
an effort force, multiply an effort force or increase the distance that is
traveled by a load; levers are divided into three categories: first-class,
second-class, and third-class levers.

Levitation Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Electromagnetic Casting.
Lewis Equation A Theory of Machines term related to gear; a gear
design equation proposed by Wilfred Lewis (1854–1929); used to find
the bending stress in a gear tooth; given as:

where

σ = bending stress
W = force on the gear tooth
l = height (length) of the gear tooth
b = face width of the gear tooth
t = tooth thickness.

Lewis Ferry Moody (1880–1953) A famous American scientist who

proposed a method of correlating pipe resistance data, better called
Moody chart, widely used in fluid mechanics.

LFT An Operations Management term; see Lot-for-Lot.

Lift Force A Fluid Mechanics term; see Lift.

Lift A Fluid Mechanics and a Cam and Follower term; in fluid

mechanics terms, also called Lift Force; a force that a fluid flow exerts
on a body at right angle to the direction of flow; a vertical force for a
vehicle or object in level flight; created by an unbalanced pressure
acting on the top and bottom of the object; pressure on a wing, for
example, is much higher on the bottom surface than on the top surface,
and the total lift developed by the wing supports the weight of an
aircraft; see also Drag; in cam and follower terms, the difference
between the maximum distance of the lowest point of the follower from
the axis of rotation of the cam and the least radius.

Light Emitting Diode An Electronics term, abbreviated as LED; a

diode which gives visible light on being energized by a current; used as
an indicator to display the functions of the electronic and electrical
components.

Light Year A Physics term; an astronomical unit of measurement of

distance; one light year is the distance travelled by the light in vacuum
in one year and is equal to 9.46 × 1015 m.

Lignite A Chemistry term; a type of coal which contains 67% of

carbon.

Like Fractions A Mathematics term; the fractions having same

denominators; a few examples include , , etc.; see also Unlike
Fractions.

Like Vectors A Physics term; two or more parallel vectors having the
same direction; see also Unlike Vectors.

Limestone A Chemistry term; a sedimentary rock which consists

largely of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in varying degrees of purity; used
as a flux in the blast furnace to separate impurities from the iron ore to
convert it into pig iron.

Limit of Proportionality A Strength of Materials term; a limit till

stress and strain are linearly proportional to each other within elastic
limit defined by the Hooke’s law; see also Elastic Limit.

Limiting Friction A Physics term; the maximum value of the static

friction; see also Static Friction and Kinetic Friction.

Limits A Metrology term; the stated maximum and minimum

dimensions of an object.

Limonite A Chemistry term; an iron ore having the chemical formula

2Fe2O3.H2O; contains about 52–66% iron.

Line and Functional Organization A Management term; a variation

of the line and staff organization which empowers the staff executives
on the basis of their functional expertise in decision-making and gives
them authority and responsibility for their tasks; the problems of work
interference and jealousy among the line and staff executives are non-
existent (which is commonly found in the line and staff organization);
suitable for large size organizations; see also Line and Staff
Organization.

Line and Staff Organization A Management term; the organizational

structure which consists of both line executives and staff executives
(supporting staffs helping line executives); combines the advantages of
both line organization (speedy action) and functional organization
(specialities); the staff executives relieve the line executives of their
additional tasks to allow them to concentrate on their main functions;
the staff executives do not have the decision-making authority; the
work quality improves due to work speciality (of staff executives), but
the production costs increase due to salary payments to the staff
executives; negative qualities such as jealousy and work interference
among line and staff executives exists; suitable for large size
organizations; see also Line Organization, Functional Organization,
and Line and Functional Organization.

Line Authority A Management term; the relationship in which a

superior exercises direct supervision over a subordinate; the power
associated with a person in his supervisory position.

Line Balancing An Operations Management term; a procedure of

assigning the tasks among the workers at the assembly line stations in
a manner so that their performance times are made as equal as possible
and reduce their idleness.

Line Force A Physics term; see Linear Force.

Line Layout An Operations Management term related to facilities

planning; see Product Layout.

Line Measurement A Metrology term; the measurement of distance

between two lines or edges with the help of a measuring instrument
such as a steel rule; see also End Measurement.
Line Organization A Management term; also called the Military
Organization; the simplest organizational structure arranged in a
linear way and has no functional categories; suitable for a small,
entrepreneur-dominated company with 1 or 2 product lines; lacks works
speciality; the employees in line organization tend to be generalists and
jack-of-all trades; ensures speedy action, but encourages dictatorial
approach; used in automated and continuous process industries such as
sugar, textile, pharmaceutical, and chemical.

Line Role A Management term; a manager who has the direct

responsibility for the production of goods and services; see also Staff
Role.

Linear Defect A Materials Engineering term; see Dislocation.

Linear Deformation A Strength of Materials term; the deformation

which occurs in a solid body in its linear direction (length) on being
subjected to an external force; see also Lateral Deformation and
Angular Deformation.

Linear Elastic Structures A Strength of Materials term; the

structures for which the principle of superposition is valid, which in
turn, is applicable when the material follows Hooke’s law and the
deformations produced are small.

Linear Force A Physics term; also called Line Force; a distributed

force which acts along a line of a body; usually expressed as force per
unit length; for example, a surface tension force.

Linear Momentum A Physics term; the product of mass of a body

and its linear velocity; a vector quantity whose direction is same as that
of velocity of the body; the SI unit is kg-m/s; has dimension [MLT−1];
see also Angular Momentum.

Linear Motion A Physics term; see Rectilinear Motion.

Linear Programming An Operations Research term; an optimization

technique in which the objective function and the constraints are
expressed in the linear form; the complete mathematical statement of a
linear programming problem includes a set of simultaneous linear
equations that represent the conditions of the problem and a linear
function that represents the objective of the problem; used in the
allocation of scarce resources in an organization with an objective of
making their optimal use.

Linear Regression A Statistics term; a process of analysis in which a

set of data points best fits a straight line whose equation is given by

where

m = slope of the line on x-axis

c = intercept of the line on y-axis; see also Nonlinear Regression.

Link A Theory of Machines term; also called Element; a part of a

machine which has motion relative to some other part; may consist of
several separately manufactured parts, but on being assembled can act
as a single link; for example, in case of a steam engine, piston rod and
crosshead are assembled together to act as a single link; may not
necessarily be a rigid body, rather a resistant body, and examples in this
category include liquids (which are resistant to compressive forces and
are used as links in devices like hydraulic presses, hydraulic brakes, and
hydraulic jacks) and chains, belts, and ropes (which are resistant to
tensile forces), which are used for transmitting motion and force.

Liquefaction A Thermodynamics term; the process of converting a

gas into its liquid form; usually carried out at very low temperatures.

Liquid Cyaniding A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; a

case hardening process used to produce hardened surface in low carbon
steel parts by heating the parts in a bath of cyanide salts at a
temperature of 1550–1600 °F, allowing them to stay at that
temperature for about two hours and then quenched in brine, water or
oil; see also Gas Cyaniding.
Liquid A Physics term; a substance which can flow, and cannot resist
shear forces; a state of matter which has a definite volume but no
definite shape; takes the shape of a container in which it is kept; see also
Solid and Gas.

Liquid–Metal Forging A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Squeeze Casting.

Liquid-Penetrant Testing A Materials Engineering term; a

nondestructive testing in which surface defects are observed by the
presence of a high-visibility liquid which has previously penetrated into
the defects and is subsequently drawn out by the capillary action of a
fine powder.

Liquidus A Materials Engineering term; the line above which a single

liquid phase is present in a phase diagram; see also Solidus.

Lithography An Electronics term; a print-making technique used for

the processing of integrated circuits.

Lithopone A Chemistry term; a mixture of Zinc sulphide (ZnS) and

Barium sulphate (BaSO4); finds use in making paints; has superior
painting property (spreads quickly to cover more area) over white zinc
and white lead.

LMTD A Thermodynamics term; see Log Mean Temperature

Difference.

Load Voltage A Welding term; the voltage at the output terminals of

a welding machine when an arc is in progress; equals to the sum of the
arc voltage and the voltage drop in the welding circuit; see also Open
Circuit Voltage.

Load A Strength of Materials term; the amount of a force applied to a

material or structure; the SI unit is newton (N); see also Force.

Loading An Operations Management term; also called Shop Loading

or Machine Loading; the distribution of workload to be carried out at
each workstation on a shop floor according to the planning period.

Loam Mould A Casting term; the mould made of loam sand; used for
making extremely large size castings.

Loam Moulding A Casting term; the process of making loam

moulds used for making extremely large size castings.

Loam Sand A Casting term; the moulding sand which contains silica
and clay, where clay is in higher amounts as high as 50%.

Log Mean Temperature Difference A Thermodynamics term,

abbreviated as LMTD; a temperature difference which involves a
natural logarithm; used in the design of a heat exchanger to find the
heat transfer; given as:

where

ΔT1 = temperature difference between hot and cold fluids at one end
of heat exchanger
ΔT2 = temperature difference between hot and cold fluids at another
end of heat exchanger.

Logarithmic Strain A Strength of Materials term; see True Strain.

Logistics An Operations Management term related to a supply chain;

a business function responsible for transporting and delivering
products to the right place at the right time throughout the supply
chain; a part of supply chain management which is related to movement
and positioning of inventory in a supply chain; see also Reverse
Logistics.

Long Column A Strength of Materials term related to a column; a

column of long length having its slenderness ratio greater than 120;
long columns fail mainly by buckling and not by direct compressive
stress; see also Short Column and Medium Column.

Longitudinal Strain A Strength of Materials term; also called Axial

Strain or Normal Strain or Direct Strain; the strain produced on
account of change in length of a body in the longitudinal direction, that
is, along the axis of the body under uniaxial tension or compression;
quantified as a ratio of the change in length of a body to its original
length; a dimensionless quantity, but is expressed as mm/mm or m/m;
classified into tensile strain and compressive strain; see also Lateral
Strain.

Longitudinal Stress A Strength of Materials term; see Normal

Stress.

Long-Term Forecasts An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; have a time frame of over two years and generally about
three years; these forecasts are used in production planning to support
strategic decisions about planning products, processes, technologies, and
facilities; causal model methods and management judgement methods
are primarily used for long-term forecasts; see also Short-Term
Forecasts and Medium-Term Forecasts .

Long-Term Liabilities A Financial Management term; the liabilities

which do not need to be met over the coming year rather to be settled
over long periods such as long-term loans and mortgages; see also
Short-Term Liabilities .

Loop Rule An Electrical term; see Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law.

Loop An Electrical term; see Mesh.

Loose Piece Pattern A Casting term; a type of pattern used to

produce moulds using its different-sized loosely attached parts of
which the main pattern (the bigger part) is first taken out of the mould
and the loose pieces are taken out through the space created by the
main pattern; used to produce moulds which create withdrawal
problem for the pattern.
Lost Mass A Chemistry term; see Mass Defect.

Lost Sale An Operations Management term; see Stockout Cost.

Lost-Foam Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; see Full

Mould Casting.

Lost-Pattern Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Investment Casting.

Lost-Wax Process A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Investment Casting.

Lot Size Inventory An Operations Management term; see Cycle

Inventory.

Lot Sizing An Operations Management term; a process of

determining the size of the order quantities of each of the components
in a product.

Lot An Operations Management term; see Production Lot.

Lot-for-Lot An Operations Management term, abbreviated as LFT;

the simplest lot sizing rule in which a lot size is equal to the net
requirement during every period in the planning horizon; see also
Fixed Order Quantity and Periodic Order Quantity.

Louis Marie Henri Navier (1785–1836) A French mathematician

who is widely known for the Navier–Stokes equations; extended the
equations of motion used in fluid mechanics to include the molecular
forces.

Low Carbon Steel A Materials Engineering term; also called Mild

Steel because of its mild (low) carbon content (less than 0.3%); a
highly ductile material which can be easily drawn into wires; possesses
good formability and weldability, but lacks hardness; the most widely
used material in production activities; finds use in making bolts, nuts,
sheets, plates, tubes, and machine components which do not require high
strength; see also Medium Carbon Steel and High Carbon Steel.

Low Grade Energy A Thermodynamics term; the energy which

cannot be completely transformed into mechanical work; a few
examples include heat energy, nuclear energy, and heat produced by the
combustion of various fuels (such as coal, wood, oil, etc.); see also High
Grade Energy.

Low Head Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a hydraulic turbine

operating at a low head (between 3 and 50 m); for example, Kaplan
turbine and propeller turbine; see also Medium Head Turbine and
High Head Turbine.

Low Level Manager A Management term; also called First Line

Manager or Supervisor as he is the first to be contacted by the
workers for any problem and he also supervises the works of the
workers; a person who is actually translating the organizational goals
into reality and is responsible for directing the day-to-day activities of
operative employees in an organization; see also High Level Manager
and Middle Level Manager.

Low-Pressure Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; also

called Low-Pressure Permanent Mould Casting or Low-Pressure
Die Casting as the molten metal is fed into the mould cavity of a
metallic mould (die) at a low pressure or Pressure Pouring; a casting
process which does not use riser; the molten metal pressure lies
between gravity die casting and die casting; the process is economical
as more number of castings can be produced with the same die because
of its increased life resulting from low-pressure application; produces
dense castings made from aluminium, steel, and cast iron with improved
mechanical properties; the typical products made by this method
include engine blocks (aluminium) and railroad wheels (steel).

Low-Pressure Die Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting;

see Low-Pressure Casting.
Low-Pressure Permanent Mould Casting A Manufacturing term
related to casting; see Low-Pressure Casting.

Lower Critical Temperature A Materials Engineering term; the

temperature at which the transformation of an alloy from one solid
structure to another completes, as it is cooling; see also Upper Critical
Temperature.

Lower Level Needs A Management term related to motivation; the

human needs which find mention in Abraham Maslow’s Need-Hierarchy
Theory of motivation and are lying at the base (lower) level of hierarchy
which can be satisfied; the lower level needs include physiological,
safety, and social needs; see also Higher Level Needs.

Lower Pair A Theory of Machines term; a mechanism in which two

links have surface contact while in motion; found in pure turning or
sliding; a few examples include a shaft revolving in a bearing, a universal
joint, an automobile steering gear, and a straight line motion mechanism;
see also Higher Pair.

LPT An Operations Management term; one of the priority rules for

sequencing jobs which stands for longest processing time; jobs with the
longest processing time are assigned first.

Lubricant A Fluid Mechanics term; a viscous substance used for

lubricating moving parts of a machine in order to reduce friction and
wear between contact surfaces; a few examples include oil and grease.

Lubrication A Fluid Mechanics term; a process of using a lubricant to

reduce friction and wear between contact surfaces.

Ludwig Prandtl (1875–1953) A German professor who is called the

‘father of present-day fluid mechanics’; introduced the concept of a ‘fluid
boundary layer’, which laid the foundation for the unification of the
theoretical and experimental aspects of fluid mechanics.

Luminescence A Physics term; the re-emission of photons of visible

light in association with photon absorption.
Lumpy Demand An Operations Management term; the demand for a
material which varies irregularly from time to time.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_13

M
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Macaulay’s Method A Strength of Materials term related to

deflection; an analytical deflection method devised by W. H. Macaulay
(1853–1936); a double integration method which uses the differential
equation of flexure to find the deflection of a loaded beam under
discontinuous loading conditions; the method uses a step function
which formulates a single equation of moments for all the loads acting
on a beam for which the constants of integration apply uniformly to all
the sections of the beam.

Mach Number A Fluid Mechanics term; a nondimensional group,

named after Ernst Mach (1838–1916), an Austrian physicist and
philosopher and one of the pioneers in the field of supersonic
aerodynamics; a ratio of the inertia force to the compressibility force; a
ratio of the fluid velocity (or the velocity of a body through a stationary
fluid) to the velocity of sound in that fluid; denoted M; a commonly used
parameter in compressible flow problems, particularly in the fields of gas
dynamics and aerodynamics; used to classify the types of flow on the
basis of its value as given below:

Mach Number (M) Types of Flow

M < 0.3 Incompressible Flow
0.3 < M < 1 Subsonic Flow
Mach Number (M) Types of Flow
0.9 < M < 1.1 Transonic Flow
M=1 Sonic Flow
1<M<7 Supersonic Flow
M>7 Hypersonic Flow

Machinability A Manufacturing term; the ability (property) of a

material which enables it to be easily machined; mild steel and grey cast
iron have good machinability.

Machine Design An important subject of mechanical engineering and

part of mechanical design which involves the selection of proper
materials, dimensions, and shapes of the components of a machine in
order to devise new or improved machines to accomplish a specific
purpose; see also Mechanical Design.

Machine Drawing A visual representation of the component parts of

a machine for their assembly or manufacturing in industries; an
indispensable communicating medium employed in industries.

Machine Loading An Operations Management term; see Loading.

Machine Moulding A Casting term; the process of making a sand

mould using various machines, which make the moulding process faster,
better, and more efficient.

Machine Reliability A Statistics term; the likelihood of a machine

not breaking down, malfunctioning or needing repairs in a given time
period or number of hours of use; see also Product Reliability.

Machine Tools A Manufacturing term; machines which are used to

shape a workpiece to its proper dimensions by removing unwanted
material from it through the cutting action of sharpened blades; a few
examples include drill presses, lathes, and milling machines.

Machine A multi-force member structure which contains moving

parts having motion relative to each other; a device designed to
transmit and modify forces or to convert energy from one form to
another or to produce useful work and power; classified into power
generating machines (IC engines and turbines), production machines
(lathe, milling machine, and shaper), transportation machines
(aeroplanes, automobiles, and trains), computing machines (computers),
and others.

Machining Allowance A Casting term; a type of pattern allowance

provided in a sand-mould pattern in the form of increased size over its
actual size to take care of machining of rough surfaces of the castings;
varies between 2 and 5 mm for small size castings and more than
25 mm for large size castings.

Machining A Manufacturing term; a process of gradually removing

the undesired material from a workpiece (usually in the form of small
chips), while giving it the proper shape and size.

Macroeconomics An Economics term; a branch of economics which

deals with the study of behaviour of an economy as a whole, that is, the
economic behaviour of aggregates; includes variables such as total
output in the economy, aggregate price level, inflation, employment and
unemployment, interest rates, wage rates, and foreign exchange rates;
the macroscopic variables are affected by government policies; see also
Microeconomics.

Macroscopic Properties A Thermodynamics term; the properties

connected to the overall behaviour of a system; has nothing to do with
the composition of the matter; changes in macroscopic properties can
be perceived by human senses; a few examples include pressure,
volume, and temperature; finds applications in classical
thermodynamics; useful in the study of heat engines and engineering
thermodynamics.

Macrostructure A Materials Engineering term; the structure of a

material for which the length scale is greater than 1,00,000 nm (1 nm =
10–9 m); described by features such as porosity, surface coatings, as well
as internal or external micro-cracks; see also Microstructure.
Magnetic Field A Physics term; the region of physical attraction
produced by an electrical current.

Magnetism A Physics term; a physical phenomenon associated with

the attraction of certain materials; exhibited by iron (Fe), cobalt (Co),
and nickel (Ni).

Magnetite A Chemistry term; a brownish ore of iron having the

chemical formula of Fe3O4; contains about 65–70% iron; has magnetic
behaviour and is least commonly used; see also Haematite.

Magneto Fluid Mechanics A Fluid Mechanics term; also called

Magnetogasdynamics or Hydromagnetics; the study of motion of an
electrically charged conducting fluid in the presence of a magnetic field.

Magnetogasdynamics A Fluid Mechanics term; see Magneto Fluid

Mechanics.

Magnus Effect A Fluid Mechanics term, named after the German

scientist Heinrich G. Magnus (1802–1870) who first observed it in
1852; a phenomenon of producing lift by the rotation of a solid body
placed in the free stream of a fluid.

Major Diameter A Theory of Machines term related to gear; the

largest diameter of a screw thread; see also Minor Diameter.

Make-to-Order An Operations Management term; also called

Produce-to-Order; a manufacturing approach or strategy in which
products and services are designed and produced according to a
customer’s specifications; involves extensive interaction with a
customer to provide a high degree of customization and has the ability
to satisfy the unique needs of customers but has a long delivery time; a
few examples include wedding invitations, custom-built homes, custom-
tailored clothes, charter airline flights, and most professional services
such as medical, legal, and financial services; see also Make-to-Stock
and Assemble-to-Order.
Make-to-Stock An Operations Management term; also called
Produce-to-Stock; the oldest manufacturing approach of producing
products ahead of time and placing them in inventory until customers
demand them; used in mass production where similar products are
produced in large volume; acts as a safeguard against any fluctuation in
demand or lead time but suffers from huge costs of holding the
inventories; not useful for producing customized products; see also
Assemble-to-Order and Make-to-Order.

Malachite A Chemistry term having the chemical formula (Cu(OH)2.

CuCO3); an important ore of copper (Cu).

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award A Quality Management

term; see Baldrige Award.

Malleability A Manufacturing term; a mechanical property that

defines the ability of a material to deform permanently under
compression without breaking; enables the material to be easily rolled
or hammered into thin sheets; mild steel has good malleability.

Malleable Cast Iron A Materials Engineering term; a type of cast iron

having better ductility because of its high tensile strength (more than
350 MPa); has elongation as much as 18% as compared to less than 1
percent elongation of grey cast iron; is very machinable; obtained by the
heat treatment (annealing) of white cast iron which produces round-
shaped clumps of graphite.

Mallet A Manufacturing term; a wooden hammer used for light load

applications in sheet metal operations.

Management by Objectives A Management term, abbreviated as

MBO; an organization-wide approach which integrates many key
management activities in a systematic manner toward desired
objectives; consciously directed towards the effective and efficient
achievement of organizational and individual objectives; links
organizational objectives and the behaviour of individuals; a widely
used organizational tool for performance appraisal and employee
motivation.
Management Competencies A Management term; a cluster of
related knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to effective managerial
performance; affects the organizational atmosphere, activities and
productivity; a good manager can turn straw to gold, whereas a poor
manager can do the reverse.

Management Skill A Management term; the abilities or behaviours

crucial to success in a managerial position; the three important
management skills proposed by Robert L. Katz (1917-) include
conceptual, interpersonal (human), and technical.

Management Task A Management term; also called Task of a

Manager; the task of a manager which broadly includes planning,
organizing, integrating, and monitoring.

Management The process of getting works done effectively and

efficiently through and with other people; an important discipline to
tackle the real-life problems; an art as well as science; no golden rule or
definite answers exist in management, but the experience acquired
over a period of time helps in good decision-making; important
divisions of management include financial, personnel (human resource),
operations, and marketing.

Manager A Management term; a person who directs the activities of

other people in an organization and does not get directly involved in
the execution of a task; classified into top level manager, middle level
manager and low level manager (supervisor).

Manganese A Chemistry term; a chemical element having symbol Mn

and atomic number 25; an alloying element used in steel (in large
amounts up to 14%) to increase its hardness and toughness.

Man–Machine Chart A Motion Study term; see Activity Chart.

Manning Equation A Fluid Mechanics term; used to find the fluid

velocity in an open channel; given as:
where

V = velocity of the fluid

R = hydraulic radius
n = roughness coefficient
S = slope of the bed of the channel with horizontal.

Manometer A Fluid Mechanics term; a device used to measure small

and moderate pressures; a commonly used manometer is U-Tube
manometer.

Manometry A Fluid Mechanics term; a technique used for pressure

measurement by employing the hydrostatic law = ρg, where p
stands for pressure, z for datum head, ρ for density of fluid, and g for
acceleration due to gravity.

Manual Transmission An Automobile term; a mechanism used in

automobiles which uses a clutch pedal to shift gears for motion
transmission; see also Automatic Transmission.

Manufacturing Approach An Operations Management term; an

approach needed to start a manufacturing activity; some examples
include make-to-stock, assemble-to-order, and make-to-order.

Manufacturing Cell A Manufacturing term; also called simply Cell; a

workstation where several machines are kept together to work upon a
workpiece according to operation needed.

Manufacturing Facilities The facilities needed to start a

manufacturing activity; include human and material resources such as
workforce, space, raw materials, machines, and equipment.

Manufacturing Flexibility A Manufacturing term; the capability of a

manufacturing system to adapt successfully to the changing
environmental conditions and process requirements in order to
produce a broader range of products.
Manufacturing Lead Time An Operations Management term; the
time required to process a part through the sequence of machines
specified on the route sheet; includes both the operation time and the
non-productive time (changeover time of machines); see also Ordering
Lead Time.

Manufacturing Organization A Management term; the organization

involved in the production of goods (finished products) from raw
materials; employs a huge workforce and is a vital parameter of
economic growth; a few examples include automobile companies and
customers’ goods producing companies; see also Service Organization.

Manufacturing Resource Planning An Operations Management

term; see MRP II.

Manufacturing See Production.

Margin of Safety A Strength of Materials term; used in the aircraft

industry in place of factor of safety; given as:

Marginal Cost An Operations Management term related to cost

analysis; also called Incremental Cost or Differential Cost; the
additional cost which results from increasing the output of a system by
one (or more) units; the fixed cost remains unchanged by increasing
output by one (or more) units.

Market Equilibrium An Economics term; a marketing condition

where the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded are equal; at
this stage, there is no tendency for price to change.

Market Research Method An Operations Management term related

to forecasting; a qualitative forecasting method used to determine a
customer’s interest in a product or service by creating and testing
hypothesis through data-gathering surveys; uses a questionnaire based
on the interest and liking or disliking of the customer, and then analyses
the information using judgement and statistical tools to interpret the
responses; a very effective method for short-term forecasting.

Market An Economics term; the institution through which buyers

and sellers interact and engage in exchange; it may be a local market
where people go to trade food and clothing or it may be an
international telecommunications network over which people buy and
sell financial securities.

Marketing Management A Management term; a discipline of

management which deals with sales forecasts (of products), customer
orders, customer feedback and information on product promotion and
their development; helps a firm to understand its customer’s
requirements and accordingly react to fulfill them.

Martensite A Materials Engineering term; a supersaturated solid

solution of carbon in ferrite; the hardest and strongest form of steel.

Maslow’s Theory A Management term related to motivation; see

Need-Hierarchy Theory.

Mass Balance A Fluid Mechanics term; a condition in which mass of

the components on input and output sides of a device is balanced; the
concept is used in the continuity equation; see also Energy Balance.

Mass Concentration A Chemistry term; the concentration expressed

in terms of mass of a substance per unit volume of a gas or liquid.

Mass Customization An Operations Management term; a marketing

goal of providing tailored solutions of specific requirements for a large
number of customers; computer-aided design and computer-aided
manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and flexible manufacturing systems (FMS)
are the means for mass customization.

Mass Defect A Chemistry term; also called Lost Mass; the difference
in mass between the actual mass of an isotope of an element (invariably
less) and the sum of the mass of protons, neutrons, and electrons
present in it; the loss in mass is equivalent to the energy released in the
formation of a given stable nucleus of an element from individual
protons and neutrons; quantified by the famous Einstein’s mass-energy
relationship, E = mc2, where m represents the mass defect and c the
velocity of light in vacuum.

Mass Density A Physics term; see Density.

Mass Flow Rate A Thermodynamics and a Fluid Mechanics term; also

called Mass Flux; the amount of mass of a fluid which flows through a
cross section per unit time; the SI unit is kg/s.

Mass Flux A Thermodynamics and a Fluid Mechanics term; see Mass

Flow Rate.

Mass Moment of Inertia A Physics term; also called Rotational

Inertia; a property of a rotating body which enables it to resist any
change in its rotational motion about an axis; plays the same role in
rotational motion as the mass plays in linear motion, that is, mass
moment of inertia is rotational analogous of mass in linear motion.

Mass Production An Operations management term; the high-volume

production of a standardized product for a large market; developed in
North America to accommodate three major goals of the US economy
such as the need to export, the need to provide employment for a
massive, largely unskilled workforce and the need to establish itself as a
world player in industry; see also Batch Production and Continuous
Production.

Mass A Physics term; the quantity of matter contained in a body; can

never be zero; constitutes the weight of a body; the SI unit is kilogram
(kg).

Mass-Energy Equivalence A Physics term; a relationship proposed

by the German scientist Albert Einstein (1879–1955) in 1905; states
that mass (m) and energy (E) can be converted to each other by the
equation E = mc2, where c = speed of light in vacuum; one kilogram of a
matter is equivalent to 9 × 1016 J of energy.
Master Production Schedule An Operations Management term,
abbreviated as MPS; a time-phased plan which specifies how many and
when a firm plans to build each end item; an important tool of
production planning and control (PPC) and an input of material
requirements planning (MRP); derived from the aggregate production
plan and is based on demand forecasts, customer orders, and capacity
limitations of a plant; the manufacturing firms generally work towards
monthly delivery schedules.

Match Plate Pattern A Casting term; a type of pattern used to

produce moulds for large-scale production of small castings by using a
wooden or metal match plate on which several small patterns (equally
divided into cope and drag parts of the moulds) are mounted on its
both sides; see also Cope and Drag Pattern.

Material Cost An Operations Management term related to cost

analysis; the cost of commodities; classified into direct material cost and
indirect material cost; direct material cost is the cost incurred on the
material used in the production of a product, and its example includes
cost of high speed steel (HSS) used in making of a cutting tool; indirect
material cost is not directly used in making of the product but is used in
the production process, and its examples grease, oils, cotton waste, etc.

Material Handling An Operations Management term; a process

involving the movements of materials (manually or mechanically) in
batches or as a single item within a plant using horizontal, vertical or
combined motion; the material handling cost is roughly 20–60% of the
total production cost.

Material Productivity A Management term; a ratio of the output to

the materials input; a measure of efficiency of a manufacturing
organization; see also Labour Productivity and Capital Productivity.

Material Requirements Planning An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as MRP; a computerised technique used to determine the
optimum quantity and timing of materials requirement for production
operations according to master production schedule (MPS); its three
basic components include bill of materials (BOM) file, inventory file, and
master production schedule (MPS); see also Manufacturing Resource
Planning and Capacity Requirement Planning.

Materials Handling System An Operations Management term; the

entire network of transportation to receive materials, store them in
inventories, move them between various workstations, and finally load
the finished products into vehicles for delivering them to customers.

Materials Management A Management term; an important area of

operations management related to planning and management of flow of
materials into and through an organization.

Materials Science and Engineering An interdisciplinary branch of

engineering as well as a core subject of mechanical engineering; related
to inventing new materials and improving the existing ones by
developing a deeper understanding of the microstructure-composition-
synthesis-processing relationships.

Mathematical Model A model consisting of entirely abstract

symbols and numerical values; a few examples include operations
research models and financial system models.

Matrix Organization A Management term; an organizational

structure which combines functional and project or product patterns of
departmentation in the same organization structure; commonly found
in engineering and research & development; also widely used in
product marketing organization.

Matrix A Chemistry term; see Gangue.

Max Weber (1864–1920) A German sociologist and a political

economist who proposed the ‘bureaucracy’ (bureaucratic structure) in
management that clearly defined authority and responsibility of the
people in an organization, and was based on division of labours, clearly
defined hierarchy, detailed rules and regulations and interpersonal
relationships, and was aimed to provide stability and certainty in an
organization.
Maximum Distortion Energy Theory A Strength of Materials term
related to theory of material’s failure; also called von Mises Yield
Criterion, named after the German-American mathematician Richard
von Mises (1883–1953) who proposed it or also called Octahedral
Shear Theory; a failure theory which states that a material begins
yielding, when the maximum shear strain energy (called distortion
energy) per unit volume equals to the shear strain energy per unit
volume at the yield point in the uniaxial tension test; for a material
being subjected to three mutually perpendicular principal stresses σ1,
σ2, and σ3, this theory can be mathematically expressed as:

(1)

(2)

where

G = modulus of rigidity of material

σyp = yield stress.

Maximum Height A Projectile term; the maximum height attained by

a projectile above the point of projection during its flight; independent
of the mass of the projectile; equals to one-fourth of the maximum range
of the projectile; denoted by h; given as:

where

u = velocity of projection
θ = angle of projection
g = acceleration due to gravity.

Maximum Normal Strain Theory A Strength of Materials term; also

called Maximum Principal Strain Theory or Saint Venant’s
Criterion named after a French elasticity theorist Saint Venant (1797–
1886); this theory gives better result for brittle materials under biaxial
tension, but is not used these days; states that a material fails, when the
maximum principal strain reaches the strain at the yield point in the
simple tension test; for a body subjected to three mutually
perpendicular stresses, σx, σy and σz acting along x, y, and z directions
respectively, and being the yield point stress, this theory can be
mathematically expressed as:

where

ν = Poisson’s ratio
E = Young’s modulus of the material.

Maximum Normal Stress Theory A Strength of Materials term; also

called Maximum Principal Stress Theory or Rankine’s Theory
named after William John Macquoorn Rankine (1820–1872); the oldest
and the simplest of all the theories of failure developed in 1857; used in
predicting the failure of brittle materials; states that a material fails
when the maximum principal stress developed due to external load
reaches the ultimate strength of the material under uniaxial tension
test; for a plane stress condition, this theory can be expressed as:

where

σu = ultimate strength in uniaxial tension test

σ1 = maximum principal stress
σx = normal stress in x-direction
σy = normal stress in y-direction
τ = shear stress in x-y plane

the normalized form of the theory can be written as:

Maximum Principal Strain Theory A Strength of Materials term;

see Maximum Normal Strain Theory.

Maximum Principal Stress Theory A Strength of Materials term;

see Maximum Normal Stress Theory.

Maximum Shear Stress Theory A Strength of Materials term related

to theory of material’s failure; also called Tresca’s Yield Criterion,
named after the French engineer Henri Edouard Tresca (1814–1885)
who proposed it; one of the widely used laws of plasticity and a failure
theory which states that a material fails, when the maximum shear
stress developed in the material equals to the maximum shear stress at
the yield point in the uniaxial tension test; used to predict the failure of
ductile materials; for a body being subjected to two mutually
perpendicular normal stresses and a shear stress τ, this
theory can be expressed as:

(1)

(1a)

(2)

(2a)
where
σ1 = maximum principal stress
σ2 = minimum principal stress
σyp = yield stress.

Maximum Total Strain Energy Theory A Strength of Materials term

related to theory of material’s failure; also called Haigh’s Criterion; a
failure theory which states that a material fails, when its total strain
energy per unit volume reaches its total strain energy at the yield point
in the simple tension test; for a body being subjected to a three-
dimensional stress system consisting of three mutually perpendicular
normal stresses σx, σy, and σz, this theory can be expressed as:

where

σx, σy, σz
= three mutually perpendicular normal stresses in x, y, and z
directions respectively
σyp = yield stress
E = modulus of elasticity of material
ν = Poisson’s ratio.

Maxwell Relations A Thermodynamics term; relate the partial

derivatives of state properties such as pressure (p), volume (v), and
temperature (T) and thermodynamic property entropy (s) of a simple
compressible substance to each other; useful in determining the change
in entropy (ds), which cannot be measured directly, by simply
measuring the changes in properties P, v, and T; expressed as:
MBO A Management term; see Management by Objectives.

Mean Absolute Error A Metrology term; the arithmetic mean of the

magnitudes of absolute errors in the measurement of a physical
quantity; denoted by Δamean; given as:

In the above expression are the individual

absolute errors in the measured of the physical quantity
defined as:

where is the arithmetic mean of the measured values, given as:

Mean Deviation A Statistics term; the average of all the deviations;

used as one of the measures of dispersion; calculated by taking the
mean of the difference between each figure and the arithmetic mean or
the median of the series (ignoring sign); given as:
where

aa = arithmetic mean (average)

n = number of items in the series
xr = individual item.

Mean Free Path A Chemistry term; the average distance that an

electron wave can travel without deflection or a molecule travels before
it collides with another molecule.

Mean A Statistics term; see Arithmetic Mean.

Measurand A Metrology term; the physical parameter being

measured; for example, force, pressure, or length.

Measurement A Metrology term; a process of obtaining a

quantitative comparison between a predetermined standard and an
unknown magnitude of a parameter; widely used in the fields of science
and engineering.

Mechanical Advantage A Theory of Machines term; a ratio of the

output force (load lifted) to the input force (effort required); a measure
of the effectiveness of a machine; the higher the mechanical advantage,
the higher is the mechanical efficiency of a machine; has a value always
higher than unity; see also Velocity Ratio.

Mechanical Design An important subject of mechanical engineering

which involves the selection of proper materials, dimensions, and shapes
of the components of a structure or machine so that they will support
given loads and function without failure; a systematic process for
devising a product or system to meet society's technical needs; see also
Machine Design.

Mechanical Efficiency A Physics term; a ratio of the power output to

the power input of a machine; see also Thermal Efficiency.
Mechanical Energy A form of energy which can be converted into
mechanical work completely and directly by an ideal mechanical device
such as an ideal turbine; the kinetic and potential energies are the
familiar forms of mechanical energy; the pressure of a flowing fluid is
also associated with its mechanical energy.

Mechanical Engineer A technical person who is involved in the

research, design, development, manufacture and testing of tools,
engines, machines, structures, and other mechanical devices; deals with a
wide range of machines including power-producing machines such as
generators, internal combustion engines, steam and gas turbines, and jet
and rocket engines; also deals with power-using machines such as
refrigerators and air conditioners, robots used in manufacturing,
machine tools, materials handling systems, and industrial production
equipment.

Mechanical Engineering A discipline of engineering which

encompasses the elements like properties of forces, materials, energy,
fluids, and motion, and their application to devise useful products that
advance society and improve people’s lives; also deals with research,
design and manufacturing of power-producing and power-consuming
machines like turbines, refrigerator, and air conditioner.

Mechanical Equilibrium A Physics term; a state of equilibrium

which occurs when there are no unbalanced forces or there is a
uniformity of pressure in the system; see also Thermal Equilibrium
and Chemical Equilibrium.

Mechanical Press A Design term; a device used to press a part or

component of an assembly using a mechanical means to give it the
desired shape; see also Hydraulic Press.

Mechanical System A Physics term; a system consisting of forces and

their actions on a body.

Mechanical Torsion Meter A Metrology term; a device used to

measure torque by measuring the angle of twist over a fixed length of a
shaft using mechanical means (pointer and a scale); see also Optical
Torsion Meter.

Mechanical Work A Thermodynamics term; see Shaft Work.

Mechanics of Deformable Bodies See Strength of Materials.

Mechanics of Machines See KDM.

Mechanics of Materials See Strength of Materials.

Mechanics of Solids See Strength of Materials.

Mechanics A Physics term; a branch of physics which deals with

force and its application on different bodies (particles, rigid bodies,
liquids, etc.); the principles of mechanics are used in propulsion of
rockets, propagation of water waves and sound waves, etc.

Mechanism A Design term; an assemblage of moving mechanical

components which are supported by a rigid structure.

Mechanization A Management term; the replacement of human

effort in the execution of an activity by a mechanism; a tool to improve
industrial performance and increase efficiency.

Mechatronics A recently explored subject which combines and uses

the principles of computer engineering, electronics engineering, and
mechanical engineering.

Median A Statistics term; the middle value of a data obtained after

placing the numbers in an ascending or descending order; if there are
an even number of items, then the arithmetic mean of the two central
numbers is taken as the median; also a triangle term which represents
a line segment that connects the vertex of a triangle to the middle point
of the opposite side; every triangle has three medians and their point of
intersection is called centroid of the triangle; see also Arithmetic
Mean and Mode.
Medium Carbon Steel A Materials Engineering term; a plain carbon
steel of medium carbon content (0.3% to 0.6%); has higher strength
than low-carbon steel (mild steel), because of its higher carbon content;
used in making machine parts such as gears, axles, connecting rods,
crankshafts, railroad equipment, and parts for metal working
machinery; see also Low Carbon Steel and High Carbon Steel.

Medium Column A Strength of Materials term related to a column;

also called Intermediate-Length Column; a column whose length lies
between short and long columns; its slenderness ratio varies between
30 and 120; medium columns fail due to the combined effect of
buckling and direct compressive stress; see also Short Column and
Long Column.

Medium Head Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a hydraulic turbine

operating at a medium head (between 30 and 500 m); for example,
Francis turbine; see also Low Head Turbine and High Head Turbine.

Medium-Term Forecasts An Operations Management term related

to forecasting; have a time frame of three months to two years; these
forecasts are commonly used for aggregate production planning,
including decisions which affect short-term capacity such as
subcontracting and overtime; causal model methods are commonly
used for medium-term forecasts; see also Short-Term Forecasts and
Long-Term Forecasts .

Megapascal A Physics term; the larger SI unit of pressure and stress;

abbreviated as MPa; 1 MPa = 106 Pa; see also Kilopascal and
Gigapascal.

Melting Furnace A furnace used to melt metals for various

applications, especially for casting purposes; a few examples include
electric furnace, induction furnace, crucible furnace, and cupola furnace.

Melting Point Temperature A Physics term; see Melting Point.

Melting Point A Physics term; also called Melting Point

Temperature; a physical property of a substance; a temperature at
which the solid phase of a substance changes into its liquid phase and
the two phases co-exists; the higher melting point indicates the greater
amount of heat needed to melt the given volume of a metal; a
parameter which finds consideration in heat treatment, hot working,
and casting operations; also a key factor during the selection of tool and
die materials in manufacturing operations (the higher the melting point
of the material, the more difficult the operation becomes); tungsten has
the highest melting point (3410 °C) in the metal group, making it
suitable for non-consumable electrodes.

Melting Range A Materials Engineering term; the difference between

the solidus and liquidus temperatures.

Melting A Thermodynamics term; a process associated with the

phase change of a substance from solid to liquid as a result of absorbing
heat.

Meniscus A Fluid Mechanics term; a curved liquid surface formed

near the place of contact of a liquid with a solid; the nature of curvature
depends on the relative magnitude of the cohesive forces existing
between the molecules of the liquid, and the adhesive forces existing
between the molecules of the liquid and those of the solid; for example,
a concave surface is formed when water touches a glass surface, and a
convex surface is formed when mercury touches a glass surface.

Mer A Chemistry term; the repeating unit or the building block of a

long chain in the formation of a polymeric molecule.

Merchant’s Theory A Manufacturing term related to machining; a

metal cutting theory proposed by M. E. Merchant; explains the process
of orthogonal cutting and is based on the relationship of shear stress
and normal stress acting on the shear plane of a workpiece; expressed
as:
(1)
The theory was found suitable for certain non-metallic materials
but did not work well with steel, so a new modified equation was
suggested as:
 (2)
where

Φ = shear angle
β = angle of friction
α = rake angle of the cutting tool
Cm = machining constant; depends on the workpiece material;
varies between 70° and 80°; for steel, Cm = 80°; see also Lee and
Shaffer Theory.

Mercury Thermometer A device which uses mercury encapsulated

in glass to measure temperature; commonly employed to measure
human body temperature; usually calibrated in degree Fahrenheit.

Mesh An Electrical term; also called Loop; a closed path in an

electrical circuit.

Metacentre A Fluid Mechanics term; a fixed point in a fluid about

which a floating body when disturbed from its initial position starts
oscillating before it comes to rest again; the point of intersection of the
line of action of the force of buoyancy and the normal axis of the body,
when the body is given a small angular displacement.

Metacentric Height A Fluid Mechanics term; the vertical distance

between the centre of gravity of a floating body and the metacentre; a
measure of stability for a floating body; the larger the length of the
metacentric height, the more stable is the floating body.

Metal Inert Gas Welding A Welding term, abbreviated as MIG

Welding; also called Gas Metal Arc Welding, abbreviated as GMAW;
an arc welding process which uses a shielding atmosphere of inert
gases such as argon, helium, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide (either alone or
in combination) to protect the arc produced between a consumable
electrode (bare electrode) acting as a filler metal and the workpiece;
uses reverse polarity that ensures stable arc and smooth metal transfer
resulting in good quality weld; used previously for the joining of
aluminium and stainless steels, but currently also used for other ferrous
and non-ferrous metals; see also Tungsten Inert Gas Welding.

Metallic Bond A Chemistry term; a variation of the covalent bond; the

force of attraction which binds a metal atom (or Kernel) to a number of
electrons within its sphere of influence; non-directional as well as
weaker than a covalent bond.

Metallic Materials A Chemistry term; the materials having metallic

bonds.

Metallic Property A Chemistry term; the property which

characterizes a metal; a few examples include electrical conductivity,
thermal conductivity, bright lustre, ductility, malleability, and elasticity.

Metallography A Materials Engineering term; a process of preparing

a metallic sample to a mirror-like finish, exposing it to etching (a
chemical attack) and then subjecting it to a light radiation from an
optical microscope for the purpose of observing or recording sample’s
microstructure.

Metalloid A Chemistry term; also called Semi-Metal; a chemical

element which shows the properties of both metal and non-metal;
includes silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), and
tellurium (Te).

Metallurgy A Materials Engineering term; the science and

technology of extracting metals from their ores present in the earth,
refining them and preparing them for use; some important
metallurgical operations include crushing and grinding of ore,
concentration or benefaction of ore, extraction of crude metal from the
concentrated ore, and refining of the crude metal.

Metals A Materials Engineering term; the materials having a regular

arrangement of constituent atoms; have relatively high strength, high
stiffness, ductility or formability, and shock resistance; lack the desired
properties in pure form, hence is used in the combined form (alloy);
particularly useful for structural or load-bearing applications; have
wide engineering and domestic applications; find extensive use in
making alloys; a few examples include iron, copper, aluminium, and zinc;
see also Non-Metals.

Method of Joints A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; a

method of finding forces in different members of a truss by isolating the
joint (under consideration) from the entire truss and applying the
equations of static equilibrium, ΣFx = 0 and ΣFy = 0; involves only two
equations for every joint; useful for finding forces in every member of
the truss; see also Method of Sections.

Method of Sections A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; a

method of finding forces in different members of a truss using a section
which divides the entire truss into two parts and considering
equilibrium of either of the parts treating it as a free body; the selected
section should cut minimum number of members, must cut the desired
member and the members must have maximum three unknowns; a
horizontal section is usually not selected as it will cut many members of
unknown forces; a faster and efficient method of finding forces in few
members of a truss; see also Method of Joints.

Method Study An Operations Management term related to work

study; the systematic and scientific evaluation of existing and proposed
methods of doing a work as a means of developing the proposed
method through analysis and critical examination; helps in improving
the methods of production and results in more effective use of material,
machine, and manpower; see also Motion Study.

Metre A Physics term; the SI unit of length; denoted by m; and 1 m =

100 cm = 1000 mm; see also Centimetre and Millimetre.

Metric System A Physics term; a measuring system in which the

fundamental units are metre, litre, and kilogram.

Microchronometer A Work Study term; also called Wink Counter; a

precision time measuring instrument developed by Frank Gilbreth
(1868–1934); can measure 1/2000 of a minute (called wink).
Microcontroller An Electronics term; an electronic device which
consists of a microprocessor, memory unit, input and output ports, a
crystal oscillator for timing, analog-to-digital converters (ADC) and
digital-to-analog converters (DAC) all on one circuit board.

Microeconomics An Economics term; the study of economics at the

level of the individual economic entity like the individual firm, the
individual consumer, or the individual worker; see also
Macroeconomics.

Micromanometer A Fluid Mechanics term; a device used to measure

small pressure difference between two points or to measure the large
pressure difference precisely.

Micrometer A Metrology term; a precision measuring instrument

used to measure the thickness of flat stocks or the diameter of round
objects.

Micromotion Analysis An Operations Management term related to

work study; see Micromotion Study.

Micromotion Study An Operations Management term related to

work study; also called Micromotion Analysis; the micro level study of
the fundamental motions involved in an operation performed by an
operator; originated by Frank Gilbreth (1868–1934) and Liiian Gilbreth
(1878-1972); the study uses a motion picture camera and a time
measuring device to accurately indicate the time intervals on the
motion picture film in order to find one best pattern of motions
involving less efforts, time, and fatigue while performing a task.

Microprocessor An Electronics term; a single-chip computer

element which contains a control unit, central processing circuitry and
all the necessary logic functions to serve as a central processing unit
(CPU) of a microcomputer or as a dedicated automatic control system.

Microscopy The use of a microscope for investigation.

Microstructure A Materials Engineering term; the detailed structure
of a material which is revealed during its microscopic examination, for
which the length-scale varies between 10 and 1000 nm (1 nm = 10–
9 m); described by features such as average grain size, grain size

distribution, grain shape, grain orientation, and other features related to

defects in materials; see also Macrostructure.

Middle Level Manager A Management term; also called Middle

Manager; the individual at levels of management between the low level
manager (the supervisor) and the top level manager; responsible for
translating the goals set by the top level manager into specific details
which lower level managers can perform; the different designations
used for a middle level manager include project leader, unit chief,
district manager, dean, head of department, bishop, or divisional
manager; see also High Level Manager and Low Level Manager.

Middle Manager A Management term; see Middle Level Manager.

MIG Welding A Welding term; see Metal Inert Gas Welding.

Mild Steel A Materials Engineering term; see Low Carbon Steel.

Military Organization A Management term; see Line Organization.

Mill A Manufacturing term; see Milling Machine.

Miller Indices A Materials Engineering term; a notation system

consisting of a three-digit set of integers used in crystallography for
lattice planes in crystal lattices; named after a British mineralogist
William Hallowes Miller (1801–1880) who introduced it in 1839 and
laid the foundations of modern crystallography; define the coefficients
of imaginary planes in a crystal, thus used to characterize a crystalline
plane; see also Miller–Bravais Indices.

Millimetre A Physics term; the most widely used unit of length for
engineering applications; used to measure very small length in the
integer form; the one-tenth part of a centimetre; the one-thousandth
part of a metre (m); denoted by mm; 1 mm = 10–1 cm = 10–3 m, that is,
1 cm = 10 mm and 1 m = 1000 mm; see also Metre and Centimetre.

Milling Machine A Manufacturing term; also called Mill; a versatile

machine used for the machining of rough surfaces of a workpiece to
make it flat and smooth; also used for cutting slots, grooves, and holes.

Milling A Manufacturing term; a versatile machining process which

can be used to produce a variety of shapes; the typical products include
moulds and dies; the most common types of milling operations include
slab milling, face milling, and end milling.

Mineral A Chemistry term; a naturally occurring material in the form

of which a metal occurs in the earth along with impurities; see also Ore.

Minor Diameter A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; the

smallest diameter of a screw thread; see also Major Diameter.

Minor Losses A Fluid Mechanics term; the smaller head losses

associated with a fluid during its flow in a pipeline which result from
changes in flow velocity, either due to change in its magnitude or its
direction or a change in both; include losses of heads due to sudden
contraction, sudden enlargement or bending of the pipeline or due to
various pipe fittings (valves, elbows, etc.) along with losses of heads at
the entrance or exit of the pipeline.

