CAVTnRI DGE
I Describingt echnical
funct ionsand
f,
applicat ions
Explaininghowt echnology
works
Emphasising t echnical
advantages
Simplifyingand illust rat ing
t echnicalexplanat ions
T Describingspecific
mat erials
f,
mat erials
Cat egorising
SpeciÍ yingand describing
properties
Discussingqualit yissues
I Describingcomponent
shapesand feat ures
Explainingand assessing
manufact uring
t echniques
Explaining j oint ingand
fixingt echniques
n
Describingposit ionsof
assembledcomponent s
I Workingwit hdrawings
and
Discussingdimensions
f,
precision
Describingdesignphases
and procedures
Resolvingdesignproblems
T Describingt ypesof
t echnicalproblem
Assessingand int erpret ing
fault s
Describingt he causesof
fault s
n
Discussingrepairsand
maint enance
Cont ent s
Wordsstemmingfrom use
allow, enable,permit, ensure,
Listening
GPSapplicat ions
prevent Spaceelevators
Verbst o describemovement Advant ages of a newpump
A guidedt our
Verbsand adj ect ives
t o describe
advantages Reading
Adverbsfor addingemphasis Spaceelevators
Ot is lift t echnology
Phrasesfor simplifying and Pilefoundat ions
rephrasing
Commonmat erials
Cat egoriesof mat erials
Listening
An environment al audit
consist of, comprise, made of, made Specialisedt ools
from,modeout of High-performance wat ches
Propert iesof mat erials Reading
Mat erialsrecycling
Phrasesfor describingrequirement s
Regenerat ive brakes
CompoundsoÍ resistant Kevlar
Adverbsof degree
Shapesand 3D feat ures
Wordst o describemachining
Phrasesfor describingsuit abilit y
Listening
A proj ectbriefing
Elect ricalplugsand socket s
Met al fabricat ion
Verbsand nounst o describej oint s
UHPwat erj etcut t ing
and fixings
Opt ionsfor fixing
of posit ion
Preposit ions Clust erballooning
Reading
Cut t ingoperat ions
Flowwaterjettechnology
Joint sand fixings
Theflyinggardenchair
Viewson t echnicaldrawings
Phrasesrelatedto scole
List ening
A drawingquery
Phrasesrelatedto tolerance Scale
length, width, thickness, etc. A floordesign
Designprocedures
Drawingt ypesand versions
Revisinga det ail
Verbsfor describingst agesof a
Reading
designprocess
Superflatfloors
Verbsand nounsfor describing Oueriesand inst ruct ions
designpr oblems
for describing Listening
Verbsand adj ect ives
t echnicalproblems
Wordsfor describingfault sand
A racingcar t est session
Testsessionproblems
t heir severit y Technicalhelp{ ine
Phrasesfor describingcert aint y/ Tyrepressureproblems
uncert aint y A maint enance check
Adjectiveswith prefixesfor Reading
describingt echnicalproblems Air TransatFlight236
Verbsfor describingrepairsand
maint enance
 t

n
ry
Discussingt echnical Phrasesfor referringt o issues Listening
requirement s Phrasesfor referringt o quant it y Simulat orrequirementand
s effect s
Suggest ingideasand and ext ent Lift ingopt ions
solut ions Phrasesfor suggest ing solut ions Holerequirementands forming
Assessingfeasibilit y and alt ernat ives A projectbriefing
Describingimprovement s ldiomst o describefeasibilit y Reading
and redesigns Verbswit hre...t o describe Mammot hproblem
modificat ions
ldiomst o describeredesigning

n Describinghealt hand
safetyprecautions
Typesof indust rialhazards
Typesof prot ect ive
equipment
Listening
A safetymeeting

ffi
Emphasising t he Phrasesfor emphasising import ance Hazardanalysis
import ance of Termst o describeregulat ions Livelineprecaut ions
precaut ions Safet yt raining
Commonlanguageon safet ynot ices Oral inst ruct ions
Discussingregulat ionsand Languagest ylein writ t en
standards Reading
inst ruct ions Livelinemaint enance
Workingwit hwrit t en
inst ruct ionsand not ices Helicopt ersafet yon oil plat forms

T Describingaut omat ed
systems
Wordst o describeaut omat ed
systems
List ening
I nt elligentbuildingsand aut omat ion

f,
Referringt o measurable
paramet ers
Discussingreadingsand
t rends
Givingapproximat efigures
Wordst o describemeasurable
parameters
Wordst o describefluct uat ions
Wordsand phrasesfor
approximat ing numbers
Monit oringand cont rolsyst ems
Elect ricit ydemandand supply
problems
Pumpedstoragehydroelectricpower
I nt ernalreviews
Reading
I ndust rialprocessmonit oring
Dynamicdemandcont rols

ITE Explainingt est sand

experiment s
Wordsto describetest types
Wordsand phrasesfor st at ing
List ening
Vehicledesignand t est ing

f,
Exchanging viewson assumpt ions Water rockets
predict ionsand Wordsand phrasesfor agreeingand Air drop problems
t heories disagreeing Moon landings
Comparingresult swit h Phrasesfor comparingexpect at ions Reading
expect at ions and result s A rocketcompet it ion
Discussingcausesand Wordsfor linkingcausesand effect s Chickencannon
effects

ET Discussingperformance
and suit abilit y
Describingphysicalforces
Discussingrelat ive
performance
Describingcapabilit ies
and
Adj ect ives
for describingsuit abilit y
and performance
Wordsto describetypesof forces
Listening
Windt urbinet owers
Tallst ruct ures
foctof criteria, criterion, TCVworld speed record
consideration Thest oryof John Paul St app
Wordsand phrasest o describe Reading

n
limit at ions degreesof difference Windt urbinesfact file
Wordst o describecapabilit ies and Solar towers
limit s Transportalt ernat ives
The Sonrc Wind tests
The rocketsled proposal

Cont ent s
 ,* ly ?"'

I Describingt echnicalf unct ions I

I
andapplicat í ons
1 a ln pairs, think about two or three productsyou use
regularlyand discussthe followingquestions.
\r
o What ar e t he main f unct ionsof t he pr oduct s?( What do t hey do?)
o What are t heir different applicat ions? (What are t hey used for?)

What do you know about Global Posit ioning Syst em (GPS) devices? ln
pairs, describe t heir main funct ion, and give some examples of different
applicat ions of GPS devices.

2a )1.1 Paula, a design engineer for a CPS manufact urer, is discussing product
development wit h José , a senior manager new t o t he company. List en t o
t he conversat ion and complet e t he following not es.
o t he primaryapplicat ion
of GPS (l)
associat edapplicat ions Trackingsystemsfor (2)
Trackingsystemsfor (3)
more creat ive feat ures (4) alar ms
(s) but t ons
o not t echnicalinnovat ions (6) t he t echnology

Complet e t he following ext ract s from t he discussion wit h words t hat come from use.
1 Then Aou've got associated applications, - thot are reloted to
navigat ing...
2 ... traclsing sAstems Aou can for monitoring deliverg vehicles ...
3 . .. from the end-- point of view, accuracg is no longer the main selling
point. Most devices are accurate enough. The keg is to make them more

in use
Unit 1 Technot ogy
 I

3a Mat ch t he GPS applicat ions ( 1- 6) t o t he descr ipt ions ( a- f l.

1 t opographicalsurveying- a naügat ion and safet 1rat sea

2 geot ogical.
explorat ion \
3 ciüt engineering
4 avionicsequipment
5 marit imeapplicat ions
6 GPs in carsand t rucks
b set t ingout posit ionsand levet sof new st ruct ures
\ c mappingsurhce feat ures
d appt icat ionsin miningand t he oil indust ry
e highwaynavigat ionand vehict et racking
f air t rafficcont rol,naügat ion and aut opilot syst ems

ln pair s, pr act ise explaining t he applicat ions of GPS in Exer cise 3a t o a

colleague who has limit ed knowledge of t he devices using t he f ollowing
phrases.
usedfor -ing usedt o usefulfor anot her/ a similar use

4a Complet e t he following ext ract s from t he conversat ion by underlining t he

correct words.
1 ... there's a setting on the CPS that allows/ prevents it to detect the
movement . . .
2 ... an alarm sounds to warn gou, and allows/ prevents the boat from drifting
unnot iced.
3 ... and enables/ ensures that gou don't lose track of where gou were, which
then enables/ ensures uou to turn round and come back to the same
poi nt . . .

Mat ch t he words in Exercise 4a t o t he synonyms.

: makessure 2- I : permit s 3 = SI oPS

Complet e t he following ext ract from t he user's manual of a GPS device

using t he ver bs in Exer cise 4a. Somet imes, mor e t han one answer is
possible.

The core funct ion of your GPS receiver is t o (1) you t o locat e your precise
geographical posit ion. To (2) - t he device t o funct ion, it receives at least t hree
signals simult aneously from t he GPS const ellat ion - 30 dedicat ed sat ellit es which
(3) - receivers can function anywhere on earth. To (a) - extremely precise
posit ioning and (5) errors from occurring due t o ext ernal fact ors, t his device is
designed t o receive four separat e signals (see enhanced syst em accuracy on page 18).

I n pair s, explain t he main f unct ions and applicat ions of a pr oduct made
by your company or a pr oduct you know about . St udent A, you ar e
an engineer ing manager ; St udent B, you ar e a new employee. Use t he
language f r om t his sect ion and t he phr ases in t he box. Swap r oles and
pr act ise again.

I see.5o . . . 0K. I n ot herwor ds. . . So vou mean. . .

Unit 1 Technology
in use
I Expt aininghowt echnologyworks
6a ln pairs, look at t he pict ure and discuss t he following quest ions.
o How do you t hink a space elevat orwould wor k?
. What could it be used f or ?
. What t echnicalchallengeswould it f ace?
o How ser iouslydo you t hink t he concept of space elevat or sis
being t aken at pr esent ?

b Read t he following art icle and compare it t o your answers in

Exercise 6a.

lN his 1979novel,I he Fount ainsof Paradise,Art hurC
Clarkewrot eabout an elevat orconnect ing t he eart h's
surfacet o space. Threedecades lat er,t hisscience-
fict ionconcept is preparingt o t ake ot f in t he realworld.
NASA has launchedt he Space Elevat orChallenge,a
compet it ionwit ha generousprizefund,and severalt eams
and companiesare workingon seriousresearchproj ect s
aimedat winningit .
As it s name suggest s,a space elevat oris designedt o
component sÍ orspace
Í aiset hingsint ospace' Sat e| | it es,
ships, supp| iesÍ orast ronaut st n space st at ions,and
even ast ronaut st hemselvesare examplesof payloads
t hat cou| dbe t Í ansport edj nt oorbitwit houtt he need
Í orexpI osiveand environment aI unÍ ly riend|rocket
y s.
However,t he alt it udeof orbit alspace - a colossal35,790
km above t he eart h- is a measureof t he challengefacing
engineers.How could such a heightbe reached?
The answeris by using an incrediblyst rongand
light weightcable, st rongenought o support it sown
weightand a heavy| oad'The design oÍ such a cab| eis
st illlargelyt heoret ical.
Thiswould be at t ached t o a base
st at ionon eart hat one end and a sat ellit ein geost at ionary
orbit ( lixedabove a point on t he equat or)at t he ot her.Lift
vehicleswouldt hen ascend and descend t he cable,
powered by e| ect romagnet ic Í orceand cont rol| ed
remot elv.

C Mat ch t he ver bs ( l - 9) f r om t he t ext in Exercise 6b t o t he definit ions ( a-i) .

1 connect ing a carried (objects, over a distance)
2 raise b hot dsomet hingfirmt y/ bear it s weight
3 transpoÉ ed c climb down
4 support d providedwith energy/ moved by a force
5 attached e j oining
6 ascend f driven / have movementdirected
7 descend g fixed
8 powered h ct imbup
9 controlled i tift / makesomething go up

7a James, an engineer , Space Elevgfors

is giving a t alk on
qble is signií cont .
space elevat ors. o To (2) - its own weighf, ond be securely (3) _________ o.!
Complet e his not es
each end, cable would need phenomenal st renqt h_t o_weight rat io.
using t he correct _
. How could vehicles be ( 4) _ int o
form of t he verbs cable?
( l- 7) in Exer cise . Self-cont aine4 slt ergv source problemot ic, due t o
weight ( heavy fuel ol
6c. _ bat feries required
cu t o ( 5)
u \ )/ _ ^ ) L^
vehic
l \ I
Ven l cl e. ) .
r r \

c Two possible ways round problem:

_* : yt .l"r: ,r,ry -,r"l. ut fechnique only ot research st age.

z, ' o l a rp o w e r . Bu tw o u l d ot uf f io* t y.
""ty No t
y: t t : : ! ! : fblem, as cor could bu ,ort rollJ
Yllg_!. ,t:
,u,rot nly-t b-kq ft f"
.! _-
(t-1\
// _ payloads unmonned.

Unit 1 Technology
in use
 I

b ) t .Z t ist en t o par t of James't alk and check your answer s in Exer cise 7a.

c What kinds of wor d ar e missing f r om t he not es? ln pair s, compar e t he

audioscr ipt on page 86 wit h t he not es in Exer cise 7a.

8a Some space elevat or designs pr opose an of f shor e base st at ion. I n pair s,

discuss how such a syst em might wor k using wor ds in Exer cise 6c. What
advant ages might an offshore base have compared wit h a land base?

) t .3 James goes on t o discuss of f shor e base st at ions. List en t o t he t alk and

answer t he f ollowing quest ions.
] How wou| dan oÍ f shor ebase st at ion be suooor t ed?
2 What would t he f unct ionof it s anchor sbe?
3 How would payloadsr each t he base st at ion?
4 What pr obl emw oul da mobi l ebase st at i onhel p t o pr event ?
5 What would t he pr ocedur ebe if t her e was an aler t ?

9a You ar e member s of a space elevat or r esear ch t eam designing a concept

f or of f shor e base st at ions. ln pair s, analyse t he not es below, which wer e
made dur ing a br ief ing given by your manager . lmagine you ar e giving a
pr esent at ion. Begin by r eading out t he abbr eviat ed not es in f ull.

* \ . . \ \ \ L\ \ L\ r L r r r r r r I I r r . r = l - L- t
....... Ú f 3 o 3l3 e 0 Ü 0 0 o t t o | | J
- AN'HoR| NGa?w?uL6l0N l56uÚ6
oFF6HoR'É AsE6TA.t1oN
Anchoring
ayatom
ulindloadson Lablevrillbehuge.ulhatimplicaiions
for anchoring
slstom?
É aseWilln?,od
lo bgmovodcontinuall1, sometimesurgentl1.
vrlhat
tomp
system couldbeussdto holdbassin position?
9a* in shallowwatgrnearcoasi,or deepwalerfurtheroffshorg?
óhoicewill
haveimpacton dosignoÍ anchors1stem.
?ropulsionststem
\ ^ lillWeight
oÍ cab\ allow
e baseto bs movedb1ownProPollors? Or more
powerful 5.í 5t9m
for propulaion
andcontro|noc.?o.g.ertern'powersource?

! n pair s, discuss t he quest ions r aised in t he not es and t hink of some suit able
solut ions f or t he anchor ing syst em and t he pr opulsion syst em. At t his st age,
t hese should be over all concept s, not det ailed designs. Remember t o make
not es.

ln small gr oups, t ake t ur ns t o give a shor t t alk using your not es t o explain
how t he syst ems wor k, in gener al t er ms. lmagine you ar e speaking t o a small
gr oup of colleagues, including your manager .

wr it e t wo or t hr ee par agr aphs t o summar ise your t alk. These will be included
in your manager's longer report on offshore base st at ions.

Unit 1 Technologyin use

I t echnicaladvant ages
Emphasising
10 ln pairs, discuss t he t erm t echnical advant age'

77a
Give some examples of t echnology you are
f amiliar wit h.

Read t he first ParagraPh of some

OTI Sf,,ioJl
promot ional lit erat ure from Ot is, a leading
elevat or company. What is t he Gen2" syst em?

b tvtatctrthe words (l -6) from the text in At t heheartof t heGen2ruelevat orsyst em

Exercisel l a to the sYnonYms(a-0' is a Í | atbe| (t deveI oped byandunique to
lt is
Ot is) . lust 3mm t hick.Yet it is st r onger
1 convent ional
- a decreases
t hanconvent ional st eelcables.lt last sup
2 eliminat es b better / the best
\ t o t hr eet imeslongerAnd . it hasenabled
3 superior \ c improved t heelevat or The
'
Ot ist o complet ely r e- invent
4 energy-efficient \ d standard,usual eliminat es
f lat ,coat ed- st eelbeltt ot ally
5 enhanced e gets rid of
t hemet al{ o- metefalf ectof convent ional
6 reduces f has low energYconsumPt ion Coupled wit ha smoot h- sur f ace
syst ems.
cr owned machine sheave, t her esultis
Completethe followingtext usingthe correct except ionally quietoper at ion andsuper ior
form of the words (1-6) in ExerciseI I b' You r idecomf or Fur t . t her mor e,Í | exib|Í e
t he lat
will need to use some words more than once' beltenables a mor ecompactener , gy-
eÍ f icient machine, whichcanbecont ained
int hehoist waY. This
enhancedt echnologY
r educesbuilding and
syst em operat cost
ing s,
andf r eesupvaluable
space.

nar ,,0;;;;;;m
::p;ff:Y berts,
pu,.r'
inth.";ffi;,T# .
ilHlillililiuing
tliiltiügl;;:ö
H,
Hli.űJ
m#
.d;É
.uto
* ti,u
,x[J,üi Jff
jnl'iff{ ljil'
rrvt.-t.,
mat nt enance
tffi ,.?ffil il ;1,.'n
ffi ;;:í?jJ;:ll'''
per sonnel

;* ;-ff ilT ':fi

f or

sYstem
that1a)- -
ih. * .d fr_
;.
;:T* il i.# ;lnom
lTili,',liT;,:,,':lT ica
r

belt syst em. Discuss

d I n pairs, summarise t he advant ages of t he flat
aut omat ion'
durabilit y, wear, noise, space' cleanliness' efficiency'
maint enance and cost .
10 in use
Unit 1 TechnologY
 I

72a Complet e t he following t ips on emphasising t echnical advant ages using t he

words in t he box.

conventionatetiminated enhanced reduced superior

When descr ibingt echnicaladvant ages,it 's usef ult o emphasise...

a ( l ) - p e r f o r m a n c e , c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e o | d e r m o d e | o f t h e sa m e
pr oduct .
b n e g a t i v e i ssu e st h a t h a v e b e e n ( 2 ) - , o r c o m p | e t e | y
( 3) _.
c special feat ures t hat different iat et he t echnology from (4)
sysrems.
d p er f o r m an ce| ev e| st h at m ak et h et ech n o | o g y ( 5 ) - t o t h e
comDet it ion.

)t .l St efan, an engineer, is briefing some sales colleagues on t he advant ages

of a new pump design. List en t o t he briefing and mat ch t he t ips (a-d) in
Exercise I 2a t o t he ext ract s (l -4).
Extract I - Extract2 - Extract3 - Extract4

Complet e t he following sent ences from t he briefing by underllning t he correct

emphasising wor d.
1 We've come up with a completelg/significantlg unique profile.
2 lt completelg/dramaticallg reduces vibration.
3 Machines lilse these can never be entirelg/ highlg free from vibration.
4 The new design runs dramaticallg/extremelA smoothlA.
5 Another advantage of the new profile is thot it's consideroblg/entirelg lighter.
6 So compared with our previous range, it's highlg/totallg efficient.
7 Trials so far suggest the design is completelg/exceptionallg durable.
8 We expect it to be entirelg/significantlg more reliable than rival units.

Mat ch t he words in Exercise 12c t o t he synonyms.

considenbly dnmatically entirely exceptionattyhighty totatty

I -l- : com pl et el y
2 -l- : si gni f i cant l y
3 -l-: ext r emel y

13 You are Ot is engineers back in t he l85Os, when elevat ors were new.
ln pairs, prepare a short t alk t o brief your sales colleagues on t he
advant ages of elevat ors for lift ing people and goods. Emphasise t he
point s below using t he phrases and t echniques from t his sect ion.
Remember t hat people at t his t ime are scept ical about t he t echnology.
Elevat or sar e ...
o saf e - a r eliablebr aking syst emeliminat est he danger of a car f alling
if a cable f ails
o simple - t hey'r econt r olledf r om t he car and ar e ver y easy t o oper at e
o convenient- t hey'r eeasier on t he legs t han t he convent ional
alt ernat ive (st airs)
o valuable- t hey enhancet he value of land by allowingt aller buildings
on smaller ar eas

Unit 1 Technologyin use 11

I andil[ ust rat ing
Simplif yí ng t echnical
explanat ions
t4 a )r.l Richard,a structural engineer,often takes clientson guided tours
of their new buildingsduring construction.He is talking about explaining
technicalconceptsto non-specialists.Listen and answerthe following
questions.
t echnicalconcept s?
I WhatdoesRichardsay aboutexplaining
2 Whatdoeshe meanby dul/explanat ions?
3 What is beingpatronising?

b ln pairs, think of some tips on how to solve the followingprobtems.

I not being underst ood 2 beingpat ronising
3 explainingdif f icultconcept s 4 sounding
dull

C )r.o Richard is giving some adviceabout the problemsin Exercisel4b.

Listen and summarisehis ideas. Comparehis tips with your suggestions.

15 d Richardhas made notes for a

guided tour of a site. The proj ect
is a skyscraperin the early
stagesof construction.During
the tour he explainsthe technical
terms to the non-specialistgroup.
ln pairs, discussthe following
terms and try to interpret them
using everydaylanguageto
rephraset hem.

SUBSTRUCTURE
Pi/e foundations (in generaD
Bored in situ concrete pi/es
Pre-cast driven concrete pi/es
Pi/e driver
7/e auger
Bentonite

)t.l Rictrarais givinga tour of a constructionsite. Listen and make notes

of his explanationsof the followingtechnicalterms. Compareyour ideas
with his.
I the substructure the.e* rt.-of.th.e.5tvract$re.5 pre-castpiles
be! p. w . 9! , . q! ^ 14. . . . . . . . . . 6 . . .ivein ( apile)
. . . .t.o. .dr
2 a pile f oundat ion 7 a piledriver
3 t o bore (a pile) 8 a pileauger
4 in sit u concr et e 9 bent onit e

t2 Unit 1 Technologyin use

 I

List en again and compare Richard's explanat ions wit h t he t ips in Exercise
l4c. Which t echniques did he use? Were t hey successful?

Complet e t he following t able using t he words in t he box.

basicatty(x2) ca[ [ effectivety essentially imagine other
picture refer sinrpk simply

Function Words/ Phrases

1 Simpt i[ ring
t he language 1n sinple t erms/ put / in -words f -
2 Simpt ifoingt heconcept / - / -
3 Focusing on t echnicalt erms whatwe / whatwe- t o as
4 lltustratingwithimages if you- / if you

ln pair s, pr act ise explaining t he t echnical t er ms in Exer cise l5a using t he

simplif ied wor ds and phr ases in Exer cise l5d.

t6 Read t he t ext book descript ion of t wo t ypes of pile foundat ion. Use t he words
and phrases in Exercise l5d and t he following not es t o rephrase it .

From a structural perspective, pile foundations can be divided into

two categories: end-bearing piles and friction piles.
lmargirnewartev
End-bearing piles are driven or bored through soft ground in order at\ á the sea| beL
to attain firm substrata below. The pile then transmits load vertically
Like statrráitg o\ to firm subsoil or bedrock. The soft ground surrounding the sides of
stilts i\ warfev
the pile is structurally redundant.
Friction piles counteract downward loads from the structure
Like ar h4il i\
through frictional resistance between the sides of the pile and the
woo)t
surrounding ground, and do not therefore rely on firm substrata. I n
luaargile ar leg some cases, the diameter of the concrete at the pile's base is widened
a,| \ ), é \ Poo| by compaction, allowing the increased area to give the friction pile a
certain degree of end-bearing resistance.

17 You are showing a non-specialist visit or around your company and explaining
t echnical concept s using simplified language. I n pairs, pract ise explaining a
product or t ype of t echnology t hat you are familiar wit h.

Unit 1 Technology
in use 13
I
n
a
a
UNIT 2
Describingspecific materiats
Categorisingmaterials
o Specifoingand describing
properties
Discussingquatityrissues

- Describingspecif icmat eriat s

ln pair s, discuss t he benef it s and pr oblems of
r ecycling. Use t he f ollowing examples and your own ideas.

breaking
up ships demol.ishing
buit dingsrecycling
elect ronicsscrapping
cars

2a Read t he f ollowing web page and complet e t he missing headings using t he

wor ds in t he box.

Aluminium Copper Gt ass Plast ic Rubber 5t ecl Timber

1í í cEYcLABLE Li!ÁÍ ERl ALs

t Sfeel Scrap can be sort edeasilyusingmagnet ism.lf t he met alis galvanised( coat ed
wit hzinc)t he zinc is Í u| |recyc|
y ab| e'| Íit is st ain| essst ee| ,ot hermet a| smixedwit ht he iron,
such as chromiumand nickel,can also be recoveredand recycled. rE
2 - Soding is crit ical,as t hereare key differencesbet weent he clearand coloured
mat erialused in bot t lesand Jars,and t he high-grademat erialused in engineering
applicat ions,which cont ainst racesof met als. y
3 - Scarcit ymakes recyc| ingespecia| lydesirab| e,and j ust iÍ ies
t he cost of removinginsulat ion
Í rome| ect ricwires,which are a maj orsourceof scrap. Pure met a|can also be
recoveredfrom alloysderivedfrom it , not ablybrass ( whichalso cont ainsquant it iesof zinc,
and oft enlead)and bronze( whichcont ainst in) . t-
4 - The cost of melt ingdown exist ingmet alis significant ly
cheapert han t he
processof elect rolysis,
energy-int ensive which is requiredt o ext ractnew met alfrom ore. rE
5 - Hardwoodand soft woodcan be reused,However,t he frequentneed t o
removeironmongeryand saw or planeoff damagededges, can maket he processcost ly. y
6 - Tyresare t he primarysourceoÍ recyc| ab| mat
e eria|These
. can be reusedwho| e
in cert ainapplicat ions.They can also be groundint ocrumbswhich havevarieduses. y
7 - An obst aclet o recyclingis t he need t o son wast ecarefully.
Whilesome t ypes
can be melt eddown for reuse,manycannot ,or resultin low-grademat erial. y
a)

74 Unit 2 Mat er iat st echnology

T
 I

Mat ch t he mat erials from t he web page (l-8) in Exercise 2 t o t he

definit ions (a-h).
1 stainlesssteet.,''a a metalusedto makebrass,andin galvanisedcoatingson steel
2 zinc I b the predominant metalin steel
3 iron \c a \ rpe of steelnot needinga protectivecoating,asit doesn'trust
4 bronze d a dense,poisonous metal
5 lead e rocksfromwhichmetalscanbe extracted
6 hardwood f an a[ [ oymadefromcopperandtin
7 ore g timberfrompinetrees
8 softwood h timberfromdeciduous trees

Compfet e t he following sent ences using from, wit h or of .

I Br onze cont ainssignif icantamount s o{ copper .
2 Calvanisedst eel is st eel coat ed- zinc.
3 St eel is an alloy der ived- ir on.
4 Pur e met alscan usuallybe r ecover ed- alloys.
5 To pr oducest ainlessst eel, ir on is mixed ot her met als.
6 St ainlessst eel cont ainsquant it ies chr omiumand nickel.
7 Glass t ablewar econt ainst r aces- met als,such as lead.
8 When new met al is ext r act ed or e, t he cost s can be high.

ln pairs, ask and answer quest ions about different mat erials using t he
following phrases.

3 a lrina, an ecological adviser, is

t alking t o a group of engineers
on a t r aining cour se about
environment ally friendly design.
ln pairs, discuss t he ideas
from her slide and give some
examples.

)z.t List en t o an ext ract from t he t alk and compare your

ideas wit h what lrina says. What example does she use t o
illust r at e her main point ?

)z.z lrina asks t he engineers t o do a simplified

environment al audit . Their t ask is t o compare st eel and
aluminium car bodywork from an ecological perspect ive.
List en t o Sophia and Pet e, t wo of t he engineers, discussing
t he t opic and make not es of t heir ideas.

ln pairs, do an environment al audit for t he following

applicat ions and mat erials. Use t he words and phrases in
t he box.
Applicat ion Mat erials
I elect ricalwiresin vehicles copperandaluminium
2 ext ernalwallsin houses bricksand softwood
as far as I know ... I t hink so / I 'd say so I 'm ( not ) sure
t hat s an import antconsiderat ion t hat needst o be researched
coat ed derived mixed recovered recycled
- Cat egorisingmat erials
What do you know about braking syst ems? I n pairs, discuss t he following
quest ions.
I Cener allyspeaking,what do br akes do and how do t hey wor k?
2 What kinds of mat er ialar e used in br ake pads and br ake discs in dif f er ent
vehicles?

