Civil Structures
A type of bridge that uses an arch as the main load bearing structure
Arch bridge
A polymer that, once set, can be reformed under heat
Thermosoftening
Angle that a propeller or rotor blade makes with the air passing over it
Pitch
A clear, flexible ‘pipe’, commonly made in glass, that carries light pulses
Fibre optic
A type of bridge that relies on the bending strength of the superstructure to support the road surface
Beam bridge
Capacity of a body to do work by virtue of its motion
Kinetic energy
Special purpose hinged flap on the rear edge of a wing designed to control sideways balance
Aileron
The number of complete cycles of a signal in a fixed time, usually in one second
Frequency
A type of bridge that relies on the main horizontal support beams balancing over towers
Cantilever
Cold working of materials leading to a stressed internal structure and an increase in the hardness of the material
Work hardening
Increasing the air pressure in an aircraft cabin as altitude increases and the air pressure outside is too low for breathing
Pressurisation
A material that has very high resistance to the flow of electricity
Insulator
A composite of aggregate and an hydraulic cement binder
Concrete
The type of failure caused when a lower than maximum stress is repeated many times
Fatigue failure
A hinged, horizontal surface on an aeroplane, generally located at the tail end of the fuselage and used to control the forward/backward tilt
Elevator
The potential difference between two points in a circuit
Voltage
The joints that lock the members of the truss into position, or holds the truss at the support; it does not allow any side to side movement but may allow some rotation; it may also be referred to as a hinge
Pin joint
Heating and soaking a material above its recrystallisation temperature followed by slow cooling to promote grain growth and reduce stresses
Annealing
A force that tends to cause rotation because the object is fixed in position at one point or because the force is not applied at the centre of gravity
Moment
The process of shifting a baseband signal to another range of frequencies to facilitate transmission efficiency
Modulation