Misalignment A Design term; a condition in which axes of the two

shafts do not lie in the same line; may lead to failure of bearings or
fatigue failure of shafts.

Misrun A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs due to

lack of molten metal fluidity (because of low metal temperature), which
prevents the molten metal to reach the desired part of the mould cavity
and thus solidifying the metal in the midway; see also Cold Shut.

Mistake-Proofing An Operations Management term; see Poka-Yoke.

Mixed Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to air standard cycle;
see Dual Cycle.

Mixed Dislocation A Materials Engineering term; a type of linear

defect in a material which has characteristics from both edge and screw
dislocations; the Burgers vector is neither perpendicular nor parallel to
the dislocation line, but remains at a fixed orientation, that is, remains
the same for all portions of the mixed dislocation; the most common
linear defect found in actual materials; see also Edge Dislocation and
Screw Dislocation.

Mixed Flow Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a turbine in which a

fluid flows partly along the radius and partly along the axis of the shaft
of the turbine; for example, Kaplan turbine is a mixed flow turbine; see
also Axial Flow Turbine and Radial Flow Turbine.

Mixed Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow which consists of

partly radial flow and partly axial flow; occurs in Kaplan turbine; see
also Axial Flow and Radial Flow.

Mixed Fraction A Mathematics term; a combination of a whole

number and a proper fraction; a few examples include 1 , 2 etc.; see
also Proper Fraction and Improper Fraction.

Mixed-Flow Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; a rotodynamic pump

which is intermediate between centrifugal pump and axial-flow pump;
a fluid enters axially but leaves at some angle between radially and
axially; see also Axial-Flow Pump and Centrifugal Pump.

MNC A Management term; see Multinational Company.

Mode A Statistics term; the most frequently occurring value in a

group of measurements; in case of data consisting of many numbers, its
mode will be that number which will repeat more times; a multimode
situation is that, when different items appear the same number of
times; there may be no mode, if no item is repeated; see also
Arithmetic Mean and Median.
Model A Design term; a representation or abstraction of an actual
object or situation; used to study and analyse the behaviour of a system
for the purpose of improving its performance; quantitative techniques
are used to investigate the relationship among the variables in a model;
may be classified into physical and mathematical models; see also
Prototype.

Modular Design A Manufacturing term; the creation of products

from some combination of basic pre-existing subsystems; a product
design concept which provides a range of product options to a
consumer in a shorter lead time.

Modular Organization A Management term; see Boundaryless

Organization.

Module A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; a ratio of the

pitch circle diameter to the number of teeth of the gear; the reciprocal of
the diametral pitch; denoted by m; expressed in inch per tooth or mm
per tooth; used to measure the size of a gear tooth in the metric system.

Modulus of Elasticity A Strength of Materials term; see Young’s

Modulus of Elasticity.

Modulus of Resilience A Strength of Materials term related to a

spring; the energy which a material can absorb per unit its volume
without undergoing permanent deformation; equals to the area under
the stress–strain curve up to the elastic limit; see also Resilience.

Modulus of Rigidity A Strength of Materials term; also called Shear

Modulus; a ratio of the shear stress to the shear strain within elastic
limit; an elastic constant denoted by G; connected to solid materials
only; the shear modulus of solids is always less than their Young’s
modulus (E); for most of the solid materials, the value is G is
approximately one-third of the value of E; the shear modulus of an ideal
liquid is zero, since a liquid at rest cannot sustain a shear force; the SI
unit is pascal (Pa), which is equivalent to N/m2; the values of G for some
materials are: steel (80 GPa), iron (50 GPa), copper (40 GPa), glass (30
GPa), aluminium (25 GPa), and wood (10 GPa); see also Young’s
Modulus of Elasticity and Bulk Modulus of Elasticity.

Modulus of Toughness A Strength of Materials term; the energy

which a material can absorb per unit its volume without fracture;
equals to the total area under the stress–strain curve up to the fracture
point; see also Toughness.

Mohr’s Circle Method A Strength of Materials term; a graphical

method represented in the form of a circle and named in honour of a
German civil engineer Christian Otto Mohr (1835–1918); used for
finding the stresses on any inclined (oblique) plane of an element
subjected to plane stresses; especially useful for finding the principal
stresses, and the maximum and minimum shear stresses; the radius of
the Mohr’s circle gives the value of maximum shear stress.

Mohr’s First Theorem A Strength of Materials term related to

deflection; named after a famous German civil engineer Otto Mohr
(1835-1918); also called First Moment-Area Theorem; a theorem
used to find the slope of a loaded beam; states that the change in slope
between any two points of a loaded beam is equal to the net area of the
bending moment diagram between these two points divided by the
flexural rigidity of the beam; see also Mohr’s Second Theorem.

Mohr’s Second Theorem A Strength of Materials term related to

deflection; named after a famous German civil engineer Otto Mohr
(1835-1918); also called Second Moment-Area Theorem; a theorem
used to find the deflection of a point with respect to another point of
fixed position (reference point) of a loaded beam; states that the
vertical deflection of a point on a straight beam, measured from the
tangent drawn at another point on the beam, is equal to the moment of
area of bending moment diagram between these two points about the
point where this deflection occurs, divided by the flexural rigidity of the
beam; see also Mohr’s First Theorem.

Mohr’s Theorems A Strength of Materials term related to deflection;

named after a famous German civil engineer Otto Mohr (1835–1918);
used to find deflection of loaded beams; see Mohr’s First Theorem and
Mohr’s Second Theorem.

Moissan’s Method A Chemistry term; a method used to produce

artificial diamond.

Moist Air A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry; the air

containing both dry air and water vapour.

Moisture A Thermodynamics term; see Water Vapour.

Molar Mass A Chemistry term; also called Molecular Weight; the

mass of one mole of a substance (molecule or compound) expressed in
grams; also the mass of one kmol of the substance expressed in
kilograms; for example, the molecular weight of water (H2O) is 18 g.

Molar Specific Entropy A Thermodynamics term; the entropy per

unit number of moles of a working fluid; the SI unit is J/kg mol K.

Molar Specific Property A Thermodynamics term; a property based

on the number of moles of a substance in place of its mass.

Molar Specific Volume A Thermodynamics term; the volume of a

body per unit of its number of moles; the SI unit is m3/kg mol; see also
Specific Volume.

Molecular Range A Chemistry term; the maximum distance up to

which a molecule can exert its influence to attract other molecules.

Molecular Weight A Chemistry term; see Molar Mass.

Mollier Chart A Thermodynamics term; see Mollier Diagram.

Mollier Diagram A Thermodynamics term, named after the German

scientist Richard Mollier (1863–1935); also called Mollier Chart or
Enthalpy-Entropy Diagram or H–S Diagram; a plot drawn between
enthalpy (h) on the vertical axis and entropy (s) on the horizontal axis;
commonly employed in the analysis of a vapour power cycle (the
Rankine cycle) because of relative ease with which the pertinent
property values can be determined for the various fluid states in the
cycle.

Molybdenum A Chemistry term; a metallic element having symbol

Mo with atomic number 42; a fairly hard silvery white metal which
melts at 2610 °C; an important alloying element which is added to steel
to increase its hot hardness; also used for the filament supports of
electrical lamps and as windings for resistance furnaces.

Moment of Inertia A Strength of Materials term; see Second

Moment of Area.

Moment of Momentum A Physics term; see Angular Momentum.

Moment A Physics term; also called Torque; the product of

magnitude of a force and the perpendicular distance from the line of
action of the force; produces turning effect in a body about an axis;
classified into clockwise and counterclockwise moments;
counterclockwise moment is considered positive and clockwise
moment negative; the SI unit is N-m; a vector quantity, which is defined
as the cross product of force and perpendicular distance, and is
expressed as:

where

F = force vector corresponding to the force F acting on the body

r = perpendicular distance (vector) of the force from the axis of
rotation
θ = angle between r and F
n = unit vector perpendicular to the plane containing r and F.

Moment-Area Method A Strength of Materials term related to

deflection; also called Area-Moment Method; a deflection method
proposed by a famous German civil engineer Otto Mohr (1835–1918);
uses Mohr’s theorems based on bending moment diagram to find slope
and deflection of loaded beams; useful for beams of constant flexural
rigidity.

Monel Metal A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of nickel (Ni)

and copper (Cu) consisting of about 60% Ni and 40% Cu; used in
making turbine blades and propellers because of its acid-proof nature;
also finds use in making decorative pieces because of its shining
surface.

Monitoring A Management term; see Controlling.

Monomer A Chemistry term; an individual molecule which combines

with similar molecules to form a polymeric molecule; for example, an
ethylene is a monomer for polythene.

Monopoly An Economics term; a market structure in which there is

just one firm which prevents the entry of other firms; discourages
competition and dominates price.

Monorail An Operations Management term; an I-section beam

attached to the ceiling having a trolley or carrier which moves along it;
used to transfer material from one place to another in machine shops
and other shops.

Monte Carlo Method An Operations Research term; a method of

simulation that uses random numbers; used to solve problems which
involve conditions of uncertainty and where mathematical evaluation is
not possible; yields a solution which is very close to the optimal, but not
necessarily the exact solution; restricted only to models involving
uncertainty.

Moody Chart A Fluid Mechanics term; a chart named after an

American scientist Lewis Ferry Moody (1880–1953); the chart relates
the friction factor as a function of Reynolds number (a non-dimensional
group) and relative roughness for round pipes; universally valid for all
steady, fully developed incompressible pipe flows.
Moritz Weber (1871–1951) A German professor of naval mechanics
who is known for the Weber number (a non-dimensional group);
emphasized the use of the principles of similitude in fluid flow studies;
formulated a capillarity similarity parameter.

MOS See Strength of Materials.

Most Likely Time A Project Management term; the most probable

time to complete a project activity; used to calculate the expected time
of completion of an activity in program evaluation and review technique
(PERT); see also Optimistic Time and Pessimistic Time.

Motion Study An Operations Management term related to work

study; a part of work study developed by Frank Gilbreth (1868–1934)
and Lillian Gilbreth (1878–1973); the study of motions involved in a
work to differentiate between useful and wasteful motions and
accordingly eliminate wasteful motions; an important part of job
analysis; see also Method Study.

Motion A Physics term; the state of a body with some velocity; the
state of a body in which it changes its position with respect to time; a
few examples include a man walking on a road and a train moving on
rails; see also Rest.

Motivation Factors A Management term related to motivation; see

Intrinsic Factors.

Motivation A Management term; an inner force which excites and

drives a person to action and achieve something; subjective and
qualitative in nature rather than objective and quantitative; a
psychological entity which cannot be measured; varies with time such
as age of the person, mood at the time, immediate history and with
person’s characteristics like attitude; a means used by the managers to
induce their subordinates to act in a desired manner by fulfilling their
desires, needs, wishes, and other requirements.

Motivator-Hygiene Theory A Management term related to

motivation; see Hygiene Theory.
Motivators A Management term related to motivation; see Intrinsic
Factors.

Motor Efficiency An Electrical term; a ratio of the mechanical power

output (shaft work output) to the electrical power input; see also
Generator Efficiency.

Mould Cavity A Manufacturing term related to casting; a cavity

which lies within a mould which holds molten metal used for making
the castings.

Mould A Manufacturing term related to casting; a void created in a

compact sand mass which, when filled with molten metal, will produce
a casting; an impression created by a pattern after its withdrawal from
the mould; also an assembly of two or more metal blocks used to make
castings of good surface finish and intricate details.

Moulding Sand A Casting term; the sand used in making moulds;

principally contains silica, clay, and water in various proportions; the
important properties of the moulding sand include permeability,
refractoriness, cohesiveness, flowability, and collapsibility; some of its
types include parting sand, facing sand, and core sand.

Movement Inventory An Operations Management term related to

inventory; the inventory in transit or in the pipeline; a few examples
include oil and gasoline; see also Buffer Inventory, Cycle Inventory,
and Anticipation Inventory.

Moving Average Method An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; a short-range quantitative forecasting method which
averages the data from a few recent past periods to form the forecast
for the next period; the average moves with time with the omission of
older data used in calculating the average, hence called moving average
method; the greater the number of periods used, the more accurate the
forecast is; each data is assigned equal weightage; does not provide
good forecasts in case of biased demand trend or seasonal influences; see
also Weighted Moving Average Method.
MPa A Physics term; see Megapascal.

MPS An Operations Management term; see Master Production

Schedule.

MRP II An Operations Management term which is the acronym of

Manufacturing Resource Planning; an extension of the material
requirements planning (MRP); a system of planning and controlling the
operational, engineering, and financial resources of a manufacturing
unit; see also Material Requirements Planning.

MRP An Operations Management term; see Material Requirements

Planning.

M-Series A Materials Engineering term; one of the two series of high-

speed steel (HSS) that contains higher content of molybdenum (up to
about 10%), see also T-Series.

Muda An Operations Management term; a Japanese word used to

indicate wasteful activity which does not add any value; seven wastes
were identified by Taiichi Ohno (1912–1990), which include
overproduction, overprocessing, transportation, waiting, inventory,
motion, and defects.

Muff Coupling A Design term; also called Sleeve Coupling; a type of

rigid coupling and a temporary fastening device used to connect two
coaxial shafts; consists of a hollow cast iron cylinder (called muff or
sleeve) fitted over the ends of the two shafts to be connected and a sunk
key inserted.

Muffler A Physics term; a device used to reduce noise in an

instrument.

Muller A Manufacturing term; a foundry tool used to mix the

ingredients of the moulding sand such as sand, binders, and water
thoroughly.
Multi-factor Productivity A Management term; see Total Factor
Productivity.

Multimeter A Metrology term; a measuring instrument which

combines three separate meters, namely an ammeter to measure
current, a voltmeter to measure voltage, and an ohmmeter to measure
resistance.

Multinational Company A Management term, abbreviated as MNC;

a company which has expanded its business operations in more than
one country.

Multiple Sampling A Quality Control term; the acceptance sampling

of a lot based on many small samples; used when the results of a single
sampling requires more scrutiny; see also Single Sampling.

Multi-skilled Worker An Operations Management term; a worker

who is cross-trained on several jobs to become multi-skilled; has the
advantage of being moved to other jobs as per need to eliminate any job
imbalance in work flows which may occur because of quality problems
or machine breakdowns.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_14

N
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

N-2 Technique A Quality Control term; a Japanese method of

inspection in which the first and the last piece in a lot are inspected for
the acceptance or rejection of the lot; the entire lot is accepted, if two
pieces are found meeting the prescribed standards.

Nanotechnology A set of technologies which are based on physical,

chemical, and biological phenomena occurring at a nano scale, that is, at
a length-scale of 10–9 m.

Nappe A Fluid Mechanics term; a sheet of water in the downstream of

a weir springing freely over the weir.

National Income An Economics term; a measure of income earned

by a nation from the current production of goods and services; includes
incomes of factors of production such as land, labour, and capital.

Natural Convection A Heat Transfer term; see Free Convection.

Natural Rubber A Chemistry term; see Rubber.

Natural Satellite A Physics term; a satellite made by the nature or a

celestial body which is revolving continuously around another celestial
body; for example, earth is a natural satellite of the sun, and moon, in
turn, is a natural satellite of the earth; in our planet system, each planet
is a natural satellite of the sun, and some of the planets also have their
own natural satellites similar to that of earth; Jupiter has 16 and Saturn
has 18 natural satellites which are called their moons; see also
Artificial Satellite.

Natural Strain A Strength of Materials term; see True Strain.

Natural Variation A Statistics term; also called Common Cause

Variation or Chance Variation; occurs at random and individual
sources or causes cannot be identified or explained; occurs as a result
of complex interactions of variations in materials, tools, machines,
information, workers, and the environment; example includes variations
occurring in various processes; forms a pattern which can be described
as the normal distribution; see also Assignable Variation.

Navier–Stokes Equations A Fluid Mechanics term; named after a

French mathematician Louis Marie Henri Navier (1785–1836) and an
English mechanician Sir George Gabriel Stokes (1819–1903); used to
provide a complete mathematical description of the flow of
incompressible Newtonian fluids when used with the conservation of
mass equation; expressed as:

along x-direction

along y-direction

along z-direction

where
ρ = density of the fluid
p = pressure of the fluid
gx, gy, gz = components of the acceleration of gravity along x, y, and z
direction, respectively
u, v, w = components of the fluid velocity along x, y, and z direction,
respectively
μ = dynamic viscosity of the fluid.

NC A Manufacturing term related to automation; see Numerical

Control.

Near-Net Shape Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting;

see Permanent Mould Casting.

Near-Net-Shape Forging A Manufacturing term; see Precision

Forging.

Neck Formation A Strength of Materials term; also called Necking; a

stage in ductile material’s (mild steel) deformation process when the
rate of increase of strain is very high, which produces a visible decrease
in cross-sectional area where a material will eventually fracture.

Necking Region A Strength of Materials term; the region on an

engineering stress–strain diagram between the ultimate stress and the
point of fracture.

Necking A Strength of Materials term; see Neck Formation.

Need-Hierarchy Theory A Management term related to motivation;

a motivation theory proposed by Abraham Harold Maslow (1908–
1970), hence also called Maslow’s Theory; based on the hierarchy of
five levels (from lower to higher) of human needs, namely physiological
need, safety need, social need, esteem need, and self-actualization need,
taken in that order; suggests that a higher level need arises when the
needs below it are satisfied and an unsatisfied need acts as a motivator;
also suggests that lower level needs can be satisfied, but higher level
needs are never completely satisfied.
Needle File A Manufacturing term; one of the types of a file used in
the fitting shop which has a needle-like sharp point; used in the filing of
very fine works such as pierced design of sheet metal.

Negative Gauge Pressure A Fluid Mechanics term; see Vacuum.

Negative Integers A Mathematics term; any negative number such as

− 1, − 2, − 3, − 4, etc.; see also Positive Integers.

Net Positive Suction Head A Fluid Mechanics term related to a

pump; abbreviated as NPSH; the difference between a pump’s inlet
stagnation pressure head and the vapour pressure head; used as a flow
parameter to test the condition of cavitation in a pump.

Net Working Capital A Financial Management term; the amount by

which a firm’s current assets exceeds its current liabilities; a common
measure of a firm’s overall liquidity.

Net-Shaped Forging A Manufacturing term; see Precision Forging.

Network Organization A Management term; see Boundaryless

Organization.

Neutral Axis A Strength of Materials term; an imaginary line along

which the neutral plane of a beam (or any other member) intersects the
plane of bending and where the longitudinal stress is zero; it passes
through the axis of the beam containing its centroid, and is
perpendicular to the plane of symmetry; see also Plane of Symmetry.

Neutral Equilibrium A Physics term; a type of translational static

equilibrium which ensures a body to stay in equilibrium even after
being slightly displaced and released; for example, a ball rolling on the
ground; see also Stable Equilibrium and Unstable Equilibrium.

Neutral Flame A Chemistry term; a type of oxyacetylene gas flame

which contains equal proportion of fuel gas (acetylene) and oxygen in
the mixture; finds use in gas welding to join mild steel, alloy steel, grey
cast iron, and others; the most extensively used gas flame among all
flames; see also Oxidizing Flame and Carburizing Flame.

Neutral Plane A Strength of Materials term; also called Neutral

Surface; an imaginary plane lying in a beam (or any other member)
subjected to bending where the longitudinal stress is zero; this plane
contains the neutral axes of all the cross sections of a beam (or any
other member) under bending and passes through the centroids of the
cross sections.

Neutral Refractories A Materials Engineering term; refractories

which do not combine with either acidic or basic refractories, and are
produced by the combination of the two; a few examples include silicon
carbide, chromite (Cr2O3), and carbon; see also Acidic Refractories and
Basic Refractories.

Neutral Surface A Strength of Materials term; see Neutral Plane.

Neutron A Chemistry term; one of the three fundamental particles of

an atom of a chemical element discovered by James Chadwick (1891–
1974), a British physicist in 1932, while bombarding a thin sheet of
beryllium (Be) by alpha particles; a neutral particle having a mass equal
to 1.6748 × 10–27 kg (slightly greater than that of proton); resides in the
nucleus of the atom whose mass is almost entirely due to the presence
of protons and neutrons; see also Electron and Proton.

newton A Physics term; the SI unit of force named after the famous
British scientist Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727); denoted by N; 1N is a
force which acts on a body of mass 1 kg and produces an acceleration of
1 m/s2; newton and dyne are related as 1 N = 105 dyne; see also Dyne.

Newton’s First Law of Motion A Physics term; one of the laws of

motion proposed by a famous British scientist Sir Issac Newton (1642-
1727); also called Law of Inertia; states that everybody continues to
remain in a state of rest or of uniform motion along a straight line
unless an external force tries to change its state; provides the condition
of static equilibrium of a particle and the definition of force, and lays
the foundation for the study of statics.
Newton’s Law of Cooling A Heat Transfer term; a law proposed by
a famous British scientist Sir Issac Newton (1642-1727); states that the
rate of heat transfer by convection is proportional to the surface area of
a body through which the heat transfer takes place and to the
temperature difference between the surface temperature and the fluid
temperature; given as:

where

Q = heat transfer rate

h = convection heat transfer coefficient
A = surface area of the body
Ts = surface temperature of the body
Tf = fluid temperature.

Newton’s Law of Gravitation A Physics term; a law proposed by a

famous British scientist Sir Issac Newton (1642-1727); also called Law
of Gravitation; states that everybody in the universe attracts every
other body with a force (F), which is directly proportional to the
product of their masses, and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them, and acts along the line joining the two bodies;
the force is always attractive; for two bodies having their masses m1
and m2 and separated by a distance r, this law can be mathematically
expressed as:

where

G = universal gravitational constant = 6.67 × 10–11 N.m2.kg−2.

Newton’s Law of Viscosity A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Law

of Viscosity; a law proposed by the famous British scientist Sir Isaac
Newton (1642–1727); states that the shear stress of a fluid varies
directly proportional to its velocity gradient; expressed as:
where

τ = shear stress
μ = absolute viscosity
= velocity gradient

Newton’s Laws of Motion A Physics term; see Laws of Motion.

Newton’s Second Law of Motion A Physics term; one of the laws of

motion proposed by a famous British scientist Sir Issac Newton (1642-
1727); also called Law of Momentum; the time-rate of change of linear
momentum of a body is equal to the net force acting on the body and
takes place in the direction of the force; provides the quantitative
definition of force which equals to mass times acceleration and has the
same direction as the acceleration.

Newton’s Third Law of Motion A Physics term; one of the laws of

motion proposed a famous British scientist Sir Issac Newton (1642-
1727); also called Law of action and Reaction; to every action there is
an equal and opposite reaction; used in both statics and dynamics.

Newtonian Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid which obeys the

Newton’s law of viscosity; named after a famous British scientist Sir Issac
Newton (1642-1727); for a newtonian fluid, the shear stress is directly
proportional to the velocity gradient; the most common examples
include air and other gases, water, kerosene, gasoline, and oils; see also
Non-Newtonian Fluid.

Nibbling A Manufacturing term related to sheet metal working; a

shearing operation which uses a machine called a nibbler to move a
small straight punch up and down rapidly into a die to produce several
overlapping holes in the sheet when placed in the gap; used to produce
intricate slots and notches.
Nichrome A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of nickel (Ni),
chromium (Cr), and iron (Fe) consisting of 60% Ni, 15% Cr, and 25% Fe;
used in making electrical resistances.

Nickel Alloys A Materials Engineering term; the alloys of nickel (Ni)

which contain nickel as the main constituent besides other elements
present in various amounts; important nickel alloys include nickel steel,
invar, monel metal, cupronickel, German silver, nichrome, constantan,
nickel coinage, and silver coinage.

Nickel Coinage A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of nickel (Ni)

and copper (Cu) consisting of 25% Ni and 75% Cu; used in making
coinage.

Nickel Steel A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of nickel (Ni) and

iron (Fe) which contains 2.5 to 5% Ni; extremely hard, tough, and yet
elastic; because of its rust-proof nature, it is used in laying underground
cables, making armour plates, aeroplanes, and automobile parts.

Nickel A Chemistry term; a metallic element having symbol Ni with

atomic number 28; a greyish white metal which melts at 1453 °C; hard,
malleable and has ferromagnetic nature, though much less than iron,
but has high electrical and thermal conductivities (both nearly 15% of
those of silver); used as an important alloying element and imparts
hardness when added to steel; important alloys include nickel steel,
invar, monel metal, cupronickel, German silver, nichrome, constantan,
nickel coinage, and silver coinage.

Nitriding A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; a case

hardening process which involves heating of low alloy steel parts in a
nitrogenous atmosphere (usually ammonia) to a temperature of 900–
1000 °F which allows nitrogen to be absorbed in the surfaces of the
parts.

Noble Gases A Chemistry term; also called Inert Gases; the atoms of
zero group in the periodic table having stable electronic configuration as
their valence shell (outermost shell) is completely filled up; have very
little tendency to form chemical bonds and are the most stable;
molecules of all noble gases are monoatomic as they do not combine
with themselves; examples include helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar),
krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe), and radon (Rn).

Noble Metals A Chemistry term; the metals not easily affected by

acids and corrosive agents; also not easily tarnished by oxidation, when
exposed to atmosphere, and hence retain their brightness; a few
examples include gold, silver, and platinum.

Node An Electrical and a Project Management term; in electrical

terms, a point where three or more connections to elements or sources
are made; in project management terms, a point, where two or more
project activities are meeting.

Nodular Cast Iron A Materials Engineering term; also called Ductile

Iron or Ductile Cast Iron; a form of cast iron which has excellent
strength (E = 172 GPa), good castability, and machining properties;
relatively ductile as compared to grey cast iron due to presence of
spheroidal graphite precipitates rather than flakes which are formed
during solidification when treated with magnesium.

Nominal Strain A Strength of Materials term; also called

Engineering Strain; the strain related to the gauge length of a test
specimen, when there is no change in its cross-sectional area; see also
True Strain.

Nonagon A Mathematics term; a polygon having nine (9) sides; see

also Polygon.

Non-conservative Force A Physics term; a non-conservative force

acts on a particle, if the particle, after going through a complete round
trip, returns to its initial position with changed kinetic energy;
examples include viscous force and frictional force; see also
Conservative Force.

Nonconsumable Electrode A Welding term; an electrode which

does not get consumed during the welding process; usually made of
graphite or tungsten; finds use in atomic hydrogen welding, TIG welding,
plasma arc welding, and others; see also Consumable Electrode.

Nonconventional Sources of Energy A Power Plant term; the

sources of energy which have been focussed in the recent past but were
not considered previously; inexhaustible, cheaper, and environment-
friendly and have tremendous scope of exploitation; not reliable as they
involve intermittent operations; a few examples include solar, wind, sea,
geothermal, and biomass; see also Conventional Sources of Energy
and Renewable Sources of Energy.

Non-critical Activity A Project Management term; a project activity

which has variation in its starting time and has a definite slack; see also
Critical Activity.

Noncrystalline Materials A Materials Engineering term; see

Amorphous Materials.

Nondestructive Inspection A Materials Engineering term; see

Nondestructive Testing.

Nondestructive Testing A Materials Engineering term; also called

Nondestructive Inspection; the evaluation of mechanical properties of
materials and possible defects in their structures without impairing
their usefulness; a few examples include acoustic-emission testing,
liquid-penetrant testing, X-radiography, and magnetic-particle testing;
see also Destructive Testing.

Nonferrous Metals A Materials Engineering term; metals which are

almost free of iron; include copper, zinc, aluminium, manganese, lead,
tungsten, titanium, brass, bronze, gold, silver, platinum, uranium, and
others; compared to ferrous metals, they are more expensive; offer
superior and unique properties not obtainable in ferrous metals like
good corrosion resistance, low density, ease of fabrication, colour choices,
and high thermal and electrical conductivity (copper has approximately
five times, and aluminium has approximately three times more
electrical conductivity than iron); have good formability; lack structural
strength in pure state which can be increased in the alloyed form; have
poor weldability compared to ferrous materials; can be cast, formed or
machined easily; mostly used in the alloyed form; see also Ferrous
Metals.

Non-harmonic Oscillation A Physics term; the oscillation (motion)

which cannot be expressed in terms of a single harmonic function like
sine function or cosine function, but can be expressed as a combination
of two or more than two harmonic oscillations; mathematically
expressed as:
(1)

(2)

where

y = displacement of the particle from mean position at any instant t

a or b = maximum displacement or amplitude of displacement of the
particle
ω = angular frequency =
n = frequency of harmonic oscillation
T = time period of harmonic oscillation; see also Harmonic
Oscillation.

Non-intrusive Method A Metrology term; the measurement of a

physical quantity which does not involve insertion of a probe into the
system, rather the probe has negligible interaction with the system; a
typical example is the use of a laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) to
measure the velocity of a flowing fluid; see also Intrusive Method.

Non-isotropic Material A Materials Engineering term; see

Anisotropic Material.

Nonlinear Regression A Statistics term; a process of analysis in

which a set of data points best fits a polynomial relationship of the form
y = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d, where the parameters a, b, c, and d are known as
the fit parameters to be determined as a part of regression analysis; see
also Linear Regression.

Non-loaded Joint A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; the

joint in a truss which does not carry any external load and has no
support reaction.

Non-metals A Materials Engineering term; the materials which are

brittle as well as poor conductor of heat and electricity (except
graphite); have lustre because of their ability to reflect light (except
iodine); exist in all the three states (e.g. sulphur, phosphorus, and iodine
are solids; bromine is a liquid, and oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, chlorine,
etc. are gases); see also Metals.

Non-newtonian Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid which does

not obey the Newton’s law of viscosity; the shear stress for a non-
newtonian fluid is not directly proportional to the velocity gradient;
shows a nonlinear relationship between shear stress and velocity
gradient; not relevant for engineering usage; a few examples include
blood, honey, sugar syrup, printer’s ink, paste, liquid plastics, slurries, and
colloidal suspensions, polymer solutions, cake batter, and tar; see also
Newtonian Fluid.

Nonpolar Covalent Bond A Chemistry term; a covalent bond formed

between two similar atoms; the shared electron pair is attracted equally
by both atoms and lies exactly midway between them; found in
hydrogen (H2), fluorine (F2) or chlorine (Cl2) molecules; see also Polar
Covalent Bond.

Nonpolar Molecule A Chemistry term; a molecule having a nonpolar

covalent bond; consists of two similar atoms; a few examples include
hydrogen molecule (H2), fluorine molecule (F2), and chlorine molecule
(Cl2); see also Polar Molecule.

Non-prismatic Bar A Strength of Materials term; a bar of non-

uniform (varying) cross section; for example, a tapered circular or
square bar; see also Prismatic Bar.
Nonrecurring Cost An Operations Management term related to cost
analysis; the nonrepetitive cost; typically involves developing or
establishing a capability or capacity to operate; for example, the
purchase cost of land (for making a plant) along with its cost of
construction are nonrecurring costs; see also Recurring Cost.

Nonrenewable Sources of Energy A Power Plant term; the sources

of energy which can be depleted after their use and cannot be reused
and also cannot be immediately replenished; not environment-friendly;
a few examples include fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural
gases, and nuclear fuels; see also Renewable Sources of Energy and
Nonconventional Sources of Energy.

Non-rigid Truss A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; a

truss which is not rigid; does not obey the equation m = 2j − 3 where, m
= number of members and j = number of joints in the truss; classified
into under-rigid and over-rigid truss; see also Rigid Truss.

Non-uniform Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow is said to be

non-uniform, if the fluid velocity changes from point to point in the flow
field; a few examples include flow through a converging or diverging
pipe, flow of water through a river bed or any other non-prismatic
channel; see also Uniform Flow.

Normal Cost A Project Management term; the lowest cost of

completing an activity using normal resources in the normal manner;
see also Crash Cost.

Normal Distribution Curve A Statistics term; also called Normal

Probability Distribution Curve or Gaussian Distribution Curve; the
most commonly occurring probability distribution curve in which the
probability density function is expressed in terms of mean and standard
deviation of the data; a bell-shaped curve symmetrical about the peak
value of the graph where symmetry of the curve indicates that one-half
the probability is associated with the values to the left of the peak and
the other half with the values to the right; the area under the curve is
unity which implies that probability of all the measured values lying
under the curve is unity; indicates that 68% of the possible outcomes
will lie between ± 1 standard deviation (± 1σ) from the expected value,
95% of all outcomes will lie between ± 2 standard deviations (± 2σ)
from the expected value, and 99% of all outcomes will lie between ± 3
standard deviations (± 3σ) from the expected value.

Normal Force A Physics term; a force which acts along the central
axis of a structural member; tension and compression are normal
forces.

Normal Probability Distribution Curve A Statistics term; see

Normal Distribution Curve.

Normal Strain A Strength of Materials term; see Longitudinal

Strain.

Normal Stress A Strength of Materials term; also called Direct

Stress or Longitudinal Stress; the internal restoring force which acts
perpendicular to the unit area of a body when stressed within the
elastic limit; produces change in length and volume of a body; classified
into tensile stress and compressive stress.

Normal Time A Time Study and a Project Management term; in time

study terms, the time normally required in the completion of a job by an
average worker; does not include the allowance time; in project
management terms, the time required to complete a project activity
using normal resources in the normal manner.

Normalizing A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; a

process of heating a metal in still air and then cooling it at a faster rate
than that used in annealing in order to obtain harder, stronger metal
than obtained by annealing; used to improve the grain structure of a
metal and return it to normal by removing stresses caused by uneven
cooling after welding, casting, or forging.

Normative Analysis A Management term; an analysis of what ought

to be; for example, if it is argued that there should be a law requiring
seat belts to be worn while driving a vehicle, it is normative analysis.
Norms A Management term; the standards or styles of behaviour
considered acceptable or typical for a group of people.

Notching A Manufacturing term; a sheet metal operation used to

remove pieces (or various shapes) from the edges of a metal sheet.

Nozzle A Fluid Mechanics term; a flow passage device of varying

cross-sectional area in which velocity of a fluid (gas or liquid) increases
in the direction of flow at the expense of its pressure drop; see also
Diffuser.

NPSH A Fluid Mechanics term related to a pump; see Net Positive

Suction Head.

N-Type Semiconductor An Electronics term; an extrinsic

semiconductor in which the electrical conductivity is mainly due to
negatively charged electrons that are called the majority carriers, and
the holes are the minority carriers; produced when a pure
semiconductor is doped with a pentavalent impurity atom such as
phosphorus; see also P-Type Semiconductor .

Nuclear Energy A Chemistry term related to radioactivity; the energy

obtained from an atomic nucleus, either by breaking a heavy nucleus
(nuclear fission) or by joining two lighter nuclei (nuclear fusion);
obtained in a very huge amount, even with a very little quantity of
nuclear fuel; the most neat and clean form of energy, although very
dangerous, if handled carelessly.

Nuclear Fission A Chemistry term related to radioactivity; a process

of splitting of a heavy nucleus into two or more lighter nuclei; involves a
certain loss of mass (called mass defect) which is converted into huge
amount of energy according to the Einstein’s mass energy relationship E
= mc2 where m = mass lost and c = velocity of light in vacuum; for
example, uranium (92)235, when bombarded with neutrons, undergoes
nuclear fission in two ways, giving barium (56) and krypton (36) in the
first case, and strontium (38) and xenon (54) in the second case, as the
products of fission, according to the following reactions:
Energy released during nuclear fission varies with the process and also
with the number of neutrons released during fission process; on an
average, approximately 200 meV of energy and 2.5 neutrons (n) are
released in the fission of U (92)235; the principle of nuclear fission is
used in the preparation of an atom bomb; see also Nuclear Fusion.

Nuclear Force A Chemistry term; a force which binds the neutrons

and protons together in a nucleus; does not depend on the charge on
nucleons; a non-central and non-conservative short-range attractive
force which operates within the nucleus only in the distance range of
10–14 m; the strongest force in nature, which is 1038 times stronger than
the gravitational force and 100 times stronger than the electrostatic
force.

Nuclear Fusion A Chemistry term related to radioactivity; a process

of joining of two or more lighter nuclei to form a heavy nucleus;
releases enormous amount of energy due to mass defect, using the
Einstein’s mass energy relationship E = mc2 where m = mass lost and c
= velocity of light in vacuum; the energy of the sun is due to nuclear
fusion, where a large number of hydrogen (H) atoms combine together
to form helium (He) atoms in the ratio of 4:1, that is, 4 hydrogen atoms
unite to form one atom of helium; the formation of one mole of He (2)4
from 4 mol of H (1)1 releases 27.3 × 108 kJ of energy; the principle of
nuclear fusion is used in the preparation of hydrogen bomb which is far
more powerful than an atom bomb; see also Nuclear Fission.

Nuclear Reaction A Chemistry term related to radioactivity; a

reaction which leads to atomic transformations or transmutations;
involves changes in the number of nucleons present in the nucleus,
forming new atomic species; nuclear reactions involve energies a
million times greater than those involved in chemical reactions; the
products in a nuclear reaction are generally heavy nucleus and one of
the particles, which may be an electron, a proton, a deuteron, a neutron
or an alpha (α) particle or merely a gamma (γ) ray.

Nucleus A Chemistry term; the central part of an atom of a chemical

element; discovered by Ernst Rutherford (1871–1937), called the father
of nuclear physics; has a spherical shape with a radius of 10–13 cm,
composed of protons and neutrons; contains almost the entire mass of
an atom; positively charged because of presence of protons (positively
charged particles), whereas electrons move around the nucleus in
different orbits.

Nugget A Welding term; a small quantity of the weld metal used to

join the parts in resistance spot, resistance seam, or projection welding.

Null Vector A Physics term; also called Zero Vector; a vector which
has zero magnitude; obtained by subtracting a vector from itself.

Numerical Control A Manufacturing term related to automation,

abbreviated as NC; a form of programmable automation pioneered by
John T. Parsons; a control system which digitally communicates to
machine tools such as mills and lathes to produce a part; offers
flexibility of changing the program of instructions according to the type
of a job to be processed; has three basic components, namely program
of instructions, a controller unit (also called machine control unit, MCU)
and a machine tool.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_15

O
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Objective Function An Operations Research term; a mathematical

function used to express the objectives of a problem.

Oblique Collision A Physics term; see Two-Dimensional Collision.

Oblique Projection An Engineering Drawing and a Machine Drawing

term; a type of projection in which views are drawn by using parallel
projectors (projection lines) oblique to the plane of projection, where
the front face of the object represents its true size and shape, as it is
placed parallel to the picture plane and the receding lines representing
the other two sides are usually drawn at 45° to the horizontal; all lines
which are parallel on the object are also parallel on the drawing and the
vertical lines on the object are vertical in the drawing also; the isometric
projection is an example of oblique projection; see also Orthographic
Projection.

Observed Time A Time Study term; the time observed to be elapsed

in an operation using a stopwatch.

Obtuse Triangle A Mathematics term; also called Obtuse-Angled

Triangle; a triangle whose any one angle is obtuse, that is, greater than
90°; see also Acute Triangle.
Obtuse-Angled Triangle A Mathematics term; see Obtuse Triangle.

Octagon A Mathematics term; a polygon having eight (8) sides; see

also Polygon.

Octahedral Shear Theory A Strength of Materials term related to

theory of material’s failure; see Maximum Distortion Energy Theory.

Octet Rule A Chemistry term; the principle of attaining a maximum

of eight electrons (ns2p6) in the valence shell (the outermost orbit) of an
atom which gives stable electronic configuration to the atom.

Odd Number A Mathematics term; any number not divisible by 2; a

few examples include 3, 5, 13, etc.; the sum of any two odd numbers is
always an even number; see also Even Number.

Offset Method A Strength of Materials term; a method used to

identify the yield stress for a material which shows no discernible point
on its stress–strain curve where yielding is evident; involves drawing a
line parallel to the linear portion of the engineering stress–strain curve
at offset stain value of 0.2% or even smaller values such as 0.1% or
0.02%; the stress corresponding to the point of intersection defines
yield stress.

Offset Strain A Strength of Materials term; a strain value which

offsets (prevents) failure, if material’s dimensions are kept below this
value; corresponds to 0.2% or even smaller values such as 0.1% or
0.02% of linear strain; used to determine yield points for brittle
materials.

ohm An Electrical term; the SI unit of electrical resistance; denoted by

Ω; one ohm of electrical resistance is defined as a pressure of one volt
which causes a current of one ampere to flow in a conductor.

Ohm’s Law An Electrical term; an electrical law proposed by Georg

Simon Ohm (1789–1854), a German physicist in 1827; states that the
current (I) passing through a conductor is proportional to the potential
difference (V) across its ends; given as:
where

R = proportionality constant, called resistance.

Oil A liquid material used extensively in the industry both as a fuel

and as a lubricant for machinery and products.

Oldham Coupling A Design term; a temporary fastening device used

to connect two circular rotating shafts for power transmission; a type of
flexible coupling which takes care of axial as well as lateral
misalignment of the two shafts.

One-Dimensional Collision A Physics term; also called Head on

Collision; the collision in which the initial velocities as well as the final
velocities of both colliding bodies are along the same straight line; for
example, the collision between two small spherical bodies may be one-
dimensional, if the direction of travel of one body passes through the
centre of second body; see also Two-Dimensional Collision.

One-Dimensional Motion A Physics term; the motion of a body

along one direction (along a straight line or a well-defined straight
path); a few examples include the motion of a train along a straight
railway track and the falling of an object from a certain height; see also
Two-Dimensional Motion and Three-Dimensional Motion.

One-Off Production An Operations Management term; see Jobbing

Production.

Onyx A Chemistry term; one of the three naturally occurring

amorphous forms of silica (SiO2), other two include Jasper and Agate.

Opal A Chemistry term; a coloured (white) variety of quartz used as a

gem; see also Jasper and Amethyst.

Opaque Material A Materials Engineering term; a material which

does not transmit any radiation through it; the transmissivity of opaque
materials is zero.

Open Belt Drive A Theory of Machines term; a belt drive used to

connect two parallel shafts moving in the same direction with a
maximum centre-to-centre distance of 15 m; the total length (L) of the
open belt is given as:

where

r1 = radius of the bigger pulley

r2 = radius of the smaller pulley
x = centre-to-centre distance between two pulleys; see also Crossed
Belt Drive.

Open-Channel Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; the flow of a liquid in a

channel or conduit that is not completely filled; a free surface exists
between the flowing liquid (usually water) and fluid above it (usually
the atmosphere); examples include the drainage system of water
through the numerous creek and river systems; the Froude number
plays a significant role in open-channel flow; a laminar flow rarely exits
in open channel.

Open Circuit Voltage A Welding term; the voltage at the terminals of

a welding machine when it is turned on without performing any
welding operation; indicates a state of no flow of current in the welding
circuit as it is not complete; see also Load Voltage.

Open Circuit An Electrical term; a circuit which does not provide a

complete path for electrical flow; see also Closed Circuit.

Open Curve A Mathematics term; see Simple Curve.

Open Riser A Manufacturing term related to casting; also called Top

Riser as it sits on the top of a casting; a conventional riser which is open
to the atmosphere.
Open System A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic system
which allows both mass and energy transfer across its boundary; the
mass within the system may not remain constant; most of the
engineering devices are generally open systems; see also Closed
System.

Open-Channel Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; the flow of a fluid in a

channel or conduit which is not completely filled, and there exists a free
surface between the flowing fluid (usually water) and the fluid above it
(usually the atmosphere); a few examples include flow in rivers,
irrigation ditches, and aqueducts.

Open-Coiled Helical Spring A Strength of Materials term related to a

spring; a cylindrical helical spring in which the plane of the coil of
spring makes a certain angle with the horizontal (called the helix
angle); see also Close-Coiled Helical Spring.

Open-Die Forging A Manufacturing term; a hot metal working

process used to shape a heated workpiece by placing it between two flat
dies (that allow metal to flow freely) and then pressed or hammered;
see also Closed-Die Forging.

Open-Loop System An Electrical term; a control circuit in which the

system output has no effect on the control; see also Closed-Loop
System.

Operating Expenditure A Financial Management term; an outlay of

funds by a firm which is expected to produce benefits within one year;
see also Capital Expenditure.

Operation Chart A Motion Study term; also called Left Hand/Right

Hand Chart; a tool used to analyse body movement (primarily arms
and hands); designed to show economy of motion by pointing out
wasted motion and idle time (delay).

Operation Usually a Manufacturing term; a transformation process

which transforms inputs into outputs of greater value.
Operations Management A Management term; also called
Production Management; an important discipline of management; the
management of a production system which converts raw materials,
labour, capital, and management inputs into desired outputs of products
and services; manufacturing operations management focuses on the
elimination of wasteful efforts and achieving greater efficiency in
production using Frederick Taylor’s scientific management tools;
activities in manufacturing operations management include organizing
work, selecting processes, arranging layouts, locating facilities,
designing jobs, measuring performance, controlling quality, scheduling
work, managing inventory, and planning production; pioneers in
manufacturing operations management include Frank and Lillian
Gilbreth, Frederick Winslow Taylor, and Henry Gantt; service operations
management deals with intangible or nonphysical goods (services), and
thrusts upon delivering efficient services such as prompt delivery of
requested items by courier firms, personal care by nursing staffs in a
hospital, and quick redressal of queries by customer care staffs of a
company.

Operations Manager A Management term; a manager connected to

a manufacturing unit and deals with people, technology, and deadlines
of work completion.

Operations Research Model A mathematical model consisting of

mathematical structures which are solved by using mathematical
techniques; used to solve management problems; some of the
important operations research models include linear programming,
nonlinear programming, dynamic programming, and genetic algorithms.

Operations Research Abbreviated as OR; the application of

scientific methods to the study of alternatives in a problem using
quantitative data with a view to arrive at a best solution; involves
minimizing or maximizing the objective functions under the given
constraints.

Operations Strategy A Management term; a strategy which

determines how and where a product or service is to be manufactured.
Operatives A Management term; those people who work directly on
a job or task and have no responsibility to oversee the work of others;
for example, workers; represent the general employees of an
organization.

Operator-Machine Chart A Motion Study term; see Activity Chart.

Opportunity Cost A Financial Management term; the cost associated

with opportunity foregone (lost) or opportunity not utilized to
monetary advantage as a result of selecting one alternative instead of
another; the salvage value of facilities and equipment may be an
opportunity cost, since assets which are abandoned or replaced may be
saleable.

Opposite Sides A Mathematics term; any two sides not starting or

originating from the same initial point; see also Adjacent Sides.

OPT An Operations Management term: see Optimized Production

Technology.

Optical Microscopy A Physics term; a technique which uses a light

radiation to reveal the microstructural features in a material such as
grain boundaries which require less than about 2000 magnification.

Optical Torsion Meter A Metrology term; a device used to measure

torque by measuring the angle of twist over a fixed length of a shaft
using optical means (a beam of light and mirrors); see also Mechanical
Torsion Meter.

Optics A Physics term; a branch of physics which deals with the study
of various phenomena connected with light and optical instruments like
microscope and telescope.

Optimal Solution An Operations Research term; a solution which

satisfies both the conditions of a problem and its given objective; for
example, a manufacturing company must determine the combination of
resources available so as to enable it to manufacture products in a way
which not only satisfies its production schedule, but also maximizes its
profits or minimizes cost.

Optimistic Time A Project Management term; the shortest possible

time to complete a project activity, if everything goes right; used to
calculate the expected time of completion of an activity in programme
evaluation and review technique (PERT); see also Pessimistic Time.

Optimization An Operations Research term; a process used to find

the conditions which give the maximum or minimum value of a
function.

Optimized Production Technology An Operations Management,

abbreviated as OPT; a complete production planning and control
information system which uses the concepts of theory of constraints for
managing the schedules of bottleneck operations for complex job shop
environments.

OR See Operations Research.

Orbit A Chemistry term; also called Energy Shell or Energy Level;

the circular path in which electrons move around the nucleus of an
atom; orbits are designated by principal quantum number (n), a
positive integer which can take values such as 1, 2, 3, and 4; orbits are
also denoted by shells such as K, L, M, and N taken in that order starting
from the nucleus; each orbit is associated with a definite amount of
energy, and the farther the orbit from the nucleus, greater is the energy
associated with it; energy of an electron remains constant in a
particular orbit and is emitted or absorbed by an atom only when an
electron moves from one orbit to another.

Orbital Speed A Physics term; the minimum speed required to put a

satellite into a given orbit around the earth; the orbital speed is
independent of mass of the satellite, but depends upon the mass and
radius of the earth around which the satellite revolves; decreases with
an increase in the radius of orbit or an increase in the height of the
satellite; equals to 7.92 km/s, when the satellite is orbiting very close to
the surface of the earth; given as:
where

G = universal gravitational constant = 6.67 × 10–11 N.m2.kg−2

M = mass of the earth
R = radius of the earth
h = height of the satellite above the surface of the earth
r = radius of the orbit of the satellite = R + h.

Order Cycle An Operations Management term related to inventory;

the time between placing and receiving an order in an inventory
system.

Order Point An Operations Management term; the point of time at

which an order for procuring a material is placed; determined by
estimating the time between placing the order and receiving another
batch (called lead time) of that material.

Ordering Cost An Operations Management term; also sometimes

called Setup Cost, but is slightly different; the cost associated with
placing an order for inventory; ordering costs include writing the order,
processing the order through the purchasing system, postage,
processing invoices, processing accounts payable, and the work of the
receiving departments such as handling, testing, inspection, and
transporting; a part of total annual cost of inventory; decreases with
increased order size of inventory; one of the costs that finds use in
determining economic order quantity (EOQ); see also Setup Cost and
Holding Cost.

Ordering Lead Time An Operations Management term; the time

involved between placement and receiving of an order for materials;
see also Manufacturing Lead Time.
Ordinary Glass A Chemistry term; also called Soda Glass or
Window Glass or Soft Glass; a type of glass and a common structural
material which consists of 15% Na2O, 10% CaO, and 75% SiO2 (all by
weight) and has the approximate chemical formula: Na2O.CaO.6SiO2;
softens at a comparatively lower temperature and can be easily shaped
in different forms (hence called soft glass); used in making cheap
window panes, bottles, dishes, etc.

Ore A Chemistry term; a naturally occurring mineral from which a

metal can be conveniently and economically extracted; usually occurs
in nature in the form of big lumps which are broken into small pieces
with the help of crushers or grinders (process is called crushing); for
example, haematite (Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4) are the two
important ores of iron; see also Mineral.

Organic Compound A Chemistry term; a chemical compound in

which one or more atoms of carbon are covalently linked to atoms of
other elements, usually hydrogen, oxygen, or nitrogen; see also
Inorganic Compound.

Organic Materials A Chemistry term; contain animal or vegetable

cells (dead or alive) or organic compounds which are usually dissolved
in organic solvents like alcohol or carbon tetrachloride but not dissolved
in water; see also Inorganic Materials.