5a Read t he art icle on braking syst ems. I n t he t it le of t he art icle, what do t he

colours green and red refer t o?

b I n pairs, answer t he following quest ions.

I Why do most br aking syst emswast e ener gy?
2 What ar e r egener at ivebr aking syst ems,and how do t hey save ener gy?
3 What char act er ist icsar e r equir edof mat er ialsused f or t he br akeson r acingcar s?
4 What is meant by heat soak, and why is it a pr oblem in r acingcar s?

GREEN BrÜAKEs
- A RED HOT TOPI C I N MOTOR RACI NG
As mot or racing goes green, mat erials, and discs made of
Formula I is aiming t o lead feÜous met al. The result ing
aut omot ive research in finding frict ion generat es heat , which
hi-t ech efficiency gains. One is wast ed. I n performance cars,
of t he keys t o t his ecological t his phenomenon is t aken
drive is regenerat ive braking t o ext remes, and due t o t he
(also known as kinet ic energy high t emperat uresgenerat ed, The pot ent ial for recovering
recovery), which recovers brake discs are oft en made out energy also ext ends t o t he
energy generat ed during of ceramics. heat generat ed by engines
deceí erat ion.and st ores it as a
The carbon discsand pads used and exhaust syst ems. This
sourceof power for subsequent
on Formula I cars generat e area has also been discussed
accelerat ion.
so much heat t hat t hey glow as a oossible area for fut ure
Regenerat ive brakes limit red hot . High t emperat ures exploit at ion in mot or racing.
t he energy loss inherent in are, in fact , necessary for t he Heat recovery might offer t he
t radit ional braking syst ems. I n effect ive operat ion of carbon added benefit of reducing
most vehicles. convent ional brakes. But t here3 st ill plent y heat soak í t herma|absorpt ion
brakes comprise pads of pot ent ial for recovering t he by t he chassisf as delicat e
previouslymade from asbest os- kinet ic energy, rat her t han alloy part s and sensit ivenon-
based composit es, but now mere| y dissí pat ing it í n t he met allic mat erials, such as
consist ing of compounds* form of heat . polymers, are suscept ible t o
of exot ic. non-hazardous heat damage.

C Mat ch t he mat er iat s f r om t he t ext ( l- 7) t o t he descr ipt ions ( a- g) .

1 compounds1 a mat erialst hat are not met al

2 exotic \ U iron and steel
\
3 ferrous \ g combinat ionsof mat erials
4 ceramics d mixture of metals
5 al.Loy e plastic materials
6 non-met allic f mineralstransformedby heat
7 polymers g rareor complex

16 Unit 2 Mat er ialst echnology

I
 I

ln pairs, t ake t urns t o describe an obj ect using t he words from Exercise 5c
and t he phrases in t he box. Ask your part ner t o guess what it is.

comprise consist of madefrom madeof madeout of

6 a You are going to give a talk on compositestechnologyat a construction

materialstrade fair. I n part of the talk, you focuson reinforcedconcrete
as a well-knownexampleof a compositematerial. Prepare your talk using
wordsand phrasesfrom this section and the followingnotes.

hmpositematerials
(ammonetample:reinforcedconcrete(verywidelyusedcomposite)
Lement(derived
fron lime)
-
ftgregate f:i:r:fgrrg"te(und) + clarseaggregate
(qravelor crushed

Water + chemical additives (e.9.plasticiser to improve w1rk^ bility)

kinforcement (steel barq fixed together withsteel tie wirQ

b ln small groups, t ake t urns t o give your t alk.

c Margit , a sales engineer, is describing a

high-volt age cable. Before you list en, label
t he cross-sect ion wit h t he part s (a-e).
a insulat ion
b wat eroroof membrane
c out erj acket
d armouredprot ect ion 2
e conduct or

)z3 tisten to the descriptionand

checkyour answersin Exercise6c.

Match the parts of the cable (a-e) in

Exercise6c to the followingcategoriesof
materials(l -5). You will need to use some parts more than once.
I non- met allic at 4 non- f er r ousmet al
2 met allic 5 polymer - based
3 ferrous met al -

I magineyou are presentinga product or applianceyou know well to a

potential client. Describethe categoriesof material used to make the
different parts.

Unit 2 Mat eriat st echnology t7

I Specif yingand describingpropert ies
8a I n pair s, discuss what you know about t he pr oper t ies of Kevlar @and how it
i s used.

b Read t he following ext ract from DuPont '"'s t echnical guide t o Kevlar@.
Compar e t he inf or mat ion wit h your ideas f r om Exer cise 8a.

\ ^ / HATI SKEVLAR,@?
KEVLAB@is an orgarricf iber
Dt rPont Í l'1
in t he arornaiicpolyanride The
f anri{ y.
lunique pr oper t ies
and dist inctchemical
ot KEVLÁRe dist ingt r isn
Co| - 1pos| Llon
t llan
it Í romot hercot -,rt llercia] ' nlade
Í iber s'

KEVLAR@has a uniqueconrbinat ion

of l' r r gh
nr oduius, t oughness,abr asion
r esr st ance st abilt y.lt r , vas
ar ' crI lr er nr al
developedf or der-nanciing indust rial
ar ldadvanced- t echnology applr cat ions.
Current ly. rrany t ypesof KEVLAR@are
pr ocluced t o r r r eeTa or oadr ir ngeof end
usest hat r equir est r ong,lt ght w er ght .
clt ir able r r at er ials.
Copyr ightDuPontde Nemour s

DuPont and
" Kevt arar t r ademaror
@er egist er ed kst r ademarof s or it s af f it iat es
ksE.I .duPontdeNemourCompany

Find wor ds in t he t ext in Exer cise 8b t o mat ch t he f ollowing def init ions.
1 f or aghness : t he opposit eof f r agilit y
2 - : r esist ancet o damage caused by f r ict ion
3 - : r e S| St a n c e t o p r o b l e m sc a u se d b y t e m p e r a t u r e c h a n g e
4 -: l o n g - l ast i n g
5 - : t he opposit eof heavy

9a Mat ch t he aut omot ive par t s ( l - 5) t o t he descr ipt ions ( a- e) .

t drivebelts a sheetsinsertedbetweenpartsto preventgasor fluid leakage

2 brakepads b pneumat envelopes
ic in cont actwit ht he roadsurface
3 t yres c flexiblebandsusedin t ransmission syst ems
4 sealinggasket s d prot ect ive capableof resist ing
barriers gunshot s
armour
5 but let -resist ant e padspressed againstdiscst o inducedecet erat ion

Read t he inf or mat ion f r om DuPont 'uon t he f ollowing page explaining some
of t he aut omot ive applicat ions of Kevlar @.Complet e t he t ext using t he
aut omot ive part s in Exercise 9a.

18 Unit 2 Mat er iat st echnology

 I

( 1)-
Car and t r r - r ck haver ncor por at ed allolvt her nt o last loi'r gand st op t he r r elr icle
Kevlar @int ot heirconst r uct ion
becauseit of f er s y qr t iet ly.
saÍ e| and
J<ur frrnco r l _v r p
n ru lr t lavi r( u r r oa . o
ehu rl o
r cr
o lnu' l O r U l HOl ' g ) l ) i Ol ! 8, Kev| ar @ pr ovidesan eÍ Í ect lr1ight
le' weight
Th e h r g h| n od UI US
an cj ab Í aS| olrles| St al l ce
of ( 4)- solut iorfror r .'ehr cies
t hat r equr r e
Kevlar @help ( 2) r et aint heir or ginal pr ot ect ion
agains{ballist icat t ack.allowingcar s
c, h : n p an . l l p r r cr n n n \ / Ar l h e t Tl r l l r g p t Ot and lightt r uckst o r et ainmost of t heiror iginal
r evolr r t ,crtrltt eu
s no t hr ougnover lhe lit espano{ handiingchar act er ist ics.
a venr ct e. Cher nr c.st \ l l r e!! a' sl aD, l ' ir)ei o
r l ai l i i i ta1o
Í or cest hat ( 3)-
The f r ict iona| ar edesigned make( 5) r einÍ or ced wit hKeviar @pulp
t o endur et akel essof a t ol lor rt l \ osen' ddew r t i r st r ongancjdur able.The gaivaniccor r osion
Ker r lar @pulp.The enhancedt her nr alst abilit y r esr st ance
of Kevlar '@ also cont r ibut es to
and inher entabr asionr esist ance of Kevlar iS ir npr ovediong t er nrengr neper f onr ance.

ln pairs, discuss why t he propert ies of Kevlar@are especially import ant for
each applicat ion descr ibed in t he t ext .

)Z.q List en t o a conversat ion about t he propert ies of mat erials used in a
specific t ype of t ool and answer t he following quest ions.
1 Wher e does t he conver sat iont ake place?
2 What t ool is being discussed?
3 Which mat er ialscan be used f or it s dif f er entoar t s?

Complet e t he following ext ract s from t he conversat ion using t he propert ies
in Exercise 8c. List en again and check your answers.
1 The handle must n't be heavy.ldeallg, Aou wont it t o be
2 Resist ingf r ict ionis essent ial.Thekeg r equir ement is-
5 The bur has t o be built t o last . Obviouslg, t heg need t o be verg
4 Heat builds up in t he bur . You need o good degr ee of -

Mat ch t he words and phrases ( | -5) from Exercise | 0b t o t he synonyms

( a- e) .

1 ideal.ty a ií s clearthat
2 obviously b for the bestresults
3 t he lastt hingyouwant c t he mostimport antfuct or
4 t he keyrequirement d a lot ofl a hight evelof
5 a gooddegree of e the worstsituation

a You work for a manufact urer of .,-\

Harprme's a! Joi're"s' hatmme's (tov rattls)
hand tools and have ;;;';;n* a
ro)Ltau'rphatwrmets(fov uaatsorrvy chisels)
investigate using alternative materials
- -
in your products. ln pui.., ."uá tr'" Co\ siáev the harr"rmerheotA at\ A the harmwrevshart| .
not es and discuss t he main propert ies Sat ws a| Wooá Sarws(€ o v ct a| t irrgwooá)
required of the materials used to make b) Harcksarws (fov craffirrg uaetatl)
the too| s. Coqsiáev | he satwb| oA,e aú O, | v\ e sarwhatr,táleo" €varrre.

Think of a pr oduct you know well.

ln pair s, discuss t he mat er ials used in it and what pr oper t ies make t he
mat er ials suit able. Discuss whet her alt er nat ive mat er ials could be used.

Unit 2 Mat er iat st echnology 79

 I qualit yissues
Discussing
72 I n pairs, answer the followingquestions.
I ln advert ising, what hi-t ech,high-perf ormance
situationsare oftenusedto promotewatches?
2 What messages aret heyint endedt o sendaboutt he
qualityof products?
3 What qualityissuesdifferentiate watches
higher-quality
from lower-qualityones?
4 What is the differencebetweendescribingsomethingas
water-resistantand waterproon

13a )ls touisa, a marketingexecutivefor a watch

manufacturer,is discussingmaterial selectionwith
Tom, one of her engineeringcolleagues.Listen to the
discussionand completethe four quality issuesthat are
mentionedin the meeting.
I - resistance
2 -resistance
3 -resist ance
4 -resist ance

b I n pairs, discusswhat is meant by each of the quality

issuesin Exercise13a.

14a )z.s tisten again and answerthe followingquestions.

I What point doesTommakeabout the reasonsfor selectingmaterials?
2 What doeshe say about submarine-grade steelto exemplifythe above
point ?
y many
3 What problemdoeshe describewit hregardt o t he market abilitof
mat erials?
4 What hard commercialfact doesLouisagive?

ln pairs, mark the followingstatementsTrue fI ) or False (F) accordingto

the viewsexpressedin the conversation.Read the audioscript on page 87
and checkyour answers.
I Of t en,exot ic-soundingmat erialsare not t hat suit able,t echnically.
2 Peoplet hinkt hat a submarinest eelwat chmustbe t remendously
water-resistant.
3 The corrosionresistanceof submarinesteelis exceptionally good.
4 Submarine-grade st eellooksf airlygood.
5 Tomt hinkssubmarinest eelis part icularly suit ablef or wat ches.
6 Thefirm hasoftenusedmaterialsthat are not adequatelydurable.
7 Often,the compositions of goodwatchmaterialsare relativelycomplex.
8 Materialswith complicatednamesare prettygoodfor marketing.

20 Unit 2 Mat erialst echnot ogy

I
E"
E- . - r

C )z.O Listen to the followingphrasesfrom the conversationand undertinethe

stressed syllable. Practise saying the phrases.
I not pat j eularlysuit able 4 t remendously market able
2 exceptionally resistant 5 relativelycomplex
3 not at all suit able 6 not all t hat good

d Completethe followingtable usingthe words in the box.

cxrcÉ ia* y fairty insufficientty notadequatety not (alt)that
notpartí .culartypÍ etty ntativety tetendousty

extremely quite not very not enough definitelynot

excepfiohrrlly

15 I n pairs, discussthe key propertiesand different types and grades of

the followingmaterials.Give examplesof the propertiesthat make each
material good or bad for watch-making,from a quality perspective.
Mat erials
steel glass atuminiumtitanium gotd ptastic copper rubber

Properties
wat er-resist ant abrasion-resist ant corrosion-resist ant shock-resist ant t ouqh
brittLe etastic durable heavy Lightweight thermaltystable

16 ln small groups,choosea well-knownconsumerproduct or applianceand

discussit from a quality perspective.How suitableare the materialsused?
How good is the product,comparedwith others sold by competitors?

Unit 2 Mat erialst echnology 27

I Describing
component
shapes
andfeatures
t What do you know about the electrical plugs and sockets used in different
countries?ln pairs, describesome specificdesigns.

2a )lt Jan, a proj ect managerfor a firm that manufactureselectricalplugs

and sockets, is briefing some of his engineeringcolleagues. Listen to the
briefingand summarisethe aim of the proj ect.

fn pairs, discuss what is meant by profile of the pins and standard

configuration.

)U Erin, an engineerwith the same company,is describingdifferent

tu
electricalplug and socket formats during the briefing.Listen and matchthe
descriptions(l -6) to the pictures(a-fl.

e_
22 Unit 3 Component sand assembt ies
 I

d Complet e t he following phrases from t he descript ions using adj ect ives
based on t he words in bracket s.
1 ... t here are c\ vcviav pins for live and neut ral. (circle)
2 . . . the earth slot's got a flat base with one side over to form a
semi-circle.(round)
3 This one has blades for live, neut ral and eart h... (rect angle)
4 ... it has a - slot t o receive t he eart h pin. (cylinderl
5 ... the pins are arranged in - configuration. (line)
6 ... t heg're laid out in -configurat ion (t riangle)

g ) t .l List en and under line t he st r essed syllable in each of t he f ollowing

words.
redangle rect angular t riangle t riangular
cyl i nder cyl i ndr i cal l i ne l i near

3 a )S.l List en t o a longer descript ion from t he meet ing. Which pict ure (a-0 in
Exercise 2c does Erin describe?

b Complet e t he following ext ract s from t he descript ion using t he correct form
of t he words in t he box.

flushwith groove ffie pin recess ridge set back

1 ... t here's a circular slot at t he t op. I t 'sobviouslg a bt ind V,ole , i7

doesn't go right through.
2 . . . there ore two plastic , one on either side of the plug
casing, and theg slot into corresponding - at each side of the
socket . l naddi t i on. t hecent r eof t hesocket l s- . Sor at her t han
being
the front of the socket, on the same face, the circular area
that receives the plug / s - from the surrounding casing ...
3 These covers onlg open when pressure is applied to both bg the two
- of t he plug simult aneouslg.

C ! n pairs, describe t he different plug and socket format s in t he pict ures in

Exercise 2c.

4 a ) l.s Andy and Kar in, t wo elect r ical engineer s, ar e evaluat ing a plug and
socket format in Exercise 2c. List en t o t he conversat ion and make not es of
t he advant ages and disadvant ages of t he following feat ures.
1 Plug slot s int o a r ecessin t he socket :
Advant ages
Disadvant ages
2 Cover spr ot ect live and neut r al slot s:
Advant ages
Disadvant ages

b ln pairs, discuss t he advant ages and disadvant ages of t he plug and socket
format s in Exercise 2c. Use t he following phrases from t he conversat ion.

an advant age/ disadvantofage t hisformatis ... anot heradvant age/ disadvantisage ...
t he problem
wit ht hissyst emis ... t his (shapeformat feat ure) st ops... from... -ing
t his(shape/ format / feat at
ure)
t owsit t o ,/ hel.ps
it t o / makes
it easyt o / makes it difficutt o ...

Unit 3 Componentand
s assemblies 23
n Explaining manuf act uring
andassessing
t echniques
5 ln pair s, t hink of some examples of machining oper at ions t hat ar e of t en
used in manufact uring involving met alworking.

6a )l.S Suan, a sales engineer wit h a met al fabricat ion company, is showing Mr
Barret t , a new cust omer, around t heir plant . List en t o t he conversat ion
and mark t he st at ement s Ti'ue (T) or False (F).
I The companyspecialisesin sheet met al wor king.
2 The companydoes a lot of met al cast ing.
3 Met al bashing is a pr eciset echnicalt er m f or hammer ing.
4 Dr ills and milling machinesar e alwaysnoisy.
5 Cr inding is a pr ocesst hat uses abr asives.
6 The pr ess is used f or shear ingmet al.

Complet e t he following t raining mat erial for graduat e engineers using t he

words in t he box.

Dritting Flame-cuttingMitting Sawing Shearing

l'| fiilÜilGT| ||Rl|GI tGl|l|l0ut HnlÜ[ I 0 sptllll 0l|s

| l|: cl| I Tll| 0
Key Í act orsin det erminingt he most appropriat ecut t ingt echniqueare: mat eria|
charact erist ics(not ablyhardness,and t hermaland elect ricalpropert ies),
componentt hickness,componentshape and complexit y,requirededge qualit y,and \
product ionvolume.Select cut t ingopt ionsbelow for a det ailedanalysisof t echniques.

Gunil8oPiloilS
( 1) - : abr asi vecut t i ng, r emovi ngakeí oÍ mat er i a| . | nc| udescut t i ngw i t ht oot hedb| ades
and abrasivewheels. @
( 2 ) - : u seo f p r essu r eo n sm o o t h - ed g ed b | ad esf o r g u i l l o t i n i n g an d p u n ch i n g @
( 3) - : r emova| of mat er i a| acr osst heÍ u| | di amet er oÍ aho| e, or usi nghol e- saw sf or
kens. j ! ! il! *
cut t ingcircumÍ erent iar
( 4) - : r emova| of sur f acel ayer sw i t hmu| t i p| ecut t i ngw hee| passes@
( 5) - : usi ngoxyf ue| ( oxygen+ combust i b| egas' of t enacet y| ene) . @

C Complet e t he following definit ions using t he words in t he box.

abrasivewheel guitLotine hole-saw kerf punch toothedblade

I A pq\ ch makes holes by applyingpr essur et o shear t he mat er ial.

2 A- m a k e sst r a i g h t c u t sb y a p p | y i n g p r e ssu r e t o sh e a r t h e
mat er ial.
3 A- is t he widt h of t he saw cut .
4 A- has shar p edgesf or cut t ingor milling.
5 A- has a har d, r ough sur f acef or cut t ingor gr inding.
6 A- c u t sa c i r c u l a r o i e c e t o r e m o Ve a n i n t a c t c o r e o f m a t e r i a | .

24 Unit 3 Componentand
s assemblies

I
 I

7 a Read t he following ext ract of promot ional lit erat ure from a leading producer
of ult r a- high- pr essur e( UHP) wat er j et cut t ing machines. ln pair s, explain t he
phr ases in bold.

\ A / hat makeswat erj et such

V V Water j ets
s a popularcut t ingopt ion?
requirefew secondaryoperations,
producenet-shapedparts with no heat-affectedzone, heat distortion,
= Ffow
or mechanicalst ressescausedby ot hercut t ingmet hods,can cut wit h
a narrow kerí and can providebetterusageof raw materia|sinceparts
can be tightly nested.As a resultof the FlowMasterruPCcontrolsystem
and intuitiveoperation,waterj etsareextremelyeasyto use.Typically,
operat orscan be t rainedin hoursand areproducinghigh-qualitpart y sin
hours.Addit ionally,wat erj et can
s cut virt uallyany mat erial,leaving
a sat in-
smoot hedge.

) l.l f van is t alking t o Mr Bar r et t about UHP wat er j et cut t ing. List en t o t he
conver sat ion and mat ch t he phr ases in t he box t o t he ext r act s ( 1- 4) .

heat-affected
zone mechanical
stresses narrowkerf parts
net-shaped

Ext r act I Ext ract3

Ext r act 2 Ext ract4

Complet e t he following ext ract s from t he conversat ion by underlining t he

correct phrases.
1 So theg are especiallg good when / not so good when gou have intricate
shapes.
2 Saw blades are obviouslg pertect when / useless when you're cutting curved
shdpes.
3 ... sawing is the ideal solution / not the best solution if gou want to avoid
altering the material.
4 ... it's ideal for / totallg unsuitable for metals.

8 I n pairs, assess t he different cut t ing t echniques in t erms of

o shape/ size of cut o mat erial t ypes/ charact erist ics . cut widt h/ qualit y.
Use t he phr ases in t he box.

ideaL/ perfect / especiaU.ygoodfor + -ing t he ideal./ perfect solut ionfor

not part icut arlysuit able/ not so goodif you need ...
not t he best sot ut ionif you don't want ... t ot alt yunsuit abt e/ useless

Cut t ingt echniques Shape/ sizeof cut

dril.l.ing
wit h a bit angular bLindhol.es curved large sma[ [ st raight
drit Lingwit h a hole-saw t hick t hin t hr ouqh
hot es
flame-cut t ing
gr inding Mat erial t ypes/ charact erist ics
gui[ [ ot ining ceramics met als plast ics t imber hard t ough
mil.Ling brittte
punching
sawing Cut widt h/ qualit y
wat erj etcut t ing heat -affect ed
zone narrowkerfs no kerf roughedges
smoot hedges widekerfs

Unit 3 Componentand
s assemblies 25
I Explainingj oint ing and f ixingt echniques
9 I n pairs, t hink of some examples of ways of j oining mat erials t oget her.

10a )g.A pearo, a purchasing manager wit h a kit chen appliance manufact urer, is
t alking t o Alicia, a sales manager from one of t heir main suppliers. List en t o
t he conversat ion and answer t he following quest ions.
1 What obj ect ivedoes Pedr o descr iber egar dinghis company'sr elat ionship
wit h supplier s?
2 What is Alicia concer nedabout ?
3 How does he r espondt o her concer ns?

Complet e t he following t able using t he words in t he box.

adhesive ü'ott ctip rivet screw weld

Mechanicalf ixings Non- mechanicalf ixings

bolf

C Label t he phot os ( l- 5) wit h t he wor ds in Exer cise lOb.

l welá 3_

Mat ch t he t ypes of connect ion in t he box t o t he following groups.

botting bonding connccting fixing gtuing joining riveting welding

1 corr\ ect iqg : describes any kind of connect ion.

2 - : descr ibesmechanicalconnect ionsonlv.
: descr ibesnon- mechanicalconnect ions
only.

26 Unit 3 Component
and
s assemblies
 T

l1 d Complet e t he f ollowing quest ions using t he wor ds in t he box.

eachot her on ont o t o t oget her

I How can we f ix t hese t wo component s- ?

2 How can we f ix t hese t wo component st o - ?
3 How can w e f i x t hi s component- ?
4 How can we f ix t his component I- t his component ?

b Complet e t he f ollowing t r aining web page using t he wor ds in Exer cise | | a.

a

il[ ilUrA8I UB
ll| Bllcl| l|l| lÜtEURI ÜI0l|
I ! :J0ll| I sll| l| rilI ilBs
The most suitable method ot joÍ ning components depends on many tactots, whí ch
extend beyond the obvious í ssue oÍ requí rcd strength.
. Wil| t he .j ointneed t o be disconnect edin t he Í ut ure?| Ía part is bo| t ed(1)- , it can obvious| y
be removedat a | at erdat e. | Ít wo component sare bonded t o (2)- wit h st rongadhesive,or
welded (3)- t hen subsequentremovalwill clearlybe moredifficult .@
. What ext ernalfact orsmight affect t he j oint ?Wat er or heat can weaken adhesivej oint s.And no
mat t erhow t ight lynut s are screwed (4)- bolt s, vibrat ioncan cause t hem t o work loose
^ .,^ - + i- ^ 4t llF
vvvr Lil rv. tllllliblr

. How qualit y-sensit ive is t he j oint ingt echnique?Component sare rarelyj oined(5)- each
ot her in idealcondit ions.lnadequat elyt ight enedfixings,improperlypreparedsurfaces,or flawed
welds are inevit able.How could such imperfect ionsaffectt he j oint negat ively?@

-
< 't

C I n pair s, answer t he f ollowing quest ions using t he inf or mat ion on t he web
page in Exercise 1I b.
I What ar e t he main advant ageand disadvant ageof mechanicalf ixings?
j oi nt i ng?
of non- mechani cal
2 What i s t he mai n di sadvant age
3 What issuescan negat ivelyaf f ect mechanicalf ixingsand non- mechanical
j oi nt s?

72 a ln pair s, discuss t he f ollowingj oint ing t echniques used in air cr af t and say
how t he part s are fixed t oget her.
1 Ear ly air cr af t :t imber f r ame / adhesiveor scr ews
2 Moder n j et air cr af t :alloy body panels/ r ivet s
3 Air cr af t cabins: seat s/ f loor / bolt s
4 Air cr af t cockpit :windshield/ f uselage/ adhesive

b Your company has launched a compet it ion f or it s engineer s t o build a

homemade model glider t hat is as cheap as possible t o assemble. ln pair s,
discuss what t ypes of mat er ials and j oint s you could use.

Unit 3 Componentand
s assembt ies 27
nDescr ibingposit ionsof assemb1edcomponent s
13a ln pairs, read t he t it le of t he art icle and suggest ways of making a garden
chair f ly. Discuss any pot ent ial pr oblems.

b Read t he ar t icle and mat ch t he quest ions ( a- d) t o t he par agr aphs ( l - 4) .

a How did t he act ual f light dif f erf r om t he one t hat was planned?
b What incident soccur r edj ust bef or eand j ust af t er t he landing?
c What is said about t he moder n equivalentof t his t ype of act ivit y?
d What component swer e used t o assemblet he f lying machine?

ANDTHEFLYINGGARDENCHAIR
CRAZYBUTTRUE:LARRYWALTERS
I On July 2, L982, a Californian
truck driver named I -arry
\ ü?'alterssat outside his house
on a garden chair.To say that
he was out t o get some air
is an understatement, for
projecting above him a cluster
of ropes was t iedt o 42 helium-
fi lled weather balloons. Anchor
ropes, sit uat ed underneat h ú e
chair, were fastened around
the bumper of his car, which
was positioned just below the
makeshift flying machine.
2 MrWalters intended to climb
gently to an altitude of a few
hundred feet, before drifting
slowly out of town and across
country. He then planned
to use an airgun to shoot
some balloons and descend
gradually to earü. But as the curious spect acle out side, as
helium gas contained within wide-eyed as the garden chair
the balloons warmed up in the pilot hovering beside them.
summer sun, it progressively
Evenrually, after managing
generated more lift. \ ü7hen the
t o shoot some balloons, Mr
anchor ropes were released,
Walters descended safely to
the self-assembly airship shot
earth despite an anchor rope,
up like a rocket. Too shocked
which was st ill suspended
to reach for üe pistol inserted
beneaú üe chair, get t ing
in his pocket, the first-time
tangled with a power line
pilot held on for life. I n iust
located alongside the landing
a few minutes, l-arry rWalters
sit e ( in someone's garden) .
was 16'000 feet above üe
He was immediately arrested
ground, floating over the
by waiting police of6cers, and
city of l-ong Beach. A short
was later fined for breaking
time later, there were furüer
Federal aviation laws.
complications; he suddenly
found himselfinside controlled Today, clust er ballooning,
airspace, adjacent to Long while still a fairly marginal
Beach Airport. The occupants sport, is steadily starting to
of passing Delta Airlines and gain in popularity.
T$í A aircraft looked on at the

C Answert he quest ionsin ExerciseI 3b.

74 a Label t he diagramsusingt he preposit ionsin t he box.

abor/ e adjacent to alongside around below beneath beside
inside out side over underneat h wit hin

a atbove
'! . "8.
!
,ffi
u
a

28 Uni t 3 Componentand
s assembl Í es
 I

complet e t he f ollowing sent ences about t he f lying gar den chair using t he
preposit ions in t he box. Check your answers against t he t ext in Exercise t 3b.

in above around beneat h wit hin

1 Pr oj ect ing t he chair was a clust er of r opes' t ied t o 42

helium- f illedweat her balloons.
2 Anchor r opes wer e f ast ened t he bumper of t he car .
3 Larry Walt ers had an airgun insert ed - his pocket .
4 The hel i umcont ai ned t he bal l oonsw ar medup i n t he sun'
5 Af t er t akeof f ,t he anchor r opes r emainedsuspended- t he chair .

complet e t he f ollowing descr ipt ions of how t he gar den chair air ship was
assembled by underlining t he correct words.
I A quant it yof helium gas was cont ained/ suspendedinsideeach balloon.
2 A t ube was inser t ed/ pr oj ect edinsidet he openingsof t he balloons,t o inf lat e
t hem.
3 The balloonswer e sit uat ed/ suspendedover t he chair ,in a lar ge clust er .
4 The chair was cont ainedisuspended under t he balloonsby r opes.
5 Ar m r est s,cont ained/ locat edbesidet he pilot , at each side, helped t o hold him
in place.
The landinggear , inser t ing/ pr oj ect ingbelow t he seat , consist ed,simply,of t he
chair legs.
7 The pilot was posit ioned/ pr oj ect edunder neat ht he balloons,so his weight
was low down.

d Wt rict r t wo ot her words have t he same meaning as posit ioned?

contained fastened inserted Located projected situated suspended

t5 a I n pairs,look at t he phot oand describehowyou t hink t he clust er

balloonis assembledf rom t he f ollowingcomponent s.

bags balloons helium nytonropes nylonstraps paragt iding

harness
batlast ties tape
pLasticcabte sand/ water

b )il Eva and Lenny, t wo engineers working for an ext reme sport s
equipment manuf act ur er ,ar e discussing clust er ballooning.
List en t o t he conversat ion and summarise what t hey say about
t he following issues.
I assembl yt i me t he advant ageof t ying
2 how olast iccable t ies ar e used each i ndi vi dualbal l oon
3 a t ree st ruct ure t he pr oblem of using a net
4 how wat er bags ar e used t o cont aint he balloons

I n pairs, discuss ways of overcoming t he problems ment ioned in t he

conversat ion. How could clust er ballooning be made more accessible t o
a mass mar ket ? What ot her equipment / assembliescould be used?

s assembt ies
Unit 3 Componentand
E
UNIT 4
. Workingwith dnwings .n
o Discussingdimensions
and l - r; r - fL
rI r-.9Íj$l
precision
o Describingdesignphasesand {; ilil
I lltt
procedures
o Resolvingdesignproblems

NI
.-f
-:StT.:
* l l a e p

I
r+ lJ " .-j;t'

I t"

.6 tf,d* .;
..1
I
r* 'ii$* i*
ffiitrLn: fa
u-
?

I Workingwit h drawings
ln pair s, discuss t he dif f er ent t ypes of design inf or mat ion needed on a complex
engineer ing pr oj ect , such as t he const r uct ion of a lar ge cr uise ship. How many
different drawings do you t hink might be produced for such a proj ect ? How
would t hey be or ganised and cat egor ised?

2a ) l.t loe, a t echnician at a shipyar d, is t alking t o Linda, one of his engineer ing
colleagues in t he design of f ice. He is asking about some inf or mat ion which he
can't f ind on any of t he dr awings. List en t o t he conver sat ion and answer t he
f ollowing quest ions.
I What ar ea of t he ship ar e t hey discussing?
2 What does t he t echnicianneed t o know?

Complet e t he f ollowing def init ions using t he t ypes of dr awing in t he box.

cross-section elevation explodedüew note phn schematic

specificat ion

1 X p\ art\ gives a view of the whole deck, trom above.

2 An - givesa vlew of all t he panels,f r om t he f r ont .
3 An - givesa deconst r uct edview of how t he panelsar e f ixed
t oget her.
4 A- givesa cut awayview of t he j oint bet weent wo panels.
5 A- givesa simplif iedr epr esent at ionof a net wor kof air duct s.
6 A- givesa br ief descr ipt lonor a r ef er encet o anot her r elat ed
dr aw i ng.
1 A- givesdet ailedwr it t ent echnicaldescr ipt ionsof t he panels.

Which t wo t ypes of drawing in Exercise 2b are examples of general

ar r angement dr awings, and which t wo ar e examples of det ail dr awings?

30 design
Unit 4 Engineer ing
b-- -

Read the followingtechnicalquestionsthat came up during the

shipbuildingproj ect and decidewhichtype of drawingis requiredto answer
each question.
l How m an y p an e| sar et h er eal t og et h er on t h i sw a| l ?-
2 What profileare thesehollowbeams:rectangularor circular?
3 What are the positionsof all the floodlightsaroundthe deck perimeter?

4 How m an y b r an ch escom eof f t h em ai n sp r i n k | er su p p | y p i p e?-

5 Howdo all the internalcomponents of the fan unit fit together?

3a What is meant by scale on a drawing? ln pairs, o< plainhow a scale rule,

like the one shownin the picture,is used.

b )u nfter receivingthe drawingsfor the panets,Joe is now discussing

some details with Pavel, a colleague. Listen to the conversation and answer
the followingquestions.
I What pieceof informationis not shownon the drawing?
2 What golden rale is mentioned?

Complete the following extracts from the conversation and explain what is
meant by each one.
I /s fhis drawing scale?
2 lt's one - five.
3 ... gou shouldn'tscale - drawings...
4 ... it'sactual size,on a --scale drawing...

4 You are engineerson a proiect to design the metal

handrail that will run around the perimeter of the
top, outdoor deck of a large cruise ship. !n pairs,
discuss what drawingsyou will need to produce for
manufacturingand installation with regard to the
followingissues:
o the typesof viewthat will be requiredand what each
onewill show
o the approximatescaleof differentdrawingsand views
o what writteninformationyou will needto providein
the specification.

5 You are going to provide design information to enable

a productionteam to manufacturea product or
applianceyou know well. Make a list of some of the
drawingsthat will be needed, notingwhat each one
willshow.

Unit 4 Engineeringdesign
 dimensionsand pr ecision
Discussing
6 d ln pairs, discuss what is meant by precision and accuracg.

Read t he t echnical advice web page and answer t he following quest ions.
1 How is a super f latf loor dif f er entf r om an or dinar yconcr et ef loor ?
2 What accur acycan be achievedwit h or dinar yslabs, and wit h super f latslabs?
3 What pr oblem is descr ibedin high bay war ehouses?

Floors:FAO
SuperÍ lat
What is a superflatfloor?
Compact ingandf inishing
t hesur f ace
oÍ Wetconcr etiseaninher entimpr pr ocess.
| y ecise Foranor dinar y
e t o belaidwit hin
concr etslab t oler ance,
engineer can
s onlyr ealist icallyexpect
t hesur f ace
t obef inished
t oplusorminus 5mm.Bycont r ast super
, f lat
concr etf loor
e ar s ef inishedt omeetext r emely
closet oler ances,
'1mm
beingaccur att e
owit hin acr osst heirupper sur f ace.

Where are superffatfloors used?

Floorsur Í aceswit hext r eme| y t oI er ances
t ight ar eÍ r equentspecif
| y iedinwar ehouses wher eAut omat ed
Guided Vehicles oper at Uneven
e f loorar
s eespecially pr oblematinichighbaywar ehouses, whichuse
aut omat fed or k| ifwit
t s ha ver t icaI r each
oÍ 30met r es ormor e'At sucha heights|, ight
var iat ions
inÍ | oor
| eveI
ar eamp| if iedint hef or moÍ ver t icaIt i| tcausing
, inaccur at manoeuvr
e at
inghigh| evel'| Ít hese
var iat ions
ar eout side t oler ancet heycanleadt ocollisions wit hr acking
elementor s,causeit ems t obe
dr opped Í r ompa| | et s.

ln pairs, discuss what is meant by t olerance in t he cont ext of dimensions and

pr ecision.

d Complet e t he following expressions from t he web page which are used t o

descr ibe t oler ances.
I - t oler ance( insidet he limit sof a given t oler ance)
2 - o r - Sm m ( + / - 5 m m )
3 - t oler ance( closet oler ance)
4 - t o | e r a n c e ( n o t i n si d e t h e | i m i t so f t o | e r a n c e )

e Complet e t he f ollowing sent ences using t he expr essions in Exer cise 6d.
I The f r ame'st oo big f or t he opening.The opening'st he r ight size,so t he f r ame
must be
2 The t ot al t ol er ancei s I mm. The oer mi ssi bl evar i at i onei t hersi de of t he i deal
is
The engineerspecif ied + / - 5mm f or t he slab f inish,and we got it t o
+ I - 2mm. So it 's well
4 You can't f inish concr et et o + / - 0. I mm. Ther e'sno wav vou can wor k t o such

ln some sit uat ions, engineers describe t olerances using p/ us or minus,

for example + / - I mm, and in ot her sit uat ions as wit hin, for example
wit hin lmm.ln pair s, discuss t he dif f er ence in meaning bet ween t hese t wo
descr ipt ions, giving examples of sit uat ions wher e each descr ipt ion might be
used.

32 Unit 4 Engineer ing

design
 I

7a )q.i f\ 4ei,a st ruct ural engineer, is t alking t o Lewis, a proj ect manager, about
t he f loor specif icat ion f or a manuf act ur ing plant t hat is cur r ent ly at design
st age. List en t o t he conversat ion and answer t he following quest ions.
I What has t he client r equest edwit h r egar d t o t he f loor slab?
2 What ar e f r ee movementf loor sand def ined movementf loor s?
5 What issue does t he engineerdiscussr egar dingqualit y?
4 What opt i oni s di scussedi nvol vi nggr i ndi ng?
5 What can be done t o t he r einf or cementt o per mit gr inding?

Complet e t he f ollowing t able using t he wor ds in t he t ext in Exer cise 6b and

audioscr ipt 4.3 on page 89.
Nameof dimension Largedimension Smat [dimension
1 Whafst he-? I s it -? I s it short ?
2 Whaí s11] wiá|
g h ? I s it -? I s it nanow?
3 What 's
t he-? I s 11high 7 I s it [ ow?
4 11gt hickrress?
What 's I s it -? I s it t hin?
5 t he-?
What 's I s i1 a\ eep 7 I s it shallow?

Mei has done a revised drawing for t he floor slab. Read t he ext ract from her
email about t he new design and complet e t he message using t he cor r ect f or m
of t he words in Exercise 7b.

To: Lewis Rosas

SubiectBevised
: f loor slab drawing

P| easefind at t acheda reviseddrawingÍ ort he Í | oors| ab,now reconfiguredÍ ordefinedmovement .

| nordert o accommodat eguidedvehicI es1 08Omm(1) wiáe (asspecifiedby t he c| ient )
Wep r o p o Seast an d ar d ( 2 ) - o f 1 2 8 0 m m f o r each su p er f | at | an e. At 1 4 . 5 m , t h e
( 3 ) - o f t h e| o n g est | an eo n t h en et w o r k i sw i t h i n t h em ax i m u m sl ab r u n t h at can b ecast
in a singleconcret epour,t hus avoidingconst ruct ionj oint son st raightruns.On curved sect ions,a
st andar d8.5m t ur ningr adiusis used,as per t he guidedvehiclemanuf act ur err'secommendat ions.
y fut uregrinding,we have | ocat edt he t op | ayeroÍ reinÍ orcement
| norder t o a| | owfor t he event ua| itof
1Ommdeeper below t he slab surface.This addit ional(4)- has not , however,been
added t o t he overallslab (5) , which remains275mm. The reinforcingbars also remain
in I 2mm diamet er.As a result ,t he levelsof wall-mount edprocess inst allat ions - many of which need
t o be fixedat a precise (6)- -
abovefinishedfloor level are unaffect ed.

Which t wo wor ds in t he email r elat e t o cir cles? What aspect s of a cir cle do
t hey descr ibe?
W
8 The manuf act ur ing plant in Exer cise 7 will
be built from a st eel frame. The vert ical
element s of t he f r ame will be Univer sal
Columns ( UCs) . Look at t he sect ion of a UC. f l anges
ln pair s, descr ibe t he dif f er ent dimensions
t hat define a UC profile by explaining what
t he let t ers on t he sect ion refer t o.

TI

Unit 4 Engineer ingdesign 33

- Describingdesignphasesand procedures
9 !n pairs, discusswhat is meant by a design process.lnengineering,what are
the stages in the developmentof designs?

10 a The followingextractsfrom emails relate to a proj ect to build an indoor ski

complexin Australia, using artificial snow.The messageswere circulatedby
an engineerto membersof the design team, and to a specialistcontractor.
Read t he emailsand, in pairs,answert he f ollowingquest ions.Not e t hat t he
emails are not in the correct order.
I Whatare all t he emailsabout ?
2 Whatdif f erentt ypesof document ares ment ioned?

We now havea fullset of workingdrawingsfor It I at t acha summaryof our meet ingwit ht he

t he main ski lift(at t ached).
These incorporat e I clientlast Tuesday.lt out linesideasexpressed
some amendment srequest edby t he client , i OVt he client 'smarket ingt eam, and describes
which have now been approved.Hard ; what an experienceat t he ski complex should
copies have been Í oruvarded t o t he re| evant be like,from a visit or'spoint oÍ view.We'| |be
cont ract ors'premises,for fabricat ion. Soingt hrought hese not esat t he prolectkick-
oÍ Ímeet ingnext Thursday,t o c| arifyt he design
. brieÍ so, p| easeÍ ormulat any
e queriesbeÍ ore
..
P| easefind at t acheda fu| |set oÍ pre| iminary II t hen.
drawings,as submit t edt o t he clientfor
approva|/ comment s.These are Í orinformat ion
only at t his st age. , "
Please not et hat dwg 18A is current lybeing
o revised,t o resolveproblemsencount ered
At t achedare a few roughsket chesset t ing duringassemblyof t he ski lift .BevisionB will
out t he overalllayoutof t he ski complex.At be circulat ednext week. Unt ilt he amended
t his point ,t hese are init ialideas based on drawingis issued,pleaset reatdwg 18Aas
t he client 'ssuggest ionsand t he approximat e superseded.lf you requirespecificdet ails
dimensionsspecifiedin t he design brief.I look urgent ly,pleasecont act me, and I will arrange
||
forwardt o any feedback by t he end oÍ t his l| Í ora suit ab| esket ch t o be issued'
week. II
b Put t he emails in t he cor r ect sequence.
l_2_3_4_5

C Complet e t he f ollowing def init ions using t he t ypes of dr awing in t he box.

designbrief pretiminary
drawing sketch workingdrawing

l A- i sa r o u g h d r a w i n g o f i n i t i a | i d e a s, a | so u se d w h e n p r o d u c t i o n
pr oblemsr equir eengineer st o amend design det ailsand issuet hem t o t he
wor kf or ceimmediat ely.
2 A- i sa w r i t t e n Su m m a r y i n t e n d e d t o sp e c i f y d e si g n o b j e c t i v e s.
3 A- i san ap p r o v ed d r aw i n g u sed f o r m an u f act u r i n g o r i n st a| | at i o n
Ther e is of t en a need t o r eviset hese dr awingst o r esolvepr oduct ionpr oblems.
I n t his case, amended ver sionsar e issuedt o super cedet he pr eviousones.
4 A- i sa d e t a i | e d d r a w i n g t h a t c o | | e a g u e sa n d c o n su | t a n t sa r e
invit edt o appr oveif t hey accept t hem, or comment on if t hey wish t o r equest
any changes.

34 Unit 4 Engineer ing

design
 I

d Find synonyms for t he following words in t he definit ions in Exercise I Oc.

1 accept I aQ?vo\ le 5 give feedback | -
2 am en dl - 6 r e Pl a c e / u Pd a t e l -
3 ap p r o x i m at el - 7 st at el -
4 ci r cu l at el - 8 so l v el -

e I n pairs, suggest what needs t o be done next in each of t he following

sit uat ions.
1 They'vef ound a pr oblem wit h dr awing63 on sit e.The det ail we'vespecif ied
doesn't wor k.
2 I 'vedone a pr eliminar ydesign f or t he duct layout ,but t he client hasn't seen
it yet .
3 I 'vegot a f eelingt he dr awingt hey have on sit e isn't t he lat est one.
4 We'vej ust r eviseddr awing 14. The changesar e going t o af f ectt hr ee
different cont ract ors.
5 This is t he client 'swr it t endesign br ief . How shall we kick of f t he design
wor k?

Ll a Leo is t he ski complex proiect manager. Wit h design Aust ralian Ski complex - Design
work about t o begin, he is meet ing senior engineers Coordinat ion Meet ing Agendj
from t he design t eams t o discuss design coordinat ion. Tuesday 8t h May
ln pairs, exp| ain t he it ems on t he meet ing agenda and ConÍ erenceroom 9.30am - í 1.00am
suggest what kinds of issue might be discussed. To: RN, LG, SB, CW, Sft
lt em
b )t l List en t o t hree ext ract s from t he meet ing and
mat ch each ext ract (l-3) t o an agenda it em (a-c). a Design int erface(mechanical.
l_ 2_ 3_ et ect r i cal )
b Design and inÍ ormat ionÍ | owprocedure
c } l'l List en again and make not es about t he problem. (st ruct ural'mechanical, elect rical)
discussed in t he meet ing. ln pairs, discuss some
possible solut ions t o t he problems. c I nt er-t eamcommunicat ion-
Í orma|and informa|
d } s.s List en t o Leo summarising t he solut ions t hat
have been agreed in t he meet ing. What has been decided
regarding t he following Point s?
I The decisiont hat t he senior engineerin each t eam must make, r egar ding
dr awings
2 The cir culat ionpr ocedur et hat will be used f or each dr awing
3 The r ole of t he M&E coor dinat orin r elat iont o t he senior engineer sand t he
pr oj ect manager
4 The ar r angementt hat will make inf or malcommunicat ioneasier

e ln pairs, discuss how t he design procedures discussed in t he meet ing will

work in t he following sit uat ions.
I lssuingt he f ir st dr af t of a specialisedhydr aulichose dr awingf or t he ski lif t
2 Designingan elect r icalsupply syst emf or some wat er - coolingequipment
3 Revisingt he connect iondet ailsbet weensome ski- lif tmachiner yand it s
concr et ef oundat ion

Unit 4 Engineer ing

design 35
f Resot vingdesignproblems
72 I n pairs, discuss problems t hat can arise when different drawings t hat
make up a design are not properly coordinat ed.

13 d The following records are from t he indoor ski complex proj ect . They show
correspondence bet ween t he design t eam and const ruct ion t eam. Read
t hrough t he t ext s quickly and answer t he following quest ions.
I What is t he gener al subj ect of t he cor r espondence?
2 What is meant by querg and inst ruct ion?
5 Some quer iesr ef er t o ear lier conver sat ions.Suggestwhy t hese have been
f ollowedup in wr it ing.
4 What is meant by dwg and dims?

coNTRAcToR,s No.8ó7
QUERY ENGINEER'SINSTRUCTION
Followingour t elephoneconversot iont odoy,we We conf ir mt hecor r ectdimensionis on dwg 7óE.
not et hot t hereis o discreponcybet weendwgs ZóE Pleosedisr egor dt hedimson dwg Z8E.
ond78E, which indicot econÍ | ict ingdimensions f or
t hewidt hof t he r oof opening.Pleoseclor if ywhich
dimensionis cor r ect .
coNTRACToR,sQUERYNo. 8ó8 ENGINEER'SINSTRUCTION
As discussedt hismor ningon sit e,we conf ir mt her e Pleosework t o ot t ochedsket chS33.
is o closh bet weent he proposedcoble hoy (dwg Revisionof dwg E5ó t o fo| | ow.
E5ó} ond oir < ondit ioning duciwor k( nowinst o| | ed
os per dw g Ml I 8) i n t hecei l i ngvoi d ot Gr i d Dl 4.
Pleoseodviseon on olt er not ive coble r out e.
coNTRAcToR's
QUERY
No.8ó9 ENGINEER'SINSTRUCTION
A not eon dwg 1 1A specif iesblock bolt sot t he Pleoseprovidefurt herdet oi| soÍ t he HSFG bo| t syou
bose of t he ski lif tcoble suppor t This
. cont r odicttshe or e pr oposing.
specif icot ion,
which st ot est hotoll ioint st o compr ise
High St r engt hFr ict ionGr ip bolt s.We pr oposeusing
HSFG f ixingsot t hislocot ion.
CONTRACTOR'S
QUERYNo. 870 ENGINEER'SINSTRUCTION
Fur t hert o Quer y 8ó9, t he pr oposedHSFG bo| t sor e Appr oved.
os per t hosespecif iedf or oll ot herbolt edioint son
t he ski lif tsuppor t s.Our int ent ionis t o useo single
bolt spect o f ocilit ot eossembly.

Read t he correspondence in det ail. Writ e t he query numbers in Exercise

1 3a next t o t he descript ions (l -5). You will need t o refer t o some queries
mor e t han once.
t hat won't f it , aS component sar e in each ot her 'sway 8é ,8
l An inst a| | at ion
2 A r esponsef r om t he engineerasking f or mor e inf or mat ion
3 Ouer ies t hat suggesta solut ion,which will r equir et he engineer 'sappr oval

4 Request st o t he engineert o inst r uctt he cont r act oror make somet hingclear .

5 Separ at edocument sr ef er r ingt o det ailst hat don't cor r espondwit h each
ot her

36 Unit 4 Engineer ing

design
 T
{

C Complet e t he following pairs of sent ences using t he verbs in t he box.

advise ctarifo ctash propose request

I The component sar e in each ot her 'sway. : The component s- .

2 Please ask f or mor e inf or mat ion.: Please mor e inf or mat ion.
3 Can I suggesta solut iont o t he pr oblem? : Can | - a solut ion?
4 Please inst r uctt he supplier t o send t he par t s t o t his addr ess. : Please
t he suppl i er .
5 Any conf lict ingdet ailsmust be quer ied. : You must - any
conf lict ingdet ails.

4 a I n pairs, look at t he following plan and sect ions from a drawing on t he ski
complex proj ect , showing st eelwork det ails on part of a ski lift . Examine
how t he rect angular plat e is bolt ed t o t he T profile below it . Can you
find t he discrepancy bet ween t he det ails, and t he clash prevent ing t he
connect ion from being assembled?

ooo
oo
ooo Sect ion B- B Sect ion A-A

Chen, a t echnician, is explaining t he pr oblem in Exer cise 14at o Ron, an

engineer. Complet e t he conversat ion using t he words in t he box.

alternative as per ctarifo clash confirm contradicts djtc'€

e'afiey propose

Chen: There3 o (1) áiscvePartrc/ between these detai3 that gou might be
oble to (2) - straight awag. On the plan of this plate, it
shows eight bolts. But on section A, here, there are no bolts shown in the
mi ddl e, Sot her ew oul donl ybesi x, w hi chobvi ousl a( 3) - t he
plan. But as Aou can see, this plate's going to be bolted to a T profile.
So we couldn't put a row of bolts down the middle, because theA'd
(4) - with the flange running along the middle of the T. So I 'd
(5) - just going for two rows of bolts. The (6)
would be to redesign the T section, which would obviouslg be a bigger
job.
Ron: Yes. Let's go for two rows of bolts, (7) - the sections.
Chen: OK fine. Will gou send an email to (8) - that?

)o.g t ist en t o t he conversat ion and check your answers t o Exercise l4b.
How does t he explanat ion compare wit h your descript ion of t he problem?

Writ e an email from Ron t o Chen, confirming t he revision agreed in t he

discussion above.

Unit 4 Engineer ing

design 37
 rt! tI a

I t ypesof t echnicalproblem
Describing
1 I n pairs, discuss t he t echnical challenges of endurance car races like t he
Le Mans 24 Hours sport s car race.

2a )S.t Sanino, an engineer wit h a sport s car racing t eam, is giving a t alk
t o some of his t eam's sponsors at a t est session. List en t o t he t alk and
answer t he following quest ions.
1 What sayingemphasisest he impor t anceof r eliabilit y?
2 What expr essionr ef er st o t hingst hat can causef ailur es?
3 What expr essiondescr ibesdamage caused by nor mal use?

) s.t ln t he t alk, Sabino names f ive engineer ing enemies. Complet e t he

following list . List en again and check your answers.
I h- : high t emper at ur es
2 p- : loads f r om expandinggases or liquids
3 v - : c o n t i n u o u sh i g h - f r e q u e n c y m o v e m e n t o r sh a k i n g
4 s- : sudden impact s
5 a- : damage t o surfacescaused by frict ion

ln pairs, suggest which engineering enemies in Exercise 2b can be t he most

problemat ic for each of t he following car part s.
I chassis 4 suspension 7 wrngs
2 engine 5 br akes ö coolingsyst em
3 gear box and clut ch 6 t yr es J nut sand bolt s

3a )s.z t ist en t o Sabino t alking about some t echnical problems t he t eam have
had at t he t est and mark t he following st at ement s True (T) or False (F).
I Some liquid was lost f r om a pipe.
2 A car lost all it s coolant wit h t he enginest ill r unning.
3 A car 's enginest opped on t he cir cuit .
4 Some t yr es wer e damaged.
5 A wheel nut f ell of f a car on t he cir cuit .
6 A car 'ssuspensionwas br oken.

38 Unit 5 Breakingpoint :
 I

b Complet e t he following ext ract s from t he t alk using t he worCs in t he box.

bend blochng cnck j am snap

1 ... gou don't wdnt ongthing the airflow to the radiators.

2 ... t heg had a wheel nut - , it wouldn't t urn.
3 ... he didn't hit t he barriers and - t he suspension or
it completelg.
4 ... it didn't - t he t ub - t he chassis.

C Complet e more ext ract s from t he t alk using t he correct form of a verb in
box 1 and a word in box 2.

7 2
blow ct og cut leak run wear rvo'r* toose up out

1 ... a y1u1 wovbe)\ loose on a radiator pipe, which resulted in coolant

liauid -
2 ... he swit ched off before t he sAst em had - of coolant .
3 ... t he engine on one of t he corners.
4 ... the openings in the side pods alwags with dirt.
5 The tAres weren't close to
6 ... t he radiat or problem didn't cause t he engine t o -

d ) s.z t ist en again and check your answer s t o Exer cises 3b and 3c.

e Read t he f ollowing comment s made by r ace t eam t echnicians. Complet e t he

f ollowing sent ences using t he cor r ect f or m of wor ds in Exer cises 3b and 3c.
I Ther e'ssmoke and f lames pour ingout of t he engine.; 1'5 blow\ qP
2 Ther e'sa pool of oil under t he car . Somet hing's
3 This cylinderhead bolt won't loosen.lt 's- .
4 T h e a i r f i | t e r ' sf u | | o f d i r t . | t ' sc o m p | e t e | y - .
5 This wing suppor t 'sbeen movingabout . The bolt s have- .
6 Somet hing'sst oppingt he oil f low The pipe might be
7 Ar e you sur e t hat pushr od'sst r aight ?lt looks as if it 's
8 W e ' | | n e e d t o c h a n g e t h e se b r a k e p a d s. T h e y ' r e n e a r | y - .
9 Ther e'shar dly any f uel lef t in t he car . I n anot her lap, we'll

Read t he t echnical f act s about t he lt alian mot or r acing cir cuit , Monza,
and summarise how t he t rack is different from most ot hers.
Parabolica
ln pair s, discuss t he t echnical pr oblems t hat r acing car s could
have at Monza as a result of t he fact ors described in t he t ext .
t
StarVFinish

Thecircuitis characterised
bylongslraightsandchicanes.Thismeans thecars'engines
areatÍ u|thrott|
| Í or
eover75%ofthe| ap,
a higher percentage
than mostother circuits. ?
Thetrackrequires heavier-than-average
brakingovera givenlap,asthecarsrepeatedly
dece| erate
attheendofsome oftheworld'sí astesl Í ortheslowchicanes.
straights Chicane
Rettifilio
Thechicanes arelinedbyruggedkerbs.
Riding overthesehard iscrucial forfastlaps.
The| ongstraightsrequire | Í orminimum
sma|wings Thismeans
drag. loweÍ downÍ orce'
resulting
inlower griponcorners
andunder braking,andlessstability
overbumps. l" lr
Lesmo2 rl
.
Themainhigh-speed Lesmol, Lesmo
corners 2 andfurabolicaareall rightturns. a ',-1
Partsoflhecircuitaresunounded bytrees,
which meansleaves canbeblown { f}
ontothetrack. Chicane Della Roggia

Unit 5 Br eakingpoint 39
r Assessing f aut t s
andint erpret í ng
5 á | n pairs, discuss a t echnical problem you've experienced wit h a device,
equipment or vehicle. Describe t he fault , and how you t ried t o solve t he
pr oblem.