Organic Organization A Management term; an organizational

structure which is low in specialization, formalization, and
centralization; a highly adaptive form of organization which changes
rapidly as per requirements; involves formal rules, non-standardized
jobs, and technically proficient and trained professionals to handle
diverse problems.

Organization A Management term; a systematic arrangement of

human and material resources grouped together for a specific purpose
or aim; for example, a manufacturing plant; also a group of people with
defined relationship to each other and has a specific goal to achieve; for
example, a police force, an army, a bank, etc.; see also Manufacturing
Organization and Service Organization.

Organizational Culture A Management term; a set of standard

values and norms which control organizational members’ interactions
with each other and with suppliers, customers, and people outside the
organization.

Organizational Design A Management term; a process by which

managers select and manage aspects of structure and culture so that an
organization can control the activities necessary to achieve its goals.

Organizational Structure A Management term; a formal system of

task and authority relationships which controls how people coordinate
their actions and uses resources to achieve organizational goals or
objectives; examples include line organization, functional organization,
line and staff organization, line and functional organization, and matrix
organization.

Organizing A Management term; a management function which deals

with determining what jobs are to be done by whom, that is,
distributing the task among the people and assigning them authority
and responsibility.

Orientation A Management term; the activities carried out to

introduce new employees to the organization and their work units.

Orthographic Projection An Engineering Drawing and a Machine

Drawing term; a projection method in which the rays of sight (called
the projectors) are taken perpendicular to the plane of projection;
assumes an observer to be positioned at infinite distance from the
plane of projection such that the projectors will be parallel to each
other; the most commonly employed projection method of drawing; see
also Oblique Projection.

Orthotropic Material A Materials Engineering term; has different

properties in the three orthogonal directions; a typical example is
wood; see also Isotropic Material.
Oscillatory Motion A Physics term; also called Vibratory Motion;
the motion in which a body moves back and forth (to-and-fro) over the
same path repeatedly about a fixed point (called mean position or
equilibrium position) in a definite interval of time; the motion is
repeated between two extreme positions; a few examples include
swinging back and forth of a wall clock pendulum, the motion of the
prongs of a tuning fork, the internal motion of atoms within molecules,
and the motion of the bob of a simple pendulum (on being displaced
once from its mean position and left to itself); every oscillatory motion
is periodic (as it is completed in a definite interval of time), but every
periodic motion need not be oscillatory (as the latter involves back and
forth motion, whereas the former may not); for example, the circular
motion is a periodic motion, but it is not oscillatory; see also Periodic
Motion.

Otto Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to air standard cycle; an

air standard thermodynamic cycle used in petrol engine; named after its
German inventor Nicolas Otto (1832–1891) who is recognized for
having developed the first practical design for liquid-fuelled piston
engines; consists of four reversible processes, namely reversible
adiabatic (isentropic) compression, constant volume heat addition,
reversible adiabatic (isentropic) expansion, and constant volume heat
rejection; the thermal efficiency depends only on its compression ratio;
for the same compression ratio and same heat rejection, the Otto cycle
has higher thermal efficiency than the Diesel cycle; see also Diesel
Cycle.

Outside Stakeholders A Management term; people who do not own

the organization and are also not employed by it, but do have some
interest in it; include customers, suppliers, the government, trade union,
local communities, and the general public; see also Inside
Stakeholders.

Outsourcing An Operations Management term; a process of moving

some of a firm’s internal activities and decision responsibility to
outside providers; an important activity of supply chain management.
Overhanging Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a beam; a
statically determinate beam whose certain length extends beyond its
support ends on one or both sides.

Overhead Costs An Operations Management term related to cost

analysis; the overhead costs are plant operating costs and categorized
as indirect costs; a few examples of overhead costs include electricity,
general repairs, property taxes, supervision, etc.; different types of
overhead costs include administration, production, selling, distribution,
and R & D costs; the administration overhead cost is related to
administration, and its example include office rent, salaries and wages of
clerks, postage and telephone bills, Director’s and General Manager’s fees,
etc.; the production overhead cost (also called factory overhead)
includes all indirect expenses incurred by a firm from the receipt of
production order of a good to its dispatch to customer, and its examples
include rent, insurance premium, repair costs of building, depreciation
cost, wages of maintenance men, general workers, etc., security cost, cost
of water, fuel, and power, etc.; the selling overhead cost is used to
increase the volume of sales, and its examples include advertising cost,
rent of sales rooms, consumer service cost, service cost after sales, etc.;
the distribution overhead cost is related to transportation of goods to
the end users, and its example includes warehouse charges,
loading/unloading charges, upkeep of delivery vehicles, etc.; the R & D
overhead cost is related to research activities for developing product or
service, and its example includes the cost associated with improving
the fuel efficiency of an engine.

Overhead Position A position of a task which is performed from the

underside.

Overheating A Manufacturing term; a process of heating a substance

beyond its critical range temperature; impairs a substance’s properties.

Overprocessing An Operations Management term; the use of

excessive resources for executing a task; one of the seven types of waste
identified by Taiichi Ohno (1912–1990), known as the father of Toyota
Production System (TPS).
Overproduction An Operations Management term; an undesirable
production condition in which products are manufactured in larger
quantities than they are actually required; one of the seven types of
waste identified by Taiichi Ohno (1912–1990) who is known as the
father of Toyota Production System (TPS).

Over-rigid Truss A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; also

called Redundant Truss; a non-rigid truss which consists of surplus
members than required to make it a rigid truss; for an over-rigid truss:
m > 2j – 3 where m = number of members, and j = number of joints in
the truss; see also Under-rigid Truss.

Owner’s Equity A Financial Management term; the owner’s initial

investments in a company plus any earnings of the company which
have not been distributed as dividends (called retained earnings).

Oxidation A Chemistry term; a chemical reaction in which a metal

combines with the atmospheric oxygen; the removal of an electron
from an atom or a molecule; see also Reduction.

Oxide A Chemistry term; a compound or a molecule formed by the

reaction between a metal and oxygen; for example, zinc oxide,
aluminium oxide, etc.

Oxidizing Flame A Chemistry term; a type of oxyacetylene gas flame

which contains excess of oxygen as compared to fuel gas (acetylene) in
the mixture; finds use in gas welding to join copper alloys and zinc and
zinc alloys; see also Carburizing Flame and Neutral Flame.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_16

P
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dks662002@yahoo.com

Pa A Physics term; see pascal.

Parabolic Formula A Strength of Materials term related to a column;

also called J. B. Johnston Formula; a parabolic equation-based
empirical formula used to find the crippling (critical) load for
intermediate-length columns with centric loading; finds use in the
machine, automotive, aircraft, and structural-steel construction fields;
expressed as:

where

Pj = Johnson’s crippling load

A = area of cross section of the column
σc = direct crushing stress (yield stress)
le = Equivalent/effective length of the column
k = radius of gyration
K = a constant for the column material
E = modulus of elasticity of the column material.

Paradigm A Management term; a way of thinking about a given

subject which defines how one views events, relationships, ideas, etc.
within the boundaries of that subject.

Parallel Flow Heat Exchanger A Thermodynamics term; a type of

heat exchanger in which both the hot and cold fluids flow past the heat
transfer surface in the same direction; see also Counter Flow Heat
Exchanger and Cross Flow Heat Exchanger.

Parallel Lines A Mathematics term; the lines (two in number) having

constant distance between them, and lie in the same plane; do not
intersect each other, when produced indefinitely in either direction.

Parallel Sunk Key A Design term related to a key; a sunk key having
a uniform square or rectangular cross-section throughout its length, but
ends of the key may be either squared or rounded; used in the case,
when the mating part or mounting is required to slide along the shaft;
normally fitted into keyway provided on the shaft with the help of set
screws.

Parallel Vectors A Physics term; two or more vectors are said to be

parallel, when they are parallel to the same line; if parallel vectors have
the same direction, they are called like vectors, and if they have
opposite directions, they are called unlike vectors.

Parallel-Axes Theorem A Strength of Materials term; used to find

the moment of inertia of a plane area about an axis parallel to its
centroidal axis; can be expressed as IAB = IXX + ah2 where IAB = moment
of inertia of the cross-section about the desired axis AB, IXX = moment of
inertia of the cross section about the centroidal axis XX, a = cross-
sectional area and h = perpendicular distance between two axes; see
also Perpendicular Axis Theorem.
Parallelogram Law of Forces A Physics term; see Law of
Parallelogram of Forces.

Parallelogram A Mathematics term; a quadrilateral whose both

pairs of opposite sides are parallel.

Parent Metal A Welding term; also called Base Metal; the metal to
be welded or cut.

Pareto Analysis A Quality Management term named after Vilfredo

Pareto (1848-1923), a nineteenth-century Italian economist; also called
Pareto Rule or 80/20 Rule; states that 80% of the activity is caused by
20% of factors; implies that most of the quality problems result from
only a few causes, and so by concentrating on the 20% of the factors
(called the ‘vital few’), 80% of the quality problems can be sorted out; a
method of identifying the causes of poor quality.

Pareto Chart An Operations Management term; a graphical plot or

chart named after Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923), a nineteenth-century
Italian economist; used in finding a few vital factors which cause most
of the activity; resembles a bar chart which uses the cumulative
frequency curve to identify the few vital factors which need
considerations in a given situation or process; see also Pareto Rule or
80/20 Rule.

Pareto Rule An Operations Management term; see Pareto Analysis.

Part Drawing A Machine Drawing term; a number of pictorial

representations of a single part of a machine required to facilitate its
manufacture; contains all the dimensions, limits and special finishing
processes such as heat treatment, honing, lapping, surface finish, etc.

Partial Derivative Operator A Mathematics term; denoted by ∂;

used to find the rate of change of one parameter with respect to
another while treating other variables constant; see also Total
Derivative Operator.
Partial Factor Productivity A Management term; also called Single-
Factor Productivity; a ratio of the output to only one input, say labour
or machines or materials or capital or energy; see also Total Factor
Productivity.

Participative Leader A Management term; see Democratic Leader.

Particle Size An Air Pollution term; the size of a liquid or solid

particle expressed as the average or equivalent diameter.

Particle A Physics term; an object which occupies negligible space or

has zero dimensions but has some mass.

Particulate Matter An Air Pollution term; the finely divided solid or

liquid particles which are capable of being temporarily suspended in air
or other gasses.

Parting Sand A Casting term; a fine grained, unbounded dry silica

sand used to prevent the bonding of sand in the cope with sand in the
drag of the moulding flask.

Partnership A Management term; a type of business which is owned

by two or more people, and is operated for profit; finance, insurance,
and real estate firms are the most common types of partnership; public
accounting and stock brokerage partnerships often have a large
number of partners.

pascal A Physics term; the SI unit of pressure and stress; abbreviated

as Pa; named after a seventeenth-century French scientist and
philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) who is recognized for his
contribution in fluid mechanics; equivalent to N/m2; and 1 Pa = 1N/m2;
see also Kilopascal, Megapascal, and Gigapascal.

Pascal’s Law A Fluid Mechanics term; proposed by the French

scientist Blaise Pascal (1623–1662); states that the pressure in a fluid
at rest is same at all points, if they are at the same height; has wide
engineering applications; finds use in hydraulic lift and hydraulic
brakes.
Passive Pressure A Civil Engineering term; a horizontal earth
pressure exerted by a soil mass to something being pushed against it;
for example, pressure against the sides of a building’s below-grade
construction which resists the overall push of the wind against the
building; see also Active Pressure.

Patent Drawing A Machine Drawing term; the pictorial and self-

explanatory drawing connected to new designs being invented; must be
systematically correct and should illustrate completely each feature of
the claimed invention; not useful for production purposes as they are not
as detailed as the shop drawings.

Pathline A Fluid Mechanics term; the actual path (trajectory)

travelled by an individual fluid particle over a certain time period; in
steady laminar flow, the pathline coincides with a streamline, but for
unsteady flow, both pathline and streamline are different; see also
Streamline.

Pattern Allowance A Casting term; the enlargement of a sand-mould

pattern over its actual size to take care of various factors such as
shrinkage, machining, and others in casting; the important pattern
allowances include shrinkage allowance, machining allowance, draft
allowance, and rapping allowance.

Pattern A Casting term; a replica of the object to be cast; used to

produce a mould to cast the object; made of wood (mostly), plastic or
metal; the selection of a pattern material depends on factors such as
size and shape of the casting, the desired dimensional accuracy, the
number of castings being produced, and the moulding process to be
used; dimensionally more accurate castings are made using a plastic or
metal pattern.

Paul Richard Heinrich Blasius (1883–1970) A German scientist

and one of Prandtl’s students who provided an analytical solution to the
boundary layer equations; also demonstrated that pipe resistance is
related to the Reynolds number (a non-dimensional group).
P-Chart A Quality Control term; a commonly used control chart for
attributes which is based on counting proportion defective after
checking every item in a randomly selected sample; involves a yes–no
decision regarding the item or service to be either defective or not
defective; uses binomial distribution for sampling distribution; the
standard deviation of the binomial distribution of proportion defective
is gives as:

where ‘p’ is the average proportion defective or the target value

represented by the central line on the chart and ‘n’ is the sample size;
the upper and lower control limits for a p-chart are given as:

where ‘z’ is the normal deviate (number of standard deviations from the
average); when a sample proportion defective falls outside the control
limits, the analyst assumes that proportion defective generated by the
process has changed, and he searches for the assignable cause; see also
C-Chart.

PDCA Cycle An Operations Management term; see Deming Wheel.

Peat A Chemistry term; a type of coal which contains 60% of carbon.

Peaucellier Mechanism A Theory of Machines term; a mechanism

used to generate exact straight-line motion; consists of eight links; see
also Hart Mechanism.

Peen Rammer A Manufacturing term; a foundry tool and a type of

rammer used to ram the sand mass in pockets and corners; see also
Hand Rammer and Floor Rammer.

Peer Evaluation A Management term; a performance assessment in

which co-workers provide input into the employee’s performance.
Peltier Effect A Physics term; a thermoelectric effect which is the
inverse of Seebeck effect; named after a French physicist Jean Charles
Peltier (1785–1845) who first observed this phenomenon in 1834;
states that when a current is passed through two junctions made from
two dissimilar wires, it is found that one junction heats up while the
other gets colder; forms the basis for thermoelectric refrigeration; see
also Seebeck Effect.

Pelton Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Pelton Wheel or

Impulse Wheel or Pelton Wheel Turbine; a turbomachine named
after its American inventor Lester A. Pelton (1829–1908) who invented
it in 1878; a tangential flow, single-stage, impulse hydraulic turbine
which uses a high-velocity water jet to strike the blades of the turbine
under atmospheric pressure conditions; particularly suited to high
head applications (from 200 m to more than 1000 m).

Pelton Wheel Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; see Pelton Turbine.

Pelton Wheel A Fluid Mechanics term; see Pelton Turbine.

Pentagon A Mathematics term; a polygon having five (5) sides.

Percent Strain A Strength of Materials term; see Percentage Strain.

Percentage Elongation A Strength of Materials term; a ratio of the

increase in length to the original length of a test specimen, expressed
on a percentage basis; a measure of the amount of stretching (ductility)
which occurs within the gauge length of a tensile test sample; a ductile
material has a higher value of the percentage elongation; see also
Percentage Reduction in Area.

Percentage Reduction in Area A Strength of Materials term;

another measure of ductility; a ratio of the decrease in cross-sectional
area to the original cross-sectional area of a test specimen, expressed
on a percentage basis; see also Percentage Elongation.

Percentage Strain A Strength of Materials term; also called Percent

Strain; the strain expressed on percentage basis.
Perfect Friction A Fluid Mechanics term; see Viscosity.

Perfect Gas A Chemistry term; also called Ideal Gas; a theoretical

(hypothetical) gas in which the intermolecular forces are negligible;
obeys ideal gas equation (also called equation of state), pv = RT, where
p is the absolute pressure, v is the specific volume, T is the absolute
temperature, and R is the characteristic gas constant (a ratio of the
universal gas constant to the molar mass (molecular weight), which is
different for each gas; a gas whose specific heats are constant and
independent of temperature, and for which Cp – Cv = R, where Cp and Cv
are respectively the specific heats at constant pressure and constant
volume; at standard temperature and pressure (STP) and also at low
pressure and high temperature, most gases behave like an ideal gas
with reasonable accuracy; many gases such as nitrogen, oxygen,
hydrogen, noble gases, and some heavier gases like carbon dioxide can
be treated like ideal gases.

Perfect Truss A Strength of Materials term that relates to a truss; see

Rigid Truss.

Perfectly Elastic Body A Physics term; a body which regains its

original conditions (shape and size) immediately and completely after
the removal of deforming force from it; quartz and phosphor bronze are
near to perfectly elastic body; however no body is perfectly elastic; see
also Perfectly Plastic Body.

Perfectly Elastic Demand An Economics term; the demand is said to

be perfectly elastic, when even a small change in price causes a major
change in demand pattern (either becomes too more or too less or even
zero); found in case of sales of products during an off season or to clear
the stock; the price–demand curve for a perfectly elastic demand is a
horizontal line (parallel to the demand axis), which indicates that the
customer can purchase any quantity of the product at one price; see
also Perfectly Inelastic Demand.

Perfectly Inelastic Collision A Physics term; the collision in which

two bodies stick to each other after collision; the coefficient of
restitution, e for perfectly inelastic collision is zero; a few examples
include sticking of an arrow in a target and hitting of a target by a bullet
which gets embedded in the target.

Perfectly Inelastic Demand An Economics term; the demand is said

to be perfectly inelastic, when it does not change with the change in
price, that is, the quantity demanded is independent of a price change;
the price–demand curve for a perfectly inelastic demand is a vertical
line (parallel to the price axis), which indicates that the customer can
pay any price for a certain quantity of goods; usually the demand for
essential items is perfectly inelastic, for example, the demand for insulin
for diabetic patients is perfectly inelastic; see also Perfectly Elastic
Demand.

Perfectly Plastic Body A Physics term; a body which does not regain
its original conditions (shape and size) at all on the removal of
deforming force, howsoever small the deforming force may be; a few
examples of nearly perfectly plastic bodies include putty, mud, and
paraffin wax; however no body is perfectly plastic; see also Perfectly
Elastic Body.

Perforating A Manufacturing term; a sheet metal operation used to

produce a number of closely spaced small holes in a sheet metal blank.

Performance Rating Factor A Motion Study term, abbreviated as

PRF; a factor used to compare the speed of a worker with respect to the
normal speed of a well-trained worker under ordinary operating
conditions; used to normalize the work-time of slow and fast workers;
describes how much above or below average the worker’s performance
on each work element is; for example, a performance rating factor of
1.00 indicates that the worker is working at normal speed; a
performance rating factor of 1.20 indicates 20% faster than normal
(faster worker), and a performance rating factor of 0.80 indicates 20%
slower than normal (slow worker).

Perimeter A Mathematics term; the total length of boundary of a

closed figure; equals to sum of all the sides of the closed figure; for
example, the perimeter of a rectangle, a square or a triangle is given as:
where

P = perimeter
l = length of the rectangle
b = breadth of the rectangle or side of the triangle
a = side of the square or the side of the triangle
c = side of the triangle.

Periodic Function A Physics term; any function which repeats itself

regularly over a given interval of time or space; represents a periodic
motion; a function f (t) is said to be periodic, if for all values of t, there is
some positive constant T such that

where T is called the period of f (t) which can be 2 T, 3 T, … etc.; for

example, sin (t) and cos (t) are periodic functions having a period of 2π
radian.

Periodic Motion A Physics term; also called Cyclic Motion; the

motion repeated identically after equal intervals of time; a few
examples include the rotation of the earth around the sun, the rotation of
the earth about its own polar axis, the rotation of the moon around the
earth, and the motion of hands of a clock; see also Oscillatory Motion.

Periodic Order Quantity An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as POQ; a lot sizing rule by which an order is placed on
periodic basis based on the requirement of demand; see also Fixed
Order Quantity and Lot-for-Lot.

Periodic Review System An Operations Management term; an

inventory management system of periodic monitoring the status of
inventory in which orders for the inventory are placed at equal intervals
of time; the ordered quantity of inventory is not fixed, rather it varies
with every order; the production quantity model is based on this
system; see also Continuous Review System.

Periodic Table A Chemistry term; a tool for classifying the chemical

elements in which elements are arranged in increasing order of their
atomic numbers such that the elements with similar properties fall in
the same vertical column, called group, and the elements with
dissimilar properties fall in different groups; the Mendeleev’s periodic
table was the first breakthrough in the classification of elements
pioneered by a Russian chemist, Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev; the latest
and the most commonly used table is based on the electronic
configuration of elements and is called the long form of periodic table,
also called the Bohr’s table.

Peripheral Speed A Physics term; the speed of an object at the

periphery of a circle; given as:

where

V = peripheral speed
D = diameter of the circle (m)
N = revolution per minute

Permanent Fastener A Design term; a fastening device used to join

two parts of a machine or structure permanently and their separation
is not possible without damaging the parts or the device itself; for
example, rivet; see also Temporary Fastener.

Permanent Mould Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting;

also called Hard Mould Casting as it uses a hard metallic mould or
Near-Net Shape Casting as the final-shaped castings require little or
no machining or Gravity Die Casting or Gravity Casting as the molten
metal enters the metallic mould (die) under gravity without using any
pressure; a casting process which uses a metallic mould made of grey
cast iron (mostly), bronze or other materials like graphite or refractories
to produce dimensionally more accurate castings with minute surface
details and close dimensional tolerances; the typical products made by
this method include automobile pistons, cylinder heads, connecting rods,
cooking utensils, refrigerator parts, and small gear blanks.

Permanent Mould A Casting term; see Die.

Permissible Stress A Strength of Materials term; see Working

Stress.

Perpendicular Axis Theorem A Strength of Materials term; used to

find the moment of inertia (second moment of area) of a section about
an axis perpendicular to its plane area; equals to the sum of its
moments of inertia about the two rectangular axes lying in the plane of
the area; given as:

where

Iz = J = polar moment of inertia of the section about z-axis

Ix = moment of inertia of the section about x-axis
Iy = moment of inertia of the section about y-axis; see also Parallel-
Axes Theorem.

Perpetual Motion Machine of First Kind A Thermodynamics term,

abbreviated as PMM 1; a device which violates the first law of
thermodynamics (by creating energy); see also Perpetual Motion
Machine of Second Kind.

Perpetual Motion Machine of Second Kind A Thermodynamics

term, abbreviated as PMM 2; a device which violates the second law of
thermodynamics; see also Perpetual Motion Machine of First Kind.
Perpetual Motion Machine A Thermodynamics term, abbreviated as
PMM; any device which violates the first or the second law of
thermodynamics; see also PMM 1 and PMM 2.

Personal Error A Metrology term; a type of systematic error which

occurs due to inexperience of an observer; a few examples include
taking readings of an instrument without setting it properly, and taking
observations without following proper precautions.

Personal Income An Economics term; a part of national income

received by a person from all sources; see also National Income.

PERT A Project Management term; see Program Evaluation and

Review Technique.

Pessimistic Time A Project Management term; the longest possible

time to complete a project activity, assuming everything goes wrong;
used to calculate the expected time of completion of an activity in
program evaluation and review technique (PERT); see also Optimistic
Time.

Petrol Engine An IC Engine term: an internal combustion engine

which works on the principle of Otto cycle; also called Spark Ignition
Engine abbreviated as SI Engine; the working fluid is the fuel–air
mixture which is ignited by a spark produced by a spark plug; uses a
lower compression ratio as compared to a diesel engine; see also CI
Engine and Diesel Engine.

Pewter A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of tin (Sn) and lead

(Pb) consisting of 75% (or 80%) Sn and 25% (or 20%) Pb; used in
making cups, mugs, and other utensils; see also Solder.

Phase Diagram A Materials Engineering and a Thermodynamics

term; in materials engineering terms, a diagram which shows the
composition and phases of an alloy system with respect to temperature;
the iron-carbon phase diagram is the most important one, which has
wider commercial applications; in thermodynamics terms, the plot
between pressure (on the vertical axis) and temperature (on the
horizontal axis) which shows all the three phases of a pure substance.

Phase Difference A Physics term; the difference in phase of two

vibrating particles which indicates the lack of harmony in the vibrating
states of the two particles at a given instant.

Phase A Physics term; a physical quantity which completely defines

the position and direction of motion of an oscillating particle at any
instant with respect to its mean position; if the displacement of a
particle at any instant of time t is represented by the equation:

then the quantity is called the phase of

oscillation at time t.

where

Φ = phase constant
ω = angular frequency
n = frequency of oscillation
a = amplitude of oscillation
T = time period of oscillation.

Phenolic A Chemistry term; a thermosetting polymer produced by the

polycondensation of phenol and formaldehyde; has good dielectric
properties and surface hardness; widely used in making electric iron
handles, switch covers, socket boxes, and fan-motor housings.

Philip B. Crosby (1926–2001) One of the quality gurus and

pioneers of quality management who authored two famous books,
‘Quality Is Free’ (1979) and ‘Quality Without Tears’ (1984); also evolved
two important quality terms ‘cost of poor quality’ (in his book ‘Quality Is
Free’) and ‘zero defects’(in his book ‘Quality Without Tears’).
Phosgene A Chemistry term; a chemical compound having the
chemical formula of COCl2, also called Carbonyl Chloride; an extremely
poisonous gas obtained when carbon monoxide (CO) combines with
chlorine (Cl2) in the presence of sunlight.

Phosphor Bronze A Chemistry term; a copper-base alloy containing

up to 11% tin (Sn) and small amounts of phosphorus (P) along with
copper (Cu); has good corrosion and fatigue resistance, high tensile
strength, and high capacity to absorb energy which makes it suitable as
a spring material.

Photo Diode An Electronics term; a semiconductor device which can

convert light into current or voltage; used to detect the presence or
absence of minute quantities of light; finds use in consumer electronic
devices such as compact disc (CD) players, smoke detectors, and remote
control receivers for televisions, etc.; also used for various medical
applications such as detectors for computed tomography or instruments
to analyse samples (immunoassay).

Photocell A Physics term; see Solar Cell.

Photochemical Blanking A Nonconventional Machining term; a

nonconventional chemical machining (CM) process which removes
materials from a workpiece by using a photographic technique; can
produce extremely thin metal without distortion; can easily machine
fragile parts and hard and brittle materials; typical photochemical
products include fine screens, printed circuit boards, and masks for
colour television.

Photochemical Reaction A Chemistry term; any chemical reaction

initiated as a result of absorption of light.

Photoelectric Effect A Physics term; a phenomenon discovered by J.

J. Thomson (1856–1940) in which electrons are emitted from the
surface of a metal when a light of a certain frequency strikes on it.

Photoelectrons A Physics term; the electrons emitted from the

surface of a metal on being subjected to a light of a certain frequency.
Photon A Physics term; a bundle of energy which light consists of;
the energy of a photon is equal to hυ, where υ is the frequency of the
light and h is a constant, called Planck’s constant whose numerical value
is equal to 6.626 × 10–34 J s.

Phototransistor A digital switch which produces an output when

light falls on it.

Photovoltaic Cell A Physics term; see Solar Cell.

Physical Model The reconstruction of an actual system and

environment; a few examples include scale model of an aeroplane,
testing of a new product in the market or testing of a bomb.

Physical Property A Materials Engineering term; a property which is

not related to the composition of materials or to the application of
external forces; mostly structure-insensitive and hence do not change
with change in the structure of the materials; a few physical properties
include specific heat, density, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion,
melting point, boiling point, and electrical conductivity.

Physical Science The science which deals with non-living things;

include subjects like physics, chemistry, geology, geography, astronomy,
astrology, and oceanology; see also Biological Science.

Physics The most basic branch of science which deals with the study
of nature and natural phenomena; two domains of interest in physics
include macroscopic and microscopic; macroscopic domain makes up
classical physics and microscopic domain makes up modern physics; five
main branches of physics include mechanics, heat & thermodynamics,
electromagnetism, theory of relativity, and quantum mechanics.

Physiological Need A Management term related to motivation; one

of the five levels of human needs proposed by Abraham Harold Maslow
(1908–1970) in his ‘Need-Hierarchy Theory’ of motivation; represents
the basic needs of human beings such as hunger, thirst, and the need for
shelter.
Pi Bond A Chemistry term abbreviated as π bond; a type of covalent
bond formed by lateral (sidewise) overlapping of the two half-filled
orbitals; weaker than sigma (σ) bond; see also Sigma Bond.

Piercing A Manufacturing term; a metal working operation used to

produce indentation (impression) in the form of cavity on the surface of
a workpiece by using a punch; also used to produce hollow regions in
forgings; see also Punching and Blanking.

Piezoelectric Effect A Physics term; a phenomenon in which a

material produces a small voltage when subjected to mechanical
pressure.

Piezometer Fluid Mechanics term; a simple device used to measure

fluid pressure; consists of a vertical glass tube to be mounted at the
point of pressure measurement (shown as the height of liquid column
above the point); not suitable for measuring large pressure as it will
require long vertical tubes; cannot measure negative gauge pressure
(vacuum).

Piezometric Head A Fluid Mechanics term; the sum of pressure head

and datum head; a more convenient means, as the sum of the two heads
is easily measurable by employing a simple piezometer.

Pig Iron A Materials Engineering term; a product of blast furnace;

obtained by heating the iron ore in the blast furnace, and the liquid iron
is poured into moulds to form what is known as pigs of iron; a base
metal used in steel making; is hard and brittle; contains considerable
amounts of dissolved carbon, manganese, silicon, phosphorus, and
sulphur.

Pillar File A Manufacturing term; one of the types of a file used in the
fitting shop which resembles a hand file, but has reduced width and
increased thickness; used in the filing of narrow works such as keyways,
slots, and grooves.

Pin Holes A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs in the
form of small gas cavities just below the surface of a casting due to
excessive moisture content and poor permeability of the moulding
sand.

Pin Joint A Design term; a temporary fastening device which uses a

pin to fasten two circular rods subjected to tensile forces; permits a
small amount of flexibility.

Pin Support A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; see Hinge

Support.

Pin A Design term; a fastening element used in pin joint; used to

connect two circular shafts; classified into cylindrical pin and conical pin.

Pinion A Theory of Machines term related to gear; used in

conjunction with a rack; the smaller gear of the two mating gear
wheels; see also Rack.

Piston Rod An IC Engine term; a round rod attached to the piston of

an engine, which in turn, is connected to the connecting rod; executes
reciprocating motion inside the cylinder of the engine.

Piston An IC Engine term; a cylindrical component of an IC engine

which makes a reciprocating motion (also called to-and-fro motion or
up and down motion) in the engine cylinder to compress the fuel or
expel the products of combustion.

Pit Moulding A Casting term; the process of making a mould in a pit

instead of a moulding flask; used for extremely large size castings.

Pitch Circle Diameter A Theory of Machines term related to gear;

also called Pitch Diameter; the diameter of the pitch circle or the
theoretical diameter of a screw thread lying between major and minor
diameters; see also Major Diameter and Minor Diameter.

Pitch Circle A Theory of Machines term related to gear; an imaginary

circle around which the teeth on a gear or any other uniformly toothed
device are evenly spaced.
Pitch Diameter A Theory of Machines term related to gear; see Pitch
Circle Diameter.

Pitch A Gear term; see Circular Pitch.

Pitot Tube A Fluid Mechanics term, named after Henry Pitot (1695–
1771), a French physicist; a metering device used to measure the
velocity of a fluid flow using Bernoulli’s equation; consists of a thin glass
tube with both ends open, having a right-angle bend, where one end of
the tube faces the upstream flow and brings it to rest at its inlet; the
velocity of the flow (V) is given as:

where

h = height of liquid column (in case of open channel) or difference

between liquid columns (in case Pitot tube lies in a pipe and is attached
with a piezometer)
g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s2.

Pitting A Strength of Materials term; a surface fatigue failure which

occurs due to many repetitions of high contact stresses.

Pivot Bearing See Foot-Step Bearing.

P-Kanban An Operations Management term; see Production

Kanban.

Plain Carbon Steel A Materials Engineering term; also called Carbon

Steel; an alloy of iron and carbon with small percentage of manganese,
silicon, sulphur and phosphorus present as impurities but not as alloying
elements; carbon content may vary in the range from a trace to 1.7%;
finds use in making components where strength and other
requirements are not too severe; classified into low carbon, medium
carbon, and high carbon steels.
Planar Structure A Strength of Materials term; a structure lying in a
single plane; for example, a simple beam or a cantilever beam.

Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle An Operations Management term; see

Deming Wheel.

Plane of Bending A Strength of Materials term; the plane in which all

the loads act and all deflections occur; the plane in which a beam bends.

Plane of Symmetry A Strength of Materials term; an imaginary plane

which divides the cross section of a beam into two identical parts; a
plane about which the two parts of the cross section of a beam are the
mirror image of each other.

Plane Stress A Strength of Materials term; a state of stress in which

an element of a beam’s cross section is subjected to normal and shear
stresses in only two directions, say along x and y directions of a xy-
plane; a common stress condition which exists in all ordinary
structures such as in the walls of pressure vessels, in the webs and
flanges of beams of various shapes, and in a wide variety of structures
subjected to the combined effects of axial, shear and bending loads as
well as internal pressure.

Plane Truss A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; a truss in

which forces through the members as well as the external loads acting
at the joints lie in a plane; see also Space Truss.

Plane A Mathematics term; a flat smooth surface which extends

indefinitely in all directions.

Planimeter An IC Engine term; an instrument used to measure the

area of an indicator diagram.

Planned Order Schedule An Operations Management term related

to MRP; the primary output of MRP; a schedule or plan of the quantity
of each material to be ordered in each time period over the entire
planning horizon in a production system; used by purchasing to place
orders with suppliers, and by production to order parts, subassemblies
or assemblies from upstream production departments.

Planning Horizon An Operations Management term; the length of

time covered by an aggregate plan; it is typically of one year.

Planning A Management term; one of the main functions of a

manager which focuses on setting the organizational goals and
objectives as well as the actions to achieve them; requires decision-
making, that is, choosing a course of action from among alternatives.

Plant Layout An Operations Management term related to facilities

planning; see Facility Layout.

Plant Location An Operations Management term related to facilities

planning; the finding or locating a place for establishing a plant; should
be near to a source of raw materials, market and workforce (skilled and
unskilled); supported by infrastructural facilities such as road, power,
water and transportation; a suburban area which combines the
advantages of both urban and rural areas is the best choice for
establishing a plant as it offers many benefits such as skilled workforce,
increased scope of expansion because of abundant availability of cheap
land, pollution-free environment and improved working atmosphere.

Plaster Mould Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; a

casting process which uses a plaster of paris mould to produce castings
of high dimensional accuracy and good surface finish; typical parts
produced by this method include gears, valves, and ornaments.

Plastic Deformation A Strength of Materials term; a process of

permanently deforming a body with the application of an external
force, and the body does not recover its original shape and size on the
removal of the force; finds use in giving useful and desired shapes to
products used for various applications; see also Elastic Deformation.

Plastic Material A Materials Engineering term; a material which

does not fully recover its unstrained (original) state, but retains some
permanent strain on the removal of the load applied on it, when
stressed within elastic limit; the unloading path does not follow the
loading path and the process is irreversible; for example, rubber is a
plastic material; see also Elastic Material.

Plastic A Chemistry term; a chemically produced material which can

be moulded into shape while soft and then set into a hard or slightly
flexible form.

Plasticity A Physics term; a property of a metallic body which

enables it to get permanently deformed on the application of a
deforming force; used in producing useful products; see also Elasticity.

Plasticizer A Chemistry term; a complex, low molecular weight

organic compound; used as an additive to impart flexibility and softness
to a polymer during the polymerization process.

Plate A form of material (metal, plastic and others) having thickness

greater than 6 mm; used for making structural bodies like machine
structures, boilers, bridges, ship hulls, nuclear vessels, etc.; see also Sheet.

Platinum A Chemistry term; a heavy, soft, ductile, and malleable noble

metal which has the specific gravity of 21.4 and the melting point of
1773 °C; a costly metal; used in making platinum thermometers,
scientific apparatus, and jewellery.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle An Electric Vehicle term,

abbreviated as PHEV; a hybrid electric vehicle which uses a larger
battery that uses plug-in charging facility for fast charging using Level 2
charging; can travel more distances (10–40 miles) with battery
assistance before gasoline engine can be used to drive the vehicle
further; a few examples of PHEV include Audi A3 E-Tron, Ford Escape
PHEV, Kia Optima, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Toyota Prius, Volvo XC90
TB; see also Hybrid Electric Vehicle.

Plywood A Materials Engineering term; a composite material formed

by thin sheets of wood that are glued together using high-strength
thermosetting plastic adhesives; has a greater strength-to-weight ratio
than a board of equal geometry made from a single species of wood.
PMM 1 A Thermodynamics term; see Perpetual Motion Machine of
First Kind.

PMM 2 A Thermodynamics term; see Perpetual Motion Machine of

Second Kind.

PMM A Thermodynamics term; see Perpetual Motion Machine.

Pneumatic Control System A Physics term; a control system which

employs the changes of air pressure for the functioning of an operating
device.

Pneumatics The physical science and technologies associated with

the mechanics of pressurized gases; mechatronic devices work on the
principle of pneumatics.

Point Defect A Materials Engineering term; a zero-dimensional

disorder in a crystalline structure caused either by heating during the
processing of a material or by the introduction of impurity atoms or
ions in the material; the two common types of point defects include
vacancy and interstitial; see also Dislocation.

Point Load A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; see

Concentrated Load.

Point of Contraflexure A Strength of Materials term; also called

Inflection Point; a point of zero moment in the bending moment
diagram (BMD) where the bending moment changes sign from positive
to negative and vice versa; corresponds to zero curvature of the
deflected beam.

Point A Mathematics term; a geometrical figure which has no length

or breadth, but has only a position that can be specified by coordinates.

Point-to-Point System A Manufacturing term related to automation;

also called Positioning System; a motion control system used in
numerical control (NC) to move the cutting tool to a predefined location
and then start the work; the speed or path by which this movement is
accomplished is not important; denotes the lowest level of motion
control between the tool and workpiece; highly suitable for drilling
operations and spot welding.

Poise A Fluid Mechanics term; the CGS unit of dynamic viscosity,

named after Jean Poiseuille (1797–1869), a French physician and
scientist who studied the flow of blood through capillaries in the
human body; equivalent to dyne-s-cm−2 or gm/(cm-s); one poise is the
coefficient of viscosity of a liquid in which a viscous force of 1 dyne acts
per cm2 of a liquid layer having a velocity-gradient of 1 cm per sec per
cm perpendicular to the direction of flow; 1 poise = 0.1 kg/(m-s) =
0.1 Pa-s; see also Centipoise.

Poiseuille Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; see Hagen–Poiseuille

Flow.

Poisson’s Ratio A Strength of Materials term; a ratio of the lateral

strain to the longitudinal strain; a useful parameter to connect elastic
constants; denoted by υ (nu); theoretically its value should lie between
-1 and 0.5, but it is never negative, and practically lies between 0 and
0.5; for most metals its value is 0.33; other values of Poisson’s ratio
include 0 for cork, 0.1 for cement concrete, and 0.5 for rubber and
incompressible materials.

Poka Yoke An Operations Management term; a mistake-proofing

technique used in JIT manufacturing; requires a process or product to
be redesigned in a manner so that it is difficult to make a mistake in the
process or product; the Taguchi approach of robust design eliminates
quality defects; a jig which holds pieces for processing might be
designed in a manner to allow pieces to be held only in the correct
orientation.

Poka-Yoke An Operations Management term; also called Mistake-

Proofing or Full Proofing; a Japanese technique to design a process in
a manner so that it is difficult to make a mistake in the process; any
foolproof device or mechanism which prevents defects from occurring;
for example, the Taguchi approach of ‘robust design’ eliminates quality
defects; similarly, a jig used to hold a workpiece during its processing
must be designed in a manner to allow the workpiece to be held only in
the correct orientation.

Polar Covalent Bond A Chemistry term; a covalent bond formed

between two dissimilar atoms; one of the two atoms in the bond
generally has a greater tendency to attract the electrons towards itself,
hence electron pair is pulled closer to that atom, resulting in
unsymmetrical distribution of electrons leading to charge separation;
found in molecules such as water (H2O) and hydrogen fluoride (HF); see
also Nonpolar Covalent Bond.

Polar Modulus A Strength of Materials term; a ratio of the polar

moment of inertia of a shaft’s cross-section to its radius; also equals to
a ratio of the torque applied to the maximum shear stress on the shaft;
polar modulus of solid and hollow shafts are given as:

where

d = diameter of a solid shaft or inside diameter of a hollow shaft

D = outside diameter of a hollow shaft.

Polar Molecule A Chemistry term; a molecule having a polar covalent

bond; consist of two dissimilar atoms; has a permanent dipole moment;
examples include water molecule (H2O) and hydrogen fluoride molecule
(HF); see also Nonpolar Molecule.

Polar Moment of Inertia A Strength of Materials term; the moment

of inertia of a plane area about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the
area; denoted by J or Iz; given as:
where

d = diameter of the solid shaft or inside diameter of the hollow shaft

D = outside diameter of the hollow shaft; see also Second Moment of
Area.

Polar Orbit A Physics term; the orbit whose angle of inclination with
the equatorial plane of the earth is 90°.

Polar Satellite A Physics term; a low altitude satellite which revolves

in a polar orbit around the earth, and is placed at about 500–800 km
height from the surface of the earth; moves around the poles of the
earth from north to south direction, whereas the earth rotates around
its own axis from west to east direction; its time period of revolution is
about 100 min; used for collecting information about atmospheric
conditions (such as temperature and pressure required for cloud
formation), ozone layer in the atmosphere, and to detect the ozone hole
over Antarctica, which are extremely useful for remote sensing,
meteorology as well as for environmental studies of the earth; see also
Geostationary Satellite.

Polarity An Electrical term; the condition of being electrically

positive or negative.

Policy A Management term; a general statement or understanding

which guides a manager’s thinking in decision-making; ensures that
decisions fall within certain boundaries.

Political Skill A Management term; a management skill which

relates to a manager’s ability to build a power base and to establish
influential connections; helps a manager to get more promotions and
compete for resources.

Polyester A Chemistry term; a thermosetting polymer produced by

the polycondensation of polycarboxylic acid and polyhydric alcohol; has
excellent dielectric properties and surface hardness; widely used in
making cloth, paper, mat, and insulation for wire and cables.

Polyethylene A Chemistry term; also called Polythene; a

thermoplastic polymer formed by polymerization of a large number of
ethylene molecules covalently bonded to one another; used in the form
of sheets, film, and wire insulation; a few typical products include
bottles, pipes, and housewares.

Polygon Law of Forces A Physics term; see Law of Polygon of

Forces.

Polygon A Mathematics term; a closed plane figure formed by three

or more sides; triangle is the simplest polygon having three sides; other
examples of polygon include rectangle, square, pentagon, hexagon, etc.

Polymer A Chemistry term; a high molecular mass macromolecule

which consists of repeating structural units derived from monomers;
can resist corrosion and chemical attacks; often used in composites
both as fibres and as a matrix; has wide range applications; most of the
polymers are electrical insulators.

Polymerization A Chemistry term; the process by which monomers

join together to form a polymer; for example, the formation of
polyethylene from ethylene; classified into addition polymerization and
condensation polymerization.

Polystyrene A Chemistry term; a commonly used plastic material

which may be formed into a variety of shapes by the simple application
of heat; a low-cost, easy-to-process, rigid, crystal clear, brittle material
which displays exceptional resistance to wear and corrosive attacks by
chemicals.
Polythene A Chemistry term; see Polyethylene.

Polytropic Process A Thermodynamics term; a process which

follows the equation PVn = constant, where P and V respectively
represent pressure and volume, and ‘n’ is an exponent which equals to
1 for an isothermal process, 0 for a constant pressure process, ∞ for a
constant volume process and γ (= Cp/Cv) for an adiabatic process; the
work done during a polytropic process undergoing between two states
1 (initial state condition) and 2 (final state condition) is given as:

POQ An Operations Management term; see Periodic Order Quantity.

Porosity A Manufacturing term related to casting; see Shrinkage.

Positioning System A Manufacturing term related to automation;

see Point-to-Point System.

Positive Displacement Machine A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid

device in which energy transfer is accompanied by volume changes
which occur due to movement of the boundary (positive displacement)
in which the fluid is confined; a few examples include piston-cylinder
arrangements, gear pumps, and lobe pumps.

Positive Displacement Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; a pump in

which a fluid is sucked and pushed out alternatively in a cylinder using
a piston or plunger involving displacement of the fluid; develops
positive (high) pressure used to lift the fluid to a required height;
suitable for high pressure applications (ranging up to 40 MPa) like
pumping viscous liquids or thick slurries, and for applications where
precise amounts of liquids are to be handled as in case of medical
applications; a few examples include flexible-tube peristaltic pump,
three-lobe rotary pump, gear pump, and double screw pump; a human
heart is also a good example of positive displacement pump; see also
Rotodynamic Pump.
Positive Integers A Mathematics term; any positive number such as
1, 2, 3, 4, etc.; see also Negative Integers.

Potash Glass A Chemistry term; also called Hard Glass because of its
hardness; a type of glass having high melting point which makes it to
withstand higher temperatures; contains potassium carbonate (K2CO3),
calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and sand or quartz (silica, SiO2) fused
together in proper proportions.

Potential Energy A Physics term; also called Datum Energy; the

capacity of a body to do work by virtue of its position, configuration or
state of strain; for example, the water at the top of a waterfall can rotate
a turbine when allowed to fall on it, and its energy is called the
gravitational potential energy; a wound clock spring may keep the clock
running by virtue of its state of strain and its energy is called the elastic
potential energy; when a body is kept on the earth’s surface, its
potential energy is zero, but once it is raised to a certain height, it
acquires a certain value of potential energy, depends on mass and
height of a body; equals to the product of mass (m), acceleration due to
gravity (g), and height (h), that is, mgh.

Potential Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; see Irrotational Flow.

Potential Function A Fluid Mechanics term; see Velocity Potential.

Potential Head A Fluid Mechanics term; see Elevation Head.

Potential Vortex A Fluid Mechanics term; see Free Vortex.

Pound Force A Physics term; the British unit (the FPS unit) of force;
denoted by lbf; 1 pound force is that force which acts on a body of one
pound mass and produces an acceleration equal to the standard
acceleration of gravity on earth, that is, 32.2 ft/s2.

Pound Mass A Physics term; the British unit (the FPS unit) of mass; 1
pound mass is equal to 0.4536 kg.
Pound Weight A Physics term; a unit of force in the British system of
units (the FPS unit); the pull of gravity on the unit pound mass with an
acceleration due to gravity of 32.2 ft/s2; 1 pound weight is equal to 32.2
poundal; see also Poundal.

Poundal A Physics term; a unit of force in the British system of units

(the FPS unit); the force which acts over a body of unit pound mass and
produces an acceleration of 1 ft/s2.

Pouring Basin A Manufacturing term related to casting; a part of the

gating system; a funnel-shaped cavity which lies at the top of the mould
which contains molten metal used for making the castings.

Power Hacksaw A Manufacturing term; a hacksaw operated by

power.

Power Spinning A Manufacturing term; see Shear Spinning.

Power Stroke A Thermodynamics term related to an IC engine; also

called Expansion Stroke or Working Stroke; one of the strokes of a
piston in an (internal combustion) engine which develops power
during an expansion process.

Power Transmission A Strength of Materials term; the power

transmitted by a solid as well as a hollow shaft is given as:
(1)

(2)

(3)

where

T = torque acting on the shaft in N-m in Eqs. (1) and (2) and in Kgf-m
in Eq. (3)
N = revolutions per minute (rpm) of the shaft
π = a constant.

Power A Physics and a Management term; in physics terms, the time

rate of doing work; a ratio of the work done to the time taken; the
product of force and velocity in linear motion; the product of torque and
angular velocity in rotational motion; the SI unit is watt (W) which is
equivalent to joule/sec (J/s); its another popular unit is horsepower
(hp) which is used to describe the output of automobiles, motorbikes,
etc.; in management terms, the ability of individuals or groups to induce
or influence the beliefs or actions of other persons or groups; see also
Authority.

ppm An Air Pollution term; the short form of parts per million; a unit
of measure of the concentration of gases in air; expressed as parts of
the gas per million (106) parts of the air–gas mixture, both by volume.

Precedence Relationship A Project Management term; the

sequential relationship of project activities to each other.

Precious Metals A Materials Engineering term; relatively scarce,

highly corrosion-resistant metals which are valued for their colour,
lustre and malleability; a few examples include gold, silver, and
platinum.

Precision Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Investment Casting.

Precision Forging A Manufacturing term; also called Net-Shape

Forging or Near-Net-Shape Forging; a hot metal working process used
to produce highly finished parts requiring no further machining.

Precision A Metrology term; the repeatability of a measurement

process; also indicates how closely the individual measured values of a
physical quantity agree with each other when measurements are
carried out under identical operating conditions at a short interval of
time; a precision instrument always gives the same reading; used in
conjunction with accuracy; determined by the least count of the
measuring instrument; smaller the least count, greater is the precision;
see also Accuracy.

Predictive Maintenance An Operations Management term; also

called Condition Monitoring; a method of preventive maintenance in
which the condition of the equipment is constantly monitored, and the
decision to carry out maintenance is taken based on the analysis of the
equipment’s behaviour; see also Preventive Maintenance and
Breakdown Maintenance.

Present Worth Method A Financial Management term; see Present-

Value Analysis.

Present-Value Analysis A Financial Management term; also called

Present Worth Method; a process of determining the amount of
money to be invested now at a specific rate of interest to accumulate to
a certain amount in the future.

President A Management term; a high level manager (a corporate

official) who is the next most powerful position after the chairman and
chief executive officer (CEO) of a company, and reports directly to the
CEO; shares the principal responsibility for managing the company’s
business with the CEO.

Press Forging A Manufacturing term; another method of applying

forces in a forging operation, other than drop forging, in which a
workpiece (heated or cold) is shaped by gradually applying pressure
through a ram; effectively utilizes the deformation energy in shaping
the workpiece, the major part of which goes as a waste in drop forging;
also offers higher dimensional accuracy to the workpiece even in a
single operation; see also Drop Forging.

Press Work A Design term; an operation which involves shaping of a

workpiece by means of a press (mechanical or hydraulic) which applies
the required pressure.

Pressed Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; also called

Corthias Casting named after Corthias of France; a variation of the
permanent mould casting in which the hot molten metal is pressurized
to enter the mould cavity of an open-ended metal mould (die); limited
to the production of ornamental castings of open design.

Pressure Angle A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; also

called Angle of Obliquity; an angle between the common normal at the
point of contact and the common tangent at the pitch point; varies
between 14 ° and 22 ° for involute gears, but the normal value is
20°.

Pressure Die Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Die Casting.

Pressure Drop A Fluid Mechanics term; the differential pressure

which exists between two points in a fluid flow system; the resistance
to flow between the two points.

Pressure Gauge A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a boiler

mounting used to measure steam pressure in the boiler; also called
Steam Gauge; fitted in the front and at the top of the boiler for clear
inspection.

Pressure Gradient A Fluid Mechanics term; the rate of change of

pressure with distance; represents the negative of the surface force per
unit volume due to pressure; denoted by p; expressed as:

Pressure Head A Fluid Mechanics term; an energy parameter which

appears in the Bernoulli equation; represents the height of a fluid
column which produces the static pressure; expressed as P/ρg or P/γ;
(P = pressure of the fluid, ρ = density of the fluid, g = acceleration due to
gravity = 9.81 m/s2 and γ = specific weight of the fluid); see also
Velocity Head and Potential Head.
Pressure Pouring A Manufacturing term related to casting; see Low
Pressure Casting.

Pressure Ratio An IC Engine term; a ratio of the pressure of a fluid

after compression to the pressure of the fluid before compression; used
to find the efficiency of an IC engine or a pump; see also Compression
Ratio.

Pressure Transducer An Electronics term; a sensor-based pressure

measuring device which converts a pressure effect into an electrical
effect like change in voltage, resistance, or capacitance.

Pressure Vessel A Strength of Materials term; a cylindrical or

spherical container used to store liquids or gases under pressure; a few
examples include compressed air tanks, boilers, water-supply pipes, fire
extinguishers, spray cans, penstocks, and reservoirs; used in thermal and
nuclear power plants, chemical industries, water, steam and air supply
system and in space and ocean depths; classified into thin-walled or
thick-walled types depending upon diameter-thickness (d/t) ratio; the
thin-walled pressure vessels have (d/t) ratio greater than 20, and are
subjected to two types of stresses: the longitudinal stress acting along
the axis and the hoop stress (circumferential stress) acting along the
circumference of the vessels; the thick-walled pressure vessels have
(d/t) ratio less than 20 and are subjected to three types of stresses: the
radial stress acting on the thickness (annular ring), the hoop stress, and
the longitudinal stress.

Pressure A Fluid Mechanics and a Thermodynamics term; the

external normal force which acts on unit area of a gas or a liquid; the SI
unit is pascal (Pa) which is equivalent to N/m2; the unit pascal is named
after the French mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) who
contributed to early principles of hydrostatics; the other units of
pressure include kgf/cm2 or kgf/m2 (the MKS unit), dyne/cm2, mm of
Hg, cm of Hg, bar (1 bar = 105 Pa), or torr (1 mm of Hg); has dimension
of [ML−1 T−2].
Prevention Cost A Quality Management term; a part of cost of quality
associated with preventing the occurrence of defects in a product
during its manufacturing; includes cost of redesigning the product to
make it easily reproducible, cost of redesigning the process to remove
the causes of poor quality, cost of improved raw materials, and cost for
training employees; see also Appraisal Cost.

Preventive Maintenance An Operations Management term; a type of

maintenance carried out at regular time intervals (during regular
operation of facilities or machines) in an attempt to prevent their
breakdown (by conducting regularly scheduled inspections, machine
adjustments, lubrication, cleaning, parts replacement, painting, and the
needed repairs and overhauls); see also Breakdown Maintenance and
Predictive Maintenance.

PRF A Work Study term; see Performance Rating Factor.

Price Elasticity of Demand An Economics term; see Elasticity of

Demand.

Price An Economics term; the amount at which a product is sold per

unit; reflects the amount what a customer is willing to pay.

Primary Bond A Chemistry term; an atomic bond formed by the

transfer or sharing of outer orbital electrons; relatively a stronger bond
than secondary bond; examples include ionic bond and covalent bond;
see also Secondary Bond.

Primary Sources of Energy A Power Plant term; include water (by

storing water to a certain height by constructing a dam), sun, nuclear
fuels, and fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gases; see also
Secondary Sources of Energy.

Prime Cost An Operations Management term related to cost analysis;

the sum of direct material cost, direct labour cost, and direct expenses; it
is very related to manufacturing activities.
Prime Mover A Power Plant term; a mechanical device used to
convert energy obtained from a natural resource into mechanical
energy; a few examples include gas turbines, hydraulic turbines, and
internal combustion engines.

Prime Number A Mathematics term; a number which has no factor

other than 1and the number itself, that is, a prime number has only two
factors: 1 and the number itself; a few examples include 2, 3, 5, and 7,
but not 4, 6, 8, and 9; 1 is not a prime number, as it has exactly one
factor; 2 is the only even prime number; every prime number other
than 2 is odd, but every odd number is not necessarily a prime number;
every even number greater than 4 can be expressed as the sum of two
odd prime numbers; see also Twin Primes and Composite Number.

Priming A Thermodynamics term related to steam; the wetness

fraction of steam expressed in percentage; see also Quality of Steam.

Principal Axis A Strength of Materials term; an axis about which the

product moment of inertia of a plane area is zero; all planes have two
principal axes about which the product moment of inertia is zero.

Principal Plane A Strength of Materials term; a plane of zero shear

stress within a material; there can be two mutually perpendicular
principal planes at any arbitrary point within a material under plane
stress condition, where one plane carries the maximum (major)
principal stress and the other plane carries the minimum (minor)
principal stress; see also Principal Stress.

Principal Stress A Strength of Materials term; a normal stress which

acts on a principal plane; can be tensile or compressive; its maximum
and minimum values are respectively referred to as the maximum
(major) principal stress (σ1) and the minimum (minor) principal stress
(σ2); see also Principal Plane.

Principle of Conservation of Energy A Physics term; states that the

total energy of an isolated system remains conserved (does not change);
implies that energy can neither be created nor be destroyed, but can be
transformed from one form to another; since the universe as a whole
can be treated as an isolated system, the sum total of energy of all kind
in the universe remains constant at all times; if one part of the universe
loses energy, its other part would gain an equal amount of energy;
forms the basis of the first law of thermodynamics.

Principle of Conservation of Linear Momentum A Physics term;

also called Law of Conservation of Linear Momentum; states that
when the vector sum of the external forces acting on a system is zero,
the total linear momentum of the system remains constant (although
the momenta of individual particles may change); the law is universal,
and holds true even in atomic and nuclear physics, where the
Newtonian mechanics fails; equivalent to Newton’s third law of motion.

Principle of Conservation of Mass A Physics term; states that the

amount of mass in a system is constant; the time rate (t) of change of a
system mass (M) is equal to zero; expressed as:

Principle of Continuity A Fluid Mechanics term; also called

Equation of Continuity; states that for an incompressible non-viscous
fluid flowing through a tube of non-uniform cross section, the product
of the area of cross-section (A) and the velocity of flow (V) is same at
every point in the tube; based on the principle of conservation of mass;
the mathematical expression of the principle of continuity is known as
equation of continuity; for any two points 1 and 2 in the fluid flow, the
principle of continuity can be mathematically expressed as:
(1)
The above equation shows that for a steady incompressible fluid
flow, the fluid velocity varies inversely proportional to the cross-
sectional area, being larger in the narrower parts of the tube; for a
compressible fluid flow (where the density of the fluid changes with
pressure), the principle of continuity can be expressed as:
(2)
where A1, V1 and ρ1 are respectively the cross-section, velocity and
density of the fluid at section 1, and A2, V2 and ρ2 are respectively the
cross-section, velocity and density of the fluid at section 2 of the tube.

Principle of Dimensional Homogeneity A Physics term; also called

Law of Dimensional Homogeneity or Principle of Homogeneity of
Dimensions or Fourier's Law of Dimensional Homogeneity, named
after a French mathematician and physicist Baron Joseph Fourier (1768-
1830) who proposed it in 1822; states that the dimensions of physical
quantities on both sides of a dimensionally homogeneous equation are
same; the basic equation which represents a physical phenomena must
be valid for all systems of units and the form of equation does not
depend on the units of measurement; only that mathematical equation
is correct, in which the dimensions of the various terms on one side of
the equation are equal to the respective dimensions of these terms on
the other side of the equation; powers of all the three quantities,
namely M (mass), L (length), and T (time) must match on either side of
the formula, and in case, power of even one of them fails to match, the
equation is invalid; used for checking the correctness of an equation;
also used in deducing relation amongst different physical quantities;
mere dimensional correctness of an equation does not ensure its
physical correctness, for example, dimensionally, both work and torque
are same, but physically they differ.

Principle of Homogeneity of Dimensions A Physics term; see

Principle of Dimensional Homogeneity.

Principle of Minimum Chain of Command A Management term;

emphasizes on the minimum number of hierarchical levels in an
organization consistent with its goals and the environment in which it
operates; implies that an organization should be kept as flat as possible,
and managers should be evaluated for their ability to control
organizational activities with the smallest number of managers
possible.

Principle of Moment A Physics term; the algebraic sum of moments

of coplanar forces about a point is zero; concludes that the sum of
counterclockwise moments about a fixed point is equal to the sum of
clockwise moments about the same point; provides the basis for
rotational equilibrium of a body.

Principle of Superposition A Strength of Materials term; states that

the effect of a given combined loading on a structure may be obtained
by determining separately the effects of various loads and combining
the results obtained, provided that the deformation produced be each
load is small and varies linearly proportional to the load applied and
does not affect the conditions of application of other load.

Principle of Thermometry A Thermodynamics term; states that two

bodies in contact and in thermal equilibrium must have the same
temperature; forms the basis of temperature measurement.

Principle of Transmissibility A Physics term; also called simply

Transmissibility of Forces; states that a force can be applied at any
point on its given line of action provided its effect remains unaltered.

Principles of Motion Economy An Operations Management term

related to work study; also called Principles of Motion Study; a broad
set of guidelines proposed by Frank Gilbreth (1868–1934) for the
efficient design of work and to economize motions involved in a task;
focuses on work arrangements, the use of human hands and body, and
the use of tools and equipment for improving and conserving the
motions involved in a task.

Principles of Motion Study An Operations Management term related

to work study; see Principles of Motion Economy.

Principles of Scientific Management A Management term; a

famous book authored by F. W. Taylor (1856–1915) and published in
1911; discusses scientific methods, principles, and tools for improving
the methods of doing a task in the solution of managerial problems.

Prismatic Bar A Strength of Materials term; a straight structural

member of uniform cross-section throughout its length; finds use in a
tension test; see also Non-Prismatic Bar.
Prismatic Channel A Fluid Mechanics term; a channel with a
constant slope and cross- section.

Probability Density A Statistics parameter; the number of

occurrences of an event divided by the total sample number.

Probability Distribution A Statistics term; the number of ways in

which the occurrence of a given event can take place; has different
characteristics depending on the types of processes in the operation
and nature of variances of the parameters; the probability distribution
modes include the binomial distribution, the Poisson distribution, and
the normal distribution; a typical example of probability distribution
may be a graphical representation of the average death rate against
different age groups.

Probability A Statistics term; the likelihood of an event occurring

measured on a scale between 0 and 1, where zero value corresponds to
impossibility and the unit value corresponds to the certainty of an
event taking place.

Probe Method A Metrology term; see Intrusive Method.

Problem Statement A Design term; a part of a design brief which

clearly and concisely identifies a client’s or target consumer’s problem,
need, or want.

Process Capability A Quality Control term; denoted by Cp; the ability

of a conversion process to produce products within design
specifications (tolerances); a measure of spread of the process; for
example, for a process with standard deviation σ, the latest process
capability is 6σ.

Process Control A Quality Control term; a process which involves

monitoring of a production process (using statistical quality-control
methods) so that a consistent uniform product will be produced; see
also Production Control.
Process Flowchart An Operations Management term; also called
simply Flowchart; a chart used in motion study to show the various
steps in a job, operation or process using symbols within the flow of the
production process.

Process Innovation An Operations Management term; the

innovation which leads to improvement in various operational
processes such as improving manufacturing facilities, increasing
product quality, and faster distribution; see also Product Innovation.

Process Layout An Operations Management term related to facilities

planning; also called Functional Layout; a process-oriented plant layout
in which groups of similar multifunctional machines are positioned at
well-defined separate locations; used to produce a variety of
nonstandard products in relatively small batches (batch production) as
in a custom machine shop; failure of one or two machines does not stop
production activities as additional machines are in standby for support;
offers maximum manufacturing flexibility; involves more in-process
inventory; suitable for producing customized products; see also
Product Layout.

Process Planning An Operations Management term; a process of

determining the sequence (using route sheet) of individual
manufacturing operations needed to produce a given part or product.

Process Production An Operations Management term; see

Continuous Production.

Process Technology An Operations Management term; a collection

of equipment, people, and systems used to produce a firm’s products and
services.

Procurement Cost An Operations Management term; the cost related

to the procurement of supplies (goods and services) from a supplier.

Procurement An Operations Management term; a process of

purchasing goods and services from a supplier; an important activity in
supply chain management (SCM).
Producer Gas A Chemistry term; an important industrial fuel which
is a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen (N2), that is, (CO +
N2); produced when air is passed over hot coke; see also Water Gas.

Producer’s Risk A Quality Control term; the probability of rejecting a

good lot; see also Consumer’s Risk.

Produce-to-Order An Operations Management term; see Make-to-

Order.

Produce-to-Stock An Operations Management term; see Make-to-

Stock.

Product Flexibility An Operations Management term; the ability of a

production system to quickly change from producing one product or
service to producing another; see also Volume Flexibility.

Product Innovation A Management term; the innovation which

leads to the enhancement of a product’s physical attributes and
capabilities in order to make it look more attractive and customer-
friendly; see also Process Innovation.

Product Layout An Operations Management related to facilities

planning; also called Line Layout or Assembly Line or Production
Line; a product-oriented plant layout in which highly expensive,
standardized machines are arranged in a linear way in sequence of
operations being performed on the machines; used to produce
standardized products of limited product designs; failure of even one
machine in the layout can stop the entire production, but eliminates the
scope of in-process inventory; suitable for mass production of similar
products as well as for a JIT production system, but is not suitable for
manufacturing customized products; finds use in automobile industry;
see also Process Layout.

Product Life Cycle An Operations Management term; the life cycle of

a new product during which it moves through several demand stages,
from introduction to growth to maturity and then to decline; forms the
basis of demand forecasting.
Product Moment of Inertia A Strength of Materials term; see
Product of Inertia.

Product of Inertia A Strength of Materials term; also called Product

Moment of Inertia or Product Second Moment of Area; with respect
to two perpendicular axes x and y, the product of inertia, Ixy of an area is
defined as: Ixy = , where x and y are the distances of the area
dA from the two axes y and x respectively; can be positive, negative or
zero; for any axis of symmetry of the area, Ixy = 0; the SI unit is m4.

Product Reliability A Statistics term; the likelihood that a product

will perform its intended function for a prescribed lifetime under the
specified operating conditions; see also Machine Reliability.

Product Second Moment of Area A Strength of Materials term; see

Product of Inertia.

Product Structure Tree An Operations Management term; see Bill

of Materials.

Production Activity Control An Operations Management term; see

Shop Floor Control.

Production Capacity An Operations Management term; the

maximum rate of production of an organization.

Production Control An Operations Management term; a process of

controlling production activities to bring them under control; includes
activities such as inspection, measuring, and suggesting corrective
measures; see also Process Control.

Production Drawing An Engineering Drawing; also called Working

Drawing; the most important and extensively used drawing used for
the production of various components in the industry.

Production Function An Operations Management term; also called

Total Product Function; a numerical or mathematical expression of a
relationship between the quantities of inputs used and the maximum
quantity of outputs which can be produced.

Production Kanban An Operations Management term; also called P-

Kanban; a card physically attached to a container or cart, which
authorizes production of goods in a production system; a distinctive
feature of JIT production system; see also Withdrawal Kanban.

Production Line An Operations Management term related to

facilities planning; see Product Layout.

Production Lot An Operations Management term; also called simply

Lot; a certain quantity of material produced at one stage of production,
stored in inventory, and then sent to the next stage in production or
shipped to customers.

Production Management A Management term; see Operations

Management.

Production Planning An Operations Management term; the planning

of production activities related to products to be manufactured, its
volume required, the methods of production, the costs of production,
the machines and equipment needed, and the workforce requirements.

Production Quantity Model An Operations Management term; also

called Production Rate Model or Economic Production Quantity
Model or Gradual Usage and Non-Instantaneous Receipt Model; an
inventory model in which the order for inventory is received or
delivered gradually over time as per the requirements, rather than all at
once as in the case of basic EOQ model; involves less inventory holding
as compared to basic EOQ model, as it uses part of the inventory while
it is being produced; this model is commonly employed when the
inventory user is also the producer, where a part is produced to be used
in a large assembly; see also Basic EOQ Model.

Production Rate Model An Operations Management term; see

Production Quantity Model.
Production Rate A Operations Management term; the number of
units of a product produced per unit time (such as per hour or per day)
by a manufacturing unit.

Production System An Operations Management term; a system

which deals with production activities for producing finished goods
from raw materials; inputs for a production system include raw
materials, equipment (machine tools), tooling and fixtures, energy
(electrical energy) and labour.

Production Technology A Manufacturing term; a quantitative

relationship between inputs and outputs.

Production Also called Manufacturing; a transformation process

used in a production system to convert raw materials into finished
products which are finally consumed by the customers.

Productivity A Management term; a ratio of the output produced to

the amount of input; a measure of utilizing the resources effectively in
producing goods and services; the productivity of a worker relates to
his efficiency and the productivity of an organization relates to its
growth; considered as a determinant and an indicator of national
competitiveness; classified into labour, capital, and material
productivity.

Products of Combustion An IC Engine term; the components leaving

the combustion chamber of an engine; include H2O and CO2 in case of
complete combustion, and C, CO, H2, or OH in case of incomplete
combustion.

Program Evaluation and Review Technique A Project Management

term, abbreviated as PERT; one of the two project network approaches
developed in the 1956s by the U.S. Navy during the development of the
Polaris Missile Project (a ballistic missile-firing nuclear submarine); a
probabilistic approach of project management which uses three time
estimates, namely the optimistic time (a), the pessimistic time (b) and
the most likely time (m) for every activity; used when emphasis is on
shortening and monitoring the project execution time without too
 g g p j
much concern for cost implications; useful especially for large projects
consisting of many activities and involving uncertainties, for example,
research and development (R & D) projects where activity time is not
certain and can only be predictable such as developing new drugs,
planning and introducing new products, developing new and more
powerful computer systems, etc.; the expected time of completion (te)
for each activity in PERT is calculated as:

Programmable Controller A Computer term; see Programmable

Logic Controller.

Programmable Logic Controller A Computer term; also called

Programmable Controller; a specialized heavy-duty computer system
used for process control in factories, chemical plants, and warehouses;
closely similar to traditional relay logic.

Progressing A Management term; see Controlling.

Project Crashing A Project Management term; also called simply

Crashing; a method for shortening the completion time of a project by
reducing the time of one or more of the critical activities to less than its
normal activity time through the use of additional resources (labour
and materials); used when overall reduction in the project cost is
expected to be realized or when time is an important factor of
consideration.

Project Management A Management term; a technique to schedule,

manage, and complete the activities of a project on time and in
estimated budgets.

Projectile Motion A Physics term related to a projectile; a projectile

has motion along two mutually perpendicular directions, one in the
vertical direction and another in the horizontal direction; in projectile
motion, the body returns to the ground at the same angle and with the
same speed with which it was projected; the kinetic energy of the
projectile is maximum at the point of projection and also at the point of
reaching to the ground, and is minimum at its highest point; a missile
follows a projectile motion.

Projectile A Physics term; a body thrown in space from the ground

with some initial velocity at a certain angle to the horizontal (called
angle of projection), and then is allowed to return under the action of
gravity alone; has two velocity components during its flight, one in the
vertical direction and another in the horizontal direction; a few
examples include a missile or a rocket.

Projection Welding A Welding term; a type of resistance welding; the

joint is produced when one or two projection impressions (locations of
high heat concentration) produced on one of the two work parts
(thinner one) collapse during application of pressure after being heated
to plastic state; produces a stronger joint than spot welding; see also
Spot Welding.

Projection An Engineering Drawing and a Machine Drawing term; a

view imagined to be projected on a projection plane.

Proof Load A Strength of Materials term related to a spring; the

maximum load which a spring can take up without undergoing
permanent deformation.

Proof Stress A Strength of Materials term related to a spring; the

stress which corresponds to proof load; denotes the maximum stress
which a spring can be subjected to without undergoing permanent
deformation.

Propeller Jet An IC Engine term; see Propjet.

Propeller Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; also called simply

Propeller; a hydraulic turbine which is nearly identical to a Kaplan
turbine except that blades are fixed; the flow rate is regulated only by
the wicket gates; an axial-flow, single-stage, reaction hydraulic turbine
which produces thrust by imparting linear momentum to a fluid, and
operates without an outer housing; most suited for low head and high
volume flow rate conditions; see also Kaplan Turbine.

Propeller A Fluid Mechanics term; see Propeller Turbine.

Proper Fraction A Mathematics term; a fraction whose numerator is

less than the denominator; a few examples include, , , etc.; see also
Improper Fraction.

Property The observable characteristics of a material; for example,

internal energy, enthalpy, and entropy are thermodynamic properties of
a material.

Propjet An IC Engine term; the short form of Propeller Jet; a

variation of a turbojet engine in which the turbine drives not only the
compressor but also a propeller which provides most of the propulsive
force.

Propped Cantilever Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a

beam; also called Fixed-Simple Beam; a statically indeterminate beam
which is originally a cantilever beam of increased length that has a
roller support at anywhere over its length providing a vertical reaction
to prevent its deflection.

Proton A Chemistry term; one of the three fundamental particles of

an atom of a chemical element discovered by Eugen Goldstein (1850–
1930), a German physicist in 1886; a positively charged particle which
resides in the nucleus of the atom and makes it positively charged; has
charge equal and opposite to that of an electron (1.60206 × 10–19 C)
and mass equal to 1.6725 × 10–27 kg; see also Electron and Neutron.

Prototype Design A Design term; the initial product design which

exhibits the basic characteristics of a product’s form, fit, and function
which will be required in the final design.

Prototype A Design term; a one-of-a-kind working model of a

solution developed for testing purposes; the physical system for which
the predictions are to be made using a model; see also Model.
Protractor A Mathematics term; a geometrical instrument used for
measuring a given angle or constructing an angle of given magnitude;
usually made out of a thin transparent plastic sheet in the shape of a
semi-circular arc; has degree marks on the curved edge, which is
divided into 180 equal parts, each part indicates 1°.

Pseudoplastic Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Shear

Thinning Fluid; a non-Newtonian fluid whose viscosity decreases with
increase in applied shear stress; for example, paint (a plastic fluid)
which is very viscous when it is poured from the can or when it is
picked up by a paintbrush, but later becomes thin (very less viscous)
when applied on the wall; see also Dilatant Fluid.

Psychrometric Chart A Thermodynamics term related to humidity; a

chart drawn between specific humidity (ω) on the vertical axis and dry-
bulb temperature on the horizontal axis for a standard atmospheric
pressure of 760 mm of Hg; also includes the saturation line, the lines of
constant wet-bulb temperature, the lines of constant enthalpy (nearly
parallel to the lines of constant wet-bulb temperature), the lines of
constant relative humidity, and the lines of constant specific volume; a
useful tool to know the state of the atmospheric air at a specified
pressure; serves as a valuable aid in visualizing the air-conditioning
processes.

Psychrometric Properties A Thermodynamics term; the properties

of the moist air.

Psychrometry A Thermodynamics term; the study of the behaviour

of moist air.

P-Type Semiconductor An Electronics term; an extrinsic

semiconductor in which the electrical conductivity is mainly due to
positively charged holes that are called the majority carriers, and the
electrons are the minority carriers; produced when a pure
semiconductor is doped with a trivalent impurity atom such as boron;
see also N-Type Semiconductor .
Pull Manufacturing System An Operations Management term; see
Pull Production System.

Pull Production System An Operations Management term; also

called Pull Manufacturing System or simply Pull System; a customer-
driven system of production in which goods are produced only when
they are ordered by the customers; used in modern manufacturing;
involves least inventories and thrusts on customized products; a JIT
manufacturing system uses this concept; see also Push Production
System.

Pull System An Operations Management term; see Pull Production

System.

Pulley A Design term; a free-spinning wheel used to transmit motion

or power from one shaft to another by means of a rope or belt which
runs over it; mostly made of cast iron.

Pulverization A Materials Engineering term related to metallurgy; a

process of converting small pieces of an ore (obtained from breaking of
big lumps) into powdered form with the help of a ball mill or stamp mill;
see also Benefaction.

Pump Efficiency A Pump term; a ratio of the increase in the

mechanical energy of a fluid to the mechanical energy input; see also
Turbine Efficiency.

Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid machine (turbomachine) and a

work-consuming device which adds mechanical energy to a fluid by
performing work on it, thereby increasing pressure of the fluid; suffers
from irreversible losses due to friction, internal leakage, flow
separation on blade surfaces, turbulent dissipation, etc.

Punch A Manufacturing term; a fitting tool used to produce marking

or locating centres on a workpiece.

Punching A Manufacturing term; a sheet metal operation used to

produce a cavity (hole) in a sheet metal blank using a die-punch
assembly; also used to produce seamless tubing from a cylindrical
billet; punching differs from blanking in the end result part; in
punching, the punched out part is considered waste and the remaining
part is the useful product, whereas in blanking, the punched out part is
the useful product and the remaining part is treated as waste; see also
Blanking.

Purchasing An Operations Management term; the activities related

to procurement of materials and supplies consumed during the
production of products; see also Procurement.

Pure Bending A Strength of Materials term; also called Simple

Bending; a bending condition in which a beam is subjected to only
bending moment and the effect of shear force is neglected.

Pure Rotational Motion A Physics term; the motion of a rigid body

in which every particle of the body moves in a circle (lying in a plane
perpendicular to the axis, and has its centre on the axis); a few
examples include motion of a ceiling fan and a potter’s wheel; see also
Pure Translational Motion.

Pure Shear A Strength of Materials term; a state of stress in which an

element of a beam’s cross section is subjected to shear stress only.

Pure Substance A Thermodynamics term; a substance of

homogeneous nature which has invariable chemical composition
throughout; exists in three phases, namely solid, liquid, and gas; a few
examples include the atmospheric air, the steam-water mixture, and the
combustion products of a fuel.

Pure Translational Motion A Physics term; the motion of a rigid

body in which every particle of the body has the same velocity at a
particular instant of time; for example, sliding of a rectangular block
down an inclined plane produces pure translational motion; see also
Pure Rotational Motion.

Push Manufacturing System An Operations Management term; see

Push Production System.
Push Production System An Operations Management term; also
called Push Manufacturing System or simply Push System; a system
of production in which goods are produced according to a schedule
based on anticipated demand; used in material requirements planning
(MRP) and economic order quantity (EOQ); see also Pull Production
System.

Push System An Operations Management term; see Push

Production System.

PV Cell A Physics term; see Solar Cell.

Pyramid Structure A Management term; an organizational structure

which resembles a pyramid; consists of fewer and fewer managers at
each level as we move up from the base; most of the organizations have
a pyramid structure.

Pyramid A Mathematics term; a solid whose base is a plane

rectilinear figure and whose side faces are triangles having a common
vertex outside the plane of the base; see also Regular Pyramid.

Pyrex Glass A Chemistry term; a type of glass which has very low
coefficient of expansion because of presence of oxides of boron and
aluminium (B2O3 and Al2O3); can withstand high temperatures as well
as sudden changes in temperatures effectively, making it highly suitable
for laboratory glasswares such as flasks, beakers, etc.; approximately
contains silica 80% (SiO2), 4% sodium oxide (Na2O), 0.5% calcium
oxide (CaO), 0.5% potassium oxide (K2O), 12% boric anhydride (B2O3),
and 3% aluminium oxide (Al2O3).

Pyrometry A Measurement term; the science of measurement of high

temperatures usually above the gold point (1064.43 °C).

Pythagoras Theorem A Mathematics term; a theorem related to a

right angle triangle; states that the square of the hypotenuse (h) is
equal to the sum of the squares of base (b) and perpendicular (p); given
as:
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_17

Q
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

QC An Operations Management term; see Quality Circle.

QFD A Quality Management term; see Quality Function

Deployment.

QLF A Quality Management term; see Quality Loss Function.

QS 9000 A Quality Management term; an international quality

standard based on the ISO 9000 standards but contains additional
requirements which are particular to the automotive industry; the big
three automakers of the US, namely General Motors, Ford, and Daimler-
Chrysler, are QS 9000 certified companies.

Quadrilateral Pyramid A Mathematics term; a pyramid whose base

is a quadrilateral; see also Pyramid.

Quadrilateral A Mathematics term; a closed plane figure made of

four line segments which do not intersect except at their end points; a
few examples include trapezium, rhombus, rectangle, and square.

Qualitative Factors A Statistics term; also called Intangible Factors;

the unquantifiable factors; the factors which are difficult to measure
numerically; for example, service characteristics are qualitative factors;
see also Quantitative Factors.

Qualitative Methods An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; also called Judgement Methods; these methods use
management judgement, expertise, and opinion to make the demand
forecast; useful when no past demand data are available or if available
they are not in sufficient amount; most frequently used for long-range
forecasts; a few qualitative methods include Delphi, historical analogy,
and product life cycle: see also Quantitative Methods.

Quality at the Source A Quality Management term; the defect-free

quality of the starting materials, that is, raw materials, to produce
defect-free final products.

Quality Circle An Operations Management term, abbreviated as QC;

also called Quality Control Circle; a small, voluntary group of people
or a team of preferably 6–8 workers and supervisors of an organization
who meet frequently to discuss and solve problems; a quality
improving technique as well as an important concept in JIT
manufacturing system which was initially aimed at addressing quality
problems in Japan; also used in addressing other organizational
problems such as cost reduction, facilities improvement, etc.

Quality Control Circle An Operations Management term; see Quality

Circle.

Quality Control A Quality Management term; a quality-related

process which ensures that quality of a product or a service meets the
standards specified by the designer; exercised at every level of a
product being manufactured, right from the raw material stage to
production stage to finished product stage, where final inspection is
performed to test its overall functional and appearance quality; see also
Total Quality Management.

Quality Function Deployment A Quality Management term,

abbreviated as QFD; a quality improving technique introduced in Japan
by Yoji Akao (1928–2016) in 1966, which was extensively used by
Toyota; a concept of formalizing customer inputs into product design by
identifying customer wants and eliminating wasteful product features
and activities which do not contribute; translates the customer
requirements (voice of the customer) into appropriate technical design
requirements at every stage of design and manufacture of a product or
service; used to enhance communication between different functions
such as marketing, operations, and engineering, thereby producing
better product designs in less time than the conventional design
processes.

Quality Gurus An Operations Management term related to quality;

people who greatly contributed to the improvement of quality;
prominent quality gurus include Joseph M. Juran, W. Edwards
Deming (1900–1993), Armand V. Feigenbaum (1920–2014), Kaoru
Ishikawa (1915–1989), Walter Shewhart (1891–1967), and Philip B.
Crosby (1926–2001).

Quality Loss Function A Quality Management term, abbreviated as

QLF; a qualitative measure of the effectiveness of quality control, often
in terms of the economic losses a customer suffers on account of a
defective product; see also Quality Function Deployment.

Quality Management A Management term; a process of improving

the design, features, appearance, on time delivery, and other related
parameters of a product or service in order to ensure customer
satisfaction.

Quality of Conformance A Quality Management term; the degree to

which the product or service meets the design specifications during the
production process; ensures that product or service is produced
according to designed parameters, for example, if new tyres do not
conform to specifications, they wobble.

Quality of Steam A Thermodynamics term related to steam; the

dryness fraction of steam expressed in percentage; see also Priming.

Quality A Management term; the degree to which a product or

service conforms to its design specifications and functional
requirements; quality measuring parameters include performance,
features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics,
and safety; a quality product or a quality service offers the highest
degree of customer satisfaction.

Quantitative Factors A Statistics term; the quantifiable factors; the

factors which can be measured in numerical terms; for example, the
physical dimensions of a product such as length, breadth, and height are
quantitative factors; see also Qualitative Factors.

Quantitative Methods An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; also called Time Series Methods as a set of observed
values (usually sales) are measured over successive periods of time;
these methods use past demand data to make the future forecast of
demand; most frequently used in short-range forecasts of products in
manufacturing and service companies; a few quantitative methods
include moving average, weighted moving average, exponential
smoothing, and regression analysis; see also Qualitative Methods.

Quantity Discount An Inventory Management term; a policy of

allowing unit item cost to vary with the volume ordered; usually the
item cost decreases as volume increases due to economies of scale in
production and distribution; used as a means to clear the old stocks.

Quantum Numbers A Chemistry term; the numbers in an atom

which assign electrons to discrete energy levels; the four quantum
numbers include principal quantum number (n), azimuthal quantum
number (l), magnetic quantum number (m), and spin quantum number
(s).

Quarter-Circle A Mathematics term; the one-fourth part of a circle.

Quarter-Elliptic Leaf Spring A Strength of Materials term related to

a spring; a type of leaf spring which is also called Cantilever
Laminated Spring because of its similarity to a cantilever beam loaded
with a point load at its free end.
Quartz A Chemistry term; the most common naturally occurring
crystalline form of silica (SiO2) which has a specific gravity of 2.648;
offers certain advantages over glass such as acid and alkalis resistant,
very small coefficient of expansion, and can stand sudden change in
temperature which prevents its breakage on sudden heating and
cooling; can be shaped into vessels such as flasks and beakers;
extensively used as a piezoelectric material; its use has made possible
to develop extremely accurate clocks, modern radio and television
broadcasting and mobile radio communications; transparent quartz is
used in making optical instruments and lenses; the coloured varieties
of quartz are used as gems, for example, amethyst (purple), jasper (red),
and opal (white); sand is also a crystalline form of quartz formed as
result of ‘weathering’ or disintegration of rocks, and further breaking
down by violent movements of water.

Quasi-Static Process A Thermodynamics term; a reversible process

in which a system deviates from one equilibrium state by only an
infinitesimal amount throughout the process; closely approximates to a
succession of equilibrium states; infinite slowness is the characteristic
feature of a quasi-static process.

Quenching A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; a heat

treatment process in which a heated metal workpiece is cooled rapidly
at a controlled rate in water or oil; the oil quench is slow but prevents
cracks formation caused by rapid expansion of the workpiece being
treated; the water quench is fast and is used for medium-carbon and
low-alloy steels.

Quick Response Logistics An Operations Management term related

to a supply chain; the fast movement of goods in a supply chain using
various tools of information technology such as electronic data
interchange (EDI), bar coding, the use of electronic point of sale (EPOS),
and laser scanners.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_18

R
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

R11 A Refrigeration term; see Freon-11.

R12 A Refrigeration term; see Freon-12.

R22 A Refrigeration term; see Freon-22.

Rack and Pinion A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; the

limiting case of a gear set consisting of a rack (a gear of infinite radius)
and a pinion (the smaller gear of the two mating gear wheels); often
used in the steering mechanism of an automobile’s front wheels, where
the centre point of the pinion remains fixed and the rack moves
horizontally as the pinion rotates; the rack can be supported by rollers,
or it can slide on a smooth (lubricated) surface.

Rack A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; used in

conjunction with a pinion; a portion of a gear, which has infinite radius
or zero curvature and has an infinitely large number of teeth; its pitch
surface is a plane surface, and the pitch circle circumference is a
straight line; moves horizontally as the pinion rotates; mostly used in a
lathe to transmit motion to the saddle; see also Pinion.

Radial Drawing A Manufacturing term; see Deep Drawing.

Radial Flow Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a turbine in which a
fluid flows along the radius of the shaft of the turbine, either inward or
outward; for example, Francis turbine is a radial flow turbine; see also
Axial Flow Turbine and Mixed Flow Turbine.

Radial Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow which occurs along
the radius of the shaft of a turbine or pump, either inward or outward;
occurs in Francis turbine; see also Axial Flow and Mixed Flow.

Radial Forging A Manufacturing term; see Swaging.

Radial Flow Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; see Centrifugal Pump.

Radiation A Heat Transfer term; the third basic mode of heat

transfer after conduction and convection in which heat is emitted or
absorbed in the form of electromagnetic waves (or photons); occurs as a
result of changes in electronic configurations of atoms or molecules
(without direct physical contact); does not require any material
medium; the fastest mode of heat transfer as it travels at the speed of
light and can travel in vacuum; for example, the energy from the sun
reaches the earth through the process of radiation; not related to
radiation in the context of nuclear processes or power generation; see
also Conduction and Convection.

Radio Frequency Identification An information technology tool,

abbreviated as RFID; a wireless technology to obtain real-time
information about an object; consists of a microchip tag to be attached
to the object which transmit identification and location information; it
has provided excellent product traceability; for example, using RFID,
the progress of a part through the production process can be
monitored, and when finished, its location in the warehouse can be
tracked; also extensively used in logistics to trace the locations of
vehicles carrying goods for distribution.

Radioactivity A Physics term; a nuclear property of radioactive

elements such as uranium (U), plutonium (Pu), radium (Ra), or thorium
(Th) discovered by the French physicist Henri Becquerel (1852–1908) in
1895 in which elements emit radiations such as alpha (α), beta (β), and
gamma (γ) rays; its measuring unit include curie (ci), millicurie (mci),
and microcurie (μci), of which curie is the bigger unit of radioactivity.

Radiographic Inspection A Materials Engineering term; see X-

Radiography.

Radiographic Testing A Materials Engineering term; see X-

Radiography.

Radius of Curvature A Strength of Materials term; the radius of a

curved shape produced by bending of a structural member (beam).

Radius of Gyration A Physics term; the radial distance from the axis
of rotation of a body, the square of which, when multiplied by the total
mass of the body, gives the moment of inertia of the body about that
axis; also defined as the distance from a given axis, the square of which,
when multiplied by the total area of a plane figure, gives the second
moment of area about that axis; denoted by k; expressed as: ,

or , where M = mass of the body, A =

area of the plane figure, and Ix and Iy = moment of inertia of the body or
a plane figure about x-axis and y-axis, respectively.

Radius A Mathematics term; a line segment which starts from the

centre of a circle and ends on its circumference; a circle has an infinite
number of radius of length equal to one-half of the diameter of the
circle; expressed in the units of length such as mm, cm, inch, or m.

Rammer A Manufacturing term; a foundry tool used to distribute the

sand mass uniformly around the pattern during making of a mould;
classified into peen, hand, and floor rammers.

Random Error A Metrology term; also called Chance Error; an error

which occurs due to non-specific causes like natural disturbances;
occurs randomly and is erratic in nature; varies in magnitude and can
be positive or negative; arises due to random and unpredictable
variations in the experimental conditions such as temperature, pressure,
voltage supply, and mechanical vibration or due to personal errors of
the observer doing the experiment; cannot be eliminated, but may be
characterized by statistical analysis; follows the Gaussian law of normal
distribution; can be minimized by repeating the observation several
times and taking the arithmetic mean of all the observations, as the
mean value would be very close to the true value; see also Systematic
Error.

Random Numbers A Mathematics term; the numbers selected in

such a way that every number has an equal chance or probability of
selection.

Range Anxiety An Electric Vehicle term; the concern that an electric

vehicle’s batteries will die before it reaches its destination.

Range Chart A Quality Control term; see R-Chart.

Range An Electric Vehicle and a Measurement term; in electric vehicle

terms, the total distance covered by an electric vehicle (EV) in one full
charge of battery; in measurement terms, the spread between the
maximum and minimum values of measurement.

Rankine Cycle A Thermodynamics term; an idealized thermodynamic

cycle for a heat engine, named after a Scottish engineer William John
MacQuorn Rankine (1820–1872) who made several outstanding
contributions in the field of thermodynamics; a vapour power cycle
used in thermal power plants for generating electricity; for a given
temperature limits, the Rankine cycle efficiency is always lower than
the Carnot cycle efficiency because not all the heat is added at the
highest temperature in the Rankine cycle.

Rankine Scale A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic

temperature scale used in the English system as well as an absolute
temperature scale; named after its inventor William Rankine (1820–
1872); uses the unit rankine (R) for temperature measurement; its
absolute zero coincides with the absolute zero of the Kelvin scale; the
Rankine (R) and the Kelvin (K) scales are related as: T (R) = 1.8 T (K);
see also Celsius Scale, Fahrenheit Scale, and Kelvin Scale.
rankine A Thermodynamics term; the unit of temperature in the
English system, named after William Rankine (1820–1872); denoted by
R.

Rankine’s Formula A Strength of Materials term related to a column;

see Rankine-Gordon Formula.

Rankine’s Theory A Strength of Materials term; see Maximum

Normal Stress Theory.

Rankine-Gordon Formula A Strength of Materials term related to

a column; also called simply Rankine’s Formula; an empirical formula
used to find the crippling (critical) load for both short and long
columns; expressed as:

where

Pr = Rankine’s crippling load

σc = direct crushing stress (yield stress)
A = area of cross section of the column
le = equivalent or effective length of the column
k = radius of gyration
K = a constant for the column material

E = modulus of elasticity of the column material

Rapid Prototyping A Manufacturing term, abbreviated as RP; a

collection of CAD data-driven physical model construction technologies
which use additive manufacturing processes.

Rapping Allowance A Casting term; see Shake Allowance.

Rat Tail A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs in the
form of a rat tail; produced mainly on the flat surfaces of a casting due
to thermal expansion of the moulding sand.

Raw Material A Materials Engineering and an Inventory Management

term; the basic or starting material which is used in making finished
products; the quality of the raw materials is important for the
production of defect-free products.

R-Chart A Quality Control term; also called Range Chart; a control

chart for variables which uses the range of sample to monitor the
process variability; to calculate the range of a set of sample data, the
smallest is subtracted from the largest measurement in each sample; in
case of the data falling outside the control limits, the process variability
is considered not in control; the control limits for the R-chart are
obtained as: UCL = R and LCL = R, where R = average of the
range values of each sample and the central line of the control chart
(the target value); and are constants which provide 3 standard
deviation (3σ) limits for a given sample size and are obtained from a
table; see also X-Bar Chart.

Reactants A Chemistry term; the components which take part in a

chemical reaction.

Reaction Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a hydraulic turbine in

which a part of the pressure change occurs in the rotor and remaining
in the stator; may be radially inward, axial, or mixed (partially radial
and partially axial); produces more power than an impulse turbine of
the same diameter, net head, and volume flow rate; also has higher
efficiency than an impulse turbine; not suitable for very high head,
because of leakage and frictional head losses; Francis turbine and
Kaplan turbine are examples of a reaction turbine; see also Impulse
Turbine.

Reactive Force A Physics term; a force which results from a reaction;

for example, the force produced at the positions of fixed supports of a
structure (beam or column).
Real Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid which involves friction and
has viscosity; see also Ideal Fluid.

Reaming A Manufacturing term; a process of finishing a drilled hole

by means of a reamer; see also Drilling and Boring.

Reciprocating Engine An IC Engine term; an engine in which the

piston reciprocates; that is, it has to-and-fro motion in the cylinder of
the engine; classified into spark-ignition (SI) and compression-ignition
(CI) engines.

Reciprocating Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; a positive displacement

pump which works on the principle of sucking a fluid and pushing
(compressing) it out alternatively by the reciprocating motion (to-and-
fro motion) of a plunger or piston in a cylinder, whose thrust lifts the
fluid to a certain height; operates at low speeds and involves
intermittent operation resulting in pulsating and fluctuating delivery;
involves very high initial cost (approximately 4 times that of centrifugal
pump for the same capacity); suitable for small discharge and high
heads; see also Centrifugal Pump.

Recrystallization Temperature A Materials Engineering term; the

temperature at which the strength of a particular metal decreases and
is more easily formed.

Recrystallization A Materials Engineering term; a process in which

nucleation and growth of a new stress-free microstructure results from a
cold-worked microstructure.

Rectangle A Mathematics term; a parallelogram whose each angle is

a right angle, that is, equal to 90°; see also Parallelogram.

Rectangular Tube A tube having a rectangular cross section.

Rectangular Weir A Fluid Mechanics term; the simplest type of weir;

a vertical thin plate having a straight top edge; named so because the
cross section of the liquid which passes over it is rectangular when
placed in an open channel; used to measure the liquid flow rate.
Rectilinear Motion A Physics term; also called Linear Motion; the
one-dimensional motion of an object along a straight line; a few
examples include the motion of a train along a straight railway track
and the falling of an object from a certain height; the three important
equations of rectilinear motion under constant acceleration are given
as:
(1)

(2)

(3)
where

u = initial velocity of the particle

v = final velocity of the particle
t = time of motion
a = acceleration of the particle
s = displacement of the particle.

In case of a particle under constant retardation, the positive sign (+)

in all the above three equations is replaced by the negative sign (–); a
common example of rectilinear motion is that of a body falling towards
the earth.

Recurring Cost An Operations Management term related to cost

analysis; the repetitive costs that occur when an organization produces
similar goods or services on a continuing basis; a fixed cost paid on a
repeatable basis is also a recurring cost; for example, in an organization
providing architectural and engineering services, office space rental (a
fixed cost) is also a recurring cost; see also Nonrecurring Cost.

Red Hardness A Manufacturing term; also called Hot Hardness; the

ability of a material to maintain its hardness at increased temperatures;
permits higher operating speed to a cutting tool.
Red Iron A Chemistry term; see Haematite.

Redrawing A Manufacturing term; a cold metal working process

used to increase the depth of the drawn cup obtained in deep drawing
by subjecting it again to deep drawing.

Reducing Flame A Chemistry term; see Carburising Flame.

Reduction A Chemistry term; a chemical reaction in which a metal

combines with hydrogen; the addition of an electron to an atom or a
molecule; see also Oxidation.

Redundant Truss A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; see

Over-Rigid Truss.

Redundant A Physics term; any reaction in excess of those which can

be determined by statics alone; the number of redundant is the same as
the degree of indeterminacy.

Reed Switch An Electrical term; an electromagnetically operated

digital switching device.

Refractories A Materials Engineering term; see Refractory

Materials.

Refractory Materials A Materials Engineering term; also called

Refractories; the non-metallic materials which can withstand high
temperatures; the stable oxides of elements such as silicon, aluminium,
magnesium, calcium, and zirconium; a few examples include quartz,
sand, silica brick, magnesite, dolomite, and carbon; classified into acidic,
basic, and neutral refractories.

Refractory Metals A Materials Engineering term; metals and alloys

which are resistant to high temperatures; for example, molybdenum.

Refrigerant A Thermodynamics term; a chemical substance used as a

working fluid in a refrigeration system to produce cooling by removing
heat; a few refrigerants include ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2),
and Freons.

Refrigeration Cycle A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic cycle

used to cool or heat a space.

Refrigeration A Thermodynamics term; a process of removing heat

from a body; a process used to produce a cooling effect using a
refrigerant.

Refrigerator A Thermodynamics term; a device which removes heat

from a body at a lower-than-ambient temperature thus producing
cooling using a refrigerant; see also Heat Pump.

Regenerator A Thermodynamics term; a heat exchanger which

preheats the air before it enters the burner by using the hotter air
which leaves the turbine.

Regression Method An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; also called Causal Model Method; a quantitative
forecasting method based on regression analysis used to establish a
relationship which may exist between two or more variables; aims to
formulate a model of cause-and-effect based on the past collected data,
and then using this model to forecast the future demand; the most
commonly used form of causal model is a single-variable linear model of
the form y = ax + b, but the multiple regression models (nonlinear)
which follow a polynomial relationship of the form y = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d
are more useful than a single-variable ones, since forecasts often relate
to more than one factor.

Regular Polygon A Mathematics term; a polygon whose all the sides

as well as all the angles are equal; see also Polygon.

Regular Pyramid A Mathematics term; a pyramid whose all the sides

of its base are equal; see also Pyramid.

Regular Tetrahedron A Mathematics term; a tetrahedron whose all

the edges are of equal length; see also Tetrahedron.
Reheat Cycle A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic cycle used
to increase the work output of a steam turbine; works on the principle
of extracting heat from the steam (after expansion in the turbine) and
reheating it by passing it again through the boiler, and then returning it
to the turbine.

Reinforcement A Materials Engineering term; the structural

component of a composite material in the form of fibres, whiskers, or
particles, which are encased by a matrix material that exists in a
different phase.

Relative Error A Metrology term; also called Fractional Error; a

ratio of the mean absolute error to the mean value of the measured
values of a physical quantity.

Relative Humidity A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry;

a psychrometric property; a ratio of the mass of water vapour in a
certain volume of the moist air at a given temperature to the mass of
water vapour in the same volume of the saturated air at the same
temperature; a measure of air’s ability to absorb moisture; the
saturated air has 100% relative humidity; the high relative humidity
slows down the heat rejection by evaporation, whereas low relative
humidity speeds it up; denoted by ɸ, given as:

where
vs = specific volume of saturated air
vv = specific volume of water vapour
pv = partial pressure of water vapour
pa = partial pressure of dry air
ps = partial pressure of saturated air; see also Specific Humidity.

Reliability A Statistics term; the probability that a product will not

fail and will work successfully when used under specified operating
conditions for a specified period of time; denoted as R; given as: R = 1 −
probability of failure, where 0 ≤ R ≤ 1; if R = 0.90, it means there is a
90% chance that the product will perform its proper function without
failure.

Removable Pattern A Manufacturing term related to casting; a

pattern which can be removed from the mould after being used in
making the mould cavity; used in sand casting; made of wood, plastic, or
metal; see also Disposable Pattern.

Renewable Energy The energy obtained from nonconventional

sources such as sun, wind, tidal wave, and biomass which can never be
depleted; a few examples include solar energy, wind energy, and tidal
energy.

Renewable Sources of Energy A Power Plant term; the sources of

energy which can be replenished in short order; freely available in
nature and can be used again and again without exhausting them; that
is, they are renewable in nature and are environment-friendly; a few
examples include solar, wind, sea, and geothermal; see also
Nonrenewable Sources of Energy and Nonconventional Sources of
Energy.

Reorder Point An Operations Management term related to inventory;

the inventory level at which a stock should be reordered.

Repeatability A Work Study term; the degree to which the same

work can be done again.

Repetitive Manufacturing A type of manufacturing system in which

plants assemble similar products; automobiles, watches,
microcomputers, pharmaceuticals, and televisions are produced using
repetitive manufacturing; material requirements planning (MRP) and
just-in-time (JIT) techniques are useful for repetitive manufacturing.