Read t he t r aining not es f or t elephone helpline

st aff working for a manufact urer of mining
plant . ln pair s, discuss what each point means.

?'ob /em-so /ving check/is t

/ User s observattons.'
- nature oí fau/t
- circumstances of fau/t
- externa/ foctors
2 Process of e/imination
3 /dentií v the í ai/ure
4 Determine action and urqency

6a ) S,l f Ur Rooney, an engineer at a quar r y f ir m, is t alking t o Al, a helpline

consult ant , about a t echnical pr oblem wit h a diesel engine. List en t o t he
conversat ion and answer t he following quest ions.
I What does t he war ning messagesay?
2 What ext er nal f act or is discussedas a possiblecause?
3 Why is t his possiblecause eliminat ed?
4 ln what cir cumst ancesdoes t he f ault occur ?
5 What does t he consult antident if yas t he most likelycause?
6 What act ion is r equir ed,and how ur gent is it ?

Mat ch t he wor ds in t he box t o t heir synonyms in t he sent ences ( l- 7) .

defect defective fut fautty intermittentty major minor property systematicalty

I There's a problem. lat qlt I-

2 Perhapssomet hing syst emis wrong.-
in t hef uelinj ect ion I
3 lt 'sa seriousproblem.
4 lt 'sa slight problem.-
5 ls it workingcorrect ly?
6 Theproblemonlyoccursf rom t ime t o t ime.
7 Theproblemdoesn'toccureveryt ime.-

C Al made t he following not es about t hree engine problems. Mat ch t he fault s

( l -3) t o t he possiblecauses( a-c) .

I Siartormotoraometimos vrorKs,
somo'timesdoesn'i. a holing a1s'tem problem.
ongineis í 1earsold. Fan?ulaterpump?
2 Dietribution
boltfailed.tngineblevr.
be| t replracYó conlaclproblom
b O\ ectrica\
-
recently almostnew l-ooseconncction?
7 Nswengine. Runsfqr 2o mina,ihcniemp.gaugoalwals c Manufacturing dcÍ Ycil
goesintored,and enginecult out (safe\override) lncorrYclfitting?Noi wear

40 point
Unit 5 Breaking
 I

d I n pairs, describethe problemsin Exercise6c usingthe followingphrases.

a fuut t ypart a suddenproblem a syst emat icproblem an inst allat iónprgblem

an int ermit t entproblem causedby wear and t ear I fs / I t was ... I t 's / I t was probably...
Per hapsif s / it was. . . Thisis / wasa . . .

e Complet e t he following t able using t he phrases in t he box from t he

conversat ion.

I doubtifs it can,tbe it couldbe it mightbe it:mtstáe it soundslikeiÍ s

7 it t^ l'^ stbe
1 I í s certain| .y
2 I í s probab| /.y-
3I t spossi bLy / -/ - a pr obt emw i t h. . .
4 I fs probabl.y not/ -
5 I í s certainlynot/ -

f )S,l Complet e t he following ext ract s from t he conversat ion using phrases in
Exercise 2e. List en again and check your answers.
1 Obvioustg, it mqsf be some sort of defect in the fuel iniection sAstem.
2 So - a software problem.
3 ... magbe a defect ive sensor.
4 Presumablg, - angthing too serious.
5 - water, then, if the fuel went in directlg from a deliverg.
6 - a faultg fuel pre-heater.

7 a I n pairs, analyse t he problem described below. Underline t he words in t he box

t hat describe it .

major minor sudden systematic intermittent

The problem
Thedriverof a dumpt ruck,whichoperat esin a quarryhasnot icedt hat t he
truck'sdieselengineis slightlydownon power.The problemhas become
progressivelyworseoverseveralweeks.Apart fromthe powerloss,the
engineis perf ormingconsist ent ly,
wit hno misf iringand no overheat ing.
The
degreeof powerlossremainsconstantthroughouta givenperiodof use,
from startingthe engineto turningit off. No increasein fuel consumption
hasbeennot ed.

Read t he not esand assesst he possible

causesof the problem in Exercise7a using ?ossiblecdffies0f the engineProblern
the words in Exercises6d and 6e. . wdterin thefuel supply
' a lubricationProblen
' a cloggedfuel filter
, a blockagein the exhduit ll;tem
o d cornPres,i\ nle^ Kfr1m the piston
qlinders

Unit 5 Br eakingpoint 47
I DescribÍ ng
t he causesof f ault s
8 Look at t he following st rat egies for prevent ing and dealing wit h t echnical
problemsin aviation. ln pairs, discusswhat is meant by the following
terms and how they are used by engineersand pilots.
I checklist s 3 back- upinst allat ions
2 st andar d pr ocedur es 4 pl annedmai nt enance

9 a Read t he art icleon t he right and "We have a problem"

answer the followingquestions.
I Howdid t he problemst art ?
2 Whatweret he init ial,unseen
consequences?
3 Whatweret he subsequent
conseouences?
b Complet e t he sequence of
event s t hat followed t he
f uel leak on t he Air bus
A330 usingt he
extracts (a-d).
Thetruestoryof AirTnnsat Ftight236.
tT,h. chain of events began during routine maintenance
I work on an Air Transat Airbus A330. An incorrect
hydraulic pipe was fitted to the right-hand engine. The
component was oversized, leaving inadequate clearance
with an adiacent fuel line. Subsequently, the two pipes
rubbed together, causing the fuel line to wear progressively.
The problem went undetected, until the night of August
24,2001, at 35,000 feet above the Atlantic. !(rith Flight
236 en route from Toronto to Lisbon, carrying 30ó
people, the fuel line ruptured, resulting in a major leak.
Less ú an two hours later, the aircraft was completely out
of fuel, gliding silently through the night sky . . .

Ül: ] B rrre flight dat a recorder amount of fuel remainingin 116: ll -

regist eredan abnormalincrease
in fuel consumpt ion.At t his
st age.howeve[ t hisslight
anomalywas insufficientt o
causewarning light st o come
on t o aleft t he crew t o anv
imminentdanger.
ilS: ll n warning message
came up. alert ingt he crew
t o an í mba| ance beNveent he
amount of f uel in each wing
t he problemwas
t ank. I nit ially.
t hought t o be an inst rument
malfunct ion.But furt heranalysis
bv the crew revealedthat the
t he right t ank was significant ly
below t he planned quant it y.
05: t l5 ,qsa precaut ion.t he crew
decided t o diveft t o t he nearest
airport- t he Laj esmilit aryairbase
in t he Ázores.
ÜE: dE rruc 2 FAI Lappeareo,
and t he left engine cut out .
Having complet elyrun out of
fuel,and wit h bot h engines
now down, t he AirbusA330
was gliding.descendingat
2.000 feet oer minut e.
ÜE: lE, wit rr t he airportin
sight ,t he landinggear was
lowered manually.The pilot
t hen performeda seriesof
spect acuí ar z| 9za9manoeuvres
t o slow t he plane down as
much as possible.The aircraft
t ouched down on t he runway
at 370 km/ h - exceedingt he
st andardapproachspeed
by over 100 km/ h. The pilot
applied emergencybraking.
causingseveralt yrest o blow
out and cat ch fire.But t he plane
stopped safely.well before the
end of t he runway.

a An alarm sounded, a red mast erwarning lit up
and t he messageENG I FAI Lcame up on t he
screen.Secondslat et t he right engine flamedout
due t o insufficientfuel.
b During a rout ineinst rumentcheck,t he crew
not iceda disproport ionat eamount of oil had
been used by each engine. Oil pressureand
t emperat urereadingsfor each engine were also
irregular,but t he levelswere found t o be wit hin
acceot ableoaramet ers.
As t he aircraftwas now powerlessand pot ent ially
uncont rollable,an emergencyram air t urbine
was deployedaut omat icallyt o generat eback-up
elect ricalpower for t he fly-by-wire cont rolsand
inst rument s.Howevel wit h t he main hydraulics
shut down. t he flapsand spoilersused t o slow t he
plane beforeand aft erlanding were inoperable.
The co-pilotcalculat edt he plane could remain
airbornefor 15-20 minut es.and t hat l-aj esairbase
was an est imat ed20 minut esaway.
The crew decided t o t akeact ion t o correctt he
anomaly,opening a cross-feed valvet o t ransfer
fuel from t he leftt ank t o t he riqht t ank.

42 Unit 5 Br eakingpoint

I
 T

C Make opposit es of t he following words using t he prefixes in t he box.

ab- dis- im- in- (xa) ir- mat- over- un-

I correct irrcowecf 7 proportionate
2 undersized I regular
3 adequat e 9 balance
4 detected l 0 f unct ion
5 nor mal l l operable
6 suf f icient

d Complet e t he following sent ences using t he words in Exercise 9c. Somet imes
more t han one word is possible.
l Th et em p er at u r eg au g eWasf au | t y . Th at ' sw h y i t w asg i v i n g -
r eadings.
2 The shaf t was t hinner t han it should have been, so it s st r engt hwas

3 The poweroutputfromthe motorvaries.We don't understandwhy it's

4 The bolt 's . lt 's t oo big t o f it int o t he hole.

5 Th em ach i n e' sn o t w o r k i n g asi t sh o u | d . Th er e' sso m ek i n d o f - .
o The br akingf or ceon bot h f r ont wheelsshould be t he same. Ther e shouldn'tbe
an_.
Th ef au l t Was- . No n eo f t h em ai n t en an cet ech n i ci an sh ad n o t i ced
it .
8 The cont r ol panel isn't wor king,so you can't cont r ol t he machine.lt 's t ot ally

0 a ) S.l Julia, an aircraf tservicet echnician,is phoningAlan, a colleague,about

a problem with the tyres on a plane. Listen to the conversationand mark the
statementsTrue O) or False (F).
I Thet yrepressures on t he blockbeingdiscussed are OK.
2 Thereis t oo lit t leair insidesomeof t he t yres.
3 Thetyre pressuresare the sameacrossthe aircraft.
4 Thedegreeof wear acrossall the tyresis the same.

Complet e t he following sent ences using words in Exercise 9c

t o make t rue sent ences about t he conversat ion.
I Thet yrepressures on t he blockbeingdiscussed are-.
2 Thereis air pressureinsidesomeof t he t yres.
3 Thet yrepressures on t hat blockare
to the rest of the aircraft.
Thewear rate is - acrossall the tvres.

ln pairs, discussthe possiblecausesof

insufficienttyre pressurein general,and
the specificproblemJulia describesin
Exercise10a, and say why each general
cause you discussedis likely or unlikely
in this case.
I Discussingrepairsand maint enance
tta I n pairs, discuss t he difference bet ween repairs and maint enance and
declde whet her t he following words relat e t o repairs, maint enance or bot h.

broken ctogged defective fautty worn

b ! n pair s, compar e car maint enance wit h air cr af t maint enance.Which

aspect s are quit e similar and which are very different ?

72a Mat ch t he cont ent sect ions ( l - 10) of an air cr af t ser vice manual t o t he
descript ions (a-j ).

Contents
I Openingand dismant lingaccesspanels
2 Toppingup, drainingand replacing
coolant sand lubricant s
3 Replacingfilt ers
4 Safely isolat ingelect ricalcomponent s
5 Safelydisconnect ingand reconnect ing
electrical components
6 Mechanicalconnect ionst o be checkeÜ
t ight enedat eachservice
7 Parts susceptibleto wear/ damage,to be
examinedat eachservice
8 Sensit ivedevicest o be adiust edat each
service
9 I nformationon non-serviceableparts/
sealedunit s
l0 Tableof componentlif e spans
nrl
LEJ a Swit chingof f t he power supply
b Making sur e cer t ain par t s haven'twor ked
! loose
! c Changingpar t s t hat can become clogged
! d Addi ngand changi ngf l ui ds
e Equipmentt hat needst o be set up pr ecisely
!
maintenanee
!
g Takingpar t s of f and r ef it t ingt hem wit hout
! danger
h Component st hat can't be r epair edon sit e
! i Det ailsof how long par t s ar e designedt o
last
! j Making sur e par t s ar e st ill in good condit ion
!

b Mat ch t he ver bs ( l- lO) f r om Exer cise l2a t o t he def init ions ( a- j ) .

1 adj ust a carryout plannedmaint enance
2 drain b changean ot dor damaged part
3 disconnect c checkcarefutty
4 dismantle d empt ya t iquid
5 examine e addmoreftuidto fitt a tankto the recommended level
6 replace f set up carefullyby makingsma[changes
[
7 reconnect Í 1 t akeapartassembt edcomponent s
8 service h apptythe correcttorque,for exampte to loosebotts
9 tighten i est ablish
a connect ion
again
10 t op up j removeor isolatefroma circuitor network

44 Unit 5 Br eakingpoint
13a ) s.s n ser vice t echnician is examining some machiner y and t alking t o
a colleague. What does he say about each point on t he maint enance
checklist ?

l4aí ntervance
ClwcL| tst
1 Caalp.nttawL
2 Caalp"wt
canlí tí an
3 Caa| n,wt
fi,Ltcrcanlí tí an
t+ BLal,owenr/ da,rrr,qe
5 BLala aLr,gnruwt

) s.S t ist en again. Do you t hink t he t echnicians ar e wor king on an air cr af t

or on an indust r ial machine?

c ln pair s, discuss what maint enance needs t o be car r ied out on t he

machiner y in Exer cise | 3a, descr ibing t he oper at ions st ep by st ep.

74a You wor k f or I PS, a pr oducer of indust r ial packaging machiner y.As a
member of t he global ser vice t eam your r ole is t o t r avel abr oad dealing
wit h ser ious t echnical pr oblems at your client s' plant s. Read t he f ollowing
email f r om a plant in Helsinki and summar ise t he pr oblem.

To Chris McLean
Subj eclForklif tdamaoe t o lPSl5 Helsinki

our phoneconversat iont his morningI confirmt hat a Í ork| ift

Fo| | owing t ruck has hit
our lPSl5 unit .The impacthas madea lar geholein t he mainpanelon t he side
oÍ t he machine.our t echnicianwho is t rainedt o carryout rout ineadj ust ment s
on t he machinehas made an ext ernalvlsualinspect ion.He has advisedme t hat
t he mechanismsfor adj ust ingt he precisealignmentof t he cut t ingblades have
been damaged.Liquidlubr icantis also leakingout f r omundert he machineand a
cracklingsound can be heardinsidet he unitwhen it is swit chedon - presumably
due t o ear1hing/ short -circuit resu|
ing t ingÍ rome| ect rica|damage.
by your servicet eam'
I conÍ irmmy requestfor int ervent ion

ln pair s, descr ibe t he sequence of st eps you'll need t o

t ake t o car r y out r epair s when you ar r ive in Finland,
lPs ls HelsihLi
using t he not es t o help you. e i\ tev\ arl )totuatge
e ol/ garrfs
75 Think back t o some r epair s or maint enance you did, r elec| ricarl srapgly: our/ o€
€
or had done f or you, in t he past , f or example on a r ltabvicai\ t: i\ ,/ oqt
car , bike or domest ic appliance. I n pair s, explain what r extevrrarl gartrels
ser vicing or r epair s wer e r equir ed, and t he main st eps e atligruaert oP craftitg bla/ res
involved in car r ying t hem out . e t est
e \ ew Pavfs

Unit 5 Br eakingpoint 45
 UNIT 6
Discussingtechnicat ,-
requirements 90 -t
a Suggesting ideasandsolutions
a Assessingfeasibitity
a Describingimprovementsand
redesigns

E Discussing
t echnicalr eguir ement s
What is needs analgsis? ln pairs, discuss why t he following fact ors are
impor t ant in needs analysis, giving examples of pr oduct s and inst allat ions.

budget capacit y dimensions t ayout looks performance

regut at ions t imesca[ e

2a ) O.t Clauaia, an engineel is asking Kevin and Dave, t he manager s of a f un

par k, about t heir r equir ement s f or a pr oposed space module simulat or called
Mars Lander. List en t o t he conversat ion and not e t he t hree main areas
Claudia asks about .

)t f How do Ct audia and Kevin focus on specific subiect s? Complet e t he

following phrases from t he conversat ion using t he words in t he box. List en
again and check your answer s.

concernedregard regardingregardst erms

1 ... wit h t o t he capacit A,...

2 ... in of t he number of people ...
3 ... as far as size is -
4 ... And os - t he gr aphics ...
5 . . .- t he schedul e. . .

Wr it e quest ions using t he f ollowing pr ompt s and t he phr ases in Exer cise 2b.
I dimensions: what / overall size / module? \ ,it h vqgot v)'fo fhe / ,ir^ ,rerrsiorrs,
what| is the overatll size o| | he wroáqle7
2 mat erials: what I bodywork I made of?
3 schedul e:w hen/ w or k sf ar t ?
4 power :what / maxiir um out put I needI be?
5 heat r esist ance:what sor t / t emper at ur e/ paint / need / wit hst and?
6 t oler ance:what level/ pr ecision/ you want us / wor k t o?
46 Unit 6 Technicaldevelopment

T
 I

I a )O.Z Claudia goes on t o ask about t he physical effect s t he simulat or needs

t o produce. List en t o t he conversat ion and make not es on t he following
point s.
I Possiblevar iat ionin simulat ormovement
2 Ext ent of physical effect srequired
3 Best way t o assess physical effect s

)O.Z t ist en again and expt ain what is meant by t he words and phrases
in bold.
1 ... to what extent do gou wont the experience to be phgsical?
2 The degree to which it moves can be varied ...
3 ... tfb obviouslg difficult to quantifg something like this ...
4 The onlg wag to determine what's right is to actuallg sit in a simulator ...
5 ... gou con ossess the possibilities.

Following t he meet ing, Claudia writ es an email t o updat e Rod, an

engineering colleague. Read t he ext ract and choose a word or phrase from
Exercise 3b t hat means t he same as t he words in bold. Somet imes more
t han one answer is possible.

To: Rod Nelson

SubiectMars
: Lander

I nordert o (] ) Í .ndout about t hesimu| at or's

dynamiccapabilit ies, we | ookedat t he
t ypesoÍ effectt hesimu| at or shou| dproduce'and (2)t he amount t hesephysica| ,rSSeSS
I
effect sshou| dbe Í e|by t passengers'SpeciÍ ical|ty' heÍ ol| owing issueswerediscussed:
2_
- (3)How severely shouldt he modulegenerat evibrat ion, t o simulat eenginet hrust ?
- How muchbuffet ing shouldbe simulat ed? Thatis, (4)how severely t he module
3
generat esj olt ing,due t o supposedat mospheric t urbulence.
4
- (5)How much willpassengersbe exposedt o const antlinearGJorce,t o simulat e
decelerat ion?
| nordert o (6)work out t he magnit udeoÍ t heaboveparamet ers, it was decidedt hat
t he prot ot ype willbe equippedwit hvariablecont rols.Thiswillenablet heclientt o
(7)eva| uat edifferent| eve| oÍs severit yt hrought ria| sinsidet hesimu| at or'
-a-t

4 You are consult ing engineers preparlng t o work wit h a space agency t o
design an unmanned landing module. The module, which will carry scient ific
equipment , is int ended t o det ach from a space ship orbit ing Mars and
land on t he planet . At t his st age, t his is all you know about t he proj ect . I n
pairs, prepare a list of t he main quest ions you will need t o ask at t he needs
analysis meet ing using t he following ideas.
. t ype of scient if icequipment
o size/ weightof equipment
o solidit y/ f r agilitof
y equipment
o sur f acecondit ionsat landingsit e

Unit 6 Technicaldevelopment 47
 Suggest ingideasand solut ions
) I n pairs, discuss t he following quest ions about creat ive t hinking.
o What ar e t he most ef f ect iveways of coming up wit h ideas and f inding
ingenioussolut ionst o t echnicalpr oblems?
o What do you t hink of br ainst or ming- gener at inglot s of ideas r andomly
in a group session, without analysis initiatty,then subiecting each idea to
analysisand cr it icismas a second phase?
o What do you t hink of evaluat ingideas pr ogr essively- cont inuallysubj ect ing
t hem t o analysisand cr it icism?
o When cr eat ivet hinkingis r equir edt o solve pr oblems,what ar e t he pr os and
cons of wor king individually,in small gr oups,or in lar gegr oups?

6 a Read t he newspaper art ict e and answer t he following quest ions.

I How is t he st at ue being made, and what is it being made f r om?
2 What is Rick Gilliam'sr ole?
3 What will t he st at ue be placed on in it s f inal posit ionin f r ont of t he
museum?
4 What t echnicalpr oblem did t hey havet o solve?

t Th" new st at ue out side t he

I Museum of Nat ural Hist ory
has been a mammot h proj ect ,
lit erally. The soon-t o-becomplet ed
sculpt ure port rays a life'sized
woolly mammot h, carved from a
sing| e block oÍ sandst one. I nit ially,
one aspect of t he proj ect had
engineers baí fled. Rick Gilliam,
t he engineer overseeing t he
logist ics, admit t ed t hat he and his
colleagues had fried t heir brains
t rying t o figure out how t he
36-t onne monst er could be
lowered ont o t he st one plint h t hat
will support it .
'We knew t hat we could put slings
under t he base of t he st at ue,
and pick it up wit h a crane,' he
explained, and t hat t ransport ing
it from t he st onemason's vard t hey can be wit hdrawn? We couldn't t hink
on a lowJoader wouldn't be a problem. of an easy way t o do it .' The creat ive
'The problem is placing it
on t he flat plint h answer event uat ly came, not from t he
t hat support s it . How do you prevent engineers, but from t he st onemasons, who
t he crane's slings from get t ing t rapped had affect ionat ely been nicknamed t he
'cavemen'.
bet ween t he base and t he plint h, so t hat

48 Unit 6 Technicatdevet opment

b Rick is t alking t o Gabr iella, an engineer ing colleague, about t he pr oblem of
placing t he st at ue. Bef or e you list en, explain what is meant by t he f ollowing
t er ms and t r y t o guess what t he t hr ee possible solut ions ar e.

bar dritt friction a grab(onthe endof a cranejib)

horizontal lifting eyes resin verticat

C ) O.g List en t o t he conver sat ion and summar ise t he ideas. How do t heir ideas
compare wit h yours? Why is each suggest ion rej ect ed?

d Complet e t he following suggest ions from t he conversat ion using t he words in

t he box.

about atternativelyanother coutd couldn't don't not

1 Whg \ ot come up with a wag of hooking onto the side of the statue?
2 Well, we drill int o it , horizont allg ...?
3 We fill all the holes, couldn't we?
4 Or, - , we could mal:e sure the holes were out of sight.
5 What drilling into the top, verticallg?
6 I suppose opt ion would be t o use some sort of grab, on t he end
of the crane jib.
7 Whg we ask t hem?

g You ar e engineer s wor king on t he mammot h st at ue pr oj ect , wit h t he f ollowing

t echnical r equir ement s. ln pair s, discuss possible solut ions t o t he pr oblem of
placing t he st at ue on t he plint h using t he phr ases in t he box.

Alt er nat ively Anot heropt ionwouldbe . . . Couldn' we t ... Wecould. . .

Wh atab ou t . . .? Wh yd on ' tw e . . . ? Wh yn ot . . . ?

l aces mhs! vematih iht,rc| .

No holes, s| o| s ov gvoTves w.otybe cut ih | he s| at| qe. fl| l o€ i| s sh'€
, NT sP,rcevS l,q,rYbe le€
t belweeh the qtláevsiáe o* | he star| ue,s { lar| barse au/ the + lat
h| | ev J[ av| a16eo€ | he glirr| h. Í he two sh'Paces mus| be le{ t i\ áivec| co\ t,rc| with earch
olhev.
o Í Áe startqe u,rl^ s|lrot be srabjec| eá | o shocks. Sra/ áe\ ),vols, evelt oQar € ew u.rillimetves,
atve oht o* | he qqes+ io\ giverr | he * vargility oP the sch| PtqY€ / especiatlly art its covhevs at\ á
e)tgeS, which cort\ be ),ov,tage), eatSily.
, A'ly accessovy eqrriguaerr|u,ratybe raseá, withitt the liprits o€ tech'ricarl possibi| it7 atrrá
rearsotlrrble cost

The st onemasons suggest ed a solut ion t o t he st at ue pr oblem. Read t heir idea

on page 99 and compar e it wit h your solut ion. What ext er nal f act or s could
cause some pr oblems wit h t heir idea? How could t hese be solved?

Unit 6 Technicaldevet opment 49

 Assessingfeasibit it y
8 a I n pairs, dscuss what is meant by feasibilit g.

b Look at t he flow chart and, in pairs, discuss how budget s and schedules
affect t he t echnical feasibilit y of design, development and manufact uring
solut ions.

Si ze of budget
A bigger / smallerbudget of t en means ... Techní cal f easibit it y
... mor e/ lesssophist icat ed/ innovat ive design.
Lengt hof schedul e ... higher / lowerqualit y/ r eliabi
lit y/ ef t iciency.
A longer / shor t erscheduleof t en means ...

9a )s.l vit toa an engineerfrom a German

companyt hat makesand inst allsindust rial
gantry cranes,is phoningRaiesh,the
constructionmanagerof a manufacturing
plant current lybeingbuilt near New Delhi,
lndia. They are discussingthe gantry crane
due to be installedat the plant. Listen to
the conversationand answer the following
questions.
I Whyare holesneededin t he concret e walls?
2 What are core drilled holes and what are
preformedholes?
3 ln t his cont ext ,what is meant by plag?
4 What impact will t he lack of play ar ound t he bolt s have ( on t he
const r uct ion) ?
5 Apar t f r om t echnicalquest ions,what t wo issueswill det er minet he most
f easibleway of f or mingt he holes?

ln pairs, compare core drilling and preforming wit h regard t o t he following

feasibilit y issues. Which t echnique is most suit able for t he sit uat ion in
ü: Exercise 9a?
fr
cost precision ümescate

)O.S Vift or and Raj esh are assessing t he most suit able met hod of forming
t he holes in t he walls. List en t o t he conversat ion and compare t heir
answers wit h yours.

)o.l t ist en again and answer t he following quest ions.

I What are t he advant agesof using preformed holes in t erms of cost and
t imescale?
2 What 'st he main disadvant ageof cor e dr illingt he holes?
3 What t olerance can easily be achieved wit h preformed holes?
4 What t olerance is required for t he holes on t his proj ect ?
5 What 's t he risk of using preformed holes?
6 What key feasibilit y issue does Raj esh ident ify?

50 Unit 6 Í echnicaldevet opment

 I

e Complet e t he following expressions from t he conversat ion using t he words in

t he box and indicat e t he degree of feasibilit y each expression describes.

borderline dcad forever teg painstaking peanuts perfectl.ystretching.tatt way

@-e @l perf ect ly

f easible o
1 it,tlbe AeaA 2g5g Ú ! tr
2
3
it 't t cost -
it ' llbequit ea- j ob
tr D !
f easible but
chal l engi ng o
! ! tr complet et y
4 it's-feasible tr ! ! unf easible @
5 it 's achievable, but it 's- it !! tr
6 t here's no -
-l Aou can do it !l !
it 's- !! !
8 if's o -order !! !
9 it 'llt ake - trtr !
10 it 'll cost an arm and a - !! !
f How feasible do you t hing t he following suggest ions are? Label t t rem @ Q
or @ according t o t he key in Exercise 9e.
1 The machinepar t s ar e t r icky t o paint wit h br ushes,or t o spr ay.Why don't we
di p t hem i n pai nt ?
2 The st eel bar is lOOmm in diamet er .Couldn't it be cut by hand, using a
hacksaw?
3 Silver'sa good conduct or.Why don't we use it for wiring, inst ead of copper?
4 I nst eadof put t inglead ballast in t he heliumballoonbasket ,why don't we use
wat er cont ainers?
5 They'veused t he wrong t ype of fuel in t he engine.I 'd suggest st ripping t he
wholet hing down and cleaningit by hand.
6 They pr oduce6,000 unit sper day and nor mallydo a qualit ycheckon l0loof
t hem. Couldn'tt hey checkever ysinglepr oduct ?

g ln pairs, give an appropriat e response t o t he suggest ions in Exercise 9f

using t he expressions in Exercise 9e.