Residual Stress A Strength of materials term; the stress which

remains within a structural material after all the applied loads are
removed.
Resilience A Strength of Materials term related to a spring; the
capacity of a material to absorb energy within its elastic limit; see also
Modulus of Resilience.

Resin A Materials Engineering term; a gum-like solid or semisolid

viscous substance which contains polymer macromolecules that cross-
link when combined with a hardener.

Resistance Butt Welding A Welding term; see Upset Welding.

Resistance Seam Welding A Welding term; see Seam Welding.

Resistance Spot Welding A Welding term; see Spot Welding.

Resistance Welding A Welding term; a plastic welding process which

uses heat produced by electrical resistance of the work parts held
together under pressure by two copper electrodes; the heat produced by
electrical resistance is given as:

where

H = heat produced in joule

I = current in ampere
R = electrical resistance in ohm
t = time of current flow in second.

Resistance welding uses high current and low voltage; does not require
any flux, filler metal or shielding atmosphere; finds extensive
applications in automobile industries; classified into spot welding, seam
welding, projection welding, and flash welding.

Resistivity An Electrical term; also called Specific Resistance; a

material’s property which indicates its resistance (R) to current flow in
the material in its unit length (L) having unit cross-sectional area (A);
denoted by ρ; given as:
Resistor An Electrical term; an electrical device designed primarily
to produce heat by obstructing the flow of current; commonly made of
iron or nichrome wires; used in electrical networks and electronic
circuits.

Resolution A Metrology term; the smallest change in input signal or

the measured value which can be detected by an instrument; the least
count of an instrument is usually the resolution of the instrument.

Resonance A Physics term; the phenomenon of attaining a very high

amplitude (of an oscillation) when a body is set to oscillate by an
external periodic force with a frequency being equal to the natural
frequency of the body.

Resources An Economics term; see Factors of Production.

Response A Metrology term; an evaluation of a system’s ability to

effectively sense, transmit, and present all the pertinent information
included in the measured quantity; classified into amplitude response,
frequency response, or phase response.

Rest A Physics term; the state of a body with zero velocity; the state
of a body in which it does not change its position with respect to time; a
few examples include a book lying on a table and a person sitting on a
chair; see also Motion.

Restrained Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a beam; see

Fixed Beam.

Retaining Wall A Civil Engineering term; an engineering structure in

the form of a wall used to retain earth, soil, sand, etc. and sustain their
lateral pressures; a few examples include basement walls and dams; see
also Dam.

Retardation A Physics term; also called Deceleration; a negative

acceleration which occurs when the velocity of a body decreases.
Revenue Assets A Financial Management term; see Current Assets.

Reverberatory Furnace A Materials Engineering term related to

metallurgy; a furnace in which a fuel does not come in direct contact
with the charge; flames are directed from the roof of the furnace on to
the charge, and air supply is controlled by vents; used for both
oxidation and reduction processes.

Reverse Extrusion A Manufacturing term; see Indirect Extrusion.

Reverse Logistics An Operations Management term related to a

supply chain; the process of moving products upstream from the
customer back towards manufacturers and suppliers; used in case of
returnable items rejected by the customers on account of quality
defects; see also Logistics.

Reverse Polarity A Physics term; a polarity setup in which

workpiece is connected to the negative terminal and electrode to the
positive terminal of the DC electrical circuit; usually used with
consumable electrodes; see also Straight Polarity.

Reversed Carnot Cycle A Refrigeration term; a reversible Carnot

cycle employed as a reversible refrigeration cycle to get maximum
possible coefficient of performance (COP) of a refrigerating machine
operating between two temperature limits; does not depend on the
working substance (refrigerant) used for refrigeration.

Reversible Cycle A Thermodynamics term; a cycle consisting entirely

of reversible processes; a few examples include Otto cycle, Diesel cycle,
and Brayton cycle; see also Irreversible Cycle.

Reversible Engine A Thermodynamics term; an engine which

operates on reversible thermodynamic processes and has no losses; see
also Irreversible Engine.

Reversible Process A Thermodynamics term; an ideal process in

which a system passes through a continuous series of equilibrium
states and can take place in both directions as its initial and final states
coincide; a few examples include polytropic expansion and compression
of a fluid, isothermal expansion and compression of a gas, frictionless
adiabatic expansion and compression of a fluid, electrolysis, and
evaporation; processes used in a thermodynamic cycle are reversible;
see also Irreversible Process.

Reverted Gear Train A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; a

special type of compound gear train in which the first and the last gears
have the same axis; a few examples include back gear of a lathe and
clock.

Revolution Per Minute A Design term, abbreviated as rpm; the

number of rotations an object makes per minute.

Reynolds Number A Fluid Mechanics term; the most important

dimensionless (nondimensional) group used in fluid mechanics; named
after Osborne Reynolds (1842–1912), a noted English physicist and a
pioneer in the study of pipe flow and turbulence; a ratio of the inertia
force to the viscous force of a fluid; a parameter to differentiate between
laminar and turbulent flow through pipes; classified into critical, lower
critical, and upper critical Reynolds number depending upon its value;
for example, the critical Reynolds number indicates a mixture of
laminar and turbulent flows, whereas the lower critical Reynolds
number is that Reynolds number below which the entire flow is
laminar, and the upper critical Reynolds number is that above which
the entire flow is turbulent; denoted by Re; given as:

where

ρ = density of the fluid

V = velocity of fluid flow
L = characteristic length (usually the diameter of the pipe)
μ = viscosity (dynamic viscosity) of the fluid.
RFID An information technology tool; see Radio Frequency
Identification.

Rheopectic Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid whose apparent

viscosity (that depends on shear rate) increases with time under a
constant applied shear stress; see also Thixotropic Fluid.

Rhombus A Mathematics term; a parallelogram whose all the sides

are equal; see also Parallelogram.

Ribbed Coupling See Clamp Coupling.

Right Angle A Mathematics term; an angle equal to 90°.

Right Hand Rule A Physics term; represents the direction of angular

displacement vector; states that if the curvature of the fingers of the
right hand represents the sense of rotation of an object, then the
thumb, held normal to the curvature of the fingers, represents the
direction of angular displacement vector.

Right Triangle A Mathematics term; also called Right-Angled

Triangle; a triangle whose any one angle is a right angle, that is, equal
to 90°; see also Acute Triangle and Obtuse Triangle.

Right-Angled Triangle A Mathematics term; see Right Triangle.

Rigid Body A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; a body which

does not deform on the application of an external force or the distance
between the two arbitrarily selected points in the body always remains
constant; engineering mechanics deals with rigid bodies; see also
Elastic Body.

Rigid Coupling A Design term; a temporary fastening device used to

connect two coaxial shafts; requires the shafts to be in good alignment,
both laterally and angularity; does not allow any misalignment of the
shaft axes, hence the name rigid coupling; classified into muff or sleeve
coupling, clamp coupling, flange coupling, and solid or forged flange
coupling.
Rigid Truss A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; also
called Perfect Truss; a truss which is rigid and non-collapsible; obeys
the relation m = 2j – 3, where m = number of members and j = number
of joints in the truss; see also Non-rigid Truss, Under-rigid Truss, and
Over-rigid Truss.

Riser A Manufacturing term related to casting; a reservoir of molten

metal which supplies additional metal to castings to compensate for
shrinkage during solidification of castings.

Rivet A Design term; a fastening element usually used to join plates

permanently; made of wrought iron, mild steel, copper, or aluminium
alloys; fails due to shear, bending, or their combined action.

Riveting A Design term; a permanent method of fastening which uses

rivets to join the plates that cannot be separated without damaging the
rivets.

Roasting A Materials Engineering term related to metallurgy; a

chemical process of converting an ore into its metallic oxide by heating
it strongly in excess of air at a temperature below its melting point;
carried out in a reverberatory furnace; see also Calcination.

Robert Manning (1816–1897) An Irish engineer who is known for

the Manning equation used to obtain the fluid velocity or the flow rate
in an open channel; proposed several formulae for open-channel
resistance.

Robot A programmable machine capable of performing functions

according to computer programmed instructions; used to replace the
human beings for some very heavy weight, dirty, hazardous,
unpleasant, or monotonous tasks; the typical applications of a robot
include loading and unloading of machine tools in a production system
and painting and spot welding in automotive and appliance industries;
see also Robotics.

Robotics A science which deals with the use of robots and their
mechanisms for various applications.
Robust Design A Quality Management term; a quality concept
evolved by Genichi Taguchi (1924–2012), a famous Japanese quality
guru; emphasizes that products or services should be designed in a
manner so that they are robust enough to function satisfactorily despite
variations in the environmental and operating conditions; used as an
approach in the planning of new products and services; quality of such
products or services is called robust quality.

Robust Product A Quality Management term; a quality concept

proposed by Genichi Taguchi (1924–2012); a product which can
perform under a wide range of environmental conditions without
failing.

Rocker A Physics term; a bar which has one fixed pivot point around
which it may rotate through a fixed angle range.

Rocket A device in which a solid or liquid fuel and an oxidizer are

made to react in a combustion chamber to produce high-pressure
combustion gases, which are expanded in a nozzle to give them very
high velocity while leaving the rocket and thus producing the required
thrust needed to propel the rocket.

Rockwell Hardness Test A Strength of Materials term; see Rockwell

Test.

Rockwell Test A Strength of Materials term; also called Rockwell

Hardness Test; a destructive method of hardness testing of a material
developed by S.P. Rockwell (1886–1940) in 1922; commonly employed
in the USA; uses either a diamond indenter having 120º included angle
or a hardened steel ball that needs to be pressed against the test
specimen; based on measuring the depth of penetration rather than the
diameter of indentation as in case of Brinell test; uses three scales for
hardness measurement, namely Rockwell A for case hardened materials
that uses a 60 kg load, Rockwell B for soft materials (such as mild steels,
brass, and aluminium) that uses a 100 kg load, and Rockwell C for hard
materials (such as high-speed steels, high carbon steel, and tool steels)
that uses a 150 kg load; see also Brinell Test.
Roll Bending A Manufacturing term; a cold metal working process
used to give the required curvature to metal sheets or plates by means
of rotating rollers so as to convert them into useful products; typical
roll bending products include channels, gutters, panels, and frames; see
also Roll Forging.

Roll Forging A Manufacturing term; a hot metal working process

used to reduce the cross section of round or flat bar stocks by
subjecting them to rotating rollers; typical roll forged products include
tapered shafts, leaf springs, knives, and hand tools; see also Roll
Bending.

Roll Threading A Manufacturing term related to forming; a cold

metal working process which involves squeezing and rolling to produce
threads on a blank by placing it between two serrated dies.

Roller Support A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; a type of

simple support which prevents vertical movement but allows
movement in the horizontal plane; also does not prevent rotation; has
one vertical force reaction and no moment reaction; see also Hinge
Support.

Rolling Contact Bearing A Design term; see Anti-friction Bearing.

Rolling Friction A Physics term; the friction between two surfaces in

contact, of which one surface is rolling over another; caused by the
deformation of a rolling object such as a wheel or a cylinder rolling over
a flat surface; has point contact on the surface and has very small
values; see also Sliding Friction.

Rolling A Manufacturing term; the most widely used metal working

process used to reduce the thickness or change the cross section of a
workpiece by placing it between two rotating rolls; can be performed in
both hot and cold states (called respectively hot rolling and cold rolling);
typical rolled products include flat plates, sheets, foils (using cold
rolling), and bars of various shapes and sizes including round, square,
hexagon, I-section, channel section, angle section, T-section, and Z-section
(using hot rolling).
Root Diameter A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; the
diameter of the dedendum circle; see also Blank Diameter.

Rope Drive A Theory of Machines term; a mechanism used to

transmit motion or power between two shafts which are considerable
distance apart, using a rope that runs on grooved pulleys attached to the
shafts; useful for high-power transmission; a negative drive of power
transmission as some power is lost due to friction and slippage; see also
Belt Drive and Chain Drive.

Rose Metal A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of tin (Sn), lead

(Pb), and bismuth (Bi) consisting of 28% Sn, 22% Pb, and 50% Bi; used
in making electrical fuses.

Rotameter A Fluid Mechanics term; a flow measuring device

consisting of a tapered vertical glass tube in which a metering float
moves upward or downward by the upward motion of the fluid around
it; the vertical position of the float is linearly proportional to the
discharge, which can be read directly from the graduated tube.

Rotary Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; a type of positive displacement

pump used for pumping highly viscous fluids and slurries such as
pumping engine oil in automobiles and for pumping heavy liquids like
syrup, tomato paste, chocolate, and slurries like soups in the food
industry.

Rotary Swaging A Manufacturing term; see Swaging.

Rotational Equilibrium A Physics term; the equilibrium which

ensures that a rigid body does not rotate or rotates with a constant
angular velocity about an axis; requires the net external torque or the
vector sum of all the torques acting on the body is zero; a body under
rotational equilibrium has constant angular momentum and zero
angular acceleration; mathematically expressed as:
Rotational Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow in which the
fluid particles rotate about their mass axes, perpendicular to the plane
of motion; for a rotational flow, the vorticity is nonzero; see also
Irrotational Flow.

Rotational Inertia A Physics term; see Mass Moment of Inertia.

Rotational Momentum A Physics term; see Angular Momentum.

Rotational Speed A Physics term; the speed connected with the

rotation of an object; for example, a shaft has a rotational speed; a
measure of how fast an object rotates about an axis; the rotational
speed is measured in revolution per minute.

Rotodynamic Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Dynamic

Pump; a pump which increases the dynamic pressure of a fluid by the
rotation of its impeller blades producing centrifugal action and
imparting momentum to the fluid; some examples include centrifugal
pump, axial-flow pump, and mixed-flow pump; see also Positive
Displacement Pump.

Round File A Manufacturing term; one of the types of a file used in

the fitting shop which has a circular cross section; used in the filing of
holes, round corners, or round slots.

Round Key A Design term related to a key; a type of key used for light
duty applications; has either uniform circular cross section throughout
its length or is tapered (1:50) along its length which can fit in the hole
drilled partly in the shaft and partly in the hub of the mounting; its
diameter is usually equal to 0.25D, where D is the diameter of the shaft.

Route Sheet An Operations Management term; a document which

shows the routing of a component or assembly including the
workstations, machine tools, and operations times through its
production processes.

Routing An Operations Management term; the processing steps or

stages needed to create a product or to do a job; a component of shop
floor control.

rpm A Design term; see Revolution Per Minute.

Rubber A Chemistry term; also called Natural Rubber; an elastic

polymeric material prepared from latex (a white viscous liquid), which
is obtained from a latex tree; consists of long chain molecules
interlocked with each other; lacks desirable properties which can be
improved; the addition of compounding materials, such as sulphur,
accelerators (lime, magnesia, litharge, etc.), antioxidants, reinforcing
agents (carbon black, zinc oxide, etc.), colouring agents (zinc sulphide,
lead chromate, etc.), and plasticizers (vegetable oils, stearic acids, etc.)
improve its properties like elasticity, tensile strength, abrasion
resistance, and chemical resistance and ensure its lower electrical and
thermal conductivity; obtained in the form of sheets using calendering
machine; extensively used in the manufacture of tyres and tubes for the
vehicles; also used in making protective coatings, adhesives, papers, and
packing materials; see also Artificial Rubber.

Rudolf Diesel (1858–1913) The German inventor of the diesel

engine, a type of internal combustion engine.

Ruler A Metrology term; a length measuring instrument smaller than

a meter scale; a straight edged thin strip of steel or plastic in which
centimetre and millimetre are marked (called graduations) separately
on its two edges.

Rules A Management term; the specified required actions or

inactions (usually in the form of written statements) which do not
allow any discretion; act as a means for reaching the desired goals.

Runner Blade A Fluid Mechanics term related to a turbine; see

Bucket.

Runner A Manufacturing and a Fluid Mechanics term; in

manufacturing terms, it relates to casting; a part of the gating system; a
horizontal channel in the parting line which carries molten metal from
the sprue to the mould cavity; see also Sprue; in fluid mechanics terms,
it relates to a turbine; the moving component of a turbine which
consists of vanes or buckets attached to a rotating shaft;.

Rusting A Chemistry term; a common corrosion process for ferrous

alloys which deteriorates them; a phenomenon in which, when iron is
exposed to air and moisture, it gets oxidized to a hydrous oxide layer
forming over its surface which consists mainly of hydrated iron oxide
(2Fe2O3.3H2O) together with a small quantity of Fe (II) carbonate; the
pure iron, if kept in contact with pure water does not rust, but even
small traces of other metal such as zinc or copper in iron promote the
formation of rust; the presence of chromium and nickel slows down or
even prevents rusting; iron is protected from rusting by coating it with
zinc (the process is called galvanization) or by painting or white-
washing it with lime (CaO).
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_19

S
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Saddle Key A Design term related to a key; a key of uniform width

but has tapered thickness on one side where the magnitude of taper is
usually 1:100; suitable for light load applications only as it tends to slip
around the shaft, if used under heavy loads; classified into hollow
saddle key and flat saddle key.

Saddle A Lathe term; a principal part of a lathe in the form of an H-

shaped casting which moves along the bedways and carries cross slide,
compound slide, and tool post.

SAE Society of Automotive Engineers; an American professional body.

Safe Load A Strength of Materials term; the actual load which can be
placed on a beam or column without producing any buckling; equals to
the buckling load divided by the factor of safety.

Safety Glass A Chemistry term; also called Unbreakable Glass; a

type of glass which does not break easily under ordinary impact, hence
ensures safety but can break only under heavy impacts; prepared by
placing a layer of transparent plastic (usually a sheet of vinyl acetate
resin) between two layers of glass using a suitable adhesive and joined
tightly by applying heat and pressure; finds use in making screens of
automobiles, aeroplanes, and railways.

Safety Need A Management term related to motivation; one of the

five levels of human needs proposed by Abraham Harold Maslow
(1908–1970) in his ‘Need-Hierarchy Theory’ of motivation; represents
the need for protection from threats and danger (also includes safety
from verbal attack on a person at a meeting).

Safety Stock Inventory An Operations Management term; see Buffer

Stock.

Safety Stock An Operations Management term; see Buffer Stock.

Safety Valve A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a boiler mounting

used to maintain a safe pressure inside a boiler; fitted on the top of a
boiler; helps to release the excess pressure developed in the boiler, thus
prevents its bursting; at least two safety valves are used so that if one
valve fails, the other can be used.

Sagging A Strength of Materials term related to bending; a positive

bending moment which produces the upward concavity in a beam, as in
case of a loaded simple beam; see also Hogging.

Saint Venant’s Criterion A Strength of Materials term; see

Maximum Normal Strain Theory.

Sales Index An Operations Management term; a ratio of the quality

cost to the sales; see also Cost Index and Labour Index.

Salvage Value A Financial Management term; the income obtained

from the sale or disposal of an asset (such as plant and equipment) at
the end of a project’s life.

Sample Proportion Defective A Quality Control term; the number of

defective units in a randomly selected sample divided by the sample
size; used in p-chart.
Sample Range A Quality Control term; the arithmetic difference
between the highest and lowest measurement for a sample.

Sample Size A Quality Control term; a certain quantity of randomly

selected observations of process outputs (product or service) from a lot
which are subjected to quality testing measures to know the status of
the lot for its acceptance or rejection.

Sampling Inspection A Quality Control term; a statistical method of

inspection which takes a random sample of certain items from the
entire lot, tests every item of that sample; the approval or rejection of
the sample will decide the acceptance or refusal of the entire lot.

Sand Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; a casting

process which uses a sand mould to produce cast parts.

Sand A Chemistry term; a crystalline form of quartz formed as a result

of ‘weathering’ or disintegration of rocks and further breaking down by
violent movements of water; used in the manufacture of glass, mortar,
and porcelain; forms an important construction material to be mixed
with lime or cement; used in making vitreosil (a translucent variety of
glass); finely ground sand is used in the extraction of phosphorus from
phosphates.

Sandwich Beam A Strength of Materials term; a recently developed

composite beam fabricated in a sandwich manner, primarily to save
material and reduce weight; typically consists of two thin faces of
relatively high-strength material (such as aluminium) separated by a
thick core of lightweight low-strength material (plastics and foams); its
faces function somewhat like the flanges of an I-beam, which can
withstand highest bending stresses for being located at the greatest
distance from the neutral axis, whereas its core serves as a filler and
provides support for the faces, stabilizing them against wrinkling or
buckling; see also Composite Beam.

Satellite A Physics term; a material body revolving continuously in an

orbit around a comparatively much larger material body (earth or any
other planet or sun); for example, the moon is the satellite of earth and
the earth is the satellite of sun; the total energy (E) of a satellite
consists of potential energy and kinetic energy; when a satellite is
orbiting close to the earth, its total energy is given as:

where

G = universal gravitational constant = 6.67 × 10−11N.m2.kg−2

M = mass of the earth
m = mass of the satellite
R = radius of the earth.

For a satellite orbiting very close to the surface of the earth, the
orbital speed is equal to 7.92 km/s, and the time period of revolution is
84.6 min; classified into natural satellite and artificial satellite.

Satisfiers A Management term related to motivation; see Intrinsic

Factors.

Saturated Air A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry; the

air containing maximum water vapour at the saturation pressure;
cannot hold any more moisture; see also Unsaturated Air.

Saturated Liquid A Thermodynamics term; the state of a liquid

where both the liquid and the vapour phases coexist in equilibrium.

Saturated Vapour Line A Thermodynamics term; the line made up of

the saturated vapour states.

Saturated Vapour A Thermodynamics term; the state at which all

liquid is just vaporized.

Saturated Liquid Line A Thermodynamics term; the line made up of

the saturated liquid states.
Saturation Line A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry; a
curved line in the psychrometric chart which corresponds to 100 per
cent relative humidity of air.

Saturation Pressure A Thermodynamics term; the pressure

corresponding to saturation temperature at which a substance changes
its phase; see also Saturation Temperature.

Saturation Temperature A Thermodynamics term; the temperature

corresponding to saturation pressure at which a substance changes its
phase; see also Saturation Pressure.

Saw A Manufacturing term; a cutting tool consisting of a blade

(usually made of high carbon and high-speed steels) having a number
of small teeth, which take part in the to-and-fro cutting operation;
classified into hacksaw, band saw, circular saw, and abrasive disc saw.

SAW A Welding term; see Submerged Arc Welding.

Sawing A Manufacturing term; a bulk-removal cutting process used

to cut the correct-sized workpiece from a large raw material stock with
the help of a saw.

SBU A Management term; see Strategic Business Unit.

Scab A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs due to

thermal expansion of the moulding sand which raises a certain part of a
casting over its flat surface.

Scalar Chain A Management term; one of the 14 principles of

management proposed by Henri Fayol (1841–1925); a chain of
command which ensures communication from top management; ranges
from the ultimate authority to the lowest rank in an organization.

Scalar Principle A Management term related to line authority; states

that the clearer the line of authority, the clearer will be the
responsibility for decision-making and the more effective will be the
organizational communication; see also Unity of Command.
Scalar Product of Vectors A Physics term; also called Dot Product
of Vectors; the product of the magnitude of the two vectors and the
cosine of the smallest angle between them; the product of the
magnitude of one vector and the component of the other vector in the
direction of the first vector; given as:

where

a = magnitude of vector A
b = magnitude of vector B
θ = angle between the two vectors A and B

The physical scalar quantities like work, energy, electric potential or

gravitational potential can be described as the scalar product of two
vectors; a scalar quantity which follows the commutative and
distributive laws of algebra; if either of the two vectors is multiplied by
a scalar, the scalar product also gets multiplied by the scalar; becomes
zero when two vectors are at right angles (90°) to each other; the scalar
product of two similar unit orthogonal vectors is 1 (as cos 0° = 1), and
that of two dissimilar unit orthogonal vectors is 0 (as cos 90° = 0); see
also Vector Product of Vectors.

Scalar Quantity A Physics term; a physical quantity which has only

magnitude and no direction; a few examples include mass, distance,
area, and volume; see also Vector Quantity.

Scale Effect A Fluid Mechanics term related to similarity laws; the

deviations from the dynamic similarity rule due to involvement of
Reynolds number, Mach number, relative roughness of machines or lack
of strict geometrical similarity; tends to improve the performance of
larger machines.

Scalene Triangle A Mathematics term; a triangle whose all the three

sides are of different (unequal) lengths; see also Equilateral Triangle.
Scar A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs in the form
of a shallow blow mainly on the flat surface of a casting; see also Blow.

Scarcity An Economics term; the shortage which exists, when less of

something is available than is wanted.

Scatter Diagram An Operations Management term; a graphical

component of regression analysis; a graph which shows how two
process variables (measurements) relate to each other; often used to
verify possible causes and effects obtained from cause-and-effect
diagrams;

Schematic A diagram which uses symbols to represent components

of a system.

Schottky Defect A Materials Engineering term; a type of point defect

in solid materials; a pair of oppositely charged ion vacancies created
due to atoms or molecules moving out from the interior to the surface
of the crystal.

Science A subject which proposes hypotheses or theories based on

observations validated with carefully performed experiments which
use many measurements; a subject which can be argued upon with
definite reasoning.

Scientific Management A Management term; also called Taylor’s

Scientific Management; a scientific approach of management
introduced by an American mechanical engineer F. W. Taylor (1856–
1915) who is called the “father of scientific management''; deals with
improving the methods of doing a task using scientific principles and
tools in the solution of managerial problems; objective was to design
jobs better, train workers, and provide financial incentives to increase
workers’ productivity.

SCM An Operations Management term; see Supply Chain

Management.
SCOR An Operations Management term; see Supply Chain
Operations Reference.

Scoring A Design term; a surface failure which occurs due to

ineffective lubrication.

Scott-Russell Mechanism A Theory of Machines term; a mechanism

used to produce exact straight-line motion merely by copying, but not by
generating as it happens in case of Peaucellier and Hart mechanisms;
similar to that of a reciprocating engine; not very useful, as it involves
sliding pair which results in more friction and wear.

Screw Dislocation A Materials Engineering term; a type of linear

defect in a material which derives its name from the spiral stacking of
crystal planes around the dislocation line; the Burgers vector is parallel
to the dislocation line; see also Edge Dislocation and Mixed
Dislocation.

Screw Jack A load lifting device which consists of a square-threaded

central rod (called a screw) fitted into the internally-threaded collar of
a jack.

Screw A Design term; a mechanical device having threads over its

certain length; used for fastening purposes; classified into single-
threaded or multiple-threaded screws, where the latter has two or three
threads; the standardized screws, bolts, and nuts all have single threads;
for a double-threaded screw, lead equals to twice the pitch, whereas for
a triple-threaded screw, lead equals to 3 times the pitch.

Scriber A Manufacturing term; a sharp pointed needle like fitting

tool used to produce marking on a workpiece to cut it along the marked
line.

Scroll A Fluid Mechanics term related to a pump; the snail-shaped

casing of a centrifugal pump.

SDE Analysis An Operations Management term related to inventory; a

selective inventory control technique which classifies the inventories
based on the degree of difficulty in its availability into three categories:
S (scarce) items, D (difficult) items, and E (easily available) items; S
items may require source development (e.g. patented items); D items are
not easily manufacturable and may involve one or two manufacturers
only (e.g. computers and printers); E items are readily available in the
market (e.g. clothing, food, and jewellery); this analysis helps in
determining purchasing strategies for inventory items and to control
their lead time.

Seal A Design term; a device used to prevent leakage of fluids like gas,
steam or liquids between moving and stationary parts or between two
machine members having no relative motions; also used to maintain
the applied pressure or vacuum atmosphere within a sealed volume, for
example, in a refrigeration system and turbines.

Seam Welding A Welding term; also called Resistance Seam

Welding; a type of resistance welding; the joint is produced along a line
as a series of overlapping spot welds made between the work parts held
together under pressure by rotating circular electrodes; used to
produce a leak-proof joint; finds applications in the joining of gasoline
tanks, boilers, automobile mufflers, and pressure vessels; see also Spot
Welding.

Secant Column Formula A Strength of Materials term related to a

column; also called simply Secant Formula; a formula which involves a
sec term; used to find the crippling (critical) load for all types of
columns subjected to eccentric loading, where the line of action of the
column forces is separated from the centroidal axis of the column by a
certain distance, called eccentricity; expressed as:

where

σ = maximum stress induced in the column

P = eccentric load (crippling) on the column
A = area of cross section of the column
E = modulus of elasticity of the column material
e = eccentricity of the load
le = equivalent/effective length of the column
k = radius of gyration
C = distance of the outermost fibre of the column from its neutral
axis.

Secant Formula A Strength of Materials term related to a column; see

Secant Column Formula.

Second Conjugate Beam Theorem A Strength of Materials term; a

conjugate beam-based theorem used to find deflection at any section of
a loaded beam; states that the deflection at any section of a loaded
beam is equal to the bending moment at the corresponding section of
the conjugate beam; see also First Conjugate Beam Theorem.

Second Law of Thermodynamics A Thermodynamics term; a law

which cannot be proved like any other physical law, as it is based on
experimental observations; consists of two classical statements—the
Kelvin-Planck statement, which is related to heat engines, and the
Clausius statement, which is related to refrigerators or heat pumps (see
them separately discussed).

Second Moment of Area A Strength of Materials term; also called

Geometrical Moment of Inertia or Area Moment of Inertia or simply
Moment of Inertia of a plane area; denoted by I; defined as:

where x and y are the distances of the area da from y and x axes,
respectively; the SI unit is m4; for a circular shaft (solid or hollow), its
values are given as:
where

d = diameter of the solid shaft or inside diameter of hollow shaft

D = outside diameter of the hollow shaft
NA = neutral axis of the shaft’s cross section; see also Polar Moment
of Inertia.

Secondary Bond A Chemistry term; an atomic bond formed without

any electron transfer or sharing of outer orbital electrons; examples
include metallic bond and coordinate bond; see also Primary Bond.

Secondary Sources of Energy A Power Plant term; the sources of

energy derived from the primary sources; for example, hydrogen
produced from water; see also Primary Sources of Energy.

Second-Class Lever A Physics term; a lever in which the load is

positioned between the fulcrum and the effort and both act in opposite
directions; moving the load closer to the fulcrum will increase the
mechanical advantage, whereas moving the load closer to effort
decreases the mechanical advantage; A few examples of second-class
lever include a wheelbarrow (used to lift a load of dirt) and a nutcracker
(used to crack open the tough shell of a nut).

Section Modulus A Strength of Materials term; a ratio of the second

moment of area (I) to the distance (y) of outer layer of a beam from the
neutral axis; equals to the ratio of the bending moment to the maximum
bending stress; a measure of strength of a beam’s cross section; the SI
unit is m3.

Section An Engineering Drawing and a Machine Drawing term; the

inner details of an object or a machine component on being imagined to
be cut by a cutting plane and viewed after the removal of the cut
portion.

Seebeck Effect A Physics term; a thermoelectric effect, named in

honour of a German physicist Thomas Johann Seebeck (1770–1831)
who first made this discovery in 1821; states that when the two
junctions formed by two dissimilar materials are maintained at
different temperatures, an electromotive force (emf) is observed across
the ends of the materials which is responsible for the flow of current in
the circuit; used in temperature measurement and power generation;
also forms the basis for thermoelectric power generation
(thermoelectric generator); see also Peltier Effect.

Selective Inventory Control An Operations Management term

related to inventory; a process of controlling inventory on the basis of
degree of control or intensity of management efforts required as all the
inventories are not equally important in respect of sales, profits,
availability, etc.; a few selective inventory control techniques include
ABC analysis, VED analysis, FSN analysis, HML analysis, S-OS analysis,
SDE analysis, GOLF analysis, and XYZ analysis.

Self-Actualization Need A Management term related to motivation;

one of the five levels of human needs proposed by Abraham Harold
Maslow (1908–1970) in his ‘Need-Hierarchy Theory’ of motivation;
represents the highest level of human needs which includes continual
self-development, trust, integrity, responsibility, and naturalness.

Self-Locking Device A Design term; a machine which gets locked and

does not move to its original position in the reversible manner; has
efficiency less than 50 per cent; a screw jack is a self-locking device.

Self-Priming Pump A Fluid Mechanics term; a pump which can

create a significant vacuum pressure at its inlet even in its dry state;
able to lift a liquid from several metres below the pump without
undergoing any priming activity.

Selling Price An Operations Management term related to cost

analysis; the selling price of a product is equal to total cost plus (or
minus) profit (or loss); profit occurs when the selling price of a product
exceeds its total cost; loss occurs when the selling price of a product is
less than its total cost.

Semi-Centrifugal Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; a

type of centrifugal casting used to produce parts with rotational
symmetry such as a wheel with spokes using a rotating mould (about its
vertical axis); the mould rotates at lower speed as compared to semi-
centrifugal casting; see also True Centrifugal Casting and
Centrifuging.

Semi-Circle A Mathematics term; the one-half part of a circle.

Semiconductor An Electronics term; a solid material whose

electrical conductivity lies between metallic conductors (good electrical
conductors) and ceramics insulators (good electrical insulators); the
current in semiconductors flows through two charge carriers, namely
electrons and holes; a few examples of elemental semiconductors include
silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), and tin (Sn); a few examples of compound
semiconductors include gallium arsenide (GaAs) and cadmium sulphide
(CdS); classified into intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors; used in
making electronic devices such as transistors and diodes used in
integrated circuits.

Semi-Diesel Engine An IC Engine term; an internal combustion

engine which works on a dual cycle in which heat is supplied partly at
constant volume and partly at constant pressure; see also Diesel
Engine.

Semi-Metal A Chemistry term; see Metalloid.

Sensible Heat A Physics term; the heat which produces a

temperature rise or fall, when added to or removed from a substance;
associated with the kinetic energies of the molecules of the substance;
when added, temperature rises as molecules of the substance absorb
heat energy and move faster; when removed, temperature drops as
molecules of the substance become slower on account of loss of heat
energy; given as:
where

Q = heat added or removed

m = mass of the substance
C = specific heat of the substance
ΔT = temperature difference; see also Latent Heat.

Sensitivity Analysis A Management term; a technique for

systematically changing parameters in a model to determine the effects
of such changes; helps to assess what the results would be like if
parameters such as costs, time-scales, and market share were different
from the values assumed for a plan.

Sensitivity A Metrology term; a ratio of the magnitude of output

signal to the magnitude of input signal.

Sensor A device which responds to a physical stimulus (such as heat,

light, sound, pressure, magnetism, or a particular motion) and
transmits a resulting signal required for measurement or operating a
control.

Service Organization A Management term; the organization which

deals with services (intangible/nonphysical products) which are being
offered to customers; a few examples include railway, airline companies,
hospitals, financial institutions, and telephone companies; see also
Manufacturing Organization.

Servomechanism An Electrical term; a feedback system which

consists of a sensing element, amplifier, and a servomotor.

Set-Squares A set of two triangular shaped geometrical instruments;

usually made out of a thin transparent plastic sheet whose two
perpendicular edges are graduated, one in centimetres and other in
inches; classified into 30° and 45° set-squares of which 30° set-square
has angles of 30°, 60°, and 90°, and 45° set-square has angles of 45°,
45°, and 90°; used to draw parallel and perpendicular lines; also used to
construct angles of 30°, 45°, and 90°.

Setup Cost An Operations Management term; the cost related to

configuring tools, equipment, and machines within a factory to produce
an item; setup costs include writing orders and processing for the
production system, time, and labour to clean and change tools or
holders, and costs associated with employees’ training; see also
Ordering Cost and Holding Cost.

Setup Time An Operations Management term; the time required to

adjust the machine settings, replace materials, change tools, and do
everything it takes to change over from producing one type of product
to another at a workstation; the setup time reduction is a continuous
process in a JIT environment to reduce the inventory levels and
increase production capacity; the concept of single minute exchange of
die (SMED) is an useful concept to reduce the setup time.

SFD A Strength of Materials term; see Shear Force Diagram.

Shaft Coupling A Design term; also called simply Coupling; a

temporary fastening device used to connect one shaft to another
(because of limitation of length of shafts) or to couple a driver shaft to a
driven shaft, in such a way that when both rotate, they act as single
unit; used in transmission of power from one shaft to another; the
shafts may have collinear axes, intersecting axes or parallel axes at a
small distance; generally made of cast iron, but may be made of cast
steel for heavy-duty work; classified into rigid coupling and flexible
coupling.

Shaft Power An IC Engine term; also called Brake Power or Brake

Horse Power or BHP; the power available at the shaft of an engine;
given as:
where

T = torque transmitted to the crankshaft (N-m or Kgf-m)

ω = angular velocity of the crankshaft (rad/sec)
N = number of revolutions per minute (rpm)
π = a constant .

Shaft Work A Thermodynamics term; also called Mechanical Work;

the work produced due to rotation of a shaft; the energy transmission
with a rotating shaft is very common in engineering practice; for
example, lifting of a weight through a pulley attached to a rotating
shaft; associated with devices such as pump, turbine, fan, and
compressor.

Shaft A Design term; a usually circular rotating part used to transmit

motion or power between two members such as from the prime mover
(steam turbine, gas turbine, etc.) to a machine or from a motor to a
machine tool or from an engine to the rear axle of an automobile.

Shake Allowance A Casting term; also called Rapping Allowance; a

negative pattern allowance which is provided by decreasing the size of
the pattern so that the increased size during the shake of pattern in the
mould cavity (during its withdrawal) can be accommodated.

Shaping A Manufacturing term; a machining process used to create

plane surfaces using a single-point cutting tool; usually used to produce
rectangular workpieces to be used for further machining.

Shareholder A Management term; the owner of an organization or

the persons who have invested their money in an organization by
buying the organization’s stock; their claim on the organizational
resources is often considered superior to the claims of other inside
stakeholders; they are faceless as they are not directly involved in the
management activities of the organization; see also Stockholder.

Sharp-Crested Weir A Fluid Mechanics term; a vertical thin plate

having a sharp edge at its top which allows a liquid to pass over it when
placed in an open channel; used to measure the liquid flow rate; see also
Broad-Crested Weir.

Shaw Process A Manufacturing term related to casting; see Ceramic

Mould Casting.

Shear Centre A Strength of Materials term; also called Centre of

Twist or Flexural Centre or Centre of Flexure; a point in the cross
section of a beam where if a lateral load is applied, it will bend the
beam without twisting along the longitudinal axis; the point of
intersection of the bending axis with the plane of transverse section of
a beam; the section gets twisted about this point, if the load is not
applied at the shear centre; for a doubly symmetric section, the shear
centre coincides with the centroid; for a singly symmetric section, the
shear centre lies on the axis of symmetry.

Shear Deformation A Strength of Materials term; see Shearing

Strain.

Shear Flow A Strength of Materials term; the shear force which acts
in a longitudinal section per unit length of a beam; denoted by q.

Shear Force Diagram A Strength of Materials term related to

bending, abbreviated as SFD; a pictorial representation which shows
the distribution of shear forces at various sections of a loaded beam;
the positive values of shear forces are shown above the axis of the beam
(horizontal axis) and the negative values below the axis (both values as
vertical lines), which are connected by a horizontal straight line in case
of point loads, by an inclined straight line in case of uniformly
distributed loads (udl) and by a parabolic curve in case of uniformly
varying loads acting on the beam; see also Bending Moment Diagram.
Shear Force A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; a force which
acts tangentially or is parallel to the surface of a body and produces
change in shape of the body.

Shear Formula A Strength of Materials term; proposed by a Russian

bridge and railway engineer D. J. Jourawski (1821–1891); used to find
the shear stress at the cross sections of various shapes of beams; given
as:

where

τ = shear stress
V = vertical shear force
I = moment of inertia of the cross section about the neutral axis
b = width of the cross section
A = area of cross section
y = distance of the centroid of the section where shear stress is τ.

Shear Modulus A Strength of Materials term; see Modulus of

Rigidity.

Shear Spinning A Manufacturing term; also called Power Spinning;

a cold metal working process used to shape a flat sheet metal blank into
conical or cylindrical shapes by pressing it against a power driven
shaped-mandrel using rollers; see also Tube Spinning.

Shear Strain Energy due to Principal Stresses A Strength of

Materials term; the shear strain energy stored in a body per unit its
volume when subjected to three mutually perpendicular principal
stresses; given as:

(1)

For a uniaxial stress system (σ2 = 0, σ3 = 0, and assuming σ1 = σ)

 (2)

where

σ1, σ2, σ3 = principal stresses acting along three mutually

perpendicular
axes x, y and z respectively
G = modulus of rigidity of the body material.

Shear Strain A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; see

Shearing Strain.

Shear Stress A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; see

Shearing Stress.

Shear Thickening Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; see Dilatant Fluid.

Shear Thinning Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; see Pseudoplastic

Fluid.

Shear A Physics term; when a body is acted upon by an external force

tangential or parallel to its surface, it undergoes a change in its shape,
and the body is said to have sheared.

Shearing Strain A Strength of Materials term; also called Shear

Strain or Angular Distortion or Shear Deformation; a strain
produced on account of change in shape of a body without any change
in its volume by a shear force; an angle (in radian) through which a
plane perpendicular to the fixed surface of a body gets turned under the
effect of a shear force; calculated as a ratio of the displacement of a
surface under a shear force to the perpendicular distance of the
displaced surface form the fixed surface of a body; denoted by φ (phi).

Shearing Stress A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; also

called Shear Stress or Tangential Stress; the stress produced by a
shearing force that acts on the surface of a body; a ratio of the shearing
force to the shearing area; produces change in shape of a body.

Shearing A Manufacturing term; a process which involves

mechanical cutting along a straight line completely across a strip, sheet
or bar without the formation of any chip or using any heating process;
used to indicate most of the sheet metal cutting operations; a few
shearing operations include piercing, notching, and blanking.

Sheet Metal Operations A Manufacturing term; the operations used

to make useful products out of a metal sheet using shearing action by
means of die-punch assembly; a few examples include blanking,
punching, lancing, bending, notching, and slitting.

Sheet A form of material (metal, plastic, and others) having thickness

less than 6 mm; used extensively in making automobile and aircraft
bodies, as well as appliances, food and beverages containers, and kitchen
equipment; see also Plate.

Shell Mould Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; also

called Croning Process or C Process named after its German inventor
Johannes Croning (1886–1957); a variation of sand casting which uses a
dimensionally more accurate thin shell mould made of a mixture of dry
silica sand free from clay and phenolic resin; used to produce more
accurate castings with improved surface finish as compared to sand
casting; the typical products made by this method include gear
housings, cylinder heads, and connecting rods.

Shewhart Cycle An Operations Management term; see Deming

Wheel.

Shielded Metal Arc Welding A Welding term, abbreviated as SMAW;

also called Stick Electrode Welding as the electrode used in this
process looks like a stick; an extensively used arc welding process which
uses a consumable coated electrode that also acts as a filler metal, and
the coating material provides shielding atmosphere around the joint;
finds major applications in the fabrication of ships, bridges, pressure
vessels, and structural members.
SHM A Physics term; see Simple Harmonic Motion.

Shock Load A Physics term; see Impact Load.

Shock Wave A Physics term; a wave generated from loud noises

similar to the produced from a gun or explosion; travels faster than the
speed of sound.

Shoe Brake A Theory of Machines term; see Block Brake.

Shop Drawing A Machine Drawing term; the complete drawing of an

object comprising a number of drawings required to facilitate the
fabrication of all the parts of the object and their subsequent assembly
into a complete product; usually includes both the assembly drawing
and the part drawing.

Shop Floor Control An Operations Management term; also called

Production Activity Control; a production control method of
scheduling and monitoring of day-to-day production activities in a job
shop to know the progress of the work and to take the appropriate
corrective measures in case of any deviation; the components of shop
floor control include loading, sequencing, scheduling, and expediting the
jobs.

Shop Loading An Operations Management term; see Loading.

Shopping Goods An Economics term; a type of consumer goods

which are purchased after giving serious thought and after making
careful comparison between alternatives with respect to their
attributes and features, rather than their brand; include infrequently
bought items such as cameras and refrigerators; usually sold through
fewer specialized outlets such as camera shops and mobile shops (as
compared to convenience goods which are sold through many retail
outlets); see also Convenience Goods and Speciality Goods.

Short Column A Strength of Materials term related to a column; a

column of short length having its slenderness ratio less than 30; short
columns can be subjected to maximum permissible compressive stress
without buckling, but they fail by yielding; see also Medium Column
and Long Column.

Shortage Cost An Operations Management term; see Stockout Cost.

Shortest Processing Time Rule An Operations Management term;

see SPT Rule.

Short-Term Assets A Financial Management term; the assets which

are to be considered for a short-term, say, one year or less; include the
current assets; see also Short-Term Liabilities .

Short-Term Financial Management A Financial Management term;

a process of managing the current assets and current liabilities; one of
the financial manager’s most important and time-consuming activities.

Short-Term Forecasts An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; have a time frame of a few days to three months; these
forecasts tend to be for narrow or specific entities, such as forecasts of
demand for individual products or services; a few examples include
decisions such as replenishing inventory or scheduling employees in
the near term; the time series analysis is most frequently used for short-
term forecasts; the management judgement method is also used for
short-term forecasts, when past data regarding a product is not
available; see also Medium-Term Forecasts and Long-Term
Forecasts.

Short-Term Liabilities A Financial Management term; the liabilities

which are to be considered for a short-term, say, one year or less;
include the current liabilities; see also Long-Term Liabilities .

Shovel A Manufacturing term; a foundry tool used to prepare the

moulding sand or to bring it from its site of preparation to the place of
its use.

Shrill A Physics term; a high frequency sound which has a high pitch.
Shrinkage Allowance A Casting term; a type of pattern allowance
provided in a sand mould pattern in the form of increased size over its
actual size to take care of reduction in volume of the castings during
their solidification; it is typically 2% for steels, 1% for cast iron, and
1.25% for aluminium.

Shrinkage A Manufacturing term related to casting; also called

Porosity; a type of casting defect in which the size of casings reduces
upon solidification as molten metal shrinks on cooling; occurs when the
density of the metal in its solid state is greater than its density in liquid
state.

Shroud A Fluid Mechanics term related to a pump; also called Volute;

the pump casing which surrounds the impeller blades to increase blade
stiffness.

SI Engine An IC Engines term; see Petrol Engine.

SI Unit A Physics term; the universally accepted international system

of units; includes six basic units such as metre (m) for length, kilogram
(kg) for mass, second (s) for time, kelvin (K) for temperature, ampere
(A) for electric current, and candela (cd) for luminous intensity.

Side Riser A Manufacturing term related to casting; see Blind Riser.

Siderite A Chemistry term; an iron ore having the chemical formula

FeCO3; contains about 48% iron.

Sigma Bond A Chemistry term, abbreviated as σ bond; a type of

covalent bond formed by the overlapping of orbitals along the same axis
(like overlapping between s–s, s-p or p-p orbitals); stronger than pi (π)
bond; see also Pi Bond.

Sigma A Greek letter denoted by σ; defines a standard deviation from

a bell curve; also used to denote normal stress.

Silica Gel A Chemistry term; a white amorphous form (powder) of

silica (SiO2) having the chemical formula of SiO2.2H2O; prepared by the
action of water on silicon tetrachloride or tetrafluoride (SiCl4 or SiF4);
used as a catalyst in petroleum industry and as an adsorbent in column
chromatography; also used to protect merchandize from moisture during
storage by placing small packets of dry silica gel (blue) in the packing
boxes (turn pink after absorbing moisture).

Silica A Chemistry term; also called Silicon Dioxide (SiO2); a hard

and inert substance chemically obtained by heating silicon in oxygen;
has a very high melting point due to its highly stable covalent-bonded
three-dimensional network structure; occurs in nature in several
amorphous and crystalline forms; three important crystalline forms of
silica include quartz, tridymite, and cristobalite, of which quartz is the
most common form; the amorphous forms of silica include agate, jasper,
and onyx; also found in certain plants and animals, for example, the
hard portions of straw and bamboo contain silica, the skeletons of
certain marine organisms (e.g. sponges) consist largely of silica, and
claws of animals and finger nails also contain silica; the most widely used
ceramic material and an essential ingredient in glasses and many glass
ceramics; silica-based materials are used in thermal insulation,
refractories, abrasives, fibre-reinforced composites, laboratory glassware,
etc.; also used to make optical fibres for communications; powdered
silica is used in tyres, paints, and many other applications.

Silicate A Chemistry term; a ceramic compound with silica (SiO2) as a

major constituent.

Silicon Bronze A Chemistry term; a copper-base alloy containing 3%

silicon (Si) and 1% manganese (Mn) along with copper (Cu); has good
corrosion resistance and mechanical properties.

Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) A Chemistry term; see Silica.

Silicon A Chemistry term; a chemical element having symbol Si with

atomic number 14 and atomic weight 28; an essential constituent of
most of the non-living materials including rocks, hills, clays, soils, and
ores; occurs most abundantly, next only to oxygen, up to about 27.7% in
the earth’s crust as silica (sand and quartz of various forms such as opal
and flint) and silicates [felspar (KAlSi2O8) and Mica (KH2Al(SiO4)3]; also
the most abundant element, after oxygen, in human body, to the extent of
about 18%, in combined state; a hard and brittle non-metallic solid with
a very high melting point (1410 °C); has same appearance (grey colour)
as graphite and also the electrical conductivity is of the same order as
that of graphite; exists in two allotropic forms: a brown amorphous
powder and a grey crystalline mass; amorphous silicon is chemically
more active than the crystalline variety; used as an alloying element for
steel or iron to increase its resistance to attack by acids; its alloys such
as silicon bronze and manganese-silicon bronze possess strength and
hardness even greater than steel; pure silicon is used as an important
semiconductor to make transistors.

Silver Coinage A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of nickel (Ni)

and silver (Ag) containing 5% Ni; used in making coinage.

Silver A Chemistry term; a pure-white, soft, highly ductile, and

malleable noble metal which has the specific gravity of 10.5 and the
melting point of 690 °C; a good conductor of heat and electricity; finds
use in making coinage and jewellery and in electroplating.

Similitude A Fluid Mechanics term; the study of predicting prototype

conditions from model observations; useful when an analytical or
numerical solution is not possible or when testing is not practical on a
full-scale prototype.

SIMO Chart An Operations Management term related to work study; a

simultaneous motion chart developed by Frank Gilbreth (1868–1934);
finds use in time study to record simultaneously the motion of each
hand of an operator along with their timings while performing a work
in order to identify unwanted, inefficient, and ineffective motions which
could be eliminated; used in micromotion study of short cycle repetitive
jobs and high-order skill jobs like component assembly, packaging,
inspection, and repetitive use of jigs and fixtures.

Simple System A Thermodynamics term; a system defined by only

two properties.
Simple Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a beam; also
called Simply Supported Beam or Hinged Beam; a statically
determinate beam which is supported at its end points of which one
end is hinge supported while the other end is roller supported; one of
the most widely used beams in civil structures.

Simple Bending A Strength of Materials term; see Pure Bending.

Simple Curve A Mathematics term; also called Open Curve; a curve

which does not cut or cross itself; a straight line is an example of a
simple curve; see also Closed Curve.

Simple Gear Train A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; a

gear train in which each gear shaft between the follower and the driver
carries one gear only; see also Compound Gear Train.

Simple Harmonic Motion A Physics term, abbreviated as SHM; also

called Simple Harmonic Oscillation; a harmonic motion of a single
frequency and constant amplitude; the particle executing SHM moves
back and forth (to-and-fro) between two extreme positions about an
equilibrium position (the mean position) through a (restoring) force
(directly proportional to the displacement, but opposite to it in
direction); the acceleration of the particle is maximum at the two
extreme positions and zero at the mean position; a few examples of
SHM include the backward and forward swing of a simple pendulum, the
up and down motion of a weight hanging on a spring, and the twisting
and untwisting of a body suspended by a wire; can be mathematically
expressed either by Eq. (1) or (2) as:

(1)

(2)

where
y = displacement of the particle from mean position at any instant t
a = maximum displacement or amplitude of displacement of the
particle
ω = angular frequency
n = frequency of harmonic oscillation
T = time period of harmonic oscillation.

Simple Harmonic Oscillation A Physics term; see Simple Harmonic

Motion.

Simple Pendulum A Physics term; a device consisting of a heavy

mass of negligible dimensions (called bob) which is suspended vertically
by means of an inextensible and massless string; when moved to
sideways from its resting (defined by an angle θ ≤ 4° with the vertical)
and allowed to swing, it executes SHM; its time period (T) is given as:

where

n = frequency of oscillation
l = length of the string
g = acceleration due to gravity
= a constant.

Simple Support A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; a

support provided by a hinge (also called a pin) and a roller; see also
Hinge Support and Roller Support.

Simple Truss A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; a truss

supported at its end points where one end is hinge supported and the
other end roller supported.

Simple Vortex A Fluid Mechanics term; see Free Vortex.

Simplex Method An Operations Research term; developed in 1963 by
George Bernard Dantzig (1914–2005), an American mathematical
scientist; a computational technique used to solve a linear programming
problem involving two or more variables; simplex method is the most
general and widely used method.

Simply Supported Beam A Strength of Materials term related to a

beam; see Simple Beam.

Simulation A Computer term; an artificial environment that attempts

to closely mirror an actual condition; used for decision-making under
conditions of uncertainty like where mathematical simplification is not
feasible or it is difficult to observe the actual environment or actual
observation of a system is too expensive; with the advent of high-speed
digital computers, it has become possible to find the economical and
quick solutions of a number of real-life business problems using
computer simulation.

Sine Bar A Metrology term; a high precision and the most accurate
angle-measuring instrument used in conjunction with a set of angle
gauges.

Single Minute Exchange of Die An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as SMED; a technique evolved by Shiego Shingo (1909–
1990); used in JIT to reduce the setup time of machine during
changeover from one product to another to less than a minute; the
phrase single minute is actually single-digit minute to indicate the
changeover of less than ten minutes.

Single Piece Pattern A Casting term; see Solid Pattern.

Single Sampling A Quality Control term; the acceptance sampling of

a lot based on a single sample; see also Multiple Sampling.

Single-Acting Cylinder A Mechatronics and an IC Engine term; a

common type of linear actuator controlled by fluid pressure in one
direction only and the return stroke occurs automatically; see also
Double-Acting Cylinder.
Single-Acting Engine A Thermodynamics term related to an IC
engine; a heat engine in which the working fluid acts on only one side of
the piston; internal combustion (IC) engines for road transport are
always single-acting; see also Double-Acting Engine.

Single-Factor Productivity A Management term; see Partial Factor

Productivity.

Sink Temperature: A Thermodynamics term; see Ambient

Temperature.

Sintered Carbide A Materials Engineering term; see Cemented

Carbide.

Siphon A Fluid Mechanics term; a long bent pipe used to carry water
from a reservoir at a higher elevation to a reservoir at a lower elevation
using air pressure to maintain the flow, when the two reservoirs are
separated by some obstruction, say a hill or any high level ground.

Six Sigma Approach An Operations Management term related to

quality; abbreviated as 6σ, where σ is standard deviation (a measure of
variability around the mean of a normal distribution); a benchmarked
standard for quality evolved by Bill Smith at Motorola in 1986; uses
rigorous measurement to reduce process variation and eliminate
defects; allows only 3.4 defects per million (ten lakh) parts or services
produced; products or services are 99.99966% perfect; the previous
quality standard three sigma (3σ) allows 2600 defects per million
products or services produced.

Skeleton Pattern A Casting term; a type of pattern, usually made of

wood; used to produce moulds which form the outer frame of the
castings; useful for large size castings in small numbers.

Skew Bending A Strength of Materials term; see Unsymmetrical

Bending.

Skew Gear A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; see Spiral

Gear.
Skin Hardening A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; see
Case Hardening.

Skin-Dried Mould A Casting term; a sand mould whose upper

surface (skin) is dried to a depth of about 25 mm or more using a gas
torch or heater; used for making large size castings because of its high
strength.

Slab A Manufacturing term; a type of steel ingot (oblong) whose

thickness varies between 2 and 6 inches and width between 5 and 6
feet; see also Billet and Bloom.

Slack A Project Management term; see Total Slack.

Slag A Chemistry term; a product formed when the impurities

present in an ore (called gangue) combine with a flux; being lighter in
weight it floats over the surface of the molten metal from where it can
be skimmed off from time to time.

Sleeve Coupling A Design term; see Muff Coupling.

Slender Member A Strength of Materials term; any structural

member whose length is at least 5 times greater than its largest cross-
sectional dimension.

Slenderness Ratio A Strength of Materials term related to a column;

a ratio of the effective length of a column to its least radius of gyration;
a parameter used as a classification criteria for columns; for example,
short columns have slenderness ratio less than 30, long columns have
slenderness ratio greater than 120 and medium columns have
slenderness ratio lying between 30 and 120; smaller value of the
slenderness ratio indicates higher crippling stress.

Sliding Friction A Physics term; the friction acting between two

sliding surfaces of the bodies; see also Rolling Friction.

Slip A Theory of Machines and a Materials Engineering term; in theory

of machines terms, an undesirable phenomenon which occurs in an open
belt drive because of large difference in tensions between the tight and
slack side of the belt; allows the belt to slide over the pulley causing a
relative motion between belt and pulley; decreases the velocity ratio;
see also Whip; in materials engineering terms, a process by which a
dislocation (a linear defect) moves and causes a metallic material to
deform; useful in understanding the mechanical behaviour of metals.

Slitting A Manufacturing term; a sheet metal operation which

involves lengthwise cutting of coil or a metal sheet into narrower width.

Slotting A Manufacturing term; a sheet metal operation used to cut

elongated holes or slots.

Slug A Fluid Mechanics term; the unit of mass in the FPS system of
units; equivalent to lbf.s2/ft and 1 slug is equal to 32.2 lb.

Sluice Gate A Fluid Mechanics term; a common type of underflow

gate which is in the form of a vertical thin plate having a sharp edge at
its bottom; used to control the liquid flow rate in a wide open channel
like a dam; see also Drum Gate.

Slush Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; a special form

of permanent mould casting; used to produce hollow thin-walled
castings (without using any core) which are usually painted or finished
to give them good looks of expensive metals; frequently used to
produce ornamental and decorative objects such as lamp bases and
stems, statuettes, and toys from low melting point materials like zinc,
tin, and lead alloys.

SMAW A Welding term; see Shielded Metal Arc Welding.

SMED An Operations Management term; see Single Minute

Exchange of Die.

Smith Forging A Manufacturing term; also called Hammer Forging;

the most basic and the oldest forging process practised from the
ancient times by a village blacksmith; used to shape a heated workpiece
by striking it repeatedly with a hammer in a closed or open die.
Smog An Air Pollution term; a mixture of smoke and fog.

Smoke An Air Pollution term; the small gas-borne particles which

result from incomplete combustion of fuels; predominantly consist of
carbon and other combustible material; see also Smog and Smust.

Smoothing Constant An Operations Management term related to

forecasting; a numerical parameter which finds use in the exponential
smoothing method of demand forecasting; reflects the weightage
assigned to the most recent demand data; denoted by α (alpha) and
assumes a value between 1 and 0; zero (0) value is a case of ‘infinite
smoothing’ which does not reflect the most recent demand at all, and it
indicates that current period forecast equals to the last period forecast
and the forecast once set never changes; as α approaches zero, the
forecast will react and adjust more slowly to differences between the
actual demand and the forecasted demand; the unit (1) value is a case
of ‘no smoothing’ which implies that the current period forecast equals
the last period actual and indicates the consideration of only the most
recent data and nothing else; the higher value of α indicates that the
forecast is more sensitive to changes in recent demand; for most
industrial applications, the value of α lies between 0.1 and 0.2.

Smust An Air Pollution term; a mixture of smoke and dust.

S–N Curve A Strength of Materials term; a curve associated with a

fatigue test which is plotted between stress amplitude (S) and the
number of stress cycles (N) of alternate tension and compression
required to produce a material’s fatigue failure.

Soaking A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment; a process

of prolonged heating of a metal at a selected temperature.

Social Need A Management term related to motivation; one of the

five levels of human needs proposed by Abraham Harold Maslow
(1908–1970) in his ‘Need-Hierarchy Theory’ of motivation; represents
the need to belong to a group (relationships with co-workers and
supervisors), acceptance (recognition) by one’s peers as their equal,
and exchange of affection.
Soda Glass A Chemistry term; see Ordinary Glass.

Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate A Chemistry term; see Borax.

Soft Automation An Automation term; also called Flexible

Automation; a process of using computer-driven automated machines
which is easily reprogrammed to produce a variety of products; see also
Hard Automation.

Soft Glass A Chemistry term; see Ordinary Glass.

Solar Battery A Physics term; lead-acid or nickel–cadmium battery

used in solar electric systems to store the electricity generated during
daylight hours for later use.

Solar Cell A Physics term; also called Photocell or Photovoltaic Cell

or PV Cell; a semiconducting device which generates a voltage as it
absorbs photons of light; directly converts sunlight into electricity
without any intermediate mechanism; relatively expensive, as being
made from processed silicon, just like integrated circuits and computer
microprocessors; their higher costs have always been a hindrance in
making them an alternative source of electricity generation; mostly
confined to space satellites, hand-held calculators, roadside emergency
telephones, remote houses, and other situations, where electricity is not
otherwise available.

Solar Constant A Physics term; the amount of solar radiation which

reaches the earth’s atmosphere; equals to 1367 W/m2.

Solar Energy The energy associated with the sun; a type of thermal
energy as it produces heat and temperature; a renewable and a huge
source of cheap energy which is inexhaustible; on a clear day when the
sun is directly overhead, roughly one kilowatt of sunlight strikes each
square metre of the ground; every minute the sun provides the earth
with more energy than the entire world consumes in a year;
environment-friendly, but suffers from non-uniform availability due to
seasonal change and diurnal limitation.
Solder A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of tin (Sn) and lead (s)
consisting of 67% (or 50%) Sn and 33% (or 50%) Pb; used in soldering
to join light electrical components.

Soldering A Joining term; a process of joining metals and alloys

without melting them; uses a fusible alloy, called solder (a tin–lead alloy
which melts below 450 °C) which acts as a filler metal that reaches the
gap between the two parts being joined by capillary action; the strength
of a soldered joint is primarily due to formation of metallic bond,
although adhesion and mechanical attachment also contribute; cleaning
of the joining surfaces before soldering (using a flux) is essential (to
make them free from impurities such as oxide, dirt, oil or grease); the
various soldering methods include iron, torch, dip, wave, induction,
resistance, ultrasonic, and furnace (oven) soldering; see also Brazing.

Solenoid A Mechatronics term; an electromechanical device which

uses the principles of electromagnetism to control the motion of an
actuator.

Solid Carbon Dioxide A Chemistry term, abbreviated as Solid CO2;

commonly called Dry Ice or Cardice; a soft, white, snow like substance
with specific gravity 1.53 and melting point − 56.6 °C at 5.2
atmospheres of pressure; a commercial refrigerant sold under the trade
name Drikold, which is used as a substitute of ice in cold drinks and in
the preparation of ice cream; when mixed with ether or acetone, it
provides freezing mixtures with exceedingly low temperatures (− 77 °C
when mixed with acetone and − 108 °C when mixed with ether) which
find use in making cold baths in the laboratory; finds extensive use as a
coolant for preserving perishable food-stuffs during their transport due
to its ability to provide cold as well as the inert atmosphere which helps
in killing the undesirable bacteria, that otherwise may spoil the food;
additionally used for curing local burns and in hospitals for surgical
operations of sores; also used in artificial rain-making by spraying small
pellets of dry ice from aeroplanes over clouds to produce condensation.

Solid CO2 A Chemistry term; see Solid Carbon Dioxide.

Solid Film Lubrication A Fluid Mechanics term; a type of lubrication
in which the load-carrying surfaces are separated by a solid-film
lubricant like graphite or molybdenum disulphide; see also Boundary
Lubrication.

Solid Friction A Physics term; see Dry Friction.

Solid Injection Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to air standard

cycle; see Dual Cycle.

Solid Mechanics See Strength of Materials.

Solid Pattern A Casting term; also called Single Piece Pattern; the
simplest of all the patterns; used to produce moulds for making simple
castings, often made in one piece and in smaller numbers; usually made
of wood.

Solid Solution A Materials Engineering term; the atomic-scale

intermixing of more than one atomic species in the solid state.

Solid-State Welding A Welding term; a welding process performed

in the solid state of materials at room temperature or elevated
temperatures with the application of pressure; a few examples include
cold welding, friction welding, ultrasonic welding, and resistance welding.

Solid A Physics term; a substance which can resist deformation when

subjected to shear forces; has the tendency to regain its initial state of
equilibrium on the removal of shear forces; a state of matter which has
a definite shape and a definite volume; see also Liquid and Gas.

Solidus A Materials Engineering term; the line below which only one
or more solid phases are present in a phase diagram; see also Liquidus.

Solubility A Chemistry term; the maximum amount of solute which

can be dissolved in a solvent (liquid); expressed as:
SOM See Strength of Materials.

Sonic Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow in which the fluid
velocity equals to the velocity of sound in that fluid; the Mach number
(M) for a sonic flow is equal to 1.

Sonic Velocity A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Acoustic

Velocity; the speed of sound.

Soot A Power Plant term; the fine carbon particles which contain
small, varying amounts of complex hydrocarbons and mineral matter
obtained from the combustion of fossil fuels.

S-OS Analysis An Operations Management term related to inventory;

a selective inventory control technique which classifies the inventories
based on their use in a specific season into two categories: S (seasonal)
items and OS (off-seasonal) items; this analysis helps in determining
suitable procurement strategies for seasonal items.

Sound Wave A Physics term; see Audible Wave.

Space Truss A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; a truss in

which forces through the members and the external loads acting at the
joints lie in different planes; a few examples include shear legs,
transmission line, and communication towers; see also Plane Truss.

Span of Control A Management term; also called Span of

Management; the number of people who are reporting to a manager in
an organization; a manager with a small span of control can maintain
close control over workers and stay in contact with daily operations,
whereas a manager with a wide span of control loses control over
subordinates and cannot hold them accountable for their actions.
Span of Management A Management term; see Span of Control.

Spark Plug An IC Engine term; a part of a petrol engine used to

produce a spark to initiate combustion of fuel in the cylinder.

Spatter A Welding term; the metal particles expelled from the weld
metal around the arc in different directions during a welding operation;
found in gas and arc welding.

SPC A Quality Control term; see Statistical Quality Control.

Special Cause Variation A Statistics term; see Assignable

Variation.

Speciality Goods An Economics term; a type of consumer goods of

unique features or characteristics which are considered prized and
branded products; involve prestige when possessed; often sold through
a few prestigious outlets rather than being widely distributed; for
example, a Mercedes-Benz car or a Harley-Davidson motorcycle; see also
Shopping Goods and Convenience Goods.

Specific Enthalpy A Thermodynamics term; the enthalpy per unit

mass of a working fluid; the SI unit is J/kg or kJ/kg.

Specific Entropy A Thermodynamics term; the entropy per unit mass

of a working fluid; the SI unit is J/kg-K or kJ/kg-K.

Specific Fuel Consumption An IC Engine term, abbreviated as

sfc; also called Brake Specific Fuel Consumption; a parameter used to
measure the fuel consumption as a flow rate; expressed in fuel flow rate
per unit power output; a measure of how efficiently an engine is using
the fuel supply to produce work; lower values of sfc is desirable; the
typical best values of sfc for SI engines are 75 μg/J (270 g/kW); for CI
engines, the best sfc values are lower; for the larger engines, the sfc
values can go below 55 μg/J (200 g/kW).

Specific Gravity A Fluid Mechanics term; a dimensionless quantity; a

ratio of the specific weight (or the mass density) of a substance to the
specific weight of some standard substance at a specified temperature;
for liquids, water at 4 °C is considered as the standard substance, and
for gases, the standard substance is air at 0 °C or hydrogen at 0 °C; the
specific gravity of water is 1.00 and that of mercury is 13.6, which
indicates that mercury is 13.6 times heavier than water.

Specific Heat at Constant Pressure A Physics term; the rate of

change of enthalpy of a substance with respect to its temperature at
constant pressure; denoted by Cp; given as:

where

= change in enthalpy
= change in temperature
= pressure.

Since the enthalpy of an ideal gas is a function of temperature only,

hence the Cp of an ideal gas is also a function of temperature alone; the
SI unit is J/kg-K; see also Specific Heat at Constant Volume.

Specific Heat at Constant Volume A Physics term; the rate of change

of internal energy of a substance with respect to its temperature at
constant volume, denoted by Cv; given as:

where

= change in internal energy

= change in temperature
= volume condition.
 Since the internal energy of an ideal gas is a function of temperature
alone, hence the Cv of an ideal gas is also a function of temperature
alone; the SI unit is J/kg-K; see also Specific Heat at Constant
Pressure.

Specific Heat A Physics term; the quantity of heat required to raise

the temperature of unit mass of a body through unit rise in its
temperature; the SI unit is J/kg-K; see also Specific Heat at Constant
Pressure and Specific Heat at Constant Volume.

Specific Humidity A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry;

also called Absolute Humidity or Humidity Ratio; a psychrometric
property; a ratio of the mass of water vapour to the mass of dry air in a
given volume of the mixture; denoted by ω, given as:

where

mv = mass of the water vapour

ma = mass of the dry air
pv = partial pressure of the water vapour
pa = partial pressure of the dry air
p = total atmospheric pressure; see also Relative Humidity.

Specific Internal Energy A Thermodynamics term; the internal

energy per unit mass of a body; the SI unit is J/kg.

Specific Property A Thermodynamics term; an intensive property

which is independent of mass of a system; a few examples include
specific volume, specific enthalpy, and specific internal energy; see also
Molar Specific Property.

Specific Resistance An Electrical term; see Resistivity.

Specific Speed A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Type Number as
its value represents a number used to describe the type of a fluid
machine; a nondimensional number which represents the speed of a
geometrically similar fluid machine operating under a unit head and
handling a unit discharge or a unit power at the optimum operating
conditions; classified into discharged-based and power-based specific
speeds (nearly equal); discharged-based specific speed is used in case
of a pump, and power-based specific speed is used in case of a turbine,
and are expressed as:

where

H = head of the fluid across the machine (m)

ρ = density of the fluid (kg/m3)
P = power for the machine (W)
Q = discharge through the machine (m3/s)
N = speed of rotation (rad/s).

Specific Volume A Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics term; the

volume of a body per unit its mass; the reciprocal of mass density; the
SI unit is m3/kg; has the dimension of [M−1L3]; see also Molar Specific
Volume.

Specific Weight A Fluid Mechanics and a Thermodynamics term; the

weight of a substance per unit its volume; equals to the product of mass
density (ρ) and the acceleration due to gravity (g); denoted by ϒ
(gamma); the SI unit is N/m3.

Specification of a File A Manufacturing term; the descriptions

indicating the size, cut, and shape of a file; the size of a file indicates its
length between point and heel which may vary between 100 and
200 mm for fine work, and between 200 and 450 mm for rough work;
the cut of a file implies single or double cut, which is further divided
into rough, bastard, smooth, dead smooth, or super smooth category; the
shape of a file indicates its cross section which may be square,
triangular or round.

Specification of a Lathe A Manufacturing term; a lathe can be

specified by any one of the parameters: (a) the maximum distance
between the live and dead centres, which also represents the maximum
length of the work which can be handled by the lathe (sometimes called
length of the bed) (b) swing, which also represents the maximum
diameter of the work which can be machined on the lathe.

Specification of a Milling Machine A Manufacturing term; a milling

machine can be specified by any one of the parameters: (a) the length
and breadth of the work table (b) the maximum length of the
longitudinal, cross, and vertical travel of the work table.

Specification A Design term; a detailed description of a material,

part or product including parameters like viscosity, surface finish, pH
rating, and physical dimensions.

Speed of Sound A Physics term; the speed at which sound travels in a

medium; the speed of sound in air at STP is about 340 m/s.

Speed A Physics term; a ratio of the total distance covered by a

moving body or its total path length to the corresponding time taken by
the body; a scalar quantity; can be zero or positive, but never negative;
the SI unit is metre/sec (m/s); see also Velocity.

Spherometer A Physics term; an instrument used to measure either

very small thickness or radius of curvature of a spherical surface; its
least count is 0.001 cm.

Spin Ratio A Fluid Mechanics term; a parameter related to the spin of

a smooth sphere in a fluid; a ratio of the surface speed to the free
stream flow speed.
Spinning A Manufacturing term; a cold metal working process used
to produce axisymmetric parts by pressing a flat sheet metal blank
against a rotating shaped-mandrel using a spinning tool; resembles to
the process of forming clay on a potter’s wheel; a few typical spinned
products include lamp reflectors, cooking utensils, bowels, and bells of
musical instruments; see also Shear Spinning.

Spiral Gear A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; also called

Skew Gear; a type of toothed gear used for transmitting motion or
power between two non-parallel and non-intersecting shafts.

Spiral Spring A Strength of Materials term related to a spring; a

spring made of a flat strip of rectangular section wound in the form of a
spiral; used to produce torsion on an axle to which one of its ends
(inner one) is attached.

Splined Shaft A Design term; a shaft over which splines are formed;
see also Splines.

Splines A Design term; the stubby gear teeth formed by cutting equi-
spaced grooves of uniform cross section on the surface of a shaft (called
a splined shaft) which fit into the corresponding recesses in the hub of a
load-transmitting component; typically used to transfer high torques.

Split Pattern A Casting term; a type of pattern used to produce

moulds by splitting the pattern in two parts along the parting line of the
moulds to facilitate the pattern’s withdrawal from the moulds—one-
half of the pattern is meant for the cope part of the mould, and the
other half of the pattern is used for the drag part of the mould.

Spot Welding A Welding term; also called Resistance Spot Welding;

the simplest and the most commonly employed resistance welding in
which a joint is produced at a very small area (called spot) of the work
parts held together under pressure; used as a replacement for riveting.

Spray Transfer A Welding term; a mode of metal transfer in gas metal

arc welding (GMAW) in which the consumable electrode is propelled
axially across the arc in small droplets; see also Globular Transfer.
Spreadsheet An Operations Management term; a table consisting of
rows and columns in which numbers and text are input to organize
information and perform mathematical analysis.

Spring Constant A Design term related to a spring; also called Spring

Stiffness; the force required to produce unit deflection in a spring; the
SI unit is N/m.

Spring Stiffness A Design term related to a spring; see Spring

Constant.

Spring Work A Physics term; the work produced by changes in

length (either expansion or compression) of a spring by the application
of a force on the spring; equals to the product of force applied and the
change in length of the spring.

Spring A Strength of Materials term; an elastic body or a device used

to absorb or store (strain) energy and release it when required; has
wide applications such as in brakes and clutches (to apply force and
control motion), weighing machines, mechanical clocks, shock absorbers,
reciprocating mechanisms, and other devices; also used to cushion
shocks; classified into helical, leaf, flat, and spiral springs.

Sprocket Wheel A Chain Drive term; also called simply Sprocket; a

wheel over which a chain runs and has projecting teeth which get fitted
into the suitable recess in the links of the chain; used to transfer
rotational speed and torque from an input shaft to an output shaft in a
mechanical system.

Sprocket A Chain Drive term; see Sprocket Wheel.

Sprue A Manufacturing term related to casting; also called

Downsprue; a part of the gating system; a vertical tapered channel
connected to the pouring basin through which molten metal flows in
the downward direction; see also Runner.

SPT Rule An Operations Management term; one of the priority rules

for sequencing jobs which stands for shortest processing time; jobs with
the shortest processing times are assigned first; the best technique for
minimizing job flow and minimizing the average number of jobs in the
system; on the demerit side, long-duration jobs may be continuously
pushed back in priority in favour of short-duration jobs.

Spur Gear A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; the simplest

type of toothed gear used to transmit motion or power between two
parallel shafts; the spur gear has straight teeth with face parallel to the
shaft on which the gear is mounted; the smaller (driving) gear in a spur
gearset is called the pinion, and the other (driven) is simply called the
gear; the engagement and disengagement of the gear teeth take place
along the full width of each tooth suddenly that produces more noise
and vibration than other types of gears.

SQC A Quality Control term; see Statistical Quality Control.

Square File A Manufacturing term; one of the types of a file used in

the fitting shop which has a square cross section; consists of double cut
on its both faces and edges; used in the filing of square corners and slots.

Square A Mathematics term; a parallelogram whose all the sides are

equal and each angle is a right angle, that is, equal to 90°; see also
Parallelogram.

Squeeze Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; also called

Liquid–Metal Forging; a casting process involving both casting and
forging principles; the molten metal poured in the lower half of the die
is pressed gradually through the upper half of the die before its
complete solidification, thus reducing a less pressure as compared to a
conventional forging process; the cast parts have improved mechanical
properties because of less chance of gas or shrinkage porosity; used to
produce intricate shapes from both ferrous and nonferrous alloys; the
typical products made by this method include automotive wheels and
mortar bodies (a short-barrelled cannon).

Stability The ability of an object to retain its equilibrium

configuration.
Stable Equilibrium A Physics term; a type of translational static
equilibrium which ensures a body to regain its equilibrium position
after being slightly displaced and released; for example, a table or chair
lying on the ground; see also Unstable Equilibrium and Neutral
Equilibrium.

Stack A Power Plant term; a vertical duct used for the discharge of
products of combustion to the atmosphere.

Staff Role A Management term; a manager who is in charge of a

specific organizational function such as sales or R&D; see also Line
Role.

Stagnation Point A Fluid Mechanics term; a point where the velocity

of a fluid is reduced to zero and the pressure becomes maximum, called
the stagnation pressure.

Stagnation Pressure A Fluid Mechanics term; the sum of the static

and dynamic pressures of a fluid; expressed as:

P = static pressure of the fluid

ρ = density of the fluid
= velocity of the fluid.

The pressure of a fluid at a point (called the stagnation point),

where the fluid is brought to a complete rest isentropically; see also
Static Pressure, Dynamic Pressure, and Hydrostatic Pressure.

Stainless Steel A Materials Engineering term; an important alloy

steel commonly termed as chromium-nickel steel; contains chiefly iron
and carbon along with chromium (usually above 15%); a widely used
material which is tough and strong, highly resistant to corrosion
(because of chromium), high temperatures, oxidation, and scaling; finds
use in making kitchen equipment, cutlery, and surgical instruments.
Stamping A Manufacturing term related to forming; a group of
punch-press operations usually performed in cold states such as
blanking, coining, and forming.

Standard Atmospheric Condition A Physics term; a pressure of

101.3 kPa and a temperature of 15 °C.

Standard Deviation A Statistics term; the most frequently used

parameter for characterizing both populations and samples; a value
which identifies how close the values in a data set are to the mean value
of that set; indicates the width of the normal distribution (also called
Gaussian distribution); equals to the square root of the variance;
denoted by σ (sigma); the smaller value of σ indicates the data are more
precise; calculated by squaring the deviation from the mean
(eliminating signs), adding them, finding their arithmetic mean, and
then taking the square root of the result.

Standard Time A Time Study term; the sum of the normal time and
the allowance time for a job; see also Normal Time and Allowance
Time.

Standard Trusses A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; the

most widely used trusses; include Warren truss, Pratt truss, Howe truss,
K-truss, and fink truss.

Standard Wire Gauge A Metrology term, abbreviated as SWG; a

round-shaped sheet metal tool used to measure the thickness of a metal
sheet or the diameter of a wire using gauge number; the higher gauge
number indicates lower thickness of the sheet.

Standard A Metrology term; a set of specifications for parts,

materials, or processes used to achieve uniformity, efficiency, and a
specified quality; limits the scope of variations which can arise from the
arbitrary creation of a part, material, or process; see also Code.

Standardization A Design term; a design activity used to reduce

variety among a group of products or parts.
State of a Matter A Physics term; a physical condition in which a
matter exists; the three important states of a matter include solid,
liquid, and gas; the change of state is often accompanied by either
absorption or evolution of heat; for example, a solid can be converted
into a liquid or a liquid into a gas by absorption of heat.

State A Thermodynamics term; a condition of a material defined in

terms of its pressure, temperature, and composition.

Static Equilibrium A Physics term; also called Translational Static

Equilibrium; the equilibrium connected to a rigid body at rest;
classified into stable equilibrium, unstable equilibrium, and neutral
equilibrium; see also Dynamic Equilibrium.

Static Friction A Physics term; the friction occurring between two

surfaces of the bodies at rest due to impending motion; its maximum
value is called the limiting friction.

Static Load A Physics term; a load which remains constant with time;
also called Gradually Applied Load as it is applied slowly on a
member so that it increases from zero to its maximum value, and
thereafter it remains constant; causes no vibrational or dynamic effects
in a member; see also Dynamic Load.

Static Pressure A Fluid Mechanics term; the pressure of a fluid which

does not incorporate any dynamic effects; the actual thermodynamic
pressure of a fluid used in property tables; see also Dynamic Pressure,
Hydrostatic Pressure and Stagnation Pressure.

Statically Determinate Beam A Strength of Materials term related

to a beam; a beam involving only three unknown reactions which can
be determined using equations of statics; simple, cantilever, and
overhanging beams are the examples of statically determinate beams;
see also Statically Indeterminate Beam.

Statically Indeterminate Beam A Strength of Materials term related

to a beam; a beam involving more than three unknown reactions that
cannot be determined using equations of statics; calculation of
unknown reactions of these beams include the consideration of their
properties with regard to their resistance to bending; continuous, fixed,
and propped cantilever beams are the examples of statically
indeterminate beams; see also Statically Determinate Beam.

Statics A Physics term; a branch of mechanics which deals with the

action of forces on a body at rest; see also Dynamics.

Stationary Wave A Physics term; a wave produced by the

superposition of two waves of same frequency and same amplitude
which travel with same velocity in opposite directions.

Statistical Process Control A Quality Control term; see Statistical

Quality Control.

Statistical Quality Control A Quality Control term, abbreviated as

SQC; also called Statistical Process Control, abbreviated as SPC; a
statistical method of measuring and analysing deviations in
manufactured products using various control charts and distribution
curves; finds extensive applications in industries such as metal casting,
forging, and other metal working units.

Statistics The collection, analysis, and interpretation of quantitative

data; finds extensive applications in engineering.

Steady Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow is said to be steady,

when its physical properties like velocity, pressure or density does not
change with time at any point in the flow field; also called Streamlined
Flow as the path of fluid particles is called streamline and the tangent at
any point on the streamline gives the direction of fluid flow at that
point; examples of steady flow include constant discharge in a pipe or
through an open channel; see also Unsteady Flow.

Steady-State Condition A Fluid Mechanics and a Thermodynamics

term; a physical condition in which any parameter of a body does not
change with time; see also Unsteady-State Condition.
Steady-Flow Process A Fluid Mechanics and a Thermodynamics
term; a process during which a fluid flows through a control volume
steadily, that is, the fluid properties do not change with time.

Steam Coal A Chemistry term; a type of coal which contains 93% of

carbon.

Steam Gauge A Power Plant term related to a boiler; see Pressure

Gauge.

Steam Generator A Power Plant term; see Boiler.

Steam Point A Thermodynamics term; the boiling temperature of

water; a state of equilibrium between pure water and water vapour
(steam) at a pressure of one atmosphere (101 kPa); equals to 100 °C or
212 °F; see also Ice Point.

Steam Separator A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a boiler

accessory used to separate water particles from the steam before it
enters an engine.

Steam Stop Valve A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a boiler

mounting used to regulate the steam flow from the boiler to an engine
and stop its supply when not required; when it changes the direction of
steam flow in a perpendicular direction, it is called a junction valve.

Steam Table A Thermodynamics term; a table which shows the

properties of steam in its saturated and supersaturated states, such as
specific volume, internal energy, enthalpy, and entropy at a given
temperature and pressure.

Steam Turbine A Thermodynamics term; a work-producing device

(turbomachine) which converts the heat energy of steam (the working
fluid) into work (mechanical energy of a rotating shaft), which is
further used in generating electricity in coal or nuclear power plants;
see also Gas Turbine and Hydraulic Turbine.
Steam A Thermodynamics term; the gaseous phase of water which is
used as a working substance for heat engines; generated in a boiler at
constant pressure; available in wet, dry, superheated or supersaturated
conditions.

Steel A Materials Engineering term; a ferrous alloy of iron (Fe) and

carbon (C) with carbon content varying between 0.4 and 1.5%;
obtained by removing the impurities from pig iron using limestone and
then adding certain alloying elements (chromium, nickel, manganese,
silicon, molybdenum, and tungsten) in predetermined amounts to arrive
at the properties desired in the finished metal; higher carbon content
increases its hardness, strength, and wear resistance, but at the same
time reduces its ductility, weldability, and toughness; offers good
mechanical properties over cast iron, for example, steel is two to three
times stiffer, three to six times stronger in tension and about four times
fatigue resistant, and can withstand heavy impact; the most commonly
used engineering material; mostly made by continuous casting; also
made form cast ingots; classified into stainless steel, cobalt steel, nickel
steel, and others; available mainly in the form of plates, sheet, bars,
tubes, castings, and forgings.

Stefan-Boltzmann Constant A Heat Transfer term; a constant of

proportionality which appears in the expression for emissive power of
a body; denoted by σ (sigma); equals 5.67 × 10–8 Wm−2 K−4.

Stefan-Boltzmann Law A Heat Transfer term; a radiation law named

after a Slovenian physicist Josef Stefan (1835–1893) and an Austrian
physicist Ludwig Boltzmann (1844–1906) who proposed it in 1884;
states that the rate of radiation emitted from the surface of a body
varies directly proportional to the fourth power of its absolute
temperature; given as:

where

Q = rate of radiation emitted

= Stefan-Boltzmann Constant
 = 5.67 × 10–8 Wm−2 K−4
A = surface area
T = absolute surface temperature.

Stellite A Materials Engineering term; also called Cast Cobalt Alloy

as it is produced by casting; an alloy of cobalt (Co), tungsten (W),
chromium (Cr) and molybdenum (Mo) consisting of 55% Co, 25% W,
15% Cr and 5% Mo; cobalt is the main constituent besides chromium,
tungsten, and carbon; designed for wear resistance; finds use in making
surgical instruments and cutting tools, which can be operated at high
cutting speeds without affecting their hardness at elevated
temperatures.

Step-Down Transformer An Electrical term; a type of transformer

which decreases the input voltage; see also Step-Up Transformer.

Step-Growth Polymerization A Chemistry term; see Condensation

Polymerization.

Stepped Shaft A Design term; a shaft whose cross section changes

(either increases or decreases) abruptly at any point along its length;
see also Tapered Shaft.

Step-Up Transformer An Electrical term; a type of transformer

which increases the input voltage; see also Step-Down Transformer.

Stick Electrode Welding A Welding term; see Shielded Metal Arc

Welding (SMAW).

Stiffness Test A Strength of Materials term; a destructive test used to

know the modulus of elasticity (E) of a solid material; higher value of E
is indicative of higher stiffness of a material; generally a harder
material has higher stiffness.

Stiffness A Strength of Materials term; a mechanical property of a

material which enables it to absorb shock or strain energy produced by
an external load without undergoing permanent deformation; cast iron
has higher stiffness than diamond; in spring terms, the load required to
produce unit deflection in a spring; the SI unit is N/m.

Stirling Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to air standard cycle;

named after Robert Stirling (1790–1878), a Scottish engineer who
developed it in 1816; a gas power thermodynamic cycle which uses gas
(hot air) as the working fluid; a closed cycle which consists of two
reversible isotherms (constant temperature process) and two reversible
isochors (constant volume process); heat addition and heat rejection
take place at constant volumes, but compression and expansion
processes take place at constant temperatures; a regenerative Stirling
cycle has the same thermal efficiency as the Carnot cycle; see also
Ericsson Cycle.

Stockholder A Management term; the people and groups who have

an interest, claim or stake in an organization in every aspect of its
functioning; see also Shareholder.

Stockless Production An Operations Management term; see JIT

Manufacturing.

Stockout Cost An Operations Management term; also called

Shortage Cost or Backorder Cost or Lost Sale due to the loss of
goodwill of customers; the cost associated with demand when the
stocks have already been depleted.

Stoichiometric Air An IC Engine term; also called Theoretical Air;

the minimum amount of air (O2) required for the complete combustion
of a fuel.

Stokes Law A Fluid Mechanics term named after the British

mathematician and physicist George Gabriel Stokes (1819–1903) who
proposed it; used to find the frictional force, also called the drag force,
on spherical objects moving through a viscous fluid having negligible
effects of Reynolds number; mathematically given as:
F = 6 π r μ V (r = radius of the sphere, μ = dynamic viscosity of the
fluid, V = terminal velocity of the object through the fluid or the flow
velocity relative to the object).
Stop Watch A Physics term; a time measuring instrument used to
measure duration of an event or time interval between two events.

Stored Energy A Chemistry term; the energy contained or stored in

various masses such as batteries, flywheels, and tides; a few examples
include potential energy, kinetic energy, and internal energy; see also
Energy in Transition.

STP A Physics term; the short form of standard temperature and

pressure; indicates the standard atmospheric temperature of 15 °C or
288.15 K, a pressure of 101.325 kPa or 10.33 m of water, density of
1.225 kg/m3 at the sea level, and the sonic velocity of 340.29 m/s in air.

Straight Angle A Mathematics term; an angle made on a straight line;

equals to 180° or two right angles.

Straight Cut System A Manufacturing term related to numerical

control; one of the three basic types of motion control system used in
numerical control (NC); capable of moving a cutting tool parallel to one
of the major axes at a controlled rate as required for machining;
suitable for performing milling operations to fabricate workpieces of
rectangular configurations; an NC machine capable of straight cut
movements is also capable of point-to-point movements.

Straight-Line Formula A Strength of Materials term related to

a column; a straight-line-based empirical formula used to find the
crippling (critical) load for intermediate-length columns with centric
loading; expressed as:

where

P = crippling load
A = area of cross section of the column
σc = direct crushing stress (yield stress)
le = equivalent/effective length of the column
k = radius of gyration
K = a constant for the column material.

Straight Pin A Design term; see Cylindrical Pin.

Straight Polarity An Electrical term; a polarity setup in which

workpiece is connected to the positive terminal and electrode to the
negative terminal of the DC electrical circuit; about two-third of the
heat in arc welding is generated near the workpiece in straight polarity;
usually used with non-consumable electrodes; see also Reverse
Polarity.

Strain Energy Density A Strength of Materials term; the strain

energy stored in a body per unit its volume.

Strain Energy due to Direct Load A Strength of Materials term; the

strain energy stored in a bar when subjected to a direct load (gradually
applied or suddenly applied load or impact load) is given as:

where

U = strain energy stored in the bar

σ = stress produced =
E = modulus of elasticity of the bar material
V = volume of the bar = cross-sectional area x length.

Strain Energy due to Principal Stresses A Strength of Materials

term; the strain energy stored in a body per unit its volume when
subjected to three mutually perpendicular stresses; given as:

(1)

For a biaxial stress system (σ3 = 0)

(2)
 For a uniaxial stress system (σ2 = 0, σ3 = 0, and assuming σ1 = σ)

(3)

where

σ1, σ2, σ3 = principal stresses acting along three mutually

perpendicular
axes x, y and z respectively
E = modulus of elasticity of body material
υ = Poisson’s ratio.

Strain Energy due to Pure Bending A Strength of Materials term;

the strain energy stored in a body (bar, shaft or beam) due to its pure
bending by an applied load; given as:

where

U = strain energy stored in the body

M = bending moment produced due to load applied on the body
E = modulus of elasticity of the body material
I = second moment of inertia of body’s cross section
L = length of the body
= small incremental length of the body.

Strain Energy due to Shear A Strength of Materials term; equals to

the work done by a shear force, given as:
where

U = strain energy stored in the body

= shear stress induced by the shear force
V = volume of the body.

Strain Energy due to Torsion A Strength of Materials term; the

strain energy produced and stored in a shaft (solid or hollow) under
torsion; given as:

where

U = strain energy stored in the shaft (solid or hollow)

τ = maximum shear stress induced in the shaft (solid or hollow)
V = volume of the shaft (solid or hollow)

L = length of the solid or hollow shaft

G = modulus of rigidity (shear modulus) of the shaft material
D = outside diameter of the hollow shaft
d = inside diameter of the hollow shaft
R = radius of the solid shaft
J = polar modulus of the solid shaft
Strain Energy due to Volumetric Strain A Strength of Materials
term; the strain energy stored in a body due to volumetric strain caused
by changes in its dimensions when subjected to equal stress intensity
over its all dimensions; given as:

where

U = strain energy stored in the body

σ = equal stress intensity acting on all the dimensions of the body
K = bulk modulus of elasticity of the body material
V = volume of the body.

Strain Energy A Strength of Materials term; the mechanical energy

stored in an object, when it undergoes deformation (strain) under an
applied load; represents the work done by the load; equals to the area
below the load–displacement curve; classified into elastic strain energy
and inelastic strain energy.

Strain A Strength of Materials term; a ratio of the change in

configuration (shape and size) to the original configuration of a body,
when a deforming force acts on the body; has no unit; classified into
longitudinal strain, shearing strain, and volumetric strain.

Strand Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; see

Continuous Casting.

Strategic Alliance A Management term; a partnership of two or

more corporations or business units to achieve strategically significant
objectives which are mutually beneficial; needed to obtain technology
and manufacturing capabilities, to obtain access to specific markets, to
reduce financial risk or to achieve competitive advantage.
Strategic Business Unit A Management term, abbreviated as SBU; a
distinct business unit of a large company setup to ensure that certain
product or product lines are promoted and handled as though each
were an independent business.

Strategic Management A Management term; a set of managerial

decisions and actions which determines the long-run performance of an
organization to give it a competitive advantage; emphasizes on the
monitoring and evaluation of external opportunities and threats in the
light of an organization’s strength and weaknesses.

Strategic Planning A Management term; a long-term planning which

decides the success or failure of a company; includes policy formulation,
capital investment, and physical facilities generation.

Strategy A Management term; a specific pattern of decisions and

actions which managers in an organization take to use their core
competencies to achieve competitive advantage and outperform
competitors; gives the direction in which human and material resources
are effectively utilized for achieving the selected objectives; a typical
business firm usually considers three types of strategy, namely
corporate, business, and functional strategies.

Streakline A Fluid Mechanics term; the locus of a fluid particle which

has passed sequentially through a prescribed point in the flow; the
most common flow pattern generated in a physical experiment.

Stream Function A Fluid Mechanics term; a scalar function of space

and time related to a streamline flow; the partial derivative of steam
function with respect to any direction gives the velocity component of
the fluid flow in the normal direction; defined only for two-dimensional
flows and does not exist for three-dimensional flows; denoted by ψ; the
velocity components of a two-dimensional incompressible flow, in terms
of stream function, are expressed as:
 If the fluid flow is compressible, the velocity components are
expressed as:

Streamline A Fluid Mechanics term; an imaginary line (curve) drawn

through a flow field in such a way that tangent at its every point gives
the direction of fluid flow that point; no two streamlines cut each other
as well as there cannot be any flow across a streamline; the mass flow
between two streamlines is confined; a fluid lamina or layer in a
laminar flow is supposed to be bounded by two adjacent streamlines;
see also Pathline and Steamtube.

Streamlined Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; see Steady Flow.

Streamtube A Fluid Mechanics term; an imaginary cylindrical tube

having a finite cross section which consists of a bundle of streamlines,
much like a communications cable that consists of a bundle of fibre-
optic cables; no flow exists across a streamtube; see also Streamline.

Strength of Materials Also called Mechanics of Solids, abbreviated

as MOS or Solid Mechanics or Mechanics of Materials or Mechanics
of Deformable Bodies or Strength of Materials, abbreviated as SOM;
a branch of applied mechanics and a core subject of mechanical as well
as civil engineering which deals with the mechanical properties that
describe the behaviour of solid materials when they are subjected to an
external force; useful in the analysis of properties such as hardness,
tensile strength, compressive strength, ductility, malleability, fatigue, and
creep; which govern mechanical behaviour of solid materials and
provide them strength; also used in finding stresses, strains, and
deformations in structures and their components due to loads acting on
them for their safe design.
Strength A Strength of Materials term; a general term which refers to
a material’s ability to resist applied loads; the ability of an object to
resist permanent deformation or fracture.

Stress Element A Strength of Materials term; a small element of a

material which shows the stresses acting on its all faces; useful in the
stress analysis of the material.

Stress A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; the internal

restoring force which acts on unit area of a deformed body; in case of
elastic deformation of a body, the restoring force equals to the applied
deforming force; classified into normal stress and shear stress; the SI
unit is pascal (Pa) which is equivalent to N/m2.

Stress–Strain Curve A Strength of Materials term; a graphical

representation between longitudinal stress and longitudinal strain
obtained from a tension or compression test; classified into engineering
and true stress–strain curves based on original or actual cross section,
respectively.

Stretch Forming A Manufacturing term; a cold metal working

process used to produce the required curvature in a sheet metal blank
by stretching it over a form block through stretcher jaws; useful in
making prototype models of aircrafts and automobile parts.

Strike-off Bar A Manufacturing term; a foundry tool used to remove

the excess sand from the top of the rammed sand mass in the moulding
box to make its surface plane and smooth.

String Diagram A Work Study term; a model or a scale plan of a shop

which shows every machine or equipment marked on it along with
fixing a peg or pin representing that facility and uses a continuous
coloured thread or string to trace the path covered by the materials or
workers while performing a particular operation; used for conditions
when movements of the materials and workers are repetitive and large
in numbers, which makes the flow diagrams difficult to trace or
understand.
Stroke Volume An IC Engine term; see Swept Volume.

Stroke An IC Engine term; the linear distance travelled by a piston in

the cylinder of an engine from one dead centre position (say TDC) to
another dead centre position (say BDC); equals to twice the crank
radius.

Structural Design An engineering discipline related to the design of

a structural member or system.

Structural Materials A Materials Engineering term; the materials

mainly used for their mechanical properties which are suitable for
structural applications like making of a beam or column; for example,
steel and cast iron.

Structural Steel A Materials Engineering term; a low alloy steel with

carbon content varying between 0.15 and 0.25%; possesses high yield
strength (≈ 350 N/mm2), good ductility, and high fatigue resistance;
used in making structural members such as beams, plates, channels, and
angles.

Structure A Design term; a stable assembly of connected

components designed to withstand loads.

Stud Welding A Welding term; a welding process which uses heat of

an arc as well as pressure to join studs (headless threaded bolts) or
similar metal pieces to flat workpieces such as plates, usually made of
low carbon steels and low alloy steels; the typical applications include
attachment of handles to cookware, and conduits and piping to metal
workpieces.

Stud A Design term; a headless threaded bolt.

Subcooled Liquid A Thermodynamics term; a liquid whose

temperature is lower than its saturation temperature or whose
pressure is higher than its saturation pressure, and is not about to
vaporize.
Sublimation A Thermodynamics term; a process associated with the
phase change of a substance from solid to gas without going through
the liquid state as a result of absorbing heat; for example, camphor
undergoes sublimation.

Submerged Arc Welding A Welding term, abbreviated as SAW; an

arc welding process in which arc created between a consumable
continuous bare electrode and the workpiece, remains submerged
(hidden) under a blanket of granular, fusible flux that provides a
shielding atmosphere around the joint; uses both AC and DC power
supply with reverse polarity; there is no chance of weld spatter, harmful
radiation or atmospheric contamination as the arc is completely
hidden; involves a high deposition rate, as the process uses heavy
currents; restricted to flat horizontal welding position in butt and fillet
joints; not recommended for overhead welding because of danger of
falling of molten metal in large quantity; used to join thick plates of low
carbon and low alloy steels; not recommended for thin sheets because
of burn-off possibility.

Subsidiaries A Financial Management term; the companies owned

by another large company (holding company).

Subsonic Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow for which the
Mach number (M) is less than 1.

Successor Activity A Project Management term; an activity which

must occur after another activity in a project.

Suction Pressure A Fluid Mechanics term; see Vacuum.

Suddenly Applied Load A Physics term; a force (load) applied all of a

sudden; the magnitude of the force does not change during its course of
action; produces stress in a body equal to twice the stress produced by
the same load, when applied gradually; work done (W) by a suddenly
applied load is given by:

where
P = suddenly applied load
δL = linear deflection produced.

Sugar Charcoal A Chemistry term; the purest form of amorphous

carbon obtained by the action of conc. H2SO4 on sucrose or cane sugar.

Sunk Key A Design term related to a key; a key which fits into the
keyways provided in the hub of the mounting and in the shaft as well,
where generally one-half of its thickness fits into the shaft keyway and
another half in the hub keyway; used for heavy-duty applications;
classified into taper, parallel, feather, and woodruff keys.

Superalloys A Materials Engineering term; also called High-

Temperature Materials; the materials which are alloys of nickel, iron-
nickel, and cobalt that contain large amounts of alloying elements; have
excellent strength at elevated temperatures, offer resistance to creep at
temperatures up to 1000 °C and are corrosion-resistant; used in
making vanes and blades for turbine and jet engines, cutting tools, heat
exchangers, chemical reaction vessel components, and heat-treating
equipment.

Supercharger An IC Engine term; a device used to increase the air

density by increasing its pressure before inducting it in the engine.

Supercharging An IC Engine term; a process used to increase the

power output of an IC engine by increasing the air density through rise
in its pressure, before inducting it in the engine.

Superconducting Magnet A Physics term; a magnet made from a

superconducting material.