10 I n pairs, discuss t he feasibilit y of t he following solut ions t o t he problem of

forming accurat ely posit ioned holes t hrough t he plant walls in New Delhi.
St udent A, you are Vikt or; St udent B, you are Raj esh. Discuss t echnical
issues, cost and t imescale, and rank t he solut ions in order of feasibilit y.
I ls a diamond dr ill r eally neededt o go t hr ough r einf or cedconcr et e?Sur ely you
can dr ill int o concr et ewit h an or dinar vhammer - act iondr ill? Wouldn'tt hat
r educet he cost ?
2 Couldn't t hey make t he pr ef or medholeswider t han r equir ed,so t her e'sext r a
t oler ance?Then, once t he bolt s ar e f ixed, t he space ar ound t hem could be
f illed wit h cement .
3 Why not dr ill t he holes in t he st eel beams on sit e, inst eadof pr e- dr illing
t hem? Then t hey could be posit ionedt o suit t he locat ionof t he pr ef or med
holes in t he wall. That way,it wouldn't mat t er if t he holes in t he wallswer e
slight lyout of posit ion.
4 I nst eadof bolt ingt hr ought he concr et e,what about adding ext r a st eel
columnst hat r un down t he walls?The beams could t hen be suppor t edon
t hese,and no holeswould be r equir edt hr ought he concr et e.

Unit 6 Technicaldevelopment 51
 Describingimprovementand
s redesigns
Look at the slide from an engineers'trainingcourse,TotalTechnical
lmprovemenÚ.| n pairs, suggest examplesof technica|improvementsto
illustrateeach one. Are there other points that could be added to the list?

t2 it Look at the slide from a design meetingat a computer printer

manufacturer.ln pairs, suggestwaysthat the followingprinter factors
might be improvedin some of the areas on the list.
cables/ connections cartridges papeÍ poweÍ software
case ink/ toner

Pccolble oneoe Í or improvemonÜ

I Aesthetics
2 User interfoce
3 Reliobility
4 Gonsumobles
5 Outpur quolity ond speed
ó MoinÍ enonce
7 Monufocturing
I Environmentql impocr
'LO.O
ft 4".t ", a manager at t he print er manufact urer, is briefing t he design
team on key requirements for the redesign of a printer. Listen to the start of
t he meet ing. Which t wo areas on t he slide in Exercise l2a are discussed?

)O.O t ist en again and answer t he following quest ions.

I Should t he layout and component sof t he new pr int er dif f er much f r om t he
exist ingdesign?Why ( not ) ?
2 How many t imes has t he exist ingmodel been impr ovedin t he past ?
3 What consider at ionis behind t he decisionon how dif f er entt he new sof t war e
shoul dbe?
4 To what ext ent should t he new soft waresyst em differ from t he exist ing one?

Look at t he following verbs from t he discussion and find t hree examples

where re- means again. Mat ch t he ot her t hree verbs t o t he definit ions in
t he box.

improveoverall improvethe details stay(thesame)

I r edesign áesiqrr arqarirr 3 ref ine 5 ret hink

2 r einvent 4 revamp 6 remain

52 Unit 6 Technicaldevelopment
 )O.O Complet e t he following expressions from t he discussion using t he
words in t he box. List en and check your answers.

Achil.tesback dnwingboard ground heel improvement

leap quantum rcinvant room scntch up whct

1 veirrve\f the wheel

2 designing the whole thing from the
for
4 the
5 to the
6 make a
1 designing the sgstem from

Mat ch t he expr essions ( l - 5) in Exer cise l2e t o t he def init ions ( a- 0.

a wast e t ime r e- cr eat ingsomet hingt hat has alr eady been cr eat ed I
b t he biggest weakness
c st ar t again becauset he f ir st plan f ailed
d make huge pr ogr ess-
e design f r om t he beginning I-
f pot ent ialf or doing a bet t er j ob -

Rewrit e t he following sent ences using t he correct form of t he expressions

in Exer cise l2e.
1 Unf or t unat ely,we had t o scr ap t he concept and st ar t again.
We hará | o qo barclr | o | he ztvarwir,rq boav)..
2 This pr oblem is t he pr oduct 'smost ser iousshor t coming.

3 Ther e'sno point r edesigningwhat alr eadywor ks per f ect lywell.

4 lt 's a t ot ally new design - we st ar t edf r om t he ver y beginning.

5 The new design is so much bet t er - it 's a t r ansf or mat ion

I
6 I t hink t her e'sdef init elya possibilit yt o do bet t er in t his ar ea.

. 3a ! n pairs, discuss how comput er point ing devices have improved since t he
first mouse was invent ed. Use t he language from t his sect ion and t he
words in t he box.

bat t but t ons first mechanicalmouse opt ical mouse opt ical sensors
refinedmechanicalmouse sensit ivesurfuce t ouchpad wheel wiret ess

You have been asked by a comput er hardware manufact urer t o t hink of

some funct ional improvement s and t echnical solut ions for point ing devices.
ln pair s, discuss your ideas.

í QrEffi
Present your ideas in ExerciseI 3b to another pair.

Unit 6 Technicaldevelopment 53
 UNIT 7
Describingheatthandsafety
precautions
Emphasising theimportanceof
precautions
Discussingregulations
and
standards
Workingwith written
instructions
andnotices

n Descr ibing
healt handsaf et y
pr ecaut ions
tl Some engineer ing or indust r ial act ivit ies ar e especially danger ous. ln pair s,
t hink of mor e examples t o add t o t he f ollowing list .
o Manuf act ur i ngpr ocessesusi ngdanger ouschemi cal s
e Cast i ngand w el di ngi nvol vi nghi gh t emper at ur es

2a ln pair s, discuss what is meant Dorian Food Processing

by t he it ems on t he Healt h and
Safet y meet ing agenda.
b ) l,t Rosana, t he assist ant
manager at a Dor ian Food
Pr ocessing plant , is chair ing
t he weekly Healt h and Safet y
meet ing. List en t o four ext ract s
f r om t he meet ing and mat ch
each ext ract (a-d) t o an
agenda it em ( l - 7) .
a_ c_
Healt h & Safet y Meet ing Agenda
Wednesday ló Apr il, Conf er ence Room, 2.00pm - 4.0C
To: RM, MA, DB, SM, BP, LJ
Chair : Rosana Mar t inez
I Hazar doussubst ances& Per sonal Pr ot ect iveEquipment
2 Har mf ul gases/ f umes6 asphyxiat ion hazar ds
3 Fi r e/ Expl osi onhazar ds
4 Machiner y: guar dsand saf et ydevices
5 Accessways, guar dr ailsand emer gencyexit s
ó Elect r icaI inst allat ions
7 Noise hazar ds

) l.t List en again and mat ch t he wor ds f r om t he meet ing ( l - 8) t o t he

def init ions ( a- h) .
1 confinedspaces a burnst he skin
2 C0, detector b cont act ( wit h a danger)
3 exposure c sourcesof ignit ion
4 irrit ant d small areaswit hout vent it at ion
5 t oxic e measurescarbondioxide
6 corrosive f poisonous
7 flammable g causesskin to react
8 naked flames/ sparks h catchesfire easily

54 and pr ecaut ions

Unit 7 Pr ocedur es

L
 Which four types of PPE shownin the photosare mentionedat the
meeting?

I n pairs, discussthe hazardsin the followingsituationsand the precautions

that should be taken.
I Workinginsidea cont ainerwit hlimit edair circulat ion
2 Cleaningmet alusingacidt hat can burnt he skinand whichgivesof ff umes
3 Usinga grinderto cut througha steelplate
4 Applyingpaintt hat cancausepainf ulrasheson t he hands

3a Stephanie,Dorian'ssenior safety officer,is attendinga meetingon

standard procedurefor some engineeringwork that will be carried out at
severalof Dorian'splants around the world. Before the meetingshe made
notes. Read her notes and answer the followingquestions.
I What is meant by hazard

analgsis?
2 What is anotherwayto saysafe
sAstem of work?
3 What typeof work is goingto be
carriedout, and where?
4 What is meantby accessto
silos?
5 What are the specifichazards
relatingto confinedspacesin
t hissit uat ion?
b
Hazardanafusts & safesptenoft^ rorL.
} peratÍ sn:t4aí nten'a,we,
tagraí nsí hs .'G- ,
í nva| ,víweaí
ltg ng(ufthary-ar,etgb'w)
U
kcat isnlInterí nn a( enptgsí ks(apprar
3n dí nrwter r,| 5n daep),at battans
f[aí nsa| etgí ssws:ilcussta sihsforr.,orters
& quí pwnt' Can!í wd, spoa hnzards

b )l: Stephanieis discussingsome of the hazardswith Ben, one of Dorian's

engineering managers. Listen to the conversationand note the hazards
that they mention.
I Access hazards:
2 Confinedspacehazards:

C )lf Listen again and answerthe followingquestions.

I What safetyprecautions are discussed?
2 Whichprecautionmightmakeone of the hazardsworse,and how?

I n pairs, discusssuitablehealth and safety precautionsand PPE for

the following operations on an existing steel petrol storage tank at a
processingplant. Student A, you are a safety officer; Student B, you are an
engineeringmanager.Use the phrasesin the box. Swap roles and practise
again.
a An openingneedst o be cut t hrought hewall.
o A newst eelout letpipemustt henbe weldedont ot he opening.
a The existingpaint mustthen be removedfrom the externalsurfaceof the
t ank,by shot -blast ing.
Thetank must then be repainted.
Themaindanger/ hazard is . haveto takecarethat ...
They'tL
Anot herdanger/ hazardis ... haveto be (very)caretul...
They'l.t
a riskof... -ing
There's Tobe safe,they'tl.needto ...

Unit 7 Proceduresand precaut ions 55

 Emphasising of precaut ions
t he import ance
a Dorian Food Processingis currentlystandardisingsafety proceduresat
its plants around the world. Read the followingextract from the contents
page of the company'snew safety documentationand answerthe following
questions.
I What is meantby LVand HV elect ricalmaint enanceoperat ions?
mightbe carriedout in a f act ory?
2 What kindsof elect ricalmaint enance

LV &HV ELECTRI CAL MAI NTENANCE OPEMTI ONS

Part I I dentifying and designating Restricted Areas
(swit chboards, t ransÍ ormerst at ions, areas wit h
exposed conductors)
Part 2 Aut horising maint enance
- The role of t he Elect rical Supervisor
- Procedures for issuing Permit s t o Work
Part 3 I solat ingand energisingcircuit s
- Lock-Out Procedure
- Temporary Warning Notices on switchboards

)l.l tisten to Stephanieexplainingthe safety proceduresto Lin, the plant

manager in Beij ing.What is meant by the followingphrases?
I restrictedareas
2 a permitt o work
3 t he elect ricalsupervisor
4 the lock-outprocedure

)l.l Completethe followingextractsfrom the conversationby underlining

the phrasesthat give the strongest emphasis.Listen to the conversation
again and checkyour answers.
1 Restrictedareas are places wherea seriousdanger is present.So it's
essentialthat theseshould be kept locked at oll times / all the time.
ll, 2 Under no circumstancesshould angone/ Nobodg should under ang
lli circumstancesbe able to access them ...
3 ... it'simportantthat permitsare issued each time / everg single time
someoneenters...
4 And it'scrucial thot there'sjust one / just a single keg to eoch restricted
area.
5 Then,whiletheg'reworking,it's vital / ittsadvisable that thegkeep the keg
on t hem. . .

Which of the followingphrasesgive more emphasisthan rt3 important, and

whichgive less?
I it 'scrucial 3 it'spreferable
2 it 'sessent ial 4 it'svital

56 Unit 7 Proceduresand precaut ions

I
 I

Rewritethe followingprecautionsusingthe phrasesin the box to add emphasis.

atatFtirrrcseverysingte ií s crucial ií s essential ií s ütat
undernocircumstances

I Thef ireexit shouldalwaysbe keptclear.

Í he s'e exi| shorrla\be kept clearr at| arlltrt.les.
2 lt 'simport antt o t est t hat t he circuitis isolat ed.

3 You should r eset t he alar m r out inelywhen you st ar t t he syst em.

4 lt 's a good idea t o check t hat t he cable is not damaged.

t hat youshouldonlyst orenon-f lammable

I t 'srecommended mat erialsin
t hiszone.

6 Nobody should ent er t he r est r ict edar ea wit hout per mission.

7 Bef orepressurising aret ight .

t he syst em,makesureall t he connect ions

I n pairs, discuss t he following basic precaut ions for working on elect rical circuit s.
Before st art ing: During work: To finish:
o lsolat e cir cuit at swit chboar d o Tight enconnect ionsf ully o Check no loose wir es
o Test cir cuit - no cur r ent o Don't damage insulat ion o Test cir cuit

6 d Read t he following ext ract from an elect ricit y company newslet t er. What
procedure does t he art icle describe?

A helicopt erhoversbet weent he t oweringpylonsof an ext ra-high-volt age power

line. I n a cr adle,suspendedsever almet r esbelowt he air cr af tst , andt wo line
men,shr oudedin hooded,st ainless- st eel t hr eadedhot suit s.Justa f ew f eetaway
is a liveelect r iccable,f izzingwit h 400,000volt s.One of t he men, holdinga
shor tmet alwand,r eachesout t owar dst hecable.Pocker sizedlight ningbolt s
ar c t hr ought he air .Ther et no discer nibleelect r icshock,,iusta slightt ingling
sensat ion. A lead is t henclippedt o t he livecablet o maint ainan elect r ical
connect ionwit h t hecr adleand helicopt erThe . line men ar e now on, and
maint enance wor k on t he live power line can begin.

I n pairs, discuss t he main precaut ions you t hink should be t aken during
live line maint enance work by helicopt er wit h regard t o t he following hazards.
I Collisionsand snagging( get t ingcaught / t r apped)
2 Hazards from elect rocut ionand heat
3 Mechanicalf ailur e( helicopt erand equipment )

)l.l frisaof, an elect rical engineer, is describing live line maint enance by
helicopt er for a TV document ary. What precaut ions does he describe for
each of t he t hree t ypes of hazard in Exercise 6c?

ln pairs, t hink of an operat ion you are familiar wit h t hat requires safet y
precaut ions. St udent A, you are a safet y officer; explain t he precaut ions t o
a new employee. St udent B, you are a new employee. Swap roles and
pract ise again.
Unit 7 Proceduresand
tl
ll
- Discussingregulat ions
andst andards
ll
8 ln pairs, discuss what is meant by regulations and standards, Í or
example safetg regulations and design standards. Give some examples of
organisationsand departmentsin your countryand lnternationalbodies
that producethese kinds of rules.

9a Offshore oil platformsare coveredby extensivesafety regulationsand

design standards. ln pairs, discussthe main hazardsthat oil platform
workersface and suggest some safety precautionsthat need to be taken.

)7.5 lsobel, a Health and Safety specialist,is speakingto newlyrecruited

oil platform technicianson a training course.Listen to the introductionto
her talk and answer the followingquestlons.
I What kindsof regulat ion
willt he coursedealwit h?
2 What examplesdoest he t rainergive?
3 What import antpointis emphasised?

Completethe followingextract from lsobel'stalk by underliningthe correct

words.

Thefocusof the course will be on Aour personal (1)legislation / obligations in

termsof looking after Aour ownsafetg,and the safetg of others.That meons
we'llbe focusingon specificsafetg regulations.For instance,we'llbe lookingat
personalprotectiveequipmentthat's (2)compulsorg/ prohibited. Or activities
that are (3) compulsorg/ prohibited in certainoreos, such as smoking.The
majoritgof the obligationswe'lldeal with are legal (4)requirements/ permits.
I n other words,theg're(5)permitted / stipulated bg law as part of healthand
safetg (6)legislation / obligation. lf gou (7) contravene/ complg with these
kinds of regulations,it'snot the same as turningup for work late, or merelg
breachingAour contract of emplogmentin some wag.I f someonefails to
(8) contravene/ complg with healthand safetgregs, theg'rebreakingthe law.
I t'sas simple as thot. I h sure Aou'reall aware of that, but it is an important
point to emphasise.

It
tr Completethe followinggroups of synonymsusingthe words in bold in
Exercise9c.
l i| | ega|/ banned/ forbidden7 pvohbi| eá
2 allowed/ aut horised I-
3 adhereto / conformto / -
4 statedI -
5 break( t helaw)/ breach( regulat ions)
I- ( regulat ions)
6 laws/ regulat ions I -/ legal-/ personal
7 obligatoryI -

58 Unit 7 Proceduresand precaut ions

I
 I

) a Read t he ext ract from a guide t o safet y in t he offshore oil indust ry.
Complet e t he t ext using t he words you wrot e in Exercise 9d.

The helicopt erf light st hat f er r yper sonnelt o and f r omt he plat f or mar e subj ectt o
specificsafet y (r) legislart iorr. The proceduresand st andardst hat are
( z) - by t his r egulat ionsr elat e,pr incipally, t o t he f ollowingar eas:
o Helicopt ersea cr ashevacuat iont r aining.Cour sesar e G) - f or all
per sonnel
o Designand saf eoper at ionof oil plat f or mhelidecks
o Speci al i sedpi l ott r ai ní ng.
For Nor t hSea oi l pl at f or mst hat f al l w i t hi nUK ( + )- , must
oper at i ons
G) - t he legal ( 6)- of Br it ishHealt hand Saf et y
r egulat ions,and CivilAviat ionAut hor it yr ules.They must also sat isf yt he
addit ionalspecif ic( ) - laid down by t he UK Healt hand Saf et y
Execut iveand t he Of f shor eI ndust r yAdvisor yCommit t ee,Helicopt erLiaison
Gr oup ( OI AC- HLG) .

b Read t he f ollowing not es on t he design r equir ement s f or helidecks on

oil plat forms. ln pairs, discuss t he possible reasons for t hese design
st andards.

' oPlarvges|
helicogter
T;:H s } :yí ."* ffi ;;::l.r:*
7 f,q7voach/tal.eolP vohtes: ar{ iarcerrt stvqclqves below level oP
he| iáecL - ho t,ill stvhctqves

j Pevir,retev gvofec-Fiorr (fo pveve\f peysohhel fvoua * arllirrg): harta\raril

| hart car't be loweveá ov hovieorrtarlrtel - \ o $xeA hartávai| s

4 Eqrei7u.rerrt| o co7e with bará wearthe' / poovy!foi| i1': geviuaetev .)

larrráirrg lights arrrá arrrchor goirrts

I I magine you are t raining new engineers in your workplace (or a workplace
you know). ln pairs, explain t he main requirement s of some regulat ions or
st andards t hat are relevant t o your indust ry using t he following point s.
. key legal r equir ement s
o t he kinds of oper at iont hat must comply wit h r egulat ions
o pract ices/ procedurest hat are permit t ed
o pract ices/ procedurest hat are prohibit ed

Unit 7 Proceduresand precaut ions 59

I Workingwit h wrÍ t t eninst ruct ionsand not ices
12 Think of sit uat ions wher e wr it t en not ices and inst r uct ions ar e used in
indust r y. I n pair s, discuss t he f ollowing quest ions.
1 What dif f er entkinds of inf or mat iondo t hey communicat e?
2 What ar e t he char act er ist icsof ef f ect ivenot icesand inst r uct ions?

13a The f ollowing war ning not ices ar e f r om a guillot ine f or sheet met al and a
pr ecision weighing device in a manuf act ur ing plant . ln pair s, discuss whet her
each not ice war ns of a pr oblem t hat could inj ur e wor ker s, damage t he
machine. or bot h.

/ 5\
DANGER
IMPORTANT CAUTI ON WARNI NG
El€
ctüut| on dskt Na ar* r-* rti* "b| " guillot ine Taka orc whcn
ln ercnt of firc usa part sinside. Moist u re-sen sit ive | lftlng mach| n€.
co2 Üt| ngubhaB onlt| . blade before device. St ore in a Hmk crane to rcd
opening pan€|
Do not u$ watal
invaI idat esguaÍ ant ee. cleaning dr y place. llÍ t| ng GyCr on| y.

a b c o e

b Look at t he f ir st wor d in each sign and answer t he f ollowing quest ions.

1 Which wor d is only used t o war n of a r isk of inj ur yt o people?
2 Whi ch w or d i s onl v used t o war n of a r isk of damage t o equipment ?

t4 d The f ollowing ext r act s ar e f r om t he inst r uct ion manuals of t hr ee of t he

machines in Exer cise | 3a. I n pair s, answer t he quest ions ( l - 6) .

b
I When lift ing t his machine, it is essent ial
I n t he event of a fire wat er ext inguishers
I' t hat only t he t wo lift ing eyes marked in
should not be used on t his machine as it red should be used. No ot her part s of
cont ains elect rical circuit s, and can t herefore t he frame are load-bearing and must not ,
cause elect rocut ion. Only a carbon dioxide t herefore, be used as anchor point s.
ext inguisher should be used.

I Why is it unsaf et o put wat er on t he machine? What is t he pur poseof t he it ems mar ked
2 What t ype of f ir e ext inguisheris r ecommended? i n r ed on t he machi ne?
What coul d happeni f t he machi new as
lif t ed by ot her par t s of t he f r ame?

Care should be t aken when cleaning below

t he guillot ine blade as t here is a danger t hat
t he blade may descend. Bef ore cleaning, t he
cont rol lever should always be set in t he Blade
Locked posit ion. Prot ect ive gloves should be Why i s i t i mpor t antt o l ock t he gui l l ot i ne
w or n dur i ng cl eani ng as t he sump bel ow t he bl ade?
blade may cont ain sharp met al of f -cut s.
What ot her danger is t her e,and what
or ecaut i onshoul dbe t akenas a r esul t ?

60 and pr ecaut ions

Unit 7 Pr ocedur es
b )l.O Petrus,an engineerfrom a machinemanufacturer,is giving
instructionsabout the machinesin Exercisel4a to a client. As you listen,
follow the written texts (a-c) and identifyas many differencesas you can
betweenthe spoken instructionsand the written instructions.Use the
followingideas.
1 grammat icaldif f erences
2 useof contractions
3 differences in wordsused

a Read the followingspoken explanationsof the operatingprecautionsfor an

industrial blower.Rephrasethem as written instructions,makingchanges
based on the differences between spoken and written language style you
identifiedin Exercisel4b.

Youshouldn'tp| aceobj ectsin Í rontoÍ theair in| et.And you shou| dkeepthe in| etgri| | e
free
and c| eanit regu| ar| |y.Íthere'sdamageto the in| etgri| | e,
Í romobstructions, stopthe b| ower
immediately.
Foreignbodiesenteringtheduct can causeseriousharm,becausethe unit
containsprecision-engineered partsrevolvingat speed,so it'shighlysusceptibleto damage.

obiecfs shorela\hot be plotce), irr Qvorrto* the arivirrlet

BeÍ oreyou startthe b| ower'it's importantto ensurethatthe e} terna|Ventsat the end oÍ

theair-intakeduct areopen.Whenyou openthevents,Í u| |extend y theadj ustinghand| e.
Thenwhenyou closethem,turnthe handleand allowit to returnundertheforceof the
spring.Don'tpushthe handle,becausethatcan strainthespringmechanism,and result
in damage.

ove starvtihq | he b| oweÍ ,,..

Ee€

Think of some safety or operatingprecautionsyou are familiar with for a

machineor processyou know.Write one or two paragraphsof instructions,
explainingthe main precautionsthat should be taken.

!n pairs, explainthe safety or operatingprecautionsfor the machlneor

processusing your instructionsas a guide.
andprecautions
Unit 7 Procedures 61
lI Describing
aut omat ed
syst ems
ln pairs, discussthe differencebetweenan automatedand a manual system.
What do you think a Building ManagementSystem (BMS) does in intelligent
buildings?Suggest some operationsthat can be monitoredand controlled
automaticallyby the BMS in large buildingssuch as offices.

2a )s.t Roland, a mechanicaland electricalservices(MeE) engineer,is talking

to Saskia, an architect,about the design of a new building.Listen to the
conversationand answerthe followingquestions.
I ic t he clientcompany?
What is a keycharact eristof
2 ic f ectt he buildingdesign?
Howwillt hischaract erist af
3 What do you think is meantby presencedetectors?
4 WhatdoesRolandsayaboutdesignopt ionsand howdoeshe describeopt ion
one?

)sz Rolana givessome examplesof sensorsand controls.Listen to the next

part of the conversationand tick the points he mentions.
I cont rollingt he elect riclight inginsidet he building !
2 cont r ollingt he amount of solar r adiat ionent er ingt he building !
3 cont r ollingt he air f lowingin and out t hr ought he windowsof t he building !
4 cont r ollingt he f low of war m and cool air ar oundt he int er iorof t he building !
Mat ch t he words in t he box t o t he synonyms (l -5).

detect dettctor pick up reading regutate set off trigger

I sensor/ áetec| ov
2 measur ement I-
3 control(adj ust)I -
4 sense/ - I
5 act ivat e | - |

62 Unit 8 Monit oringand cont rot

 Completethe followingextractsfrom the conversationby underliningthe
correct words.
1 Notjust the usual sAstemsthat activate/ detectthe lights ...
2 We could use presencedetectorsto pick up/ controlother sgstems...
3 ... a presencedetector sets off/ sensesthot evergone'sleft a meetingroom -..
4 ... a temperaturesensor picks up a positivedetector/ reading...
5 ... the sensor detects/ regulatessunlight,and senses/ trigges the blinds ...
6 ... thosesensorsset off/ sensea circulationsAstem...
-l
... we'd use presencedetectorsand heat sensorsto deted/ regulate as mang
sAstemsas possible?

I n pairs, describethe followingautomatedsystemsusingthe words in

Exercise2d.
sensor parameter system
I presencedetector movement light s
2 smokedetector smoke fire alarm
3 thermostat roomtemperature electricconvectorheater
4 pressureplate weightof a person int ruderalarm

la )g.l RolanA and Saskia go on t o discuss an alt ernat ive cont rol syst em in t he
building. List en t o t he conversat ion and answer t he following quest ions.
I What assumpt ionis t he idea based on?
2 What design approach might be t aken wit h regard t o cont rols?
3 What is t he advant ageof t his appr oach?

You are in t he MörE design t eam for t he new bui| ding proj ect and have
received t he following email from t he proj ect engineer asking for your input .
Read t he email and, in pairs, discuss what t he engineer want s you t o do.
a
To: LaurenHarvey
Subject:Presencedetectors

of using presencedet ect orsfor cont rollingt he

Could you look int ot he pract icalit ies
| ightsin differentpafts of the building?We'| l probab| yhave a mixtureoÍ detector-
cont rolledsyst emsand manualswit ches.The quest ionis, which Wpe of cont roldo
we want to have in each location?(Pleasesee my list below.)A critical issue will be
settingthe switch-offdelay in differentlocations, i.e. how long the lights remainon
after the last movement is detected. On my last prolect, we had a lot of complaints
fromt he c| ientabout t he | ight sgoing ofÍ whi| epeop| ewere st i| |in rooms.So can
you t hinkabout differentt imerdelaysfor differentlocat ionsin t he building?
Main locat ions:open-planoffices,individualoffices,meet ingrooms,corridors,
store rooms
T, ,
I
Prepare notes for a short talk to brief the proiect engineerusing your ideas
from Exercise3b. Student A, you are an MörE engineer.Brief the proj ect
engineeron your ideas. Student B, you are the proj ect engineer.Listen to
the briefingand ask questionsabout specificdetails. Swap roles and practise
again.

Unit 8 Monit oringand cont rol 63

 Referringt o measurabtparamet
e ers
ln pair s, t hink of monit or ing and cont r ol syst ems t hat ar e widely used ar ound
t he home. Discuss how t he f ollowing par amet er s ar e measur ed and/ or
cont r olled in t hese common domest ic appliances.
Par amet er s:t emper at ur e pr essur e t ime act ions/ movement
Appliances: boiler s heat ingsyst ems r ef r iger at or s washingmachines

5a Mat ch t he sensor or measur ing syst em ( l - 5) t o t he indust r ial applicat ions

( a- e) .

1 pressuremeasurement a monitoring the speed of water trave[ tingatong a suppty pipe

2 t emperat ure
measurement b measuringthe [ eve[of heat generatedby an exothermicreaction
3 flowmeasurement c monit oringt he numberof cansmovingalong a conveyorbelt
4 levelmeasurement d monit oringt he amountof et hanolcont ainedin a st oraget ank
5 processrecorders e checkingthe force exertedby steam inside a vessel

b I n pair s, t hink of ot her uses f or t he kinds of sensor and measur ing equipment
in Exer cise 5a.