Superconductor An Electrical term; a material whose resistance to

the flow of electric current is zero at temperatures close to absolute
zero; a good electrical conductor at ordinary temperatures is not
necessarily a superconductor; lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and
tin (Sn) behave as superconductors at absolute zero temperatures, but
offer high resistance to the flow of electricity at ordinary temperatures.
Supercritical Condition A Thermodynamics term; a thermodynamic
phase which describes the state of a substance, where there is no clear
distinction between liquid phase and gaseous phase; water reaches this
state at a pressure of 220 bar (called supercritical pressure of water),
and becomes a homogeneous mixture of water and steam.

Superheated Region A Thermodynamics term; the region to the

right of the saturated vapour line.

Superheated Vapour A Thermodynamics term; the gaseous phase of

a substance which cannot condense; see also Saturated Vapour.

Superheater A Power Plant term related to a boiler; an important

boiler accessory used to extract (absorb) heat from the hot flue gases in
the furnace and use it to superheat the saturated steam without
increasing its pressure; increases the thermal energy of steam in terms
of increased work output from the steam turbines; also reduces the
possibility of rusting of turbine blades by the moisture which
constitutes a basic limitation in the turbine design; fitted in the path of
hot flue gases; see also Economizer.

Superposition Method A Strength of Materials term related to

deflection; an analytical method used to find slope and deflection of a
loaded beam at its various sections using principle of superposition;
according to this method, the total deflection of a beam at any section is
equal to the algebraic sum of the deflections produced separately at
that section due to each load; considers only linearly elastic
deformation of negligible amount; see also Principle of
Superposition.

Superposition of Waves A Physics term; the phenomenon of

intermixing of two or more waves to produce a new wave.

Supersaturated Steam A Thermodynamics term; the steam which

exists in the wet region without containing any liquid.

Supersaturation A Thermodynamics term; a phenomenon in which

the condensation of steam gets delayed but it still exists in the wet
region without containing any liquid.

Supersonic Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow for which the
Mach number (M) lies between 1 and 7; see also Hypersonic Flow.

Supersonic Wave A Physics term; see Ultrasonic Wave.

Supersonics A Physics term; see Ultrasonic Wave.

Supervisor A Management term; see Low Level Manager.

Supplementary Units A Physics term; the units of measurement of

two physical quantities other than seven fundamental quantities which
include radian (rad) for plane angle and steradian (sr) for solid angle;
see also Fundamental Units and Derived Units.

Supplier Networks An Operations Management term; the

cooperative association of suppliers and customers working over the
long term for mutual benefit; an important requirement for JIT
manufacturing and lean manufacturing.

Supplier A Management term; anyone whose output such as

materials, information, and service becomes an input to another person
or group in a process of work; may be external or internal to an
organization; a general supplier usually supplies raw materials and
component parts to a manufacturing organization to run its production
activities smoothly.

Supply Chain Management An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as SCM; a process of managing the facilities, functions, and
activities of a supply chain involved in producing and delivering a
product or service from suppliers to customers; the fastest growing area
of business today which is at the core of success of most leading
companies; companies such as Apple Computer, Dell Computer, Toyota,
Wal-Mart, P & G, and Amazon have achieved world-class status because
of strong focus on SCM.
Supply Chain Operations Reference An Operations Management
term, abbreviated as SCOR; a benchmarking framework for supply
chain management which provides guidelines to make a supply chain
more responsive.

Supply Chain An Operations Management term; a network of trading

partners to deliver goods and services; a manufacturing supply chain
consists of supplier, manufacturer, distributor (wholesaler), retailer, and
customer; a service supply chain consists of fewer members.

Surface Conductance A Heat Transfer term; see Heat Transfer

Coefficient.

Surface Force A Physics term; an external force distributed over the

surface area of a body by its surroundings through direct contact;
usually expressed as force per unit area; for example, pressure; see also
Body Force.

Surface Hardenability A Manufacturing term; the ability (property)

of a material to get hardened easily on the surface; mild steel has good
surface hardenability.

Surface Hardening A Manufacturing term related to heat treatment;

see Case Hardening.

Surface Plate A Measurement term; an accurately machined casting

or lapped granite block; used as an instrument to measure the flatness
of a workpiece.

Surface Tension A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid property which

creates tension in a liquid surface thus behaving as a stretched
membrane; results from the attractive forces between molecules; due
to this property, the free surface of a liquid at rest tends to have the
smallest possible surface area; calculated as the force per unit length of
a liquid surface; the SI unit is newton/metre (N/m).

Surface A Physics term; the exterior planar boundary of a solid; for

example, a ball has a curved surface.
Surge Tank A Fluid Mechanics term; an open vertical cylinder of
large diameter that is connected to a pipeline at a convenient place near
the hydroelectric turbine, and is used as a safety device, as it reduces
the adverse effect of water hammer by storing excess water in case of
sudden drop in load on the turbine, and can also be used to supply
excess water to accelerate water in the pipeline leading to turbine, in
case of sudden increase in load on the turbine.

Swage Block A Manufacturing term; a forging tool consisting of

many curved surfaces on its faces, and holes and grooves on its sides;
used for performing operations such as bending, swaging, shaping, and
finishing while working on a workpiece.

Swaging A Manufacturing term; also called Rotary Swaging or

Radial Forging as the force on the workpiece acts radially; a hot metal
working process used to reduce the diameters or taper the end of bars
and tubes by subjecting them to rotating dies; see also Tube Swaging.

Sweep Pattern A Casting term; a type of pattern used to produce

large moulds for making castings which are axi-symmetrical or
prismatic in nature such as bell shaped or cylindrical; made of wood.

Swell A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs in the

form of some swollen part of a casting; occurs due to enlargement of the
mould cavity because of hydrostatic pressure of the metal.

Swept Volume An IC Engine term; also called Stroke Volume or

Displacement Volume; the volume a piston of an engine sweeps
through in the cylinder in one stroke; equals to the product of surface
area of the piston and its stroke length; also equals to the difference
between the maximum volume and the clearance volume of a cylinder
of an engine; see also Clearance Volume.

SWG A Metrology term; see Standard Wire Gauge.

Switch An Electrical term; a device for making, breaking or changing

the connections in an electrical circuit.
Symmetrical Bending A Strength of Materials term; the bending of a
beam which occurs about an axis (neutral axis) perpendicular to the
plane of symmetry; see also Unsymmetrical Bending.

Synchronous Manufacturing An Operations Management term; a

production system which uses the ‘theory of constraints’ for scheduling
and operational control; stresses on synchronizing all parts of an
organization to work together to achieve the organization’s goal.

Synchronous Motor An Electrical term; see also Induction Motor

and BLDC Motor.

Synthetic Diamond See Artificial Diamond.

System Dynamics A Management term; a computer-based

simulation methodology used for developing and analysing models of
systems and their behaviour.

System of Forces A Physics term; if a body is acted upon by a number

of forces, then it constitutes a system of forces; represented by a
resultant force whose effect is equivalent to the combined effect of all
the forces of the system.

Systematic Error A Metrology term; also called Fixed Error or Bias

Error; an error which occurs due to faulty or improperly calibrated
instruments; may be linked to a specific cause; can be reduced or
eliminated by careful choice and calibration of instruments; a few
examples include instrumental errors, errors due to wrong technique or
procedure, least count errors, and personal errors; see also Random
Error.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_20

T
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Taconite A Chemistry term; a greenish low-grade iron ore which

contains about 22–40% iron and a large amount of silica.

Taguchi Method A Quality control term; a method proposed by

Genichi Taguchi (1924–2012), a well-known Japanese quality expert; the
method emphasizes on the quality of a product through its robust
design.

Taiichi Ohno (1912–1990) A Japanese industrial engineer who

inspired lean manufacturing in the USA; better known as ‘father of
Toyota Production System (TPS)’; also called ‘father of JIT’.

Tailstock A Lathe term; a principal part of a lathe which lies on the

right side; used to hold either a workpiece at its end during its
machining or a drill or similar tool to make a hole in the workpiece; see
also Headstock.

Tall Organization A Management term; an organization in which the

hierarchy has many levels relative to the size of the organization;
suffers from the problems relating to communication, motivation, and
increased costs; suitable for an organization which requires a high level
of direct control or personal supervision over subordinates; for
example, nuclear power plants have very tall managerial hierarchies so
that managers can maintain effective supervision of operations,
because any error can prove to be disastrous; see also Flat
Organization.

Tangential Stress A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; see

Shearing Stress.

Tap A Manufacturing term; a tool used to produce internal threads in

a workpiece such as in case of a nut; see also Die.

Taper Pin A Design term; see Conical Pin.

Taper Sunk Key A Design term related to a key; a sunk key having a
rectangular or circular cross section, uniform width, but tapered
thickness; for easy assembly and removal of the joints, the bigger end of
the key is sometimes provided with a gib.

Tapered Shaft A Design term; a shaft whose cross section changes

(either increases or decreases) uniformly over its entire length; see also
Stepped Shaft.

Tapping A Manufacturing term; a process of making internal threads

in a drilled hole by means of a tap (e.g. in a nut); see also Dieing.

Task Force A Management term; a temporary committee set up to

handle a specific problem; a useful tool for finding an early solution of
problems.

Task of a Manager A Management term; see Management Task.

Taylor’s Scientific Management A Management term; see Scientific

Management.

T-Connector A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid power component used

to join three separate transmission lines in a pneumatic or hydraulic
system.

TDC An IC Engine term; see Top Dead Centre.

T-dS Equations A Thermodynamics term; used to find the entropy
changes for any process (reversible or irreversible) between two
equilibrium states of a system from other more readily determined
property data; given as:

Team A Management term; a permanent task force or committee.

Teamwork A Management term; the working of people in a team to

produce result which is sometimes difficult to achieve otherwise;
enables workers to avoid wasted effort, reduce errors, and react better to
customers thus resulting in more output for each unit of employee
input; provides the flexibility to react quickly because of increasing
global competition; major companies such as Hewlett-Packard (HP),
Xerox, Procter & Gamble, and General Motors have been using teams as a
primary means of accomplishing tasks for many years; quality circles
(also called quality control circles) are the best examples of self-directed
teams.

Technical Skill A Management term; a management skill proposed

by Robert L. Katz (1933-2010); relates to a manager’s ability to use the
tools, procedures, and techniques of a specialized field; concerned with
the knowledge of a particular subject and is of greatest importance at
the supervisory level.

Technology Transfer A Management term; the transfer of knowledge

from one country to another for the development of new products or for
the improvements in a production process.

Technology A Management term; any equipment, tools or operating

methods designed to make work more efficient; a tool as well as an
important determinant of economic growth used by an organization to
produce goods and services; new management techniques, scientific
discoveries, and other innovations improve technology; technological
advances allow the production of more output from a given amount of
resources.
Teflon A Chemistry term; a thermoplastic material whose chemical
name is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); used in making non-lubricating
or self-lubricating bearings because of its very low coefficient of friction.

TEL A Fluid Mechanics term; see Energy Gradient Line.

Temperature Scale A Thermodynamics term; a measuring scale

which forms a common basis for temperature measurement; all the
temperature scales are based on some easily reproducible states such
as the freezing and boiling points of water which are respectively called
the ice point and the steam point; some temperature scales include
Celsius, Kelvin, Fahrenheit, and Rankine scales.

Temperature Strain A Strength of Materials term; also called

Thermal Strain; the strain produced by a temperature change in a
metallic body; can be tensile or compressive in nature.

Temperature Stress A Strength of Materials term; also called

Thermal Stress; the stress produced in a material due to temperature
difference; can be tensile or compressive in nature; given as:

where

σt = thermal stress
E = elastic modulus of body’s material
α = coefficient of linear expansion of the body
ΔT = change in temperature.

When the temperature of a gas enclosed in a vessel of any rigid

material is changed, then the thermal stress produced is equal to the
change in pressure (ΔP) of the gas, given as:

where

K = bulk modulus of elasticity of the gas

γ = coefficient of cubical expansion of the gas.

Temperature A Thermodynamics term; a measure of the kinetic

energies of the molecules of a body; measured in degree Celsius (°C),
degree Fahrenheit (°F), Rankine (R), and kelvin (K).

Temperature-Entropy Diagram A Thermodynamics term,

abbreviated as T-S Diagram; a plot between absolute temperature on
the vertical axis and entropy on the horizontal axis; the area under the
T-S diagram gives the net heat transfer during a process; a very useful
means of keeping track of the states of an isentropic flow of an ideal
gas.

Tempering A Heat Treatment term; a process of heating steel to

some predetermined temperature (between room temperature and the
critical temperature), holding it at that temperature for a certain length
of time, and then allowed to cool in air or water; used to reduce
hardness, brittleness, and residual stresses; also reduces strains caused
by quenching thereby improving ductility and toughness of hardened
steel.

Temporary Fastener A Design term; a fastening device used to join

two parts which can be easily separated from each other when required
without damaging the parts or the device itself; widely used in joining
machine parts and other engineering components where frequent
dismantling is required; a few examples include screw, key, cotter, pin,
nut, and bolt; see also Permanent Fastener.

Tensile Strain A Strength of Materials term; a type of longitudinal

strain produced on account of increase in length of a body by a tension
force; calculated as a ratio of increase in length of a body to its original
length; see also Compressive Strain.

Tensile Stress A Strength of Materials term; a positive normal stress

caused by a tension force; results in increase in length (called
extension) of a body in the direction of force applied; see also
Compressive Stress.
Tension Test A Strength of Materials term; a destructive test
conducted on a universal testing machine (UTM) on a 10- or 12-mm
diameter mild steel test specimen to know its response under uniaxial
tension loading; helpful in determining important mechanical
properties such as ductility, elasticity, plasticity, yield point, ultimate
strength, and the modulus of elasticity of ductile materials, by means of a
stress–strain curve.

Tension A Physics term; the act of two forces pulling on an object in

opposite directions, causing it to stretch; see also Compression.

Terminal Speed A Fluid Mechanics term; the steady speed attained

by a falling body.

Tetrahedron A Mathematics term; a pyramid whose base is a

triangle, and has six edges and four faces; see also Pyramid and
Regular Tetrahedron.

TFP A Management term; see Total Factor Productivity.

Theoretical Air An IC Engine term; see Stoichiometric Air.

Theories of Failure A Strength of Materials term; see Failure

Criteria.

Theory of Constraints An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as TOC: a philosophy and production control approach of
managing bottlenecks or capacity constraints for complex job-shop
environments; originated by an Israeli business management guru
Eliyahu Goldratt (1947–2011).

Theory of Elasticity A Strength of Materials term; see Hooke’s Law.

Theory of Machines See KDM.

Theory X A Management term; a motivation theory proposed by

Douglas McGregor (1906–1964) in 1960; based on the negative
approach of human mind; states that the average person dislikes work,
avoids responsibility and has little ambition, wishes for job security and
works only for monetary gain, and hence he must be coerced to
perform and closely supervised; see also Theory Y.

Theory Y A Management term; a motivation theory proposed by

Douglas McGregor (1906–1964) in 1960; based on the positive
approach of human mind; states that the average person is creative,
enjoys work, seeks responsibility and is motivated by achievements,
and wants to have the freedom to act according to his own judgement,
but resents close supervision; see also Theory X.

Theory Z A Management term; an approach proposed by an

American professor William Ouchi (1943-) in the early 1980s; stresses
on the contribution of every employee in an organization in solving
problems through group consensus; combines the advantages of
traditional American and current Japanese methods.

Therbligs An Operations Management term related to work study;

the fundamental hand motions of the work cycle in a job proposed by
Frank Gilbreth (1868–1934); named when Gilbreth is spelled
backwards with t and h reversed; include activities such as select, grasp,
position, assemble, reach, hold, rest, and inspect; each therblig is
represented by a symbol and a definite colour code.

Thermal Conductivity A Physics term; a physical property of the

material of a body; a proportionality constant in the expression of heat
transfer by conduction; represents the amount of heat flowing per unit
time, per unit area normal to the direction of flow of heat, through a
unit thickness of the material maintained at unit temperature
difference; its higher value is indicative of a material’s ability to allow
heat flow quickly; metals generally have higher thermal conductivity
and insulators have low values; denoted by k; the SI unit is W/(m–K);
the thermal conductivity of certain materials are listed below:

Material Thermal Conductivity (W/(m–K)

Steel 45
Copper 390
Material Thermal Conductivity (W/(m–K)
Aluminium 200
Glass 0.85
Wood 0.30

Thermal Conductor A Physics term; see Heat Conductor.

Thermal Efficiency A Thermodynamics term; a ratio of the network

output of a heat engine to the total heat supplied to the engine; a
measure of how efficiently a heat engine converts the heat which it
receives to work; always less than unity; given as:

where

Wnet = net work output of the engine

Qs = heat supplied to the engine
Qr = heat rejected by the engine; see also Mechanical Efficiency.

Thermal Equilibrium A Thermodynamics term; a state of

equilibrium which occurs when there is a uniformity of temperature or
absence of temperature gradient in the system; ensures that the system
is incapable of making any spontaneous change on being isolated from
its surroundings; see also Mechanical Equilibrium and Chemical
Equilibrium.

Thermal Radiation A Heat Transfer term; a form of radiation

emitted by a body because of its temperature; a volumetric
phenomenon where all solids, liquids and gases emit, absorb or
transmit thermal radiation of varying degree at a temperature above
absolute zero; differs from other forms of electromagnetic radiation
such as X-rays, gamma rays, microwaves, radio waves, and television
waves which are not related to temperature; see also Electromagnetic
Radiation.
Thermal Shock A Physics term; the fracture (partial or complete) of
a material as a result of sudden change in temperature (usually a
sudden cooling).

Thermal Strain A Strength of Materials term; see Temperature

Strain.

Thermal Stress A Strength of Materials term; see Temperature

Stress.

Thermal Vibration A Physics term; the periodic oscillation of atoms

in a solid at a temperature above absolute zero.

Thermistor An Electrical term; a thermally sensitive variable

resistor made of ceramic-like semiconducting materials consisting of
oxides of manganese, nickel, and cobalt; has resistivity varying between
100 and 450,000 Ω-cm; used as a temperature-detecting element (for
the purpose of measurement or control) and as an electric-power
sensing device (using resistance–power relationship).

Thermit Welding A Welding term; a fusion welding process; uses a

thermit mixture consisting of aluminium powder and iron oxide in the
ratio of 1:3; the thermit mixture is ignited to about 1300 °C to produce
superheated molten iron, which can fill up the gap between the parts
being joined; used for connecting railroad rails and for repair works in
casting and forging.

Thermocouple A Physics term; the most versatile and the most

widely used temperature measurement device consisting of two wires,
which operates on Seebeck effect in which temperature can be
measured by simply measuring voltages.

Thermodynamic Cycle A Thermodynamics term; a closed thermal

cycle consisting of only reversible processes, where both initial state
and final state conditions coincide; a few examples include Otto cycle,
Diesel cycle, and Brayton cycle.
Thermodynamic Equilibrium A Thermodynamics term; a state of
complete equilibrium of a system which requires a system to be in
mechanical, chemical, and thermal equilibrium separately.

Thermodynamic System A Thermodynamics term; a certain

quantity of matter or a definite volume in space which can be analysed
in the solution of a problem; a system is separated from the
surroundings by its boundary.

Thermodynamic Temperature Scale A Thermodynamics term; a

temperature scale which is independent of the properties of a
substance; developed in conjunction with the second law of
thermodynamics; examples include Kelvin scale and Rankine scale.

Thermodynamics A core subject of mechanical engineering which

deals with heat and temperature, and includes the changes in
temperature, internal energy and entropy of a system through external
work along with modes of heat transfer and efficiency of heat engines;
finds extensive applications in power producing devices and other
components such as steam and gas turbines, internal combustion
engines, refrigerators, air-conditioning units, and others.

Thermoelectric Circuit A Physics term; a circuit which involves both

thermal and electrical effects.

Thermoelectric Device A Physics term; a device operating on a

thermoelectric circuit, which incorporates both thermal and electrical
effects.

Thermometric Properties A Thermodynamics term; the properties

which change due to change in temperature; a few examples include
entropy, enthalpy, and internal energy.

Thermometry A Thermodynamics term; the science of measurement

of temperature (including the lowest possible temperature of 0 K and
the highest temperature of 100,000 K).

Thermoplastic Polymer A Chemistry term; see Thermoplastic.

Thermoplastic A Chemistry term; also called Thermoplastic
Polymer; a highly polymerized substance which can be repeatedly
softened on heating and hardened on cooling; can be easily moulded
and remoulded into any shape just like glass; composed of chain
molecules using addition polymerization process in which interlocking
of their molecules gives them hardness and insolubility; its transparent
variety has suitably replaced glass in the recent years for many
applications; used in making sheets, pipes, bottles, buckets, helmets,
synthetic fibres, wire insulation, etc.; a few examples include
polyethylene (polythene), polystyrene, polyvinyl, Teflon, and nylon; see
also Thermosetting Plastic.

Thermosetting Plastic A Chemistry term; also called

Thermosetting Polymer or simply Thermosetting; a polymerized
substance which becomes hard and rigid upon heating, and sets during
moulding process and cannot be softened again; composed of cross-
linked molecules using condensation polymerization process; has good
strength, stiffness, and hardness, but has poor ductility and is brittle;
cannot be mechanically deformed or softened at high temperatures, as
their plasticity does not change with temperature, hence cannot be
remoulded into any new shape; used in making insulation for electrical
equipment, plastic crockery, automobile parts, varnishes, etc.; a few
examples include bakelite, polyester, phenolics, urea formaldehyde, and
epoxies; see also Thermoplastic.

Thermosetting Polymer A Chemistry term; see Thermosetting

Plastic.

Thermosetting A Chemistry term; see Thermosetting Plastic.

Third Angle Projection An Engineering Drawing and a Machine

Drawing term; a projection method in which an object is imagined to be
placed in the third quadrant for the purpose of its projection; as the
observer normally looks from the right side of the quadrant to obtain
the front view of the object, here the vertical projection plane has to be
transparent which lies between the observer and the object, and the
intersection of this plane with the projectors (the projection lines) from
all the points of the object on being joined together in order forms its
image on the transparent plane; see also First Angle Projection.

Third Law of Thermodynamics A Thermodynamics term; states

that the entropy of a pure crystalline substance is zero at the absolute
zero temperature (0 K); a law which provides a common base for the
entropy of all substances.

Third-Class Lever A Physics term; a lever in which the effort is

positioned between the fulcrum and the load; the load force and the
effort force act in opposite directions and its mechanical advantage
value lies between 0 and 1; a few examples of third-class lever include
barbecue tongs (used in kitchens), shovels, backhoes (excavating
equipment or digger), and tweezers.

Third-Party Logistics An Operations Management term, abbreviated

as 3PL; an outsourcing activity in which an outside company performs
all or part of a firm’s materials management and product distribution
functions; the 3PL providers allow a firm to focus on its core
competencies, leaving the logistics expertise to the logistics companies
because of their improved technological capabilities; may also own
assets such as trucks and warehouses for better materials management
and efficient delivery; the use of 3PL is most prevalent among large
companies; for example, firms such as 3M, Eastman Kodak, Dow
Chemical, Time Warner, General Motors, etc. have outsourced their
larger logistics operations to 3PL providers; Ryder Dedicated Logistics
currently has a multiyear agreement to design, manage, and operate all
of Whirlpool Corporation’s inbound logistics; Safe Express also provides
3PL services to many firms in India; the most obvious disadvantage of
the use of 3PL providers is the loss of control inherent in outsourcing a
particular function; see also Fourth-Party Logistics.

Thixotropic Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid whose apparent

viscosity (that depends on shear rate) decreases with time under a
constant applied shear stress; for example, many paints; see also
Rheopectic Fluid.
Thread Rolling A Manufacturing term; a cold working process used
to produce threads on a metal blank by rolling it through hardened
dies, which cause the metal to flow radially into the desired shape.

Threading A Manufacturing term; see Dieing.

Three-Dimensional Motion A Physics term; the motion of a body

along three directions (in a space); a few examples include the flying of
an aeroplane or a bird, the random motion of a gas molecule, and the
flying of a kite in the sky; see also One-Dimensional Motion and Two-
Dimensional Motion.

Throttling A Thermodynamics term; an irreversible process in which

a fluid flows across a restriction in such a manner that there is a drop in
its pressure without any change in its enthalpy, kinetic energy or
potential energy; does not involve work or heat transfer; a few examples
include flow through a porous plug, flow through a partially closed valve
or flow through a small orifice; see also Free Expansion.

Thrust Bearing A Design term; a bearing used to support a shaft

subjected to an axial load; classified into pivot bearing (foot-step
bearing) and collar bearing.

Thyristor An Electronics term; a semiconductor device having three

or more junctions; acts as a switch without any bias; can be fabricated
to have voltage ratings of several hundred volts and current ratings
from a few amperes to almost thousand amperes.

TIG Welding A Welding term; see Tungsten Inert Gas Welding.

Time of Ascent A Physics term related to a projectile; the time (t)

taken by a projectile to go from its point of projection to the highest
point where it attains the maximum height; equals to the time of
descent or the one-half of the time of flight (T); given as:

where
u = velocity of projection
θ = angle of projection
g = acceleration due to gravity; see also Time of Descent.

Time of Descent A Physics term related to a projectile; the time (t)

taken by a projectile to return from the highest point where it attains
the maximum height to the point of hitting the ground on the same
level of projection; equals to the time of ascent or the one-half of the
time of flight (T); given as:

where

u = velocity of projection
θ = angle of projection
g = acceleration due to gravity; see also Time of Ascent.

Time of Flight A Physics term related to a projectile; the total time for
which a projectile is in flight (remains in air) between the point of
projection and the point of hitting the ground; equals to the sum of time
of ascent and time of descent; independent of mass of the projectile;
denoted by T; given as:

where

u = velocity of projection
θ = angle of projection
g = acceleration due to gravity; see also Time of Ascent and Time of
Descent.

Time Period A Physics term; the time taken to complete one

oscillation (or one cycle); represents the least interval of time after
which the periodic motion of a body repeats itself; denoted by T; the SI
unit is second (s).

Time Study An Operations Management term related to work study;

the method of establishing time standards by using a stopwatch to time
the operations performed by workers at a defined level of performance;
pioneered by F. W. Taylor (1856–1915) in 1881; see also Motion Study
and Method Study.

Tin Alloys A Chemisrty term; the alloys of tin (Sn) which contains tin
as the main constituent, besides other elements present in various
amounts; important tin alloys include solder, pewter, babbitt metal,
britannia metal, white metal, bell metal, and rose metal.

Tin Plate A Materials Engineering term; a mild steel plate coated

with tin.

Tin A Chemistry term; a metallic element having symbol Sn with

atomic number 50; melts at a relatively low temperature of 232 °C but
boils at a relatively high temperature of 2270 °C; exists in three
allotropic forms, namely grey, white, and rhombic; when bent, the metal
produces a cracking noise, called ‘tin cry’ which occurs due to rubbing
of metal crystals over one another; used as an important alloying
element, and its addition to steel increases its corrosion resistance by
forming a silvery-white protective coating over iron (the process is
called tin plating) which does not tarnish on being exposed to air; also
used in the manufacture of a number of alloys such as solder, bell metal,
rose metal, babbitt metal, britannia metal, white metal, and pewter; thin
tin plates are used in the manufacture of tin cans, kerosene oil
containers and other similar articles; also extensively used in tinning
(thin coating of tin layer) of brass utensils; also finds use in the
preparation of collapsible tubes for tooth pastes and various ointments;
tin amalgam is used in making mirrors and tin foil is used for wrapping
cigarettes and other articles.

Tincal A Chemistry term; a naturally occurring borax obtained from

dried up lakes; contains about 50% borax along with some other
insoluble impurities such as clay, sand, etc.
Title Block An Engineering Drawing and a Machine Drawing term; an
enclosed space made at the bottom right hand corner in a drawing
sheet; contains the identification details of a drawing such as the title of
the drawing, the sheet number, the scale used, the symbol (which
denotes the method of projection), the name of the firm, and the initials
of staff who designed, drawn, checked, and approved the drawing.

TOC An Operations Management term; see Theory of Constraints.

Tolerance A Metrology term; the difference between the maximum

and minimum size limits of a part giving variation in its size to be
tolerated to cover reasonable imperfections in workmanship; varies
with different grades of work; may be unilateral or bilateral, where
unilateral tolerances are represented as , and bilateral
tolerances as 35 ± 0.06 or , that is, with equal or unequal
variations.

Ton Refrigeration A Refrigeration term; see Ton.

Ton A Refrigeration term; also called Ton Refrigeration, abbreviated

as TR; the standard unit of refrigeration; equivalent to producing cold at
the rate of removing heat from 1 ton (1000 kg) of water at 0 °C to
convert it into ice at 0 °C in one day or 24 h; 1 TR = 50 kcal/min =
12,000 Btu/hr = 3.5 kW.

Tool Life A Manufacturing term related to a cutting tool; the total

time during which a cutting tool can be successfully used for cutting
operations; usually expressed in minutes; finds mention in Taylor’s tool
life equation, VTn = constant, which is used for various metal cutting
operations (V = velocity of cutting tool, T = time of cutting and n = an
exponent which depends on the material being cut).

Tool Post A Lathe term; a principal part of a lathe mounted on the

compound slide; used to hold the cutting tool firmly in a particular
position.
Tool Signature A Manufacturing term related to machining; a
parameter used to define a cutting tool completely; consists of seven
elements placed in order such as back rake angle, side rake angle, end
relief angle, side relief angle, end-cutting edge angle, side-cutting edge
angle, and nose radius of which first six elements are angles in degrees
and the seventh element is expressed in inch or mm.

Tool Steel A Materials Engineering term; a high carbon steel whose

hardness is obtained by quenching and tempering; used in making
cutting tools for various machining operations, dies for die casting,
forming dies, and other uses in which a combination of high strength,
hardness, toughness, and temperature resistance is required.

Toothed Gearing A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; a

means to transmit motion or power between two shafts without any
loss; a few examples include spur gearing, bevel gearing, spiral gearing,
and helical gearing.

Top Dead Centre An IC Engine term, abbreviated as TDC; a point

where the piston is at the top of the cylinder of an engine; the position
of the piston when it forms the smallest volume in the cylinder; occurs
when the connecting rod and crank are in-line with one another; see
also Bottom Dead Centre.

Top Manager A Management term; see High Level Manager.

Top Riser A Manufacturing term related to casting; see Open Riser.

Top View An Engineering Drawing and a Machine Drawing term; the

view of an object obtained as a projection on a horizontal plane of
projection by looking at the object normal to its surface from the top;
see also Front View.

Torque Meter A Theory of Machines term; see Transmission

Dynamometer.

Torque Ratio A Gear term; a ratio between the torque values on the
input and output gears.
Torque A Physics term; see Moment.

Torr A Physics term; a unit of pressure, named after the Italian

physicist Evangelista Torricelli (1608–1647) who invented the
barometer; 1 torr = 1 mm of Hg = 0.133 Pa; finds use in medicine and
physiology.

Torsion Equation A Strength of Materials term; also called Torsion

Formula; an equation used to find the maximum shear stress produced
in a rotating circular shaft when subjected to a torque: can be applied to
solid and hollow circular shafts; given as:

where

T = torque applied on the shaft

J = polar moment of inertia of shaft’s cross-section
τ = maximum shear stress on the shaft
R = radius of the shaft
G = modulus of rigidity of the shaft material
L = length of the shaft
θ = angle of twist produced in the shaft.

Torsion Formula A Strength of Materials term; see Torsion

Equation.

Torsion Meter A Metrology term; a device used to measure torque by

measuring the angle of twist over a fixed length of a shaft; classified
into mechanical, optical, and electrical torsion meters.

Torsion Spring A Strength of Materials term related to a spring; see

Helical Spring.

Torsion Test A Strength of Materials term; a destructive test used to

measure the modulus of rigidity (G) of solid materials; especially useful
for studying a material’s flow at large plastic (shear) strains as
produced in many operations such as during punching of holes in a
sheet metal and metal cutting.

Torsion A Strength of Materials term; a twisting action produced on a

rotating element (shaft) about its longitudinal axis; the torsional effect
on circular members was first noticed by the French physicist Charles a.
Coulomb (1736–1806) in 1784.

Torsional Flexibility A Strength of Materials term; the angle of twist

per unit length of a bar or shaft; see also Torsional Stiffness and
Torsional Rigidity.

Torsional Rigidity A Strength of Materials term; the product of the

polar moment of inertia (J) of a shaft’s cross-section and the modulus of
rigidity (G) of the shaft material; a measure of strength of a shaft against
torsion; equals to the torque acting on a shaft of unit length and
producing unit angle of twist; see also Torsional Flexibility and
Torsional Stiffness.

Torsional Stiffness A Strength of Materials term; the reciprocal of

the torsional flexibility; see also Torsional Flexibility and Torsional
Rigidity.

Torsional Strength A Strength of Materials term; the ability of a

material to withstand twisting moment; measured in terms of torsional
shear strength (τ) found by conducting a torsion test; given as:

where

T = twisting moment
d = diameter of the solid specimen
= outside diameter of the hollow specimen
do = inside diameter of the hollow specimen.
di

Total Cost An Operations Management term related to cost analysis;

the sum of factory cost, selling overhead, distribution overhead, and
administration overhead.

Total Derivative Operator A Mathematics term; denoted by d; used

to find the rate of change of one parameter with respect to another; for
example, acceleration (a) of an object can be expressed as the time rate
of change of velocity (v), and is shown as: a = , where both velocity
and acceleration are shown in bold to show their vector nature; see also
Partial Derivative Operator.

Total Energy Line A Fluid Mechanics term; see Energy Gradient

Line.

Total Factor Productivity A Management term, abbreviated as TFP;

also called Multi-factor Productivity; a ratio of the economy’s outputs
to its total inputs of labour, capital, materials, and energy; describes the
overall productivity of an economy; see also Partial Factor
Productivity.

Total Head A Fluid Mechanics term; the sum of the pressure head (P/
ρg), the velocity head (v2/2 g), and the elevation head (z) in the
Bernoulli equation (P = pressure of the fluid, g = acceleration due to
gravity, ρ = density of the fluid, v = velocity of the fluid, and z = elevation
of the fluid column); the total head for an ideal streamline flow is
constant.

Total Product Function An Operations Management term; see

Production Function.

Total Productive Maintenance An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as TPM; a system which combines the practice of
preventive maintenance with the concepts of total quality in order to
improve a production system.
Total Quality Control A Management term, abbreviated as TQC; a
process of improving the quality of a product right from the start of its
manufacturing, that is, from the raw material stage, called ‘quality at
the source’; a Japanese approach to quality control evolved by an
American quality expert Armand V. Feigenbaum (1920–2014) in 1983;
stresses on continuous improvement through attention to
manufacturing details rather than attainment of a fixed quantitative
quality standard; see also Total Quality Management.

Total Quality Management A Management term, abbreviated as

TQM; also called Continuous Quality Improvement; an integrative
management philosophy aimed at continuously improving the quality of
products, processes or services through the use of various means such
as statistical tools, competitive benchmarking, participative
management, teamwork, and continuous training to achieve ultimate
customer satisfaction by making quality everybody’s concern in the
organization; requires quality improvement at all levels of management
and across all areas; the concept evolved in manufacturing companies
like Toyota, IBM, and Motorola; the principles of TQM are equally
applicable for manufacturing and service operations organizations; see
also Total Quality Control.

Total Slack A Project Management term; also called Slack; the spare
(slack) time which is available for carrying out an activity without
delaying the project completion; exists for non-critical activities only;
for critical activities the total slack is zero; calculated as:

where

LST = latest start time

EST = earliest start time
LFT = latest finish time
EFT = earliest finish time; see also Free Slack.
Toughness A Strength of Materials term; a mechanical property of
materials which defines its capacity to absorb energy without fracture;
see also Modulus of Toughness.

Toyota Production System An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as TPS; also called Toyota System; the most admired
production system in the world, evolved by a Japanese company Toyota
Motor Company; an example of excellence in automobile manufacturing;
one of the most admired lean manufacturing systems in existence
which requires constant improvements to increase efficiency and
reduce waste; consists of three important Japanese-invented
techniques, namely jidoka, andon, and poka-yoke.

Toyota System An Operations Management term: see Toyota

Production System.

Toyota A Japanese company which is exemplary of excellence in

automobile manufacturing; well known today for its Toyota production
system (TPS), one of the most admired lean manufacturing systems in
existence which has created a system which stimulates employees to
experiment with their environment by seeking better ways (using
scientific methods) whenever things go wrong.

TPM An Operations Management term; see Total Productive

Maintenance.

TPS An Operations Management term; see Toyota Production

System.

TQC A Management term; see Total Quality Control.

TQM Tools A Quality Management term; the tools used in the quality
management of products and services; include Pareto charts, check
sheets, fishbone diagrams, and process flowcharts.

TQM A Quality Management term; see Total Quality Management.

TR A Refrigeration term; see Ton.

Tracking Signal A Management term related to forecasting; a
measurement method which shows whether a forecast has had any
built-in biases over a period of time.

Trade Deficit An Economics term; a condition of an economy in

which imports exceed exports, that is, a country imports more than it
exports.

Train Value A Theory of Machines term related to gear; also called

Gear Train Value; a ratio of the product of number of driving tooth to
the product of number of driven tooth; a ratio of the speed of driven
gear (follower) to the speed of driver; the reciprocal of velocity ratio.

Training A Management term; a process of improving performance

in the current job.

Trajectory A Physics term; the path described by a projectile during

its motion; has parabolic shape; at the highest point of the projectile
path, the velocity and acceleration are perpendicular to each other, and
the projectile possesses velocity only along the horizontal direction.

Transducer An Electronics term; a device used to convert one form

of energy to another form.

Transformer An Electrical term; an electrical device which changes

the input voltage; classified into step-up transformer and step-down
transformer.

Transistor An Electronics term; a semiconductor device and a

fundamental component of almost all the electronic devices used to
control large electrical output signals using a small input signal; a solid-
state amplifier.

Transitional Energy A Power Plant term; the energy obtained from

objects in motion; for example, wind energy and hydel energy.

Translational Dynamic Equilibrium A Physics term; see Dynamic

Equilibrium.
Translational Equilibrium A Physics term; the equilibrium which
ensures that a rigid body remains at rest or moves with a constant
velocity in a particular direction; requires the net external force or the
vector sum of all the external forces acting on the body is zero;
classified into static equilibrium and dynamic equilibrium;
mathematically expressed as:

Translational Static Equilibrium A Physics term; see Static

Equilibrium.

Transmissibility of Forces A Physics term; see Principle of

Transmissibility.

Transmission Dynamometer A Theory of Machines term; also called

Torque Meter; a passive type of dynamometer in which the work done
by a prime mover under test is not absorbed, but is transmitted for use
during measurement; just used for the purpose of sensing a torque at a
well-defined location of the prime mover, and neither adds to nor
subtracts from the transmitted energy or power; examples include belt
transmission dynamometer and torsion dynamometer; see also
Absorption Dynamometer.

Transmission Line A Fluid Mechanics and an Electrical term; in fluid

mechanics terms, a pipe or tube which serves as a connection between
two fluid power components; in electrical terms, an overhead high
voltage electrical wire used for the transmission of electricity between
two or more places from a power plant .

Transonic Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow involving both

subsonic and supersonic regions; the Mach number (M) for a transonic
flow lies between 0.9 and 1.1.

Transportation Method An Operations Research term; a linear

programming solution method used to find the minimal cost of shipping
products from several sources to several destinations.
Transportation Problem An Operations Research term; also called
Integer Linear Programming Problem as its variables take only
integer values; a special class of linear programming problem in which
the objective is to transport a single commodity from various sources to
different destinations at a minimum total cost; assumes that total
capacity equals to total requirement.

Trapezium A Mathematics term; a quadrilateral which has exactly

one pair of parallel sides.

Trapezoidal Weir A Fluid Mechanics term; the combination of a

rectangular weir and a triangular weir; used to measure and control
flow (discharge) in an open channel.

Tresca’s Yield Criterion A Strength of Materials term related to

theory of material’s failure; see Maximum Shear Stress Theory.

Triangle Law of Forces A Physics term; see Law of Triangle of

Forces.

Triangle A Mathematics term; a closed geometric plane figure

consisting of three non-parallel sides; the simplest polygon; classified
into acute-, obtuse-, and right-angled triangles on the basis of measures
of angle; also classified into scalene, isosceles, and equilateral triangles
on the basis of measures of length of sides.

Triangular File A Manufacturing term; one of the types of a file used

in the fitting shop which has a triangular cross section and double cut
on all faces; used in the filing of square corners and sharpening of
woodworking saws.

Triangular Load A Strength of Materials term; a distributed load in

the shape of a triangle whose intensity varies linearly from zero to a
maximum intensity (w); liquid pressure can be represented by a
triangular load; see also Uniform Load and Distributed Load.

Triangular Pyramid A Mathematics term; a pyramid whose base is a

triangle; see also Pyramid.
Triangular Weir A Fluid Mechanics term; also called V-Notch Weir; a
weir with a triangular opening; used to measure the liquid flow rate in
open channels; maintains a high weir head even with small flow rates,
and hence it can be used to measure a wide range of flow rates
accurately.

Tridymite A Chemistry term; one of the three naturally occurring

crystalline forms of silica (SiO2), other two being quartz and cristobalite;
quartz when heated above 870 °C changes into tridymite and remains
stable in this form till 1470 °C.

Trigonometric Ratios A Mathematics term; the ratios with respect

to a right triangle used in trigonometry; include sine, cosine, tangent,
cosecant, secant, and cotangent.

Triple Point A Thermodynamics term; the temperature at which all

the three phases of a substance coexist in equilibrium; for example, the
triple point of water is 273.16 K or 0.01 °C (pressure of 4.58 mm of Hg
or 610.65 Pa), where the three phases of water such as ice (solid form),
liquid water, and water vapour (gaseous form) all coexist.

Trowel A Manufacturing term; a foundry tool used to finish or repair

a mould.

True Centrifugal Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; a

type of centrifugal casting used to produce pipes, cylinder liners and
hollow symmetrical objects (without using cores) using a rotating
mould (about its horizontal or vertical axis); see also Semi-Centrifugal
Casting and Centrifuging.

True Strain A Strength of Materials term; also called Natural Strain

or Logarithmic Strain; the strain related to the actual length of a test
specimen, when there is reduction in its cross sectional area with
increase in applied load; a ratio of the sum of incremental elongations
to the instantaneous gauge length; given as:
where

l = instantaneous length
lo = original length; see also Nominal Strain.

True Stress A Strength of Materials term; a direct or normal stress

obtained by dividing load by the actual cross-sectional area of a metal
test specimen at a particular point of time during tension or
compression test; see also Engineering Stress.

Truss A Strength of Materials term; a stationary civil structure which

consists of straight steel members such as bars, angles, and channels
(the angle section is the most preferred section) joined together by
welding or riveting; used to support a long span in buildings and
bridges; the load in a truss is applied at its joints only, whereas its
members are subjected to either a tension or compression force;
classified into plane truss and space truss.

Try Square A Manufacturing term; a fitting tool used to check an

edge or surface exactly at right angles to an already finished surface or
for laying out work.

T-S Diagram A Thermodynamics term; see Temperature-Entropy

Diagram.

T-Series A Materials Engineering term; the second series of high

speed steel (HSS) that contains higher content of tungsten; the 18-4-1
HSS is the most widely used T-series, which consists of 18% tungsten,
4% chromium, and 1% vanadium; see also M-Series.

Tsunami A Fluid Mechanics term; a strong water wave which has

very long wavelengths (of the order of 100 km) and travels with
extremely large wave speeds; produced by a disturbance like an
earthquake, volcanic eruption or meteorite impact, which vertically
displaces the water column; has extremely damaging effects.

Tube Drawing A Manufacturing term; a metal working process used

to reduce the diameter of a tube by pulling it through a die using or
without a mandrel.

Tube Extrusion A Manufacturing term; a hot metal working process

used to produce tubular products from a heated workpiece by forcing it
to go through a shaped-die opening using a mandrel; see also Tube
Swaging.

Tube Spinning A Manufacturing term; a cold metal working process

used to reduce the thickness of walls of cylindrical parts by pressing a
flat sheet metal blank against a rotating cylindrical mandrel using
rollers; typical tube spinned products include pressure vessels, high-
pressure gas cylinders, and kitchenwares such as pots and pans; see also
Shear Spinning.

Tube Swaging A Manufacturing term; a hot metal working process

and a variation of swaging used to reduce the diameter of tubes by
subjecting them to rotating dies using or without a mandrel; see also
Tube Extrusion.

Tube Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; an inclined-axis propeller

turbine that is particularly suitable for low head installations.

Tungsten Electrode A Welding term; a tungsten wire electrode used

as a nonconsumable electrode in arc welding because of its high melting
point (3410 °C).

Tungsten Inert Gas Welding A Welding term, abbreviated as TIG

Welding; also called Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, abbreviated as
GTAW; an arc welding process which uses a shielding atmosphere of
inert gases such as argon and helium (either alone or in combination)
to protect the arc produced between a nonconsumable tungsten
electrode and the workpiece; uses both ac and dc power supply with
straight polarity; previously used for the joining of aluminium and
magnesium alloys, but currently also used for copper, stainless steel,
silver, tungsten, molybdenum, titanium, and high-temperature materials;
finds use in aircraft industry, and chemical and nuclear plants; see also
Metal Inert Gas Welding.

Tungsten A Chemistry term; a metallic element having symbol W

with atomic number 74; a hard metal with silvery white lustre which
has the highest melting point temperature in the periodic table, close to
3410 °C; has high specific gravity (19.3), close to that of gold; resists the
action of air, oxygen or chlorine unless heated to bright redness; not
attacked by acids; due to its high melting point, it cannot be cast into
rods and wires like most of the other metals; mostly used in the
powdered form for shaping products; because of its extremely high
melting point and low volatility, it finds use in making filaments for
electric lamps; also used as a major alloying element for steel; increases
hot strength and hot hardness of steel, if added in significant amount.

Tuning Fork A Physics term; an instrument used as a source of

standard frequency; finds use in conducting experiments on sound
using a sonometer or resonance tube.

Turbine Efficiency A Thermodynamics term; a ratio of the work

output of a turbine during actual adiabatic expansion to the work output
during reversible adiabatic (isentropic) expansion under similar
conditions of temperature; a ratio of the mechanical energy output to
the decrease in the mechanical energy of a fluid; see also Pump
Efficiency.

Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid machine (turbomachine) and

a work-producing device which extracts mechanical energy from a fluid
by dropping its pressure, and transfers most of this energy to some
form of mechanical energy output, typically in the form of a rotating
shaft; classified into hydraulic, steam, and gas turbines; see also Pump.

Turbofan Engine A Fluid Mechanics term; a multistage axial-flow

turbomachine which utilizes both multistage axial-flow compressors
and multistage axial-flow turbines; used to power modern commercial
aeroplanes.
Turbomachine A Fluid Mechanics term; a dynamic fluid machine
which either extracts energy from a fluid or adds energy to a fluid as a
result of dynamic interactions between the device and the fluid using
rotating propellers or vanes; offers high power density; has relatively
few moving parts and reasonable efficiency; widely used in industry for
power generation; a few examples include hydraulic turbine, steam
turbine, pump, compressor, fan, and blower.

Turbomachinery A Fluid Mechanics term; a branch of fluid

mechanics which deals with transfer of energy either to or from a fluid
using a rotating shaft.

Turbulent Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; an irregular three-

dimensional flow in which fluid particles have disorderly motion;
involves a violent transverse exchange of momentum; most of the
energy associated with this flow is used in setting up eddy currents in
the fluid; a fluid flow becomes turbulent, when its Reynolds number
exceeds 4000; see also Laminar Flow.

Turn Over A Management term; a ratio of the sales to the assets of a

company.

Turret Lathe A Manufacturing term; a type of lathe which contains a

turret to hold the cutting tools during machining; has no tailstock.

Twin Electrode Carbon Arc Welding A Welding term; a variation of

the carbon arc welding in which arc is produced between two graphite
(carbon) electrodes; see also Carbon Arc Welding.

Twin Primes A Mathematics term; the prime numbers (primes)

which occur in pairs with a difference of two; a few examples include 3,
5 and 11, 13; see also Prime Number.

Twist Drill A Manufacturing term; the most common cutting tool

used in drilling for which the point angle is 118°.

Two Stroke Engine A Thermodynamics term related to an IC engine;

an internal combustion engine which works on a two-stroke cycle
consisting of compression and expansion strokes; has no suction and
exhaust strokes; the cyclic operation is completed in every one
revolution of the crankshaft; widely employed for small power
requirements, for examples, scooters, motorcycles, and mopeds;
theoretically develops twice the power of a four-stroke engine of the
same size and speed (actually develops 1.7–1.8 times the power as
some power is used for compressing the charge and scavenging); see
also Four Stroke Engine.

Two-Dimensional Collision A Physics term; also called Oblique

Collision; a collision in which two bodies moving initially along the
same straight line, when collide (without loss of kinetic energy), move
along different directions in a pane after collision; see also One-
Dimensional Collision.

Two-Dimensional Motion A Physics term; the motion of a body

along two directions (in a plane); a few examples include the crawling
of an insect over the floor and the revolving of the earth around the sun;
see also One-Dimensional Motion and Three-Dimensional Motion.

Two-Factor Theory A Management term related to motivation; see

Hygiene Theory.

Two-Force Member A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; a

truss member which can be subjected to two forces only, either tensile
or compressive.

Two-Stroke Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to an IC engine; a

thermodynamic cycle which is completed in two strokes of a piston or in
one revolution of the crankshaft of an internal combustion (IC) engine;
consists of compression and expansion strokes only; has no suction and
exhaust strokes; mostly used in petrol engines for small power
requirements; see also Four-Stroke Cycle.

Type I Error A Quality Management term; also called Alpha Error;

an error related to rejection of something which is acceptable; see also
Type II Error.
Type II Error A Quality Management term; also called Beta Error; an
error related to acceptance of something that should have been
rejected; see also Type I Error.

Type Metal A Chemistry term; a lead alloy which contains 82% lead
(Pb), 15% antimony (Sb), and 3% tin (Sn); used for making printing
type.

Type Number A Fluid Mechanics term; see Specific Speed.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_21

U
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

UCON A Materials Engineering term; a costly cutting tool material

consisting of 50% columbium, 30% titanium, and 20% tungsten; mainly
used in the machining of steel with higher speed, large depth of cut, and
low feed; can be cast and rolled into sheets.

udl A Strength of Materials term; see Uniform Load.

U-Joint A Design term; see Hooke’s Joint.

Ultimate Strength A Strength of Materials term; also called Ultimate

Stress or Ultimate Tensile Strength or Ultimate Tensile Stress; a
ratio of the maximum load which a material can take up before its
failure to its original cross-sectional area; the SI unit is pascal (Pa)
which is equivalent to N/m2.

Ultimate Stress A Strength of Materials term; see Ultimate

Strength.

Ultimate Tensile Strength A Strength of Materials term; see

Ultimate Strength.

Ultimate Tensile Stress A Strength of Materials term; see Ultimate

Strength.
Ultrasonic Inspection A Materials Engineering term; see Ultrasonic
Testing.

Ultrasonic Machining A Nonconventional Machining term,

abbreviated as USM; a nonconventional machining process which uses
high-frequency motion of a shaped tool to remove the materials from
hard and brittle workpieces; capable of producing intricate shapes and
complex profiles which are difficult to produce by traditional machining
processes; used to machine all materials whether they are electrically
conductive or insulator.

Ultrasonic Testing A Materials Engineering term; also called

Ultrasonic Inspection; a nondestructive testing in which defects are
detected using high-frequency acoustic waves.

Ultrasonic Wave A Physics term; also called Supersonic Wave or

Supersonics or Ultrasonics; the longitudinal wave having frequency
more than 20,000 Hz (the upper limit of audibility), but has shorter
wavelength (of the order of 1 cm); the human ear cannot detect this
wave similar to infrasonic wave, but some animals like dogs and bats
can do so; produced by the high-frequency vibrations of a quartz crystal
under an alternating electric field (piezo-electric effect); because of its
high frequency and small wavelength, it can transmit over long
distances without appreciable loss of energy and diffraction;
extensively used in detecting any flaw in a metal, finding depth of sea,
lakes, etc. (using echo depth sounding and producing directional
signalling), detecting submarines, icebergs, and other objects in the
ocean; in medical fields, it can be used to lame or kill smaller animals
like rats, fish, and frogs or bacteria and can also destroy red blood
corpuscles (RBC); in industrial fields, it finds use in cleaning clothes,
watches, etc.; see also Infrasonic Wave.

Ultrasonics A Physics term; see Ultrasonic Wave.

Ultrasound A Physics term; a sound wave of high frequency; used

extensively in medical applications.
Unavailable Energy A Thermodynamics term; the energy which
cannot be converted into work by any means even by reversible
engines; for example, energy of the atmosphere; see also Available
Energy.

Unbreakable Glass A Chemistry term; see Safety Glass.

Uncertainty Principle A Chemistry term; also called Heisenberg’s

Uncertainty Principle; one of the most celebrated results of quantum
mechanics proposed by a German theoretical physicist Werner
Heisenberg (1901–1976) in 1927; states that it is impossible to specify
simultaneously, with arbitrary precision, both the momentum and the
position of a particle.

Uncoated Electrode A Welding term; see Bare Electrode.

Undercut A Welding term; a groove melted into the base metal

adjacent to the toe of the weld and left unfilled.

Underflow Gate A Fluid Mechanics term; an obstruction in the form

of a vertical thin plate with an adjustable opening at the bottom, which
allows a liquid to flow underneath it; used to measure the liquid flow
rate in open channels; classified into sluice gate and drum gate; see also
Weir.

Under-rigid Truss A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; a

non-rigid truss which consists of less number of members than required
to make it a rigid truss; for an under-rigid truss: m < 2j − 3, where m =
number of members and j = number of joints in the truss; see also
Over-rigid Truss.

Uniaxial Loading A Strength of Materials term; a condition of

loading in which a member is subjected to loads in one direction; see
also Biaxial Loading.

Uniaxial Stress A Strength of Materials term; a state of stress in

which an element of a beam’s cross section is subjected to only normal
stress along one direction, and there is no shear stress; tension test is an
example of uniaxial stress condition; see also Biaxial Stress.

Uniform Acceleration A Physics term; occurs if the velocity of a body

changes by equal amounts in equal intervals of time; see also Variable
Acceleration.

Uniform Circular Motion A Physics term; the motion of a particle

(or a body) in a circular path with a constant speed; the velocity of the
particle changes continuously in direction, but its magnitude always
remains constant; the particle experiences an acceleration (a) whose
magnitude is given as:

where

v = velocity of the particle

r = radius of the circle.

Uniform Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow is said to be

uniform, when at every point of the flow field, the velocity is identical in
magnitude and direction; practically difficult to obtain, but flow through
a prismatic channel or conduit can be regarded as a uniform flow, as the
average velocity of the flow at each cross section is same; see also Non-
uniform Flow.

Uniform Load A Strength of Materials term; also called Uniformly

Distributed Load; abbreviated as udl; a distributed load with a
constant intensity (w); represented by a loading diagram in the shape
of a rectangle; the total load equivalent to a uniform load is equal to the
area of the loading diagram; the weight of a beam of uniform cross
section is an example of uniform load; see also Distributed Load.

Uniform Speed A Physics term; the speed with which an object

covers equal distances in equal intervals of time, howsoever small these
intervals may be; see also Variable Speed.
Uniform Velocity A Physics term; the velocity with which an object
undergoes equal displacements in equal intervals of time, howsoever
small these intervals may be; object moving with a uniform velocity is
said to be in uniform motion; see also Uniform Speed.

Uniformly Distributed Load Strength of Materials term; see

Uniform Load.

Uniformly Varying Load A Strength of Materials term; a vertical load

which increases or decreases at a constant rate along the length of a
structural member (beam); has triangular or trapezoidal distribution
or has also parabolic, cubic, or higher-order curves; the total load
equivalent to this load is equal to the area of the distribution of
uniformly varying load; see also Uniform Load.

Unit Cell A Materials Engineering term; the smallest group of an atom

showing the characteristic lattice structure of a particular metal; the
building block of a crystal forming the crystalline structure of a
material when repeated by translation; a single crystal can have many
unit cells.

Unit Vector A Physics term; a vector of unit magnitude.

Unity of Command A Management term; one of the 14 principles of

management proposed by Henri Fayol (1841–1925); a component of
chain of command which suggests that each person within an
organization must have a clear reporting relationship to one and only
one boss; see also Scalar Principle.

Unity of Direction A Management term; one of the 14 principles of

management proposed by Henri Fayol (1841–1925); the system of
having a single objective of every group of activities which should be
guided by one plan and one head.

Universal Gas Constant A Chemistry term; a gas constant (Ru)

appearing in the equation of state for an ideal gas (PV = nRuT, where P
= pressure, V = volume, T = absolute temperature, and n = number of
moles of the gas); equals to 8.314 kJ/kmol K; the product of
characteristic gas constant and the molar mass (also called molecular
weight) of the gas; see also Characteristic Gas Constant.

Universal Gravitational Constant A Physics term; a proportionality

constant which appears in the Newton’s law of gravitation; equals to the
force of attraction acting between two bodies each of unit mass and
placed at unit distance apart; it was first determined experimentally in
1798 by a British scientist Henry Cavendish (1731–1810) who
discovered hydrogen; its accepted value in SI unit is 6.67 × 10–11
N.m2.kg−2; a scalar quantity whose value remains same throughout the
universe; does not depend on the nature and size of the bodies, as well
as the nature of the intervening medium between the bodies.

Universal Joint A Design term; see Hooke’s Joint.

Universal Testing Machine A Strength of Materials term; a

multipurpose machine capable of performing several different types of
destructive stress tests such as tensile tests, compression tests, direct
shear tests, and flexure tests.

Unlike Fractions A Mathematics term; the fractions having different

denominators; a few examples include , , , etc.; see also Like
Fractions.

Unlike Vectors A Physics term; vectors which are parallel but have
opposite directions; see also Like Vectors.

Unlubricated Friction A Physics term; see Dry Friction.

Unsaturated Air A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry;

the moist air containing water vapour in the superheated state; see also
Saturated Air.

Unstable Equilibrium A Physics term; a type of translational static

equilibrium which ensures a body to get disturbed further after being
slightly displaced and released; for example, a book standing on an
edge; see also Stable Equilibrium and Neutral Equilibrium.
Unsteady Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid flow is said to be
unsteady, when the fluid velocity changes with time at a point in the
flow field; an unsteady flow can be created by varying the discharge in a
closed conduit or in an open channel by manipulating a valve or a lock
gate; tidal bore in a river is another example of unsteady flow that
occurs in nature; see also Steady Flow.

Unsteady-State Condition A Fluid Mechanics and a Thermodynamics

term; a physical condition in which any parameter of a body changes
with time; see also Steady-State Condition.

Unsymmetrical Bending A Strength of Materials term; also called

Asymmetric Bending or Skew Bending; the bending of a beam which
occurs when its cross sections are not symmetric or when the loads do
not act in a plane of symmetry; see also Symmetrical Bending.

Upper Critical Temperature A Materials Engineering term; the

temperature at which the transformation of an alloy from one solid
structure to another begins, as it is cooling; see also Lower Critical
Temperature.

Upset Forging A Manufacturing term; a hot metal working process

used to shape a limited portion of a heated workpiece in the form of
wire, rod, or bar using a closed or open die by pressing only that
portion; typically used to form heads on fasteners such as bolts, screws,
rivets, and nails and to shape valves and couplings.

Upset Welding A Welding term; a type of resistance welding; also

called Resistance Butt Welding; the joint is produced due to upsetting
of metals when two abutting work surfaces are pressed after getting
heated to their plastic states by electrical resistance heating; does not
involve any flashing; see also Flash Welding.

Upward Thrust A Fluid Mechanics term; see Buoyant Force.

Urea Formaldehyde A Chemistry term; a thermosetting polymer

produced by the chemical combination of urea and formaldehyde; has
good bonding quality, mechanical properties, and dielectric properties;
widely used in making instrument dials, electric mixer housings,
cosmetic boxes, and distributor heads.

USM A Nonconventional Machining term; see Ultrasonic Machining.

U-Tube Manometer A Fluid Mechanics term; a device used to

measure the pressure of a fluid (both above and below the atmosphere);
consists of two tubes (usually called limbs) joined at one end to form a
U-shaped tube having a uniform bore diameter which contains a
manometric liquid (mercury or water); the difference between the
levels of the manometric liquid (called liquid column) in the two limbs
of the U-tube is used to measure the pressure.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_22

V
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Vacancy A Materials Engineering term; an unoccupied atom site

which results when an atom or ion is missing from its normal site in a
crystal structure; a type of material defect caused during solidification
at high temperatures or as a consequence of radiation damage.

Vacuum Casting A Manufacturing term related to casting; also called

Vacuum Permanent Mould Casting as it uses vacuum to draw the
molten metal in the mould cavity of a metal mould (die); the use of
vacuum in the process imparts uniform and improved mechanical
properties in the cast parts; particularly suitable for producing castings
of thin-walled complex shapes; an alternative to investment, shell-
mould, and green-sand casting; used to produce gas turbines parts.

Vacuum Permanent Mould Casting A Manufacturing term related

to casting; see Vacuum Casting.

Vacuum Pressure A Physics term; see Vacuum.

Vacuum A Physics term; also called Vacuum Pressure or Negative

Gauge Pressure or Suction Pressure; the pressure below the
atmospheric pressure; see also Gauge Pressure and Absolute
Pressure.
Valence Electron A Chemistry term; the number of electrons in the
valence shell (the outermost orbit) of an atom; for example, sodium
(Na-11) has the electronic configuration 1s22s22p63s1; hence, its
valence shell is its third orbit, and its valence electron is 1 which also
shows its valency.

Valence Shell A Chemistry term; the outermost orbit of an electron in

an atom; for example, sodium (Na-11) has the electronic configuration
of 1s22s22p63s1; hence, its valence shell is its third orbit; see also
Valency.

Valency A Chemistry term; the number of electrons in an atom which

participates in a chemical bonding; see also Valence Shell.

Value Chain An Operations Management term related to a supply

chain; also called Value Network; an improved supply chain; the
activities that do not add value to the supply chain are bypassed or
eliminated in the value chain; the concept of value chain was
introduced by Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School Professor, in
the 1980s.

Value Engineering A Manufacturing term; the process of analysing

the operations of products or services with an objective to improve
them so that the products or services can be delivered at reduced costs.

Value Network An Operations Management term related to a supply

chain; see Value Chain.

Valve A Fluid Mechanics term; a device used to control the flow of

fluid.

Van der Waals Equation A Chemistry term; an equation of state

named after Dutch physicist Johannes Diderik Van der Waals (1837–
1923) who proposed it in 1873; improves the ideal-gas model by
incorporating the intermolecular attraction forces and the volume
occupied by the gas molecules themselves; used to describe the
behaviour of real gases; expressed as:
where

p = pressure of the gas

v = volume occupied by the gas
R = characteristic gas constant
T = absolute temperature of the gas
a, b = constants

The term accounts for the intermolecular forces, and b accounts for
the volume occupied by the gas molecules.

Van der Waals Force A Chemistry term; named after the Dutch
physicist Johannes Diderik Van der Waals (1837–1923); a force of
attraction which exists between all types of molecules, whether polar,
nonpolar or nonpolar mono-atomic molecules such as helium (He), neon
(Ne) or argon (Ar); holds the molecules in position in a molecular
crystal; has the maximum value in solids and decreases on passing from
solid to liquid, and from liquid to gaseous states.

Vanadium A Chemistry term; a chemical element having symbol V

with atomic number 23 and atomic weight 50.942; a silvery grey
nonferrous metal (in its pure form) which is hard and corrosion-
resistant; melts at 1900 °C; an important alloying element added to
steel; has wide industrial applications, chiefly in the manufacture of
alloy steels (in the form of ferro-vanadium alloys); acts as a scavenger for
oxygen and nitrogen, and makes the steel stronger, tougher, shock-
resistant and more ductile, and also raises its tensile strength; steel
containing chromium and vanadium is used in making parts for motor
vehicles; the alloys of vanadium with titanium, copper and aluminium
are used in industry for high-temperature applications.

Vanes A Fluid Mechanics term; the curved blades attached to the

impeller of a centrifugal pump around the shaft in a regular pattern.
Vaporization A Thermodynamics term; see Evaporation.

Vapour Power Cycle A Thermodynamics term related to a power

plant; a thermodynamic cycle which uses vapour or steam as the
working fluid; used in steam power plants; the Rankine cycle is the most
important vapour power cycle; other vapour power cycles include
reheat and regenerative cycles.

Vapour Pressure A Thermodynamics germ; the (partial) pressure

exerted by the vapour or gas of a liquid in its phase equilibrium at a
given temperature; a property of a pure substance; the atmospheric
pressure is the sum of the partial pressure of dry air and the partial
pressure of water vapour; when pressure in a liquid is reduced to less
than the vapour pressure, the liquid suddenly changes its phase to
vapour; increases with temperature due to increased molecular activity.

Vapour A Thermodynamics term; an intermediate phase between

liquid and gas; for example, wet steam.

Vapour-Compression Refrigeration System A Refrigeration term;

the most widely used refrigeration system; works on a closed cycle in
which the refrigerant (in a vapour phase) is compressed by a
compressor, which then flows into a condenser (where heat is removed
to condense it to a liquid) which further flows through an expansion
valve into an evaporator (where the temperature and pressure are low),
and the evaporating refrigerant absorbs heat from the low-temperature
region in the surroundings thus producing cooling effect.

Variable Acceleration A Physics term; occurs if the velocity of a body

changes by unequal amounts in equal intervals of time; see also
Uniform Acceleration.

Variable Characteristics A Statistics term; also called Variable

Measure; a product characteristic which can be measured with
quantification such as weight, length, or volume; see Attribute
Characteristics.
Variable Costs An Operations Management term related to cost
analysis; vary with the volume of output produced; the costs of material
and labour used in a product or service are main variable costs; the
total variable costs are expressed as unit cost of material or labour
multiplied by their total units; see also Fixed Costs.

Variable Measure A Statistics term; see also Variable

Characteristics.

Variable Speed A Physics term; the speed with which an object

covers either equal distances in unequal intervals of time or covers
unequal distances in equal intervals of time, howsoever small these
intervals may be; see also Uniform Speed.

Variable A Mathematics term; a quantity which can take up different

values during mathematical operations; classified into dependent and
independent variables; see also Constant.

Variance A Statistics term; a parameter used as a measure of

deviation from the mean in a sample or distribution; equals to the
square of standard deviation (σ2); has wide statistical applications;
used in program evaluation and review technique (PERT) where it is
given as:

where

a = optimistic time of an activity

b = pessimistic time of an activity.

Varignon’s Theorem A Physics term related to mechanics; proposed

by the French mathematician Pierre Varignon (1654–1722); states that
the moment of a force about any point is equal to the algebraic sum of
the moments of the components of the force about the same point.
Vector Product of Vectors A Physics term; also called Cross Product
of Vectors; the product of the magnitudes of the two vectors and the
sine of the angle between them; a vector quantity which has the
direction perpendicular to the plane containing the two vectors; given
as:

where

A = magnitude of vector A
B = magnitude of vector B
= angle between the two vectors A and B
n = unit vector perpendicular to the plane of vectors A and B

The physical vector quantities like torque, angular momentum, or force

on a moving charge in a magnetic field can be described as the vector
product of two vectors; follows the distributive law, but does not follow
the commutative law of algebra; if either of the two vectors is multiplied
by a scalar, the vector product also gets multiplied by the scalar; the
vector product of two parallel vectors (like or unlike vectors) is a null
vector (as sin 0° = sin 180° = 0); the vector product of a vector by itself
is also a null vector (as sin 0° = 0); the vector product of unit orthogonal
vectors are defined as:

where the cyclic order is important; see also Scalar Product of

Vectors.

Vector Quantity A Physics term; a physical quantity which has both

magnitude and direction; a few examples include displacement, velocity,
acceleration, force, and moment; see also Scalar Quantity.
VED Analysis An Operations Management term related to inventory;
a selective inventory control technique which classifies the inventories
based on the criticality of components into three categories: V (vital)
items, E (essential) items and D (desirable) items; V items are absolutely
required items whose absence will make the system inoperative (e.g.
boilers for power plants and heart for a human body); E items are
required for the efficient running of the system, whose presence will
increase efficiency and its absence will decrease efficiency (e.g. heaters
and warm clothes in winter season); D items are desirable which neither
stop nor reduce the efficiency of a system but their availability
increases efficiency and reduces failure (e.g. boiler accessories for
power plants).

Velocity Head A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Kinetic Head; an

energy parameter which appears in the Bernoulli equation; represents
the elevation needed for a fluid to reach the velocity v from the rest
during a frictionless free fall; expressed as v2/2 g; (v = velocity of the
fluid, and g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s2); see also
Pressure Head and Elevation Head.

Velocity of Light A Physics term; the distance travelled by the light in

vacuum in unit time; equals to 3 × 108 m/s.

Velocity Polygon A Fluid Mechanics term; see Velocity Triangle.

Velocity Potential A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Potential

Function; a scalar function of space and time; the negative partial
derivative of velocity potential with respect to any direction gives the
velocity component of the fluid flow in that direction; denoted by φ;
given as;
 Negative sign associated with φ indicates that φ decreases in the
direction of fluid flow; existence of velocity potential for a flow implies
that it is an irrotational flow; see also Stream Function.

Velocity Ratio A Theory of Machines term related to a gear;

abbreviated as VR; in a weight lifting machine (screw jack), a ratio of
the distance moved by effort to the distance moved by load; in a gearset,
a ratio of the output speed (angular velocity of gear) to the input speed
(angular velocity of pinion); also in a gearset, a ratio of the number of
teeth on the pinion to the number of teeth on the gear; velocity ratio is
the reciprocal of gear ratio; see also Gear Ratio.

Velocity Triangle A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Velocity

Polygon; a triangle whose sides are used to represent the three
velocities used in the analysis of turbomachines (turbines, pumps, etc.);
the three velocities include the blade speed, the absolute fluid velocity,
and the relative velocity, where the fluid velocity is the vector sum of the
relative velocity and the blade velocity.

Velocity A Physics term; a ratio of the displacement of an object to

the corresponding time taken by the object; a vector quantity; the SI
unit is m/s; see also Speed.

Vena Contracta A Fluid Mechanics term; the minimum area of a fluid

flow in a sudden contraction which results when the converging
streamlines begin to expand to fill up the downstream area, where
pressure is minimum.

Vendor Managed Inventory An Operations Management term,

abbreviated as VMI; a system of inventory management in which the
supplier takes the responsibility of managing the inventories (raw
materials, parts, components, etc.) for the manufacturer (buyer) at its
location/premises; see also Co-Managed Inventory.

Vent Rod A Manufacturing term; also called Vent Wire; a sharp-

pointed foundry tool used to produce small holes in the rammed sand of
the mould to allow escape of gases generated during pouring of the
molten metal in the mould so as to prevent the casting defects.
Vent Wire A Manufacturing term; see Vent Rod.

Vent A Manufacturing term related to casting; a large number of

small openings made in the sand mould to carry off air and gases
generated when the molten metal comes into contact with the sand in
the mould cavity and core.

Venturimeter A Fluid Mechanics term; a metering device named after

the Italian physicist Giovanni B. Venturi (1746–1822) who investigated
its principle in 1791; used to measure the flow rate of both
compressible and incompressible fluids, using Bernoulli’s equation;
resembles to a converging–diverging nozzle; the coefficient of discharge
of a venturimeter is close to unity (≈ 0.99).

Vernier Calliper A Metrology term; also called Calliper Gauge; an

end measuring instrument used to measure internal or external
dimensions of an object.

Vertical Centroidal Axis A Strength of Materials term; the axis which

is vertical to the cross section of a body; see also Horizontal
Centroidal Axis.

Vibration A Physics term; the oscillation of high frequency of a body;

for example, the vibration of a string of a musical instrument.

Vibratory Motion A Physics term; see Oscillatory Motion.

Vibrograph A Physics term; a device used to measure amplitude of

vibration in a given direction.

Vickers Test A Strength of Materials term; also called Diamond

Pyramid Hardness Test; a destructive method of hardness testing of a
material which uses a 136° pyramid-shaped diamond indenter to be
pressed against the test specimen by applying a load varying between 1
and 120 kg; uses a number, called Vickers pyramid number (VPN) to
define the hardness, given by
where

P = load applied on the test specimen

D = diagonal of indentation produced.

Victor H. Vroom (1932-) A well-known motivation personality who

proposed ‘expectancy theory of motivation’; a business school professor
at the Yale School of Management who is an authority on the
psychological analysis of behaviour in organizations, particularly on
leadership and decision-making. His most well-known books
include ‘Work and Motivation’, ‘Leadership and Decision
Making’, and ‘The New Leadership’.

Virtual Organization A Management term; see Boundaryless

Organization.

Viscoelastic Fluid A Fluid Mechanics term; a fluid which recovers its

deformed original shape partially on the removal of the applied shear
stress.

Viscoelasticity A Fluid Mechanics term; a time-dependent

deformation process which results from both viscosity and elasticity.

Viscometer A Fluid Mechanics term; a device used to measure the

viscosity of a fluid.

Viscosity A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Fluid Friction or

Perfect Friction or Internal Friction or Viscous Drag; the internal
fluid friction which occurs on account of relative motion between every
two layers of a fluid; an important property of a fluid which causes
resistance to the flow of the fluid; a measure of fluid’s resistance to
shear or angular deformation; the viscosities of all liquids decrease,
while viscosities of all gases increase with rise in temperature.
Viscous Drag A Fluid Mechanics term; see Viscosity.

Visible Light A Physics term; the portion of the electromagnetic

radiation which can be perceived by the human eye; the wavelength of
visible light varies between 400 and 700 nm.

Vitreosil A Chemistry term; a translucent variety of glass obtained by

fritting sand with an electrically heated carbon rod or plate.

Vitreous Silica A Chemistry term; a commercial glass which is nearly

pure SiO2.

VMI An Operations Management term; see Vendor Managed

Inventory.

V-Notch Weir A Fluid Mechanics term; see Triangular Weir.

VOC A Quality Management term; see Voice of the Customer.

Voice of the Customer A Quality Management term, abbreviated as

VOC; a process of capturing customer needs and preferences; quality
function deployment (QFD) is used as a tool for translating voice of the
customer into specific technical requirements.

Volatility A Physics term; a physical property of a substance which

enables it to get easily vaporized; a low melting point metal is more
volatile than a higher melting point metal.

Volt An Electrical term; the force which causes the electrical current
to flow; the SI unit of potential difference, named after an Italian
physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827).

Voltage An Electrical term; a difference in electric potential.

Volume Flexibility An Operations Management term; the ability of a

production system to quickly increase or reduce the volume of products
or services produced; see also Product Flexibility.
Volume Flow Rate A Fluid Mechanics and a Thermodynamics term;
also called Discharge or simply Flow Rate; the volume of a fluid that
flows through a cross section per unit time; denoted by Q; the SI unit is
m3/s.

Volume Modulus of Elasticity A Strength of Materials term; see

Bulk Modulus of Elasticity.

Volume The amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object

or enclosed within a container.

Volumetric Analysis A Chemistry term; the analysis of a mixture of

gases based on the moles (or volumes) of each component; see also
Gravimetric Analysis.

Volumetric Efficiency A Fluid Mechanics term usually used in case of

centrifugal pumps and especially fans; a ratio of the actual discharge to
the ideal discharge, which is the sum of the actual discharge and the
loss of fluid due to leakage in the impeller casing clearances.

Volumetric Strain A Physics and a Strength of Materials term; also

called Dilatation; the strain produced on account of change in volume
of a body by a deforming force; calculated as a ratio of the change in
volume to the original volume of a body.

Volute A Fluid Mechanics term related to a pump; see Shroud.

von Mises Yield Criterion A Strength of Materials term related to

theory of material’s failure; see Maximum Distortion Energy Theory.

Vortex Flow A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Vortex Motion; a

fluid flow in which the streamlines are concentric circles; classified into
free vortex and forced vortex.

Vortex Motion A Fluid Mechanics term; see Vortex Flow.

Vorticity A Fluid Mechanics term; a vector quantity defined as a curl

of the velocity vector (V) of a fluid; used as a measure of rotation of a
fluid particle as it moves in the flow field; equals to twice the angular
velocity of a fluid particle; zero for an irrotational flow; denoted by ζ
(zeta); expressed as:

where

ω = angular velocity of the fluid particle

V = linear velocity of the fluid particle (shown in bold to indicate its
vector nature).

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory A Management term related to

motivation; also called Expectancy Theory of Motivation; a
motivation theory proposed by Victor H. Vroom (1932–) in 1964; states
that a person’s motivation to achieve a goal is dependent on the value
which the person places on achieving the goal and on the expectancy of
attaining it; the theory is more near to the realistic situations.

Vulcanization A Chemistry term; the transformation of a polymer

with a linear structure into one with a network structure by means of
crosslinking; a process in which crude rubber (called latex, obtainable
from a rubber tree) is mixed with small amounts of sulphur and then
heated; imparts good mechanical properties to rubber; addition of filler
materials such as carbon black and zinc oxide to crude rubber before
vulcanization improves its wear resistance.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_23

W
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

W. Edwards Deming (1900–1993) An American quality expert who

is widely known as ‘father of quality control’; introduced the concepts of
‘total quality control’; widely credited for placing Japan in its world
leadership position in the quality of its manufactured products; also
expanded the use of plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle, originally
developed by Walter A. Shewhart (1891–1967); the Deming award for
quality is named after him.

Wafer An Electronics term; a thin slice made from a cylindrical single

crystal of high-purity material, usually silicon.

Wake A Fluid Mechanics term; a region of fluid flow which trails a

body where the effects of the body on the fluid velocity can be felt.

Walter Andrew Shewhart (1891–1967) An American quality

expert who is widely known as ‘father of statistical quality control’; one
of the quality gurus and pioneers of quality management who
developed ‘control charts’ which formed the basis of statistical quality
control; also introduced the term ‘quality assurance’ to improve the
quality through the use of statistical control methods; originally
developed the PDCA (Plan-do-check-act) cycle; wrote a book ‘Economic
Control of Quality of Manufactured Product (1931)’, which contained
most of his thinking on quality.

Warding File A Manufacturing term; one of the types of a file used in

the fitting shop which resembles a flat file, but has a sharply tapered
width towards point and reduced thickness; used in the filing of narrow
slots.

Warm Forging A Manufacturing term; an intermediate stage of

forging lying between cold forging and hot forging in which a workpiece
is heated at a moderate temperature before hammering; see also Cold
Forging and Hot Forging.

Warren Truss A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; a

commonly used standard truss usually consisting of equilateral
triangles.

Wash A Casting term; a type of casting defect which occurs on a

casting’s drag surface near the gate of the mould due to high velocity of
the molten metal.

Water Gas A Chemistry term; an important industrial fuel which is a

mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2), that is, (CO + H2);
produced when steam is passed over red hot coke; see also Producer
Gas.

Water Hammer A Fluid Mechanics term; an undesirable

phenomenon caused by the acoustic waves which propagate and reflect
in a confined liquid, and produces noise similar to hammering on a
pipe; a phenomenon of excess rise in pressure of a liquid (water), when
its flow is suddenly decreased by manipulating a valve; for example,
occurs when a valve is closed abruptly; causes knocking of a pipe
system and results in even failure, if the pipe system is not properly
designed; the hydroelectric plants incorporate safety devices to reduce
the adverse effect of water hammer which may occur due to rapid
change in water flow with load change on the turbine.
Water Jet Machining A Nonconventional Machining term,
abbreviated as WJM; also called Hydrodynamic Machining; a
nonconventional machining process which uses an extremely high
pressure water jet for cutting soft materials like wood, plastic, and
aluminium.

Water Level Indicator A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a

boiler mounting used to indicate the safe level of water to be always
maintained inside the boiler to prevent its damage due to overheating;
a boiler usually consists of two water level indicators.

Water Table A Hydrology term; the top of the saturated groundwater

zone.

Water Tube Boiler A Power Plant term related to a boiler; a type of

boiler in which water flows through a number of inclined straight tubes
surrounded by hot flue gases; important features of a water tube boiler
include fast steam generation, high evaporative capacity, and high
steam pressure range; suitable for large power plants and ships;
examples include Babcock and Wilcox boiler, Stirling boiler, La-Mont
boiler, and Bension boiler; Babcock and Wilcox boiler is the most
commonly used water tube boiler; see also Fire Tube Boiler.

Water Vapour A Thermodynamics term; also called Moisture; the

vapour of water.

Water A Chemistry term; a chemical compound of hydrogen and

oxygen having the molecular formula H2O and molecular weight 18; an
incompressible substance which exists in three phases, namely solid
(ice), liquid (water) and gas (vapour or steam); pure water has the pH
value of 7 (neither acidic nor alkaline); density of water at standard
atmospheric pressure and at 15.5 °C is assumed to be 1000 kg/m3.

Water-Cooled Condenser A Power Plant term; a condenser which

uses water as the condensing medium; see also Air-Cooled Condenser
and Evaporative Condenser.
watt A Physics term; the SI unit of power named after James Watt
(1736–1819), who invented the steam engine; abbreviated as W;
equivalent to joule per second (J/s).

WBD A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry; see Wet Bulb

Depression.

WBT A Thermodynamics term related to psychrometry; see Wet Bulb

Temperature.

Wealth of Nations A book authored by the famous economist Adam

Smith in 1776 which deals with the economic advantages which can be
realized due to the division of labour introduced for the workers.

Wear A process of removal of surface materials from a workpiece as

a result of a mechanical action; classified into abrasive wear, adhesive
wear, and corrosive wear.

Weber Number A Fluid Mechanics term; a dimensionless

(nondimensional) group, named after Moritz Weber (1871–1951), who
worked on problems involving capillary effects and developed the
modern laws of similitude; defined differently for a moving liquid and a
liquid at rest; in case of a moving liquid, it represents a ratio of inertia
force to surface tension force; in case of a liquid at rest, it represents a
ratio of gravitational force to surface tension force; given as:

where

= density of the fluid

V = velocity of fluid flow
L = characteristic length
 = surface tension
g = acceleration due to gravity.

Surface tension is important for flows having We << 1, but is usually

neglected; for two systems to be dynamically similar, their Weber
number should be same; useful in model analysis involving capillary
waves in channels, very low weir head, air entrainment, and motion of
liquid in the form of jets and sprays.

Wedge A Physics term; a means of producing small movements in the

position of a body or a means of applying large forces; a metallic or
wooden piece of triangular or trapezoidal cross section which can be
used for lifting loads or for slight adjustments in the position of an
object, for example, used for tightening fits or keys for shafts.

Weight A Physics term; the gravitational force exerted on a body by

the earth; a concentrated force acting through the centre of gravity of
the body; a vector quantity, which is directed towards the centre of the
earth; denoted by W; quantified as the product of mass (m) of the body
and the acceleration due to gravity (g), that is, mg; the weight of a body
at the centre of the earth is zero, but its mass is not zero and changes
with the change in the value of g; a body at moon has weight equal to
one-sixth of its weight at earth; the SI unit is newton (N); has dimension
[MLT−2].

Weighted Moving Average Method An Operations Management

term related to forecasting; a quantitative method of demand
forecasting; a modified and improved method over moving average
method; based on assigning differential weighting to data where more
weights are assigned to recent data such as the weight W1 is assigned to
the most recent data, W2 to the second most recent, and so on, where
the sum of all the weights is equal to 1; the forecast value F (t) in time t
is given as:
where V1, V2 …Vn represent past demand data; see also Moving
Average Method.

Weightlessness A Physics term; a condition in which the observed

weight of a body becomes zero; occurs when the body is under free fall,
that is, the acceleration due to gravity (g) is zero; every object inside a
satellite orbiting around the earth is in a state of weightlessness, as its
acceleration is equal to the acceleration due to gravity directed towards
the centre of the earth.

Wein’s Displacement Law A Heat Transfer term; see Wien’s Law.

Weir A Fluid Mechanics term; a flow measuring as well as a

controlling device; usually a simple dam (narrow or broad) constructed
across an open channel, where water to be metered is allowed to flow
over its top or crest; the rate of flow is determined by measuring the
depth of upstream flow over the crest of the weir; classified into broad-
crested weir and sharp-crested weir; see also Underflow Gate.

Weld Bead A Welding term; a weld deposit which results from a pass
during a welding operation.

Weld Crack A Welding term; a welding defect; occurs in the form of a

crack in the weld metal.

Weld Joint A Welding term; a union of two or more members

produced by using a welding operation.

Weld Metal A Welding term; the portion of the base metal which has
been melted during welding.

Welder A Welding term; a person who is capable of performing a

welding operation.

Welding Current A Welding term; the current flowing through a

welding circuit during a welding operation.
Welding Procedure A Welding term; the detailed methods and
practices including joint welding procedures involved in the production
of a weldment.

Welding Shop A Manufacturing term; a part of the central workshop

where workpieces are joined together using various welding processes.

Welding Technique A Welding term; the details of a manual,

machine, or semiautomatic welding which a welder or welding
operator follows and uses during a welding operation.

Welding Torch A Welding term; a device used to mix oxygen and

acetylene in the required proportion to carry out the welding operation
in gas welding or torch brazing; see also Cutting Torch.

Welding A Manufacturing term; a manufacturing process used to join

two parts (mostly similar metals) permanently by heating them to
suitable temperature with or without the application of pressure and
with or without using filler metal or flux; produces the strongest
possible joint which equals to the strength of parent metal; classified
into fusion and plastic welding processes.

Weldment A Welding term; an assembly whose component parts are

joined by welding.

Wet Bulb Depression A Thermodynamics term related to

psychrometry, abbreviated as WBD; the difference between the dry bulb
temperature (DBT) and the wet bulb temperature (WBT); used as an
indirect measure of the dryness of the air; for saturated air, WBD is zero,
as both DBT and WBT are equal; see also Dry Bulb Temperature and
Wet Bulb Temperature.

Wet Bulb Temperature A Thermodynamics term related to

psychrometry, abbreviated as WBT; the temperature of the liquid water
in the moist air; see also Dry Bulb Temperature.

Wetness Fraction A Thermodynamics term related to steam; a

second measure of quality of the wet steam; calculated as a ratio of the
mass of water vapour (mf) to the mass of total wet steam (mg + mf)
where mg is the mass of dry steam; expressed as (1 − x), where x is the
dryness fraction of the wet steam; see also Dryness Fraction.

Wetted Area A Fluid Mechanics term; the total surface area of a body
in contact with a fluid; finds use in drag analysis.

Wetted Perimeter A Fluid Mechanics term; the length of a solid

channel cross-section surface in contact with a liquid; used in a fluid
flow through non-circular conduits.

Wetting A Welding term; the bonding or spreading of a liquid filler

metal or flux on a solid base metal.

Whip A Theory of Machines term; an undesirable phenomenon which

occurs in an open belt drive in which the belt vibrates in a direction
normal to the direction of the belt motion; occurs when the centre-to-
centre distance between the driving and driven pulleys exceeds 15 m;
see also Slip.

Whipping A Welding term; a manual welding technique in which an

arc or a gas flame is moved back and forth in the direction of the weld
path (with or without lengthening the arc or gas flame).

Whistle-Blower A Management term; an employee who reports

illegal or wrongful activities of his employer or fellow employees.

Whistle-Blowing A Management term; a process of making known

to outside agencies the unethical company practices; see also Whistle-
Blower.

White Cast Iron A Materials Engineering term; also called Chilled

Cast Iron because of fast cooling rate during its formation; a hard, very
wear resistant, brittle form of cast iron which has a characteristic white
crystalline fracture surface; contains carbon in the combined state as
cementite (Fe3C); finds use where high abrasion resistance is required
such as in hammer mills, crusher jaws, crushing rollers, and wear plates.
White Metal A Materials Engineering term; an alloy of tin (Sn),
antimony (Sb), and copper (Cu) consisting of 82% Sn, 12% Sb and 6%
Cu; used in making table wares.

White Zinc A Chemistry term; also known as Zinc Oxide (ZnO);

finds use in making paints, and is superior to white lead as it does not
blacken.

Whiteware A Materials Engineering term; a commercial wired

ceramic which has a typical white and fine-grained microstructure; a
few examples include tile and pottery.

Wien’s Law A Heat Transfer term; also called the Wein’s

Displacement Law; a radiation heat transfer law developed by a Nobel
laureate German physicist Wilhelm Wien (1864–1928) in 1891; states
that the product of the maximum wavelength of radiation and its
temperature remains constant, that is, λmaxT = constant = 2898 μm K;
the locus of the maxima of the radiation emission curves.

William John MacQuorn Rankine (1820–1872) A Scottish

engineer and a professor of civil engineering at the University of
Glasgow, who made several outstanding contributions in the field of
thermodynamics along with contributing in mechanics, canals, steam
engines, and water supply systems.

Wilson Line A Thermodynamics term related to steam; the locus of

points on the h–s diagram of steam where condensation of steam takes
place regardless of the initial temperature and pressure at the entrance
of a high-velocity nozzle; positioned between the 4 and 5% moisture
curves (often approximated by the 4% moisture line) in the saturation
region on the h–s diagram.

Wind Turbine A Fluid Mechanics term; also called Windmill; a

turbomachine which uses air as a working fluid which extracts energy
from the wind; used to pump water or generate electricity.

Windmill A Fluid Mechanics term; see Wind Turbine.

Window Glass A Chemistry term; see Ordinary Glass.

Winglet A Fluid Mechanics term; a short aerodynamically contoured

wing which is set perpendicular to the wing of an aircraft at the tip;
used to reduce the strength of the trailing vortex system and the
induced drag; also produces a small component of force in the flight
direction, which has the effect of further reducing the overall drag of
the aircraft.

Wink Counter A Work Study term; see Microchronometer.

Wink An Operations Management term related to work study; a unit

of measuring time which equals to 1/2000 of a minute (called one
wink); finds use in the SIMO chart to record the time of elements of
motion, called therbligs.

Wire Gauge A Measurement term; an instrument used to measure

the wire diameter; consists of a thin circular disc having many slots on
its circumference, which are numbered according to the size of the
wire; high gauge number means thin wire and lower gauge number
indicates thick wire.

Wire Rope A Design term; see Cable.

Wire-EDM A Nonconventional Machining term; a variation of

electrical discharge machining (EDM) in which a continuously moving
conductive wire is used as a tool electrode in place of a contour-shaped
tool electrode used in conventional EDM; used to produce very fine and
intricate die openings in hard materials; used for both machining and
cutting.

Withdrawal Kanban An Operations Management term; also called

Conveyance Kanban or C-Kanban; a card physically attached to a
container or cart, which authorizes the movement of goods in a
production system; a distinctive feature of JIT production system; see
also Production Kanban.

WJM A Nonconventional Machining term; see Water Jet Machining.

Wood Charcoal A Chemistry term; an amorphous allotropic form of
carbon obtained by strong heating of wood in a limited supply of air.

Wood A Materials Engineering term; a natural, fibre-reinforced

composite which is soft enough to be given any shape; a non-metallic
material which is lightweight; can be subjected to moderate shock
loading; can absorb moisture and get distorted; a widely used pattern
material for sand casting; finds extensive use in furniture industry in
making various furniture items such as chair, table, bed, etc.

Woodruff Key A Design term related to a key; a type of sunk key in

the form of a segment of a circular disc of uniform thickness; mainly
used on the tapered shafts of machine tools and automobiles.

Work Centre An Operations Management term; see Workstation.

Work Group A Management term; a group which interacts primarily

to share information and to make decisions which will help each other;
see also Work Team.

Work Measurement An Operations Management term related to

work study; a process of estimating the amount of worker time required
to produce one unit of output (say product); useful in the development
of labour standards (standard time involved in a task) required for
planning and controlling operations.

Work Ratio An IC Engine term; a ratio of the net work output to the
positive work output of a heat engine (the net work output is the
difference between positive work output and input work); used as an
index of performance for a heat engine; see also Efficiency Ratio.

Work Sampling A Work Study term; a work measurement method of

taking random qualitative observations of a work to determine the
percentage of its productive and unproductive time; commonly used in
computing allowance time for a worker, in estimating costs of certain
activities and in investigating work methods.
Work Study An Operations Management term; the systematic
investigation of all the factors of human work which affect the
efficiency and economy of a production system in order to improve
them; a tool used to analyze and measure operations and to devise
ways and means of improving productivity; classified into motion study
and time study.

Work Team A Management term; a group which engages in collective

work which requires joint effort, and generates a positive energy; see
also Work Group.

Work A Physics term; a form of energy; the work is said to be done, if

a force acting on a body moves it through a certain distance in the
direction of force; a scalar quantity denoted by W; a scalar product of
the force (F) and displacement (d), given as: W = F.d cosθ, where θ is the
angle between the direction of force and the displacement; if the force
is at right angles to the displacement, the work is zero; can be negative
also; the CGS unit of work is erg which is equivalent to dyne-cm; the SI
unit is joule (J) which is equivalent to N-m; 1 J = 107 erg.

Work-Energy Principle A Physics term; see Work-Energy

Theorem.

Work-Energy Theorem A Physics term; also called Work-Energy

Principle; states that the work done in displacing a body is equal to the
change in kinetic energy of the body.

Worker-Machine Chart A Motion Study term; see Activity Chart.

Workforce A Management term; all non-managerial employees of an

organization.

Working Capital A Financial Management term; see Current Assets.

Working Drawing An Engineering Drawing; see Production

Drawing.
Working Fluid A Thermodynamics term; a fluid used in heat engines
and other cyclic devices to transfer heat through it while undergoing a
cycle; air is often used as an important working fluid in thermodynamic
cycles.

Working Stress A Strength of Materials term; also called Design

Stress or Permissible Stress; a safe limit stress that is obtained by
dividing the ultimate (maximum) stress of a material by the factor of
safety; finds use in the design of engineering components.

Working Stroke A Thermodynamics term related to an IC engine; see

Power Stroke.

Working Substance A Fluid Mechanics and a Thermodynamics term;

a substance usually a fluid, which is capable of undergoing deformation
during its expansion or compression in a fluid system or in a
thermodynamic cycle and takes part in energy transfer; can receive or
reject heat energy or can be the means by which the work is done; air
and steam are the common working substances used in a
thermodynamic system.

Work-in-Process (WIP) An Operations Management term; also

called Work-in-Progress (WIP); components or assemblies needed for
a final product in manufacturing; semi-finished components or parts
over which some operations have already been carried out, but some
more operations are still left to be performed.

Work-in-Progress (WIP) An Operations Management term; see

Work-in-Process (WIP).

Workpiece A Manufacturing term; the part or component on which a

manufacturing operation is carried out.

Workstation An Operations Management term; also called Work

Centre; the place where production activities may be carried out to
transform raw materials into finished products using processing
machines and involving labours.
World-Class Company See World-Class Organization.

World-Class Organization Also called World-Class Company; an

organization or a company which produces each product and service of
such a high standard that would be considered best-in-class by its
customers.

Worm and Worm Gear A Theory of Machines term related to a gear;

also called Worm and Worm Wheel; a special case of a pair of spiral
gears in mesh in which the axes of the driving and the driven shafts are
at right angles to each other; used to transmit rotary motion between
non-parallel and intersecting shafts; the worm is of smaller diameter and
acts as a pinion (driving gear) and is made of a case hardened steel,
whereas the worm gear is of bigger diameter which is attached to a load
wheel and is made of phosphor bronze centrifugally cast rim.

Worm and Worm Wheel A Theory of Machines term related to a

gear; see Worm and Worm Gear.

Worm Gearing A Theory of Machines term related to a gear; a

combination of worm and worm gear; a form of spiral gearing in which
the axes of the driving and the driven shafts are usually at right angles;
a power or motion transmitting device which has high velocity ratio;
suitable for higher load carrying capacity because of line contact of the
gear teeth.

Wright’s Law A Management term; see Learning Curve.

Wrought Iron A Materials Engineering term; the purest form of iron

which contains not more than 0.5% of carbon and other impurities; a
mechanical mixture of very pure iron and a silicate slag distributed
uniformly throughout the metal; its high ductility is used in hot working
operations like forging to give various shapes to many products; its
ultimate strength can be increased considerably by cold working
(process is called strain hardening); has good weldability and is also
corrosion resistant; can never be cast as it becomes pasty on heating
rather than melting, hence all the shapes are given by hammering,
pressing or forging; can resist sudden and excessive shock loads without
undergoing permanent deformation, and this property finds use in
making chains, crane, hooks, and railway couplings; principally used in
the production of pipes and other products to be protected from
rusting as it resists rusting effectively.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_24

X
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

X-Bar Chart A Quality Control term; a control chart for variables

which is used to measure the mean of the process distribution; see also
R-Chart.

X-Radiography A Materials Engineering term; also called

Radiographic Testing or Radiographic Inspection; a nondestructive
testing in which defects are inspected by using the attenuation
(reducing intensity) of X-rays.

XYZ Analysis An Operations Management term related to inventory; a

selective inventory control technique which classifies the inventories
based on its closing value in storage into three categories: X items
having largest closing value (e.g. gold), Y items having moderate closing
value (e.g. renovated houses), and Z items having lowest closing value
(e.g. old electronic gadgets).
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_25

Y
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Yield Point A Strength of Materials term; a stage in a tension test,

when a material loses its resistance to counter the external applied
force; that is, it yields to external force; a material loses elasticity and
becomes a plastic body after the yield point; not well defined in case of
brittle materials; the stress corresponding to this point is called yield
stress, which is a design stress in engineering applications.

Yield Strength A Strength of Materials term; see Yield Stress.

Yield Stress A Strength of Materials term; also called Yield Strength;

a stress which corresponds to the yield point; a material loses its elastic
nature when it attains yield stress; an important design parameter
which defines the maximum stress for ductile materials.

Young’s Modulus of Elasticity A Strength of Materials term; also

called simply Modulus of Elasticity or Young’s Modulus or Elastic
Modulus; a solid material’s property and an elastic constant; a ratio of
the longitudinal stress to the longitudinal strain within elastic limit;
denoted by E (mostly) or Y; has higher values for most of the
engineering materials; the same value in tension or compression; a
measure of the stiffness of a material; the greater the value of E, the
larger is the elasticity of the material; for a perfectly rigid body, the
value of E is infinity; the SI unit is pascal (Pa) which is equivalent to
N/m2; the values of E for some materials are tabulated below:

Materials E(GPa)
Steel 200
Wrought iron 190
Copper 120
Aluminium 70; see also Modulus of Rigidity and Bulk Modulus of Elasticity

Young’s Modulus A Strength of Materials term; see Young’s

Modulus of Elasticity.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024
D. K. Singh, Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1722-8_26

Z
D. K. Singh1
(1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Netaji Subhas University
of Technology, New Delhi, India

D. K. Singh
Email: dksingh@nsut.ac.in

Zero Defects A Quality Management term proposed by the quality

guru Philip B. Crosby (1926–2001); a concept which ensures that
defects are eliminated to a maximum extent, preferably completely; a
programme which tends to change workers’ attitudes about quality by
stressing error-free performance; signifies that a production system
and quality control measures be so designed and coordinated that
defects are totally avoided as far as possible, with no scope to produce
any scrap.

Zero-Emission Vehicle A vehicle which produces no pollutants; an

electric vehicle is a zero-emission vehicle.

Zero Inventory System An Operations Management term; see JIT

Manufacturing.

Zero Vector A Physics term; see Null Vector.

Zero-Force Member A Strength of Materials term related to a truss; a

truss member which does not carry any force; simply used to give
stability to a truss; a truss may contain one or more zero-force members.
Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics A Thermodynamics term,
formulated by Ralph H. Fowler (1889–1944) in 1931; recognized more
than half a century after the formulation of the first and second laws of
thermodynamics; named zeroth law as it should have preceded the first
and second laws of thermodynamics; states that if a body is in thermal
equilibrium with other two bodies separately, then all the three bodies
are in thermal equilibrium with each other; forms the basis of all the
temperature measurements.

Zinc Chromate A Chemistry term; a zinc compound used as a yellow

pigment in making paints.

Zinc Oxide A Chemistry term having the chemical formula ZnO; see
White Zinc.

Zinc A Chemistry term; a metallic element having symbol Zn with

atomic number 30 and atomic weight 65.37; an important nonferrous
metal; its important ores include zinc blende (ZnS), calamine (ZnCO3),
and zincite (ZnO), but zinc is mainly extracted from zinc blende; a low
melting point metal which melts at 421 °C; its mechanical properties
change with temperature due to formation of different allotropic forms;
shows brittle nature at room temperature, becomes malleable and
ductile when heated to about 155 °C, and is again brittle at 220 °C; finds
extensive use in the preparation of alloys, such as Brass, Delta metal,
and German silver; used to coat iron because of its resistance to rusting
and corrosion (process is called Galvanizing); also used in Parke’s
process for the extraction of silver from lead; zinc oxide (white zinc)
finds use in making paints, and zinc chromate is used as a yellow
pigment.