6a ) s.l Jochem and Kat er ina, t wo pr ocess engineer s at a chemicals plant , ar e

discussing t he monit or ing and cont r ol syst ems t hat will be needed f or a new
product ion line. List en t o t hree ext ract s from t heir discussion and answer t he
f ollowing quest ions.
Ext r act I a What pr oblem is discussed?
b What mechanicalsaf et ypr ecaut ionis pr oposed?
Ext r act 2 c What issue is discussed?
d What t hr ee par amet er sr elat edt o consumpt ionar e impor t ant ?
e To calculat et he par amet er s,what does consumpt ionneed t o be
cont i nuousl ymeasur edagai nst ?
Ext r act 3 f What issue is discussed?
g Which t wo measur ement sneed t o be t aken?
h What opt i mumval ueneedst o be det er mi ned?

b Mat ch t he wor ds ( I - I O) f r om t he discussion t o t he def init ions ( a- j ) .

1 input a the best / the most effective/ efficient
2 out put b how oft en somet hinghappens
3 opt imum c t he amountof supplies,ffuel used
4 differentiat d t he t ot al quant it yso fur
5 consumpt ion e a specifiedperiod
6 cumulat ive f a value oft en expressedwit h per,for exampleunit s per hour
7 rate g t he exit value,for exampleat t he end of a process
8 cycle h the entry vatue,for exampteat the start of a process
9 frequency i the gap betweentwo values
10 t imesca[ e j at t t he st epsin a process,from st art t o finish

64 Unit 8 Monit or ingand cont r ol

 The following specificat ion was writ t en following t he conversat ion. Complet e
t he t ext using t he words in Exercise 5b.

Vessel Bl: Sensor and Measuring Syst em Requirement s

Two pressure sensors: one located inside the vessel, and a second situated
on the pipe running downstream, to enable any pressure (l) ái$Pevet| iarl
t o be det ect ed.
A flow meter to monitor gas (2) . Data will be recorded as a
(3) - figure (total usage), and as flow (4) - , in
litres per second. Note: Software will be configured to log flow against the
( 5) - of asyst emcl ock, i nor der t opi npoi nt peakf l ow per i ods
occurring between the start and finish ofa given reaction (6) -,
and to assessthe (7) with which they occur.
Two temperaturesensors: one at the entry point of the vessel, to measure
( 8) - t emper at ur e, andasecondat t heout l et poi nt t omoni t or
( 9) - t emper at ur e.Not e; Pr eciser egulat ionof t heent r y
t emperat urewill be key t o obt aining (10) react ion
performance.

7a You and your part ner are process engineers working wit h Jochem and
Kat erina at t he chemical plant . You need t o assess t he sensors and
measuring equipment required for t he st eam product ion facilit y. ln pairs,
discuss t he requirement s using t he informat ion in t he diagram. Make not es
of your ideas.

St eamout
(litres/ sec)
oC b ar

Wat er V
Lev. oC

Wat erin
(litres/ sec)
oc
Gasburner
or

Pr opanei n
(lit res/ sec)

b I n pairs, discusswhat parameterscan be determinedfor the installationof a

heatingcycleusing your ideas from Exercise7a. You should assumethat all
the measurementswill be recordedagainst a timescale.

Unit 8 Monit or ingand cont r ol 65

 Discussingr eadingsand t r ends
o ln |Ipair
t l lÍ Jd| s,
Í s'ulscuss ne tf act
discuss tf he acf ,or
or sst hat
nat cause ma| ns elecf
mains elect r |icit
c| tyyconsumpr | ont o var y.
consumpt ion

b ) g.S Helen, an elect r ical engineer at a power st at ion, is giving a t alk t o a

group of visit ing invest ors. List en t o t he t alk and not e t he five fact ors t hat
inf luence elect r icit y consumpt ion.
I 3_ 5
z 4

C Complet e t he following ext ract s from t he t alk using t he correct form of t he

words in t he box.

decreasefat l increase rise

1 During periods of verg cold or verg hot weot her,demand irt cvearses
The- i ndemandi sobvi ousl uduet omi l I i onsof el ect r i cr adi at or s
coming on ...
2 ... a keg fact or which - or - demand, is whet her or
not it 'slight or dar k ...
3 ... on cold, dark, wint er evenings,t he in demand is significant ...
ll 4 Cenerollg, demand during the week, when factories and offices
are operat ional ...
5 So demand -at t he weekend.
6 There can be a sudden when people rush to switch kettles on,
or heat up snocks in microwaves, and then a sudden shortlg
afterwards.

) S.O List en t o t he next par t of Helen's t alk and answer t he f ollowing

quest ions.
1 Why does t he companyof t en have signif icantspar e gener at ingcapacit y?
2 What ideal sit uat iondoes Helen descr ibe?
3 Why is t his ideal sit uat iondif f icultt o achieve?

Mat ch t he wor ds ( | - 8) f r om t he t alk t o t he def init ions ( a- h) .

lt 1 cont inuous
-
a maximumpowerrequirementat a given t ime
ll 2 fl.uct uat ions \ b amountbet weenan upperand lower limit
3 peaksand t roughs \ . wit hout int errupt ion
4 peakdemand d high point sand low point son a graphcurve
5 range e regular and repetitive
6 band of fl.uctuation f momentaryrises fottowedby a futt
7 bLips g changes,movement sin general
8 cont inual h zone of up-and-downmovement

Look at t he graph showing elect ricit y demand

f luct uat ions over a week in t he UK. Find par t s or
pat t erns on t he graph described by t he words in :
Exer cise 8e and analyse t he f luct uat ions. How do =
t hey compar e wit h Helen's explanat ion?
o

Day of t he w eek { November )

Daily peak demand 8pm

66 Unit 8 Monit or ingand cont r ol

9 it Read t he document on energy saving aimed at indust rial plant and facilit y
managers. Complet e t he t ext using t he words in Exercise 8e.

Dynomicdemondcont r olsyst ems con be f it t edt o elect r icol opplioncest hotoper ot e

on d u l ycy cl es,i e. op p l i on ces t h otst or tu p , r u nf or o t i m e,sh u td ow nog oi n ,on d t h en
r emoinon st ondbyf or o w hilebef or er epeot ingt hesomecycle.Heot ingond r ef r iger ot ion
unt t sor e commonexomplesof pow er - hungrequipment y ihqt oper ot eon t hisst or t - r un- st op-
w oi t b osi s.
Dynomicsyst ems exploitt hef octt hotdut ycycleopplioncesdo not r equir e
( l ) cot if ihqohspow er .Thepur poseof t hesyst ems is t o helpsmoot hpow erdemondf or
t hebenef itof elect r icut ilit ies. To ochievet his,t heydeloyt hest or t - up of t heopplionces
t h e y c o n t r o l d u r i n g p e r i o d so f ( 2 ) - ' Ho w e v e r , o n | y m i n o r o d i u st m e n t so r e
modet o t imingos, gener olly, t heopplioncesconcer nedcon only be heldon siondbyf or
shor tper iodsos ihey needt o r unon o ( 3)- bosis.Butt hisst illbenef it elects r ic
u t i | i t i e so si t h e | p st o o v o i d p r o b l e m o t i c , m o m e n t o r y ( 4 ) - o n t h e d e m o n d
cu r v e.
Dynomiccont r ols w or k by det ect ing slight( 5) in t hef r equencyof ihe moins
ACsu p p | y . A| t h o u g h t h i sv o r i e so n | y w i t h i n o Ve r y n o r r o w ( ó) - , sm o | | d r o p s
in f r equencyindí cot tehotpow erst ot iont ur bines or e w or kingcI oset o f u| |copocit y.The
dynomiccont r olsysiemcon t her ef or hold e t heopplionceon st ondbyf or o shor tt imeunt ir
m oi n sf r eq u en cy i n cr eoses og oi n .

b Read t he t ext again and answer t he following quest ions.

I What is meant by dut g cgcle?
2 What pr oblem is dynamiccont r oldesignedt o avoid?
3 What sensor input do dynamiccont r olsr ely on t o allow t hem t o f unct ion?
4 What does t he sensor input in ( 3) indicat ewit h r egar d t o power st at ions?
5 To what ext ent do dynamicsyst emsmodif ydut y cycles?

10a Read t he ext ract from t he t alk and, in pairs, discuss t he foilowing
quest ions.
... electrical charge is extremelg difficult to store in large amounts, Aou con't
just charge up huge batteries. So we use an innovative technique to store up
power potential during off-peak periods.
I Why do you t hink t his is such a maj or issue f or power st at ions?
2 Can you suggestwhat innovat ivet echniqueis used t o solve t he pr oblem?

)g,l Helen goes on t o describe t he solut ion t o t he problem. List en t o t he

t alk and make not es on pumped st orage.

Prepare a short t alk on t he operat ion of a pumped st orage hydroelect ric

power st at ion for visit ors t o t he power generat ion company. Use your
not es from Exercise lOb and t he words in t he box. St udent A, you are an
elect rical engineer; St udent B, you are a visit or on a t our of t he plant . ln
pairs, give your t alk and ask and answer quest ions. Swap roles and pract ise
again.
graüt y high level. low [ eve[ mount ain pumps reservoir t urbines

Unit 8 Monit or ingand cont r ol 67

tI
- Givingapproximat efigures
I
17 a Read t he email ext ract and answer t he following quest ions.
I Who do you t hi nk sent t he emai l ?What i s t hei r r ol ew i t hi nt he company?
2 What t ype of r eviewis t he companygoing t o under t ake?
3 What is t he obiect iveof t he r eview?

To: GerryKlein
Subject:I nternalreview

Dear colleagues,
As you know, we are preparingt o undert akea comprehensiveint erna|reviewoÍ t he company'S
your engineering
organisat lonand facilit ies.A key area of t his reviewwill be t o assess how efficient ly
expert iseis being ut i| ised.I wou| demphasiset hat t he aim oÍ t hisassessmentis not t o quest ionyour
professionalcompet ence.On t he cont rary,I and t he company'snew shareholdersrecogniset he high
degreeoÍ t echnica|expert isewit hint he organisat ion.our int ent ionis t o work t owardsopt imisingt his
valuableresourceby ident ifyingt he demandson your t imet hat are largelyunproduct ive(suchas
t asks) in ordert o allowyour skillst o be used more product ively.
administ rat ive

b The following ext ract is from a quest ionnaire used in t he review which was
I
I sent t o st aff in t he company's design depart ment . Read t he quest ionnaire
and mat ch each quest ion ( l- 3) t o point s ( a- c) .

Approximat ely what percent age oÍ your t ime do you spend on t he t ypes of t ask
be| ow? For each quest ion, t he sum of va| ues given f or A + B should equal í oo% .
1 A Doi ng t echni cal t asks t hat use my engi neer i ngski l l s ext ensi vel y ' y"
B Doi ng moder at el yt echni cal t asks t hat a l ess qual i f i edcol l eague coul d do - %
2 A Doi ng [ echni cal t asks t hat add val ue [ e. 9. desi gnr ng,pr obl em- sol vi ng]- %
B Doi ng t asks t hat do not add val ue [ e. 9. admi ni st r at i on)- " / "
3 A Doi ng t asks t hat ar e pur el y t echni cal - %
B Doi nq t asks t hat r el at e t o t echni cal or qani zat i onand deci si on- maki nq- %

a The ext ent of t echnicalr ole ver susmanagementr ole

b The degr eeof commer cialexploit at ionof t echnicalskills
c The degr ee of applicat ionof exper t iseand exper ience

C )g,S Eleanor and Gerry t wo design engineers, are t alking about t he

quest ionnaire. List en and writ e approximat e values, t o t he nearest l0o/ o,for
Gerry's answers t o t he quest ions.

d Complet e t he following sent ences using t he words or phrases in t he box.

Somet imes more t han one answer is possible.

tattparFq$í € offthe top of myhead nowhere

near prettymuch
roughty somewhere in the regionof

I They asked for a baillparvk'qrt ^ "' for set t ing up t he new syst em'
2 I 'vegot t he f igur esin my comput er ,but I couldn'tt ell you
3 The wor k is f inished,t her e'sj ust t he t idying up t o do.
4 The act ual cost of t he st adiumwas - t he est imat eat E2m over budget .
5 | t hink it 'll t ake t wo weekst o complet et he r epor t .
6 The devel opmentw i l l cost $ 10m.

68 Unit 8 Monit or ingand cont r ol

I
 I

I n pairs, ask and answer the questionsfrom the questionnairein ExerciseI I b

usingthe phrasesin ExerciseI I d. Note down your partner'sanswers.
I A- o / o B- o / o
2 A- o / o B- o / o
3 A- o / o B- o / o

1,2 a )a.g Rs part of the company'sinternatreview,an assessmentis being made

of the hardwareand softwarethat make up the firm's ComputerAided Design
(CAD) system.Dan, a design engineer,is talking to Beatrice,his manager,
about the state of the system.Listen and mark the followingstatementsTiue
CI ) or False (F).
I Most of t he screensaret oo small.
2 Engineers spenda lot of t imeworkingon screen.
3 Largenumbersof drawingsare printedat their office.

Find words and phrasesin audioscript8.9 on page 93 to match the following

def init ions( l -5) .
I approximat ely /
2 muchmoret han/
3 at least/ (t wo t hirds)
4 most/
5 almost zero /

Complet e t he following replies t o express t he figures in approximat e t erms

using t he wor ds in Exer cises | 1d and l2b. Somet imes mor e t han one answer
is possible.
l How o| d is t his equipment ? A goü, five years o| d. (at | east 5 years)
2 What per cent age of t he PCs need changing?- all of t hem. ( 95o/ o)
3 How many of t he comput er sar e up t o spec? all of t hem. ( 1Oo/ o)
4 How many of t he st aff use t he CAD syst em? half of t hem. (55o/ o)
5 H o w m u c h w o u | d t h e n e w p r i n t e r s c o s t ?- $ 2 ' 0 0 0 . ( $ 3 ' l 2 0 )
6 H o w m u c h d o e s a n a d a p t e r | i k e t h i s c o s t ?- ( $ z ;
7 How long would a full syst em t ake t o inst all? 5 days. (4-6 days)
8 Can most of our client sr ead t hese f iles?Yes, of t hem. ( 95o/ o)

13 You are set t ing up a small company of consult ing engineers employing seven
members of st aff - five engineers and t wo assist ant s. You need t o rent
an office, equip it wit h a comput er net work wit h CAD syst em and admin
soft ware, and buy ot her basic office equipment . ! n pairs, discuss some
ballpark figures relat ing t o t he following quest ions.
o What comput erequipmentwill be r equir edand how much will it cost t o buy?
o What ot her it ems of f ur nit ur e/ equipment will be needed,and how much will
t his cost ?
. How much f loor space will be r equir edin t he open- planof f ice?
. How long will it t ake t o set up t he of f ice- inst allt he f ur nit ur eand equipment ?

Unit 8 Monit oringand cont rol 69

- Explaining
t est sandexperiment s
I n pairs, discuss t he following t est s and experiment s and t heir main
advant ages and disadvant ages.
I comput er modelsand simulat ions 2 r educed- scalet est ing 3 f ull- scalet est ing

2 a ln pairs, suggest how the followingdevelopmenttools could be used for

aerodynamictesting.
o Comput at ional FluidDynamics( CFD) o field t est ing
o a windt unnelequippedwit ha rollingroad

)S.t Rn internationalteam of researchersare collaboratingon the design

of an experimentalenergy-efficientvehicle.They are discussingthe tools
availablefor developingthe vehicle'saerodynamicdesign. Listen to the
conversationand answer the followingquestions.
I What opt ionsare availablef or windt unnelt est ingin t ermsof scale?
2 Whyare rollingroadsusef ulin windt unnelswhent est ingvehicles?
3 What issuewilldet erminewhet heror not a rollingroadis necessary?
4 What pointis madeaboutt he reliabilit of
y CFDand windt unneldat a?
5 What problemis mentionedwith regardto outdoortesting?

)g.t tisten again and completethe followingextractsfrom the conversation

using the words and phrasesin the box.
Theacidtest back-to-backtesting in thefietd mock-up
triatrun tried-and-testedvalidate vfttnt

1 ... the testswouldobviouslgDe virtt^ al , based on a computermodel.

2 ... go into a wind tunnel,with a scale model, or a full-size
3 ... tf'snot just about data gothering.Youalso have to the data.
4 The onlg comeswhengou trAout a full-scaleprototApein real
conditions.Weneed to make sure that evergthingis - outside,with
a full-scale
5 ... with changeable weather, it's not easA to do - out
70 Unit 9 Theoryand pract ice
 I

Mat ch t he words and phrases in Exercise 2c t o t he definit ions (a-h).

a a 3D model simulat ingshape and size,but wit hout int er nalcomponent s
uaoclc-tep
b provent o be reliablet hroughrealuse/ t rials
c out doors.in a realsit uat ion
d describes somet hing simulat edby sof t ware,not physical
e a crucialt rialt o provewhet heror not somet hing works-
f t rialst o comparet wodif f erent
solut ions,in t he samecondit ions
g pr ovet heor et ica| concept sbyt est ingt heminr ea| it y-
h a practicaltest of somethingnewor unknownto discoverits effectiveness

Complet e t he aerodynamic design development plan of t he energy-efficient

vehicle using st ages (a-e).
a Test model in wind t unnel t o validat e dat a from scale t est s
b Car r y out back- t o- backt est s in wind t unnel wit h mock- ups
c Build f ull- sizewor king pr ot ot ype
d Select best design,based on dat a f r om wind t unnel t est s
e Nar r ow down design opt ionst o t hr ee,based on comput erdat a
Aerodynamic design development plan
I ExperimentusingCFD sof t ware
2

3 Pr oduce r educed- scalemock- upsof designsand t est in wind t unnel

4
5 Buildf irstf ull-scale
mock-up
6
1 Pr oducet wo r eviseddesignst o impr oveon f ull- scalemock- up
I
9 Select best design, based on dat a from t est s
l0
il Carryout f ieldt est swit ht rial runsout side

3 You are membersof a technologicalresearchteam similar to the one

in Exercise2b. You havebeen asked to design a test programmefor an
experimentalsystemfor air-droppingcargo. Read the brief and, in pairs,
discussthe types of test requiredand their sequence.

Design brief
The syst em allows relat ivelyfragilecargo t o be air-droppedfrom planes
int o remot e locat ions on t he ground.lt comprises a parachut e,at t ached
t o a cylindricalcont ainer t wo met res long wit h a diamet er of 1.5met res.
The cont ainer is surrounded by a deformableprot ect ive st ruct ure.
The aims of testing are to develop the designs of:
a) the parachute
b) t he prot ect ive st ruct ure,in order t o minimiset he impact t o cart o
insidet he cont ainer.
The number of t est s must be maximisedwit hin a limit ed budget .As
tests involving real drops from aircraft are costly, these must be kept to
a minimum.

Unit 9 Theoryand pract ice 77

I viewson predict ions
Exchanging andt heories
4 a tn pairs, answer the
followingquestions.
I What kindsof cargois
sometimesdroppedfrom
aircraft,and why?
2 What are the advantages
and disadvant agesof
air-drops?

Read t he following predict ions of how a cont ainer air-dropped wit h

parachut es might behave while falling, and on hit t ing t he ground. Complet e
t he predict ions by underlining t he words you t hink are correct .
I The longer t he cont aineris in t he air , t he mor e it s hor izont alspeed will
decrease/ increase.
2 Compar ed wit h a low- alt it udedr op, t he ver t icalspeed of a high- alt it udedr op
will be lower / higher .
3 I n t er ms of damage t o t he cont ainer ,a high ver t ical/ hor izont alimpact speed
is pot ent iallywor se.
4 A ver y low- alt it udedr op will most likelycause t he cont ainert o slide/ r oll
along t he gr ound.

)g: Arnaud and Jenna, t wo engineers, are t alking at t he st art of an air-

drop research proj ect . Which predict ions in Exercise 4b do t hey agree on,
and which do t hey disagree on? How do t heir ideas compare wit h yours?

5a Rephrase t he words in bracket s t o complet e t he following ext ract s from t he

conversat ion.
l So' - ( i nt heor y) ' t hehor i zont al speedw i l l keepdecr easi ng. . .
2 So, (assume)t he drop alt it ude's verg low, ...
3 ... - (sure) o low vertical speed is the critical factor.
4 Because, (presume), if the groundspeed's quite high, there's a
danger the container will roll ...
5 So, (argue),rolling is t he worst problem, ...

Rephrase t he words in bold in t he following sent ences using t he words in

Exercise 5a.
I I suppose t her e'llalwaysbe a cer t ainamount of gr oundspeed.
2 lf we assume t he cont ainerwill r oll, we'll need t o pr ot ect it accor dingly.
3 Accor dlng t o t he hypot hesis, gr oundspeedwill almost alwaysbe posit ive.
4 You could say t hat it 's inevit ablet he cont ainerwill r oll and bouncealong.
5 I 'm convinced t hat high ver t icalspeed is less pr oblemat ict han high
gr oundspeed.

72 Unit 9 Theoryand pract ice

 I

c I n pairs, decide whet her t he following words and phrases are used t o agree
or disagree. can you t hink of ot her phrases for agreeing and disagreeing?
Absolut ely I 'm not convinced I 'm not so sur e Not necessar ily
Of course True

d Look at t he diagram and, in pairs, discuss t he following quest ions.

Dropalt it ude

Aircraftspeedandd'irect ion
Windspeedanddirect ion

speedof cont aj ner

Vert 'icaI

{- of cont ainer
Airspeed
{- of cont ainer
Gr oundspeed

I What is t he dif f er encebet weenair speedand gr oundspeed?How do

wind speed and wind dir ect ionr esult in a dif f er encebet weenan air cr af t 's
air speedand it s gr oundsPeed?
2 lf an air cr af t 'sgr oundspeedand air speedar e t he same, what must t he wind
speed be?
3 I n t heor y,an air cr af tcan f ly wit h a gr oundspeedof zer o in cer t ainext r eme
condit ions.what would t hese condit ionsbe, wit h r egar d t o wind speed and
t he aircraft 'sdirect ion relat ive t o t he wind?
4 To minimiset he hor izont algr oundspeedof an air - dr oppedcont aineron
landing,what should t he air cr af t 'sdir ect ionbe, r elat ivet o t he wind?
5 lf sever alair - dr opsar e car r ied out f r om t he same alt it udewit h dif f er ent
wind speeds,how will higher wind speedsaf f ectt he gr oundspeedof t he
cont aineron landing?

6 a t n pairs, discuss which of t he following opt ions you t hink is preferable and
why.
I a low- leveldr op wit h low ver t icalspeed and high hor izont alspeed
2 a high- leveldr op wit h high ver t icalspeed and low hor izont alspeed

I n pairs, discuss how t he design of t he cont ainer used for dropping cargo
would be different for each of t he t wo opt ions in Exercise 6a. For each
sit uat ion, consider how t he cont ainer could be built t o cushion t he t ype
of impact . I n part icular, t hink about t he shape of t he cont ainer and t he
prot ect ive st ruct ure around it .

Unit 9 Theor yand Pr act ice 73

- Comparingresult swit h expect at ions
7a ln pairs, discuss t he difference bet ween expect at ions and result s.
Cive an example relat ing t o research and development (R&D) in
engineer ing.

Manf r ed Haug, an aer onaut ical engineer , is descr ibing his ear ly
rocket experiment s. Read t he descript ion and explain what is
meant by t he expr essions in bold.
Relging on trial and error isn't olwags the best wag to improve
technologg, but I found it was an effective waA to develop roclsets.
Especiallg as rocket science was unfamiliar territorg for me. I was on
a steep learning cule, hence the numerous explosions.

Read more of t he descript ion. What kinds of rocket did t hey build
and how do you t hink t hey worked?
I should sag that this had nothing to do with NASA, and happened
a long wag from Cape Canaveral. lt was just me and a few friends
on a windswept football field near Homburg. But the plastic bottle
water rockets we built and launched went through an impressive R&.D
!l progromme, bearing in mind we were onlg 12 gears old!

8a )g.S t ist en t o an int erview wit h Manfred about building and

launching wat er rocket s and answer t he following quest ions.
I How f ull wer e t he bot t les?
2 What coincidencewas helpf ul?
3 How powerful was t he rocket ?
4 What pr oblem occur r ed?

Read t he following ext ract s from t he int erview. What is meant by t he words
in bold?
1 ... we expected it would shoot up reasonablg fast .
2 ... we didn't anticipate just how powerful it would be.
3 lt totallg exceeded our expectations.

lt 9a I n pairs, discuss t wo or t hree solut ions t o t he problem experienced wit h t he

rocket , based on basic mat erials and simple assembly t echniques. For each
pot ent ial solut ion, explain how you would expect t he rocket t o perform and
why, describing pot ent ial problems for each solut ion.

)g.q Vanfred goes on t o describe how he and his friends solved t he

pr oblem. List en t o t he descr ipt ion and summar ise t he solut ion, explaining
why it was effect ive. How does t he solut ion compare wit h your ideas in
Exercise 9a?

)g.q Ust en again and complet e t he following phrases from t he descript ion.
I (as expect ed) lt didn't go exact lg
2 (ext remelywell) lt worked

74 Unit 9 Theor yand pr act ice

t 0a tn pairs, discusspossiblewaysof makingthe water rocket more powerfulto
allow it to attain higher altitudes.The basis of the design should be the
sameandyoumayon| yusebasicmat er ials. For eachsolut ion, explaint he
followingpoints.
o Why you wouldexpectthe rocketto be moreeffective
. Any potentialProblems
the
)g.S tisten to Manfred describinghow the rocket was developedand
resultsof further tests. Make notes on the improvementsmade and their
consequences.How do the solutionscomparewith your ideas from
ExerciselOa?

Read the followingphrasesthat Manfred uses. complete the definitionsby

underliningthe correct words.
1 as it turnedout : what happenedin theory/ prcllCe
2 what hoppened
actuallg : what happenedin theory/ practice
3 we underestimated thepressure : it wasless/ morethan we thought
4 we overestimatedthe strength : it was less/ morethan we thought
5 plasticbottlesore hardlgup to theiob : they'readequate/ inadequate
6 I learnedthehard wag. : it wasa theoretical/ practicallesson

ln pairs, discussthe followingquestions.

o Did you haveanyexperiences of buildingt hingswhenyouwereyounger
whichdidn'tt urnout as you'dexpect ed?what did you underest lmatore
overestimate? What lessonsdid you learnthe hardway?
o when youwereyounger, whatexperiences weremostbenef icialin helping
principles
yout o improveyourt echnicalskills?what t echnical did you learn?

1t Amateur rocket scientistshaveproducedwater rocketscapable of reaching

altitudesof severalhundredmetresin competitions.I n pairs, think of initial
ideas for a suitabledesignwhich complieswith the followingcompetitionrules'

Water Rocket GomPetition

{ f Rockets must be assembled entirelyfrom
consumer Product sPurchasedf rom
supermarkets or DI Ystores. For safety
reasons, no glass or met alliccomponent s
are permitted.
{ f Flocketswill be pressurised, and anchored
duringpressurisat ionusing a compressor
and launch pad providedby t he organisers
Jf Release of the rocket will be triggered by
competitors, from a distance, by rope' at
the moment deemed appropriateby the
competitor,based on a reading on the
pressure gauge of the comPnessor.

Unit 9 Theoryand Pract ice 75

 Discussingcausesand ef f ect s
I n pair s, discuss t he dif f er ence bet ween cause and ef f ect in each of t he
f ollowing sit uat ions.
1 a vehiclet yr e over heat ing
2 an el ect r i calci r cui tover l oadi ng
3 a shi p' shul l cor r odi ng

t 3a Read t he t it le of t he ar t icle in Exer cise I 3b and explain what you t hink it

means.

b Read t he ar t icle and answer t he f ollowing quest ions.

I What ar e chickencannonsdesignedt o do?
2 Why was a chickencannon used f or a t r ain t est ?
3 What wer e t he ef f ect sof t he t est ?

CHIGKEI{CAlIl{ ol{GOOFMAKESTECHEGGHEADS
IOOKLIKETURKEYS
j et
\ f ,/ nen new air cr af t ar e developed,
l, Y Y engines and cockpit windshields ar e
|Í t est ed t o simulat e bir d st r ikes ( mid- air
collisions wit h bir ds) , which can r esult in
damage. The t est s are carried out using
special compressed-air cannons t hat fire
dead chickens. On one occasion such a
gun was lent , by an aeronaut ical company,
t o some engineer s developing a new t r ain.
Bird st rikes were a pot ent ial danger, owing
t o t he t rain's high speed. Having received
inst r uct ions in how t o use t he cannon,
t he t rain designers bought an oven-ready
chicken f r om a local super mar ket , and
subsequent ly fired it at t heir prot ot ype.
The effect s were devast at ing. As a result of
t he impact , a hole was smashed, not j ust
t hr ough t he windshield, but also t hr ough
t he back of t he dr iver 's compar t ment . I t
was hard t o believe a chicken had caused
so much dest r uct ion. Consequent ly,t he
engineers cont act ed t heir aeronaut ical
colleagues t o enquir e if t he pr oblem might
be due t o an issue wit h t he gun, some sor t of
fault t hat could have caused it t o exceed it s
normal firing power. No malfunct ions were
found. However, it was lat er discovered
t hat t he unexpect ed damage had occurred
because of a t emper at ur e issue.

The t ext in Exer cise I 3b is an ur ban legend ( or ur ban myt h) - a commonly

lt t old st or y t hat is said t o be t r ue, but which is not . Can you guess what
t emperat ure issue caused t he unexpect ed effect s?

d Complet e t he f ollowing sent ences using t he wor ds and phr ases in t he box.

becauseof (x2) caused consequentlydueto owingto rtsuttin resultof

I Bir d st r ikes62n vesqlt i\ damage t o air cr af t .

2 Bi r d st r i k e sW e r e a p o t e n t i a | p r o b | e m f o r t h e t r a i n , - l
I- it s speed.
5 Dur ing t he t est , t he t r ain was sever elydamaged as a - t he impact .
4 The damage occur r ed a pr oblem r elat ingt o t emper at ur e.
5Th ei m pact of t h ech i cken - i t t oen t er t h et r ai n .
6 T h e e n g i n e e r st h o u g h t t h e g u n w a sf a u | t y , so - t h e y c a | | e d t h e i r
col l eagues.

76 Unit 9 Theor yand pr act ice

I
 e Read t he f ollowing engineer ing ur ban legends and complet e t he
descript ions of causes and effect s using t he correct form of t he words
and phr ases in Exer cise I 3d. Somet imes mor e t han one wor d or phr ase is
possible.
1 Appar ent ly,t he biggest challengein space explor at ionwas developinga pen
f or ast r onaut st o use in or bit as or dinar yballpoint pens don't wor k in space,
becat use oP / Arl.elo / ow\ t \ glo t he fact t hat t here's no gravit y. So
t his pr oblem,t her e wer e t eams of r esear cher swor kingf or
year s,t r ying t o f ind a solut ion.Event ually,someonecame up wit h t he idea
of usi nga penci l .
2 When t hey designedt he f oundat ionsof t he libr ar y on t he univer sit ycampus,
t hey f or got t o allow f or t he weight of t he books on t he shelves,which
t he buildingt o st ar t sinking.So - , half of t he
f loor s have had t o be lef t empt y,wit hout books, t o keep t he weight down.
3 Did you hear about t hat Olympic- sizedswimmingpool t hat was built ?
They got t he lengt hwr ong, t he t iles.They f or got t o t ake
int o account t he t hickness,which t he pool measur inga f ew
m i | | i m e t r e st o o Sh o r t . So - , i t c a n ' t b e u se d f o r sw i m m i n g
comoet it ions.

14a One popular t opic f or ur ban legends is t he suggest ion t hat t he moon
landings didn't r eally t ake place and wer e f ilmed on Ear t h. ln pair s, discuss
t he f ollowing quest ions.
. I n phot ost aken of ast r onaut son t he moon, why ar e no st ar s visible in t he
sky?
o I n f ilm f oot age,why is t he f lag plant edon t he sur f aceof t he moon seen
movi ngsl i ght l y?
o Why do phot osof ast r onaut s'f oot pr int sappear t o be on a wet sur f aceand
not in dr y dust ?
. Why i s no bl ast cr at ercausedby engi net hr ustdur i ngt he l andi ngvi si bl e
bel owt he modul e?

) g.S Car oline and Renat o, t wo colleagues at an engineer ing f ir m, ar e

t alking about t he moon landings dur ing a cof f ee br eak. List en t o t he
conversat ion and compare
what t hey say wit h your
ideas f r om Exer cise 14a.

C ln pair s, discuss any ur ban

legends you have heard
r elat ing t o engineer ing
and t echnology. Use t he
f ollowing ideas t o help you.
o unbel i evabl desi
e gnf aul t s
. bizar r eincident s
involvingcar s
o r umour sabout amazi ng
exper iment alt echnology
o bad w or kmanshi pby =
builder s,plumberand
s
elect r icians 'G';;-.=
jf-= * "::H
Unit 9 Theoryand pract ice
.i.
E
UNI T10
Discussing performance and
suitabitity
a Describingphysicalforces
o Discussingrelativeperformance
a Describing capabilities
and
limitations

I Discussingper f or mance
and suí t abilit y
1a ln pair s, answer t he f ollowing quest ions about wind t ur bines.
1 What f unct i ondo w i nd t ur bi nesper f or m?
2 What ar e t he mai n advant agesand di sadvant ages of w i nd t ur bi nes?
3 What t ypes of locat ionar e most suit ablef or wind f ar ms?

b ln pair s, discuss t he f unct ions and t echnical char act er ist icsof t he f ollowing
wind t ur bine component s.

bt ades t ower qenerat or

2a ) t O.t Vit e, Lor et a and Hanif , engineer s at a wind t ur bine const r uct or , ar e
discussing per f or mance and suit abilit y issues r elat ing t o of f shor e wind
t ur bines. List en t o t he conver sat ion and answer t he f ollowing quest ions.
I Whi chw l nd t ur bi necomponentdo t he engi neer sdi scuss?
2 What i s t he bi g pr obl emw i t h of f shor ei nst al l at i ons?
3 Whi cht w o t ypesof const r uct i onmat er i alar e bei ngcompar ed?
4 Why ar e coast al def encesment ioned?
5 What poi nt does Hani f make about r egul armai nt enance?
6 What compar isonneedst o be made wit h r egar d t o lif espan?

b Mat ch t he wor ds ( l - 6) f r om t he discussion t o t he def init ions ( a- 0.

1 appropriat e/ suit abt e
2 consist ent / ret iable
3 cost-effective/ economical
4 effective
5 efficient
6 sufficient/ adequate
a t he right sot ut ionfor a part icularsit uat ion
b good enoughfor t he int endedfunct ion
c performsa funct ionwe[ .
d worksquickt yand well
e makesthe most of resources,isn't wasteful
f doesn'tbreakdown,at waysperformsin t he sameway

C Make t he following words negat ive by adding t he prefixes in- or un-.

l adequat e i\ 4áeqr^ at ! e 6 eflicient
2 appr opr iat e 7 r el i abl e
3 consist ent 8 suf f icient
4 economi cal 9 sui t abl e
5 effect ive
78 Uni t 10 Pushi ngt he boundar i es
 d )tO.t tisten again. What issuesdo Mike, Loreta and Hanif agree and
disagreeon?

3a The followinginformationis from the web site of Sigma Power,a firm

that advisescorporateand governmentclientson wind enerS/ proiects.
Completethe text usingthe words in Exercise2c.

E The fact t hat wind t urbinesconsumeno fuel and wast every lit t leenergyis clearlya fundament al
advant age.But j ust fiev7 e$$crerrt are t hey? Key figures

E Clearly,wind t urbinesneedt o be locat edon relat ivelywindy sit esin order t o funct ion.Froma
met eor ologicaIst andpointwhat
, kindsoí geogr aphical I ocat ionar et he most - ?

E Turbinesare generallyplacedat t he t ops of t all t owers,wherewind speedsare highel t hus

makingt hem mor e . What ot her posit ioningf act or sinf luenceper f or mance?

E Wi n d t u r b i n esr ar e| y Í u n ct i o n co n t i n u o u s| y , d u et o t h ef act t h at w i n d sp eed sar e- '

How signif icantist he impactof var iableweat her condit ionson powergener at ingcapacit y?

IE Transmit t ing

100% .What per

elect ricit yover long dist ancesis inherent ly
over heador under gr ound
power locally.
Thegener at ingcapacit yof wind t ur binesis gener ally
cent age of t ot al gener at ing capacit ycan wind t ur
, due t o power lossfrom
powerlines.Findout mor eabout t he advant agesof gener at ing

f or it t o be r eliedupon
binesr ealist icallypr ovide?

I
Someear | yw i ndt ur bi nesWer e- , suf f er i n9br eakdow nscausedbyi naxi a|
st ressesst emmingfrom higherwind loadson t he upper blade.Howevel t his problemhas been
over comeon moder nunit s.Lear nmor eaboutt he t echnica|evolut ion of wind t ur bí nes
{
at

You are engineersat Sigma Power.The marketingmanager has asked

you to providesome technicalanswersfor the frequentlyasked questions
sectionof the company'swebsite.The FAO section is aimed primarily at
potential clientswho are thinkingof installingwind turbines at their sites
- factories,office complexes,hospitals,and universitycampuses.ln pairs,
discussthe followingquestionsand write the answersfor the websiteusing
the informationin the fact file and your own knowledge.

What 'st he big advant age of havinga windt urbineat my sit e?

How dependable arewindt urbines asa sourceof power,givent hatweat hercondit ions are
changeable?
What kindsof sit earemostsuit able t o nat uralf act orssuchas
f or windt urbines,relat ive
hills,t he coast ,and heightabovesealevel?
What'sthe mostappropriate locationfor my wind turbine,relativeto localfeatureson the
sit e,suchast reesand buildings?
-''!lrF

Unit 10 Pushingt he boundar ies 79

I

- Describingphysicalforces
4 a Read the foilowingarticre.what is a sorar tower and how does
it use the
forces of expansionand pressure?

j9L\ jJ .Í { )
I y!; ls
7bt u., Theneedt o developr enewable
a f ut ur ist ic
t echnological
ener gyis widelyseenas
challenge. I nr ealit y,someof t he
cr uue b most effect ivewaysof harnessinghorsepowerfromnat ure
are basedon concept st hat haveexist edfor donkey'syears.
rcrrrcltc Thewindt ur bineis an obviousexample.Anot her- less
almosta cent ur yago- is t he
energy? wellknown,but conceived
solart oweror solarchimney. And if t heAust r alian company
Envir oMission complet es an ambit ioussolart owerpr oj ect
in t he NewSout hWalesdeser t t, het echnology could
capt ur enotj ust t hesun! r aysbut t he public'simaginat ion
wor ldwide. Thef ir mis planningt o const r ucta t owera
colossalonekilomet r e high.lf built ,it wit lbe t hewor ld's
t allestst r uct ur eby a hugemar gin.

Howit works
A lar geglassenclosur eis built ,wit ha chimneyat it scent r e.
Thesun heat st heenclosur e, causingexpansionof t he air
inside.At t het op of t hechimney, t he lowert emper at urand e
lowerpr essur eduet o t he higheralt it udecr eat ea pr essur e
different ialknownas st ackeffect .Thiscausesair t o flow
up t he chimney. y gener at ed
Elect r icitis by t ur binesat t he
bot t omof t hechimney, whichar edr ivenby t he f lowof air .
Thebiggert he ar eaof glassandt het allert he chimney, t he
gr eat ert he air f lowandt he highert hegener at ing capacit y.

b What physical f or ces would act on a solar t ower I km high?

c ) t o.z su, a st r uct ur ar engineer specialising r n t he design of ver y t ail

st ruct ures, is giving a t alk t o a group of engineering st udent s.
List en t o t he
t alk. Which of t he f or ces in t he box doesn't she ment ion?

!9n!ing centrifugalforce compressioncontraction expansion

friction pÍ essureshear tension torsion/ torque

Label t he diagrams using t he forces in Exercise 4c.

lEr'.-J--l '(D)'#
cor4PYessro\

6t l8
; -EI ,[ É 'o11l
Tira'Tq
---T44--

80 Unit 10 Pushingt he boundar ies

) t O.Z Compt et e t he f ollowing sent ences f r om t he t alk using t he f or ces in
Exer cise 4c. List en again and check your answer s.
1 So thot downward force meons the structure is in cou^ pyessio\. especiallU
neor t he bot t om.
2 ... a horizont al load, exert ed bg air -against one side of t he
structure.
3 Becouse the structure is fixed at ground level, and free ot the top, that
generotes forces.
4 ... when element sbend, gou have opposing forces: at one side,
at the other.
5 ... the wind effectivelg tries to slide the structure along the ground, and the
foundations below the qround resist that. The result of that / s -
f or ce ...
6 . . . the foundotions need to relu on with the qround to resist the
pull-out force, ...
1 The action of the wind can also generate . You get a twisting
f or ce ...
8 When concret e absorbs heot from t he sun, Aou get ; as soon as t he
sun goes in, t here's

You and your par t ner specialise in designing st r uct ur es f or elect r ical
t r ansmission gr ids. You ar e cur r ent ly wor king on a cable suppor t concept
for power lines near wind farms exposed t o severe weat her. You have come
up wit h t he f ollowing design. ! n pair s, hold a shor t meet ing t o evaluat e your
design concept . Explain t he forces act ing on t he st ruct ure.

Severe weather cable support concept

beam
wind direct ion1 \ pivot ing
:: insulat ors
_____
.\ ____
col umn11 _
--R
----\
column2- v cables

l eg 11 leg 3

z
winddirect ion2
t , leg
v.
\
lpg 4

\
J
concnet e
f oundat ions

Uni t 10 Pushi ngt he boundar i es 81

I Discussingrelat iveperf ormance
5a I n pair s, discuss t he advant ages and disadvant ages of air and high-
speed r ail t r avel. Focus on t r ips of bet ween 500km and I ,500km, t he
j our ney lengt h over which planes and t r ains of t en compet e f or t he same
passengers.

Read t he ext r act f r om an ar t icle about t r anspor t in a popular science and

t echnology magazine and answer t he f ollowing quest ions.
I What f act or sshould be consider edin t he compar at iveanalysisdescr ibed?
2 What is t he pur poseof t he compar at iveanalysis?
3 What suggest ionis made about Eur ope?

Qpeed, convenience, efficiency, and these variables together in varying quantities,

Jenüronment al-friendliness: four fact ors
with which to assess the relative effectiveness
of different long-distance, mass-transport
solut ions for passengers. Technology: t he
key criterion in determining what transport
solut ions are available. And dist ance: t he main
considerat ion when cat egorising rout es. Blend
and you have a model for calculating the
optimum way of moving people.
On a European scale, whichever way you mix
the various criteria, the most advantageous
way oÍ getting people around the heart of the
cont inent seems t o be on high-speed, elect ric
t rains.

Find words in t he t ext in Exercise 5b t o mat ch t o t he following definit ions.

Which one of t he wor ds has a plur al f or m?
1 st andar d by which you j udge somet hing
2 f act or sit uat ionwhich inf luencest he r esult of somet hing
3 number ,amount or si t uat i onw hi chcan change

6a What do you know about France's

high-speed t rain, t he TGV? What is it s
normal operat ing speed? What is t he
approximat e lengt h of t he t rain?

Read t he fact s about t he world speed

record set by t he TGV. Compare t he world
record j ourney wit h a normal TGV j ourney,
using your answer s in Exer cise 5a.

World Speed Recordf or an I n-Service

PassengerTrain
Dat e Apr il 3,2007
loi"t i"n Fiance:Parist o St rasbourgline on
slight lYmodif r edt r ack
Train St ándárdTGVWit h fewer coaches
Record 574.8km/ h

82 Unit 10 Pushingt he boundar ies

I
 C ) f O.l Andr ej , a consult ing engineer specialising in r ail t echnology, is t alking
about t he TGV world speed record. List en t o t he t alk and answer t he
following quest ions.
I Over all, how heavilymodif iedwas t he t r ain?
2 How long was t he record-breakingTCV?
3 Why was some of t he bodywor kmodif ied?
4 Why was t he diamet er of t he wheelschanged?

d )fo.l List en again and complet e t he following t able about t he modified TGV
using t he figures in t he box.

+ 680/o + 79olo - t5olo - 509o + 80o/o

Technical criteria Modified TGV: % difference from standard model

Maximumspeed
Trainlengt h ( wit h coaches)
Aerodynamicdrag
Diamet erof wheels
Mot or powerout put

g Complet e t he following sent ences from t he t alk by underlining t he correct

words.
1 The record speed exceeded the standard operating speed bg a ting/ hlltp
margin.
2 The train was modified to a ceftain/ considerable extent ...
3 ... the modified train was significantlg/ slightlg shorter, ...
4 ... changes were made to the bodgworlt, to moke it slightlg/ much more
aer odgnamic...
5 The wheels on the modified train were marginallg/ substantiallg bigger ...
6 ... the power of the electric motors wos marginallg/ substantiallg higher thon
t he st andard unit s ...
-I
... standard high-speed trains con be made to go foster bg a slight/
considerable amount.

f Rewrit e t he following sent ences t o describe t he modificat ions t hat were

made t o t he TGV for t he record at t empt . Use t he phrases in Exercise 6e t o
replace t he words in bold.
I The supply volt agein t he cat enar ycables had t o be incr easedf r om 25,000
t o 3l . OOO vol t s.
2 To limit oscillat ion,t he t ensionof t he cat enar ycables had t o be incr easedby
60o/ o.
3 On some cur ves,t he camber of t he t r ack had t o be incr easedby a f ew
cent imet r es.
4 The 574.8km/ h r ecor d beat t he pr eviousr ecor d,set in 1990, by 59.5 km/ h.
5 ln per f ect condit ionst he TGVcould pr obably have gone f ast er by 5 t o l0
km/ h.

7 I n pairs, choose a product or t ype of t echnology you know well and compare
it s performance and qualit y wit h an earlier model, describing t he ext ent of
t he differences.

Unit 10 Pushingt he boundar ies 83

 I Describingcapabilit iesand limit at ions
8a Look at t he phot os and read t he ext ract s Í rom The
St org of John Paul St app, by Nick T. Spark, and answer
t he following quest ions.
I When and wher e do you t hink it t ook place?
2 What do you t hink t he aim of t he t est was?
3 What do you t hink John St app'spr of essionwas?
4 What equipment do you t hink was used?
5 What do you t hi nk happenedi n t he exper i ment ?

the sled'smovie cameras'and

With five secondsto go Stappactivated
nine rocketsdetonatedwith a
p; ; ; ; ; ; J to. tt. ,t ott' ioiii wi"a't
and blastingStappdown the track'
terrificroar.sendingot'iitutt' of fire

' ' ' sonic wind hit t he wat er brake.

The rear of t he sred t ore away.
cont inued' har dr y slowing at The fronr
alr unt ' it hJ; ; . second war er
spray exploded from t he back br ake. Then,
oÍ Sonicwin| i.it st opped like it
concret e wall. had hit a

)t O.l List en t o an ext ract from a document ary about

t he experiment and check your answers t o Exercise 8a.

Complet e t he following dat a on t he Sonrc Wind t est

using t he figures in t he box.

r .2 3 20 46 101s

I Max soeed: - km/ h

2 Acceler at ionf r om 0 t o max speed: seconds
3 Accelerat ion force: - Cs
4 Deceler at iont ime: seconds
5 Deceler at ionf or ce: - Cs

t ist en t o t he next part of t he document ary and check your answers t o

) t O.S
Exercise 8c.

Complet e t he following groups of synonyms using t he words in t he box.

ableto capableof copewith exceed incapabteof

intendedfor srliette.d{ o surpass unableto withstand

1 exposed to (a force) / s'^ biecte/ to

2 resist (a forceJ| - |-
3 go beyond ( a limit )I - I-
4 suit ablef or ( a use) I -
5 c a nI - l -
6 c a n ' tl - l -

84 Unit 10 Pushingt he boundar ies

I
 I

Complete the following sentencesabout Sonrc Wind using the correct form
of the words in Exercise8e.
I The boltsfixingthe camerato the sled had to coPewith highshearforces.
2 Thesled'srocketswere- generatingenormousthrust.
3 The pools at the end of the trackwere- stop the sled rapidly.
4 Theskidson the sled had to highlevelsof friction.
5 At full speed,John Stappwas- severaltonnesof air pressure.
6 The rear of the sled was- resistthe shockof deceleration,and
broke off.
7 Doctorsthoughtpeoplewere- survivingforcesof 17 Gs and above.
8 JohnSt app- t he I 7 G limitby a hugemargin.

9a You are a consultant engineer and your firm have receivedan email from an
entrepreneurwith an ambitiousplan. Read the followingemail extract and
note the key information.

!n pairs, discussthe key To;JasmineMurray I

informationin Exercise9a and
consider the followingpoints.
o the levelof G force
o a safelengthfor the track
o t he f easibilit of
y usingwheelg
o t he suit abilit of
y t he braking
systemssuggested
)to.o Jasmine and Andrew,
consultingengineers,are
discussingthe issuesin
Exercise9b. Listen and compare
what they say with your ideas
from Exercise 9b.
!n pairs, discussthe points
raised in their conversationand
make notes summarisingyour
thoughtsin preparationfor a
meetingwith the entrepreneur.
Prepare a short presentation
for the entrepreneurusingyour
notes from Exercise9d. Student
A, you are the consultant
engineer.Give the presentation.
Student B, you are the
entrepreneur.Listen and ask
questionsabout specificdetails.
Swap roles and practiseagain.
Subiect:
The proposal is to build a rocket sled rideon a desert site in Western
Aust ralia.The ridewillbe aimedat wealt hyt ourist s,and willallow
t hemt o experiencesupersonicspeeds.We envisagecarryingt wo
passengersat a t ime,seat edbehindt he pilot .The ideais inspired
by t he Sonic Wind experiment s, which I 'msureyou'refamiliarwit h.
However,it goes withoutsayingthat safetywill be the number one
priority,which meansthat e)dremesof accelerationand deceleration
must be avoided.For inst ance,a wat erbrake,liket he one used in
t he SonicWind t est s,is clearlyout of t he quest ion.
The sit eis largeenought o accommodat ea t rack up t o 16 km
long,t houghI reckon1Okm would be adequat e.Accordingt o my
roughca| cu| ations,that wou| dbe sufÍ icientto al| owprogressive
accelerat ionup t o and t hrought he sound barriert o about 350 m/ s,
and progressivedecelerat ion t o a st andst illwit houtexceeding2 G
(20 m/ s,),whilestill leavingthreeto four kilometresof track as a
safetymargin.However,I 'm not an engineer,so would appreciate
your professional opinionon t hat .
ln t ermsoÍ basict echno| ogy, I assumet he most suit ab| evehic| e
wouldbe a rail-mount ed sled,wit hst eelskidst hat gript he t rack,
aboveand belowt he rails,t o preventderailing,and avoidproblems
wit haerodynamiclift .I assumewheelswouldn'tbe feasiblegivent he
speeds involved,t houghI 'm not 100% sureabout t hat ,Perhapsyou
can advise.Propulsionwould be providedby a rocketor aircraft .j et .
I alreadyhavea consultantsourcinga suitableengine, however,so
t hat angleis beinglookedint o.
As far as your inputis concerned,t he mainareawhereI need your
expert iseis on t he brakingsyst em.As I said,violentbrakingis out of
t he quest ion.As I see it , suit ablygent leopt ionsincludesyst emst hat
app| yfrictionto the rai| s,aerodynamicÍ | aps,parachutes,or reversed
enginet hrust .But , again,I 'm not an engineer,so I lookforwardt o
discussingyourt hought son t heseissues.
-":ar

Unit 10 Pushingt he boundar ies 85

This glossarycontainsusefultechnicalwordsfrom the texB and audioscriptswhichare not coveredspecificallyin the exercises.

bearing mechanismcontainingballs or rollers placed around a componentwhich spins, e.g. a shaft, to reduce
friction
belt (drivebelt) closed band placed around two or more wheels(pulleys),allowingone wheel to drive the other(s)
cable rope made of many wires,usually metal
component individual part of an assembly/ mechanism
electromagnetic haí uses an e| ectrica| | generated
y magneticfie| d
foundation base supportinga buildingor structure,usuallymade of concrete
gears wheelswith cogs (teeth)which mesh togetherto transferdrive from one wheel to the other wherethe
wheelsare side by side
inertia the resistanceof an obtect to accelerationor decelerationdue to its mass
lubricant | iquidor viscousso| id (e.g.oil) used to reducefriction betweenmovingparts whose surÍ acesare touching
(electric)motor devicewhich transformselectricalenergyinto rotary motion
pile foundationcomprisinga vertical columnof concretein the ground
propeller devicewith spinning blades used to push boats or aircraft throughwater or air
reinforcement networksoffibres or bars placed inside a materialto strengthenit, e.g. steel reinforcementin concrete
remote control siystemused to control a deviceor vehiclefrom a distance,usuallyvia a wirelessconnection
sheave alternativeterm for pulley (seebert above)
solar power energyfrom sunlight convertedinto electricalenergy
strength-to-weight toughnessof a materia| (abi| ityto resist breaking)re| ativeto its density (density = masí vo| ume)
ratio
structuralengineer engineerspecialisingin the design of structures,e.g. bridges
wind load force exerted on a structureby the wind
wireless signal transmissionwithout a physicalconnectionby wire, e.g. by radio wavesor infraredwaves

aggrega[e solid particlesor lumps of material used in a mixture,e.g. sand and gravel in concrete
automotive related to vehicledesignand manulacturing
blade cutting device,often metal with a sharp or toothed edge
cement lime-basedpowder mixed with water to make concrete
chassis base of a vehicleto which all main componentsare fixed
composite(material) combined materials;consistsof a bulk material (calleda matrix) reinforcedwith fibres or bars, e.g. glass-
reinforcedplastic [ plasticmatrix with glass fibres)
conductor material that conducB (carrieslelectricityor heat - in engineering,usuallyrefiersto an electrical
conductor
electrolysis passingan electricalcurrent througha liquid or solid in order to separatechemicalcompounds
exhaust systemfor evacuatingsmoke or gases,e.g. from an engine
galvanized coated with zinc - us€
d to protect steel from corrosion (rustingl
insulat ion protectivelayer to preventor reduceconductionof heat or electricity
ironmongery collectiveterm for small metal items commonlyused in buildings,e.g. door handles,hinges,screws,nails
kineticenergy energy in the form of movement,e.g. a spinningwheel
melt down changea solid substanceinto a liquid by heatingit
membrane thin layer of material,often acting as a barrier,e.g. to preventwater passing
puncture hole causinga leak of air or liquid, e.g. in a tyre
rust common name br iron oxide - producedwhen iron corrodesas a result of exposureto air and water
scrap used/ recoveredmaterial intendedfor recycling;often refersto metal

108 Glossaryof t echnicatt erms

acet ylene gas commonlymixedwit hoxygenin welding( oxy-acet ylene)
ballast densemat erialusedt o add weight ,e.g.as a count er-balance
or t o resistlif t
cable t ie plastic strap used to fix severalcablestogetherside by side, or to fix cablesto a supportingstructure
cast ing pouringmolt enmat erialint oa mould
ear t n elect ricalconnect ionbet weena circuitand t he ground
live in a mainselect ricalcircuit ,t he wiret hroughwhichcurrentf lowsint oan appliance- also meansa circuit
is energised( currentis f lowing)
m ach i n i n g collect ivet ermf or processesinvolvingcut t ing,drilling,et c.
m i l l i n g m ach i n e machineWit hcut t ingwhee| susedt o cut awayt he surf aceof met á|in t hin | ayers
neut r al in a mainselect ricalcircuit ,t he wiret houghwhichcurrentf lowsout of an appliance

blackbolt in const ruct ion,

an ordinarybolt
cablet ray longmet alplat eon whichcablesare laid - designedt o supportlargenumbersof cables
col umn verticalsupport in a structure
constructionjoint ioint beMeen two sectionsof concretethat were poured at differenttimes (whereconcretestructuresare
poured in severalstages)
duct large section pipe,with a circular or squareprofile,for carryingair; or a protectivecover for cables or
hoses
f abr icat ion making/ assembling,
often used to describe metalwork
f ixings collectiveterm ficr bolts, screws,rivetsand clips
high strengthfriction bolt which holds platestogetherby friction (grippingthem tightly together)rather than by shear force
erip [ HSFG)bolt
M&E abbreviationfor mechonicaland electrical - in construction,refersto electricalinstallations,water
pipes,air-condit ioning,
et c.
pour lconcrete) Dlace/ castconcrete
slab large flat area of concrete,for a floor or roof

' f u$i f f i É É
clear ance distancebetweencomponentsdesignedto fit togetherclosely
clut ch friction mechanismallowingenginemotion to be transferredto wheelsprogressively
coolant liquid in a cooling syst em
orag resist ancet o movementt hrougha gasor liquid,e.g.whena planemovest hrought he air
electricalcontact point wheretwo electricalconductorsare connected
engine often refersto an internal combustionengine- i.e. one which burns petrol or diesel
f an spinningdevicewit h bladesusedt o generat ea f lowof air
f ilt er mat erialwit h small holeslocat edin a f lowof gas or liquid;usedt o blocksolid part icles,e.g.t o prevent
t hemf romdamaginga sensit ivemechanismsuchas a pump
f| aps moveab| epane| son aircraft WingsWhichincrease| ift to assist | ow.speedf| ight'e.g. during take.ofíand
landing
fly-by-wire aircraft controlswhichoperate moveabledevices(e.9.flaps) electronically,rather than mechanically
fuel iniection systemfor injectingfuel vapour into the piston cylinderof an engine
temperaturegau€
e deviceWhichshowsa temperaturereading
gearbox casecont áiningshaf t swit hgears'usual| ywit h a gearshif tmechanism,a| | owing
gearst o be movedt o
changebetweendifferentgear ratios
hydraulics oil circuit susedt o pushpist onscalledhydraulicrams
high-pressure
isolat e separat ean elect ricalcomponentor part of a circuitf romt he rest of t he circuit- e.g.by openinga
switch- to preventelectricityfrom flowingthroughit
landinggear wheelsof an aircraf t
looseconnect ion elect ricalconnect iont hat is not f ullyt ight ,of t encausingt he circuitt o be broken,prevent ingcurrent
from flowing
misf ire whenan engineis not runningsmoot hlydue t o a f uelor ignit ionproblem
non-serviceable part t hat cannotbe repairedby maint enance
t echnicians,
only by t he manuf act urer
(part)
prston mechanismwhich transferslinear motion (backwardand forwardmovement)to rotary motion (turning
movement )usually
, pushedby expandinggas

Glossaryof t echnicalt erms 109

radiat or devicet hat dissipat esheat int ot he air, usuallyf roma hot liquid( e.9.coolant )t hat is
heat -exchange
pumpedt hroughit
spoilers moveablepanelson aircraf twingswhichincreasedragand reducelif t i usedt o slowaircraf twhen
descendingand on landing
starter motor e| ect ricmot or in an engineusedt o t urn t he en€ine in order t o st art it running
suspension moveableconnect ionbet weena vehicle'schassisand it s wheels,consist ingof springsand dampers
t anK cont ainerf or st oringllquid
t hrot t le accelerat orcont rolon an engine
t ur bi ne t ransf ormsa f lowof f luid ( liquidor gas)int o rot arymovemente.g.
, a windt urbine
VAI VC he f lowof gasor liquidalonga pipe
mechanismf or opening/ closing/ rest rictting
Unit 6
beam long,narrowhorlzont alcomponentin a st ruct ure
cor e dr ill hole-sawf or drillingt hrought hick mat erials
cr ane machinef or lif t ingheavyobj ect s,able t o reachsignif icantheight sand dist ances;includesmobilecranes
( whichwheel) t, owercranes( whichare support edby a f ixedt ower)and gant rycranes( whichrun along
beams)
d y n am i c , a dynamicload [ : a loadgenerat edby a movingobj ect )
relat edt o movemente.g.
C-force f or ceofaccel er at i onor decel er at iIon:
Ci sequi val ent t ot hef or ceof
accel er at i onexer t edbygr avi t y
j ib moveablearm of a crane
lif t ing eye ringf ixedt o a heavyobj ectallowinga hook ( e.9.of a crane)t o be at t achedt o enablelif t ing
low- loader plant
t ruckwit ha low f lat t railer,usedf or t ransport inglargeheavyvehicles,especiallyconst ruct ion
sl i n g s f lat st rapswhichcan be at t achedt o cranehooksand placedunderobj ect sin ordert o lif t t hem
t hr ust pushin€f orce,e.g.generat edby expandinggasesexit inga rocket
Unit 7
ai r i nl et point whereair ent ersa deviceor process- t he opposit eis air out let
arc elect ricalcurrentt ravelllnga short dist ancet hrought he air t o f lowbet weent wo conduct ors
Dlower pump-likemechanismwhichgenerat esairf low
circuitbreaker elect ricaldevicewhichinst ant lybreaksa circuit( swit ches
of f t he powersupply)as a saf et ymeasureif a
variat ionin currentis det ect ed
ext inguisher deviceusedf or put t ingout f ires;usuallya met alcont ainerwit ha hoseor nozzlecont ainingwat er,CO,,
( f ireext inguisher) powderor f oam
met alcont ainerwhichcont ainscompressedgas,of t enin liquef iedf orm
guardrail saf et yrail designedt o preventpeoplef allingf rom highplaces
handr ai l ( asguardrail,above)
load-bearing describesa part of a st ruct ureor assemblyt hat is designedt o resisUt ransmit
f orce
moist ure-sensit lve can be damagedby wat er
off-cuts wast epieceslef t over af t ercut t ing
shot -blast ing f iringsmall met alballspropelledby compressedair as an abrasivecleaningprocess
st l o largecont ainerf or st oringbuI k€ranu| ar mat erialssuchas grain
st rain of a component( e'g'st ret ching)
chan€e in size/ shape due t o f orce
swit chboard cont rolpanelcont ainingseveralswit chesf or all t he individualcircuit sof an elect ricalinst allat ion
swit chgear collect ivet erm f or swit chingequipment
t ransf ormer elect ricaldevicef or modif yingcurrentand volt age- a st ep-upt ransf ormerincreasesvolt ageand reduces
current ,a st ep-downt ransf ormerdecreasesvolt ageand increasescurrent
Unit 8
AC Alt ernat ingCurrent
aut omat ion aut omat iccont rolof a syst em,deviceor process
CAD Comput erAided Design- comput ersof t waref or producingengineering
drawings
conv€y or beI t movingbelt whicht ransport sobj ect shorizont allyi processesand
of t enused in manuf act uring
warenouses
downst ream f urt herdownt he direct ionof f low ( e.g.in a river) ;used in engineering
t o describeindust rlalprocesses
and t he f lowof liquid/ airin pipe/ ductnet works( opposit e= upst ream)
elect ricut ilit y companywhichgenerat eselect ricit yat powerst at ions

110 Glossar yof t echnicaIt er ms

 I

elect ricalcharge stored electricity(potentialelectricalenergy)

exot hermicreact ion chemicalreactionwhich producesheat (opposite- endothermicreaction,which absorbs heat)
f low movementof a subst ance,usuallya liquidor gas ( e.9.alonga pipe)
gizmo slang term for a technicaldevice,usuallyelectronic- suggeststhe deviceis complex
hydroelectricpower electricitygeneratedusingwater pressure(hydrostaticpressure)
mainselect ricit y domest icelect ricit ysupplysyst em
manual controlledby a person - the opposite is automatlc
refrigeration processof coolingto temperaturesbelow atmospherictemperature
reservoir power
man-madelakef or st oringwat er,usuallyf or drinkingwat eror hydroelect ric
standby (on standby) when a deviceis ready to operateimmediately,e.g. a TV that is ready to switchon when it receivesa
remotecontrol signal
vessel closedtank which can hold a pressuregreater than the atmosphericpressureoutside it

aerodynamics study of airflow e.g. over movingvehiclesand aircraft

aeronaut ical relatedto the design and constructionof aircraft
centreof gravity theoreticalpoint on the cross-sectionof an object from which the obiects mass is transmittedvertically
downwardsdue to gravity
compressor devicefor pressurisinggas (usuallyair) inside a vesselor networkof pipes/ hoses
dat a gat herin€ collectingand recordingthe resultsof tests for later analysis
def ormable can changeshape
deploy e.g. when skydiverspull the cord oftheir parachute,the parachuteis deployed
release/ ejecvopen,
dest ruct ible can be / is designedto be broken/ destroyed
DI Ystore Do lt Yourselfstore - hardware/ home improvementsstore selling building materialsand tools to
consumers
pressuregauge devicewhichshowsa pressurereading,e.g. in bar or psi [ poundsper squareinch)
t urbulence disturbedairflow- i.e. air not flowingsmoothlyaround an obiect
vacuum volumecontainingno gas, e.g. space
windshield glass at front of a vehicleor aircraft whichthe driver or pilot looks through,also called a windscreenin
Brit ishEnglish

;Sffilffi
bodywork the external skin of a vehicle;usuallyconsistsof severalpanels
camber angle that is inclinedfrom horizontal,usuallyat 90 degreesto the directionof travel, e.g. the camber of
a road (theslope of the road acrossits width)
catenary downwardcurved line of a cable when suspendedbetweentwo supports
coastal defences largewalls, blocks,etc., constructedto protect the coast from sea/ oceanerosion
corrode degradeas a result ofa chemicalreaction,e.g. iron turning to iron oxide (rust)when exposed to water
and air
corrosron result of materialcorroding(seeabove)
derail come off the rails, e.g.trains can be derailed
detonate trigger an explosion
fail-safe cannot fail / go wrong- often used to describesafetysystems
horsepower historicunit of power,has been replacedby Wbttsbut still used to describepower output from engines
i naxi al not in a straight line
opposingforces forcesacting in oppositedirections
oscillat ion wave pattern
reversethrust thrust directed in the oppositedirectionto that whicha vehicle/ aircraftis travellingin, intendedto slow
the vehicle/ aircraft
rpm revolutionsper minute,used to measurethe speed of rotary motion
sled vehiclethat slidesalong (i.e.does not havewheels),e.g. a sled designedto travel over snow
stress the force(s)exertedon an oblect, e.g. tensilestressin a cable that is being pulled in opposite directions
superstructure the part of a structurethat is aboveground level- the opposite is the substructure

Gt ossaryof t echnicalt erms 111

 I 1. 1
Paula: Obviouslynavigat ionis t he primary
applicat ionof most GPS devices.
José :Sure.
Paula: Then you'vegot associatedapplications,
usesthat are related to navigating,such as
trackingsystemsyou can use for monitoring
deliveryvehiclesand f indingst olencars,t hat
kind of t hing.
José :Mm.
Paula: And then there are more creative
features.A good examplewould be on a boat
CPS, you get drif t alarms.So if t he anchorst art s
to drag and the boat starts moving,there'sa
setting on the cPs that allows it to detect the
movementand , an alarmsoundst o warn you,
and prevent st he boat f romdrif t ingunnot iced.
José : I see.
Paula: Or anot herexampleon boat syst emsis
man overboardbuttons.So if you'resailing along
and someonef allsint ot he sea, you hit a but t on,
whichlogst he posit ionand ensurest hat you
don't lose track of where you were,which then
enablesyou t o t urn roundand comeback t o t he
samepoint and f ind t he peBon.
José :Right .
Paula: So, t heseare t he kindsof applicat ions
we want to develop,more specialised,and more
creative.
José : So, effective| y'you're not ta| kingabout
t echnicalinnovat ions. What you'rereallylooking
for is innovativewaysof actually using the
technology.
Paula: Precisely.Becausethese days, from the
end-userspoint of view,accuracyis no longer
t he mainsellingpoint .Most devicesare accurat e
enough.The key is t o maket hem moreusef ul.So
in t ermsof developmentt,hat 'st he kind of ...
- 1. 2
James: The engineeringchallengeof connect ing
a sat ellit et o eart h usinga cableis, obviously,
significant.I n order to support its own weight,
and be securelyat t achedat eachend, t he cable
wouldrequirea phenomenalst rengt h-t o-weight
rat io.Carbonnanot ubemat erialsmight ,one
day, be up to the iob. And l'll talk about those in
det aillat er on. How couldvehiclesbe raisedint o
space,up t he cable?Well,usinga self -cont ained
energysourcewouldbe problemat ic,due t o t he
weight of fuel or batteries requiredto power the
vehicle.There are two possiblewaysround this
problem: transmittingelectricitywirelessly,or
usingsolar power.The f irst t echniqueis only in
the early stagesof research.The secondwould
allowt he vehiclet o ascendonlyveryslowly,
t hought his wouldn'tnecessarilybe a problem,
as the car could be controlledremotely,allowing
it t o t ransportpayloadsas an unmannedvehicle.
I 1. 3
James: The ofthore base station would be
supported by a floating structure,which could
be attachedto the seabed by anchors.Payloads
could be carried from the shore to the station
by ship bef orebeinglif t edint oorbit .The main
advantageof a floating mobile station, rather
t han a f ixedbase on land,wouldbe t o help
reducet he risk of a collisionbet weent he cable
and one of t he manylumpsof spacedebris,
86 Audí oscript
I
suchas redundantsat ellit es,t hat lit t erorbit al
space.Basedon caref ulmonit oringof debris
movements,in the case of an alert the station's
anchorscouldbe raisedand t he st at ioncouldbe
moved,driven by propellers,to a new location
out of harm'sway.
- 1. 4
I ground,and concret e's
Stefan: So, as you can see from this cross-
sect ion,we'vecomeup wit h a complet elyunique
prof ile.lt 'sexclusivet o t hiscompanyand unlike
anyt hingelseon t he market .
Stefan: One of the key advantagesof this new
f orm is t hat it dramat icallyreducesvibrat ion,
whichwas alwaysa problem before.Obviously,
machinesliket hesecan neverbe ent irelyf ree
f romvibrat ionbut t he newdesignrunsext remely
smoothly.
3 piles.The pileaugerovert hereis ef f ect ively
Stefan: Another advantageof the new profileis
that it's considerablylighter,due to the reduced
area of the overallsection.So comparedwith our
previousrange,it s highlyef f icientespecially
, in sort of mud. And that oreventsthe walls of the
applicat ions t hat requirecont inualst art ingand
st opping,wherelow inert iais import ant .
L
Stefan: We'restill conductinglong-term
reliabilitytests, but trials so far suggestthe
designis except ionally durable,primarilyas a
result of the low vibration levels.We exoect it
t o be signif icant ly morereliablet han rivalunit s
t hat are on t he market ,whichis obviouslyan
import antsellingpoint .
I 1.5
Richard: lf you'retalking to non-specialists,and
you st art usingj argon,t hen t o your audience,
it 'siust goingt o soundlikenonsense.That 's
one oroblem.Anot herrelat esnot so mucht o
language,but to the complexityof the technology lrina: The only way to assessthe environmental
you'retalking about. Even if you use everyday
| anguage, t he engineerin€ conceptit se| fmight
st ill be dif f icultt o explain.And t hat can maket he impactof t hat mat erialon t he environment .
subiectvery heavygoing,and quit edull,which
is obviouslynot what you want. However,I think
it's important not to oversimplifythings.There's
not hingworset han beingspokent o as if you'rea
child.Youdon't want t o soundpat ronising.
I 1.6
Richard: lt's obviouslybest to use everyday
languageas f ar as possible.But I don't t hinkt hat
meansavoidin€j argonalt oget her.l f ind t he best
approach,so as not t o soundpat ronising, is t o used to make the bulbs, of transportingthose
use a cert ainamountof t echnicallanguage,and
then immediate| yafterwardsgive strai€ htfoMard
explanat ions of what it meansusingeveryday
words.Whenit comest o explainingt ricky
t echnicalconcept s,a goodt echniqueis t o make
comparisonsbetweenthe technicalpoint you're
trying to illustrateand thingsfrom everydaylife
t hat peopleare f amiliarwit h,t o helpt hem paint
a pict urein t heir minds.And t hent o help light en environment al
t hingsup, and st op t hingsf romsoundingdull, I
t hink it 'sgood t o usea bit of humouras well,and
maybea few amusinganecdotes.
- 7. 7
Richard: As you can see, we'vestarted work
on t he subst ruct ure, in ot her wordst he part
of t he st ruct uret hat s belowgroundlevel.The
f oundat ions are concret epiles.Basically,a pile
is a columngoingdownint ot he ground.And
we'reusing what we call bored in situ concrete,
in ot her words,we bore,or drill,a holein t he
pouredin in sit u,which
meansit 'sact uallypouredon t he const ruct ion
site, in its final position.An alternativeis to use
what we refer to as ore-castdriven oiles. Pre-
cast refersto the fact that the oiles are made
at a factoryawayfrom the site, beforebeing
delivered.They'ret hen drivenint ot he ground.
They'rehammeredin wit h a piledriverwhich,
put simply,is iust likea giant hammer.And t hey
don'tiust drivein piles,t heydriveeveryone
mad wit h t he const antboom-boom-boom all
day long.So, t hankf ullyf or our ears,we'renot
usingt hat t echnique.I nst ead,we'reboringt he
j ust
likea giantdrill.As it drillsint ot he ground,we
pumpa specialliquidcalledbent onit eint ot he
hole.Essent ially, it 'sa kind of claysuspension,a
holef romcollapsinginwards.So whent he hole's
f inished,it 'sf ull of bent onit e.lt looksj ust likea
big muddypuddleon t he ground.Obviously,it 's
not a good idea to step in one, like a colleague
of mineoncedid. and t hen had t o drivehomein
his underpant sf or a changeof clot hes.So, once
t he hole'sbeen boredand f illedwit h bent onit e.
they lower in some steel reinforcement.And then
concrete'spumped in. And becausethe concrete
is densert han t he bent onit e,it displacesit . So, in
simple terms, if you picturea glass full of water
and imaginepouringconcret eint ot he glass,t he
water would overflow and you'd end up with a
glass full of concrete.So, that's piling. lf anyone
has any quest ions,by t he way,j ust ...
I 2.1
impact of a given material properlyis to carry
out an environmentalaudit and analysethe total
I emphasisetotal impact becauseit's all too
easy to judge materialsand productson
singleaspectsof their ecologicalimpact. As an
example,if we comparet radit ionaland energy-
savinglight bulbsit 'st empt ingt o say energy-
savingones are better becausethey consume
less energy.I n fact, that'sonly part of the picture.
That'sjust the in-usephase.You also need to
considerthe pre-usephase - in other words,the
environment al impactof miningt he mat erials
materialsto the factory,of manufacturingthem
etcetera.Then there'sthe post-usephase. How
easy is it to recyclespent bulbs? And when you
start to considera| | of these factoí s,suddenly
the comoarisonbetweenclassicbulbs and
their energy-savingequivalentsbecomesmuch
less clear-cut.Some of the materialsused in
energy-savinglights are problematicfrom an
st andDointbot . h in t ermsof
acquiringt hem and recyclingt hem.So t he point
is, it's essentialto look at the whole picture.And
doingt hat can be quit ea complext ask, as we'll
see lat er on.
I a 2. 2
Sophia: OK, so st eelbodyworkversusaluminium
bodywork.
Fet e: What about pre-use,t hen?
Sophia: Well,I t hink it t akesa lot of energy
t o producealuminium,comparedwit h st eel,
becausealuminium's madeby elect rolysis.
Pete: Yeah.So steel'sbetter, presumably.
Sophia: I t hinkso, yeah.But , hangon a minut e,
wit haluminium,it dependshow muchis derived
from ore, and how much is recoveredfrom
recycledmat erial.As f ar as I know recycling
aluminiumt akeslessenergy.So I 'm not really
sure.
Pete: Presumably,it'll be mixed, won't it? For a
givenbat ch,t here'llbe so muchnew mat erial,
and so muchrecycledmat erial.
Sophia: Probably,yeah.OK, so t hat needst o be
researched, t hen.
Pete: ls car bodyworkgalvanisedwhen it's made
from steel?
Sophia: Um ... good quest ion.I 'mnot sure.
Pete: lf it is, if it has to be coated with zinc, then
that would take extra materialand extra energy.
So t hat 'san import antconsiderat ion.
Sophia: Mm, t rue.OK, so t hat 'sanot her
quest iont o not e.
Pet e: Thent here'st he energyconsumedwhen
t hey'ret ransport ingbulk met alt o t he car plant .
Sophia: Presumablyaluminiumt akeslessenergy
t o t ransport ,beinglight er.
Pete: I 'd say so, yeah.
Sophia: OK. What about manuf act uring?
Pet e: Well,aluminiumwouldbe light ert o handle,
wouldn'tit ? lt probablyt akeslessenergyt o cut ,
as well.
Sophia:Yeah.Not surewhet herit t akesless
energyto weld, comparedwith steel.
Pet e: Cood quest ion.Anot hert hingt o checkout .
Sophia: Mm, what about in-use,t hen?| assume
aluminium'sbet t erbecauseit 'slight er,so you
consumelessf uel.
Pet e: Yeah.And it shouldlast longer,as well.
Sophia: Mm, is t hat an environment al
considerat ion, t hough?
Pet e: Well,yeah,becauseif t hingslast longer,
they need to be manufacturedless often. So you
use ressenergy.
Sophia: True.But t hen,is t he lif espanof a car
det erminedby t he lif eof it s bodywork?
Pete: Ah. Cood point.
Sophia: lt 'susuallydet erminedby t he chassis,or
t he engine,isn't it ?
Pete: ls it?
Sophia: Mm, anot herone t o be researched.
Pete: OK, what about post-use,then?
- 2. 3
Margit : So, in t ermsof t he maincomponent s,
the conductor,at the centre,is copper or
aluminium,dependingon t he model.That 's
t hen coat edwit h polyet hyleneinsulat ionand
surroundedby st eelwire,whichprovidest he
armouredprot ect ion.As t he st eelobviously
needsto be protectedfrom moisture,there'sa
plast icwat erproofmembranearoundt hat .Then,
t he wholet hing'ssurroundedby an out erj acket
which,again,is in plast ic-based mat erial.
J 2. 4
Toby:That 'scert ainlya scarylookingcollect ion
of tools.
Est her;Yes,someof t hem do look quit e
menacing,don't t hey?
Toby:ls t hat t it anium?The drill handle?
Est her: Um ... yes.
Toby:I 'man engineer,t hat 'swhy l, um ...
Esther: Oh, I see. Yes,titanium'sgreat. lt's
expensive,obviously,but verylight .That 's
the big advantage.ldeally,you want it to be
lightweight,to give you better control.
Toby: Nn.
Esther: Theseare the most impressivethings,
t hough,t he burson t he end.The lat estonescan
rotateat over half a million revsoer minute.
Toby:Nn.
Esther: They'recoated with tungstencarbide,
whichI t hinkis one of t he hardestmat erialsin
exist ence,isn't it ? Alongwit h diamond.That 's
also used.
Toby:Nn.
Est her:The key requirementis abrasion
resistance,of course.Obviously,they need to be
verydurable.And you don't want t hem snapping,
either.The last thing you want is a brittle
mat erial.Apparent ly,t hat wast he t roublet hey
had in t he past ,makingt he bur t oughenoughso
it didn't break.I t hink part of t he problemwas
heat ,as well.Drillingint oa t oot hat highspeed,
you obviouslyget a lot of heat build-up.You need
a gooddegreeof t hermalst abilit y.
Toby:Nn.
Est her:Seewhat I mean?Youcan act uallysmell
burning.And t hat 'saf t era f ew seconds.lmagine
t he heat build-upaf t erseveralminut es.
Toby: Nn.
J 2. 5
Tom:Speakingas an engineer,Louisa,my view is
t hat all t he mat erialswe useshouldbe genuinely
suit ablef or makingwat ches,and not j ust chosen
as market inggimmicks.We'reof t enguilt y,in
my view of usingexot ic-sounding mat erialst hat
are not part icularlysuit ablef roma t echnical
st andpoint .
Louisa:Yeah,I knowwhat you mean.
Tom: A good examplewas that debate we had
on whet hert o usesubmarine-grade st eel in
somemodels,t o givet he impressiont hat t hey're
except ionally resist antt o wat er.OK, submarine
st eel'sgoodat wit hst anding t he pressureof
beinga milebeneat ht he sea. But it 'sheavy.lf
it's not coated, its corrosionresistanceis not that
good,at leastcomparedwit hot her met alslike
t it anium.lt 'salsof airlypoor in t ermsof looks,
in my view.Water resistanceisn't a questionof
met alqualit y,it 'sabout t he qualit yof t he j oint s
and seals you use. So, as a watch material,
f or me,it 'snot at all suit able.Tremendously
market able.I 'msure,but ...
Louisa:Hm. No, I t akeyour point .But I t hink it 's
fair to say that we'veneverchosena materialfor
market ingreasonst hat 'sinsuf t icient ly durableor
not adequat elybuilt in any way.
Tom:Oh, no. No, if anyt hing,it 'sbeent he
reverse.Wb'veused materialsthat are over the
t op, so t heycan be describedwit h superlat ives
in advertising.
Louisa: Hm. ldeally,we shouldbe usingst uf f
that'sgood for watchesand good for marketing
as well.
Tom:Sure.But t hat 'seasiersaid t han done.
I mean,a lot of t he mat erialst hat are ideal f or
the job, in terms of scratch-resistance,
ordinary,or t heir composit ions
shock-
resistanceand all the rest of it, are either pretty
are relat ively
complex,and t hey'vegot complicat ednames
whichmeanst hey'renot all t hat goodf or
market ing.That 'st he problem.
Louisa:Sure.But t he ot her problemis,
consumersare not technicalexperts, and they
makechoicesbasedon t heir impressions,rat her
t han basedon f act s.That s a hard commercial
f act ,as hard as submarinest eel.
Tom: No, I acceptt hat .
Louisa:So what shouldour approachbe? lt 's
obviouslynot an easyquest ion...
- 2. 6
I not part icularlysuit able
2 except ionallyresist ant
3 not at all suit able
4 t remendouslymarket able
5 relativelycomplex
6 not all t hat good
- 3. 1
Jan: Whenyou look at t he varioust ypesof plugs
and socket sin dif f erentcount ries,most designs
havea basic layout that's existed for decades,
in t ermsof t he wayt he pinsare laid out , and
the profileof the pins. And as a manufacturer,
t he posit ionof our companyhas alwaysbeen,
basically,to accept that we're stuck with several
standard configurations,and to effectivelysay
t o cust omers,we produceall t he mainf ormat s
- take whicheverone you want. Howeve( as
I 'msureyou know manycount riesuse plugs
and socketsof more than one format. And this
leadst o a comparat ivesit uat ion,wit h some
conf igurat ions becomingmorepopular,and
ot hersprogressively beingabandoned.Thisis
part icularlyt rue in count riesundergoingrapid
economicexpansion.And becauseof t his process
of selection,we'refinding that big customersare
increasingly askingus whichof t he st andardplug
and socket formatsin current use we recommend
as a manufacturer.Which are the best from a
t echnicalst andpoint ?Up unt il now we haven't
had a st andardisedcompanypolicyt o allowus
to respondto that question properly.But this
proj ectaimst o f ormulat ea companypolicyt hat
allowsus to say these are the configurationswe
recommend,and t heseare t he t echnicalreasons
whywe recommendt hem.
- 3. 2
I
Erin: On t his one,t hereare circularpinsf or live
and neut ral.There'sno eart hpin. This is quit ea
commonf ormatin Europeand Russia.lt 'salso
quit ewidelyused in I ndia.
Erin: Here,you'vegot circularslot sf or liveand
neutral.And the earth slot's got a flat base with
one side roundedover t o f orm a semi-circle.This
type'sonly used in a few places.
3
Erin: Thisone has rect angularbladesf or live,
neut raland eart h,in t riangularconf igurat ion.
Thisis t he st andardin t he UK and lreland,and
a few other places, Malaysia and Singapore,for
instznce.
Audioscript 87
 TL
Erin: Thisplug has got circularpinsf or liveand
neut ral,and it has a cylindricalslot t o receive
t he eart h pin. lt s quit ecommonin cont inent al
Europe,and in parts of Africa.
irin: ns you can see,t hereare circularpinsf or
live,neut raland eart h,and t he pinsare arranged
in linearconf igurat ion.
Thisis not a very
commonlyusedf ormat .
o
Erin: This is t he st andardin Nort h America,and
ouit ecommonin Cent raland Sout hAmerica.
Used in Japan,as well.Thereare f lat bladesf or
liveand neut ral,and a roundpin f or eart h,and
t hey'relaid out in t riangularconf igurat ion.
So, an
ext remelywidelyusedf ormat .
I 3. 3
rectangle
rect angular
t riangle
t riangular
cylinder
cylindrical
l i ne
Iinear
I 3.4
Erin: I n t his conf igurat ion,
t here'sa circularslot
at t he t op. lt 'sobviouslya blind hole,it doesn't
go right through.And that's designedto receive
t he eart hpin, whichis mount edon t he f aceof
t he socket .Thent hereare t wo plast icridges,
one on eit herside of t he plugcasing,and t hey
slot into correspondinggroovesat each side
of the socket. I n addition. the centre of the
socket is recessed.So rather than being flush
with the front of the socket, on the same face,
t he circulararea t hat receivest he plug is set
back f romt he surroundingcasing,in a recess
about I 5mm deep.The liveand neut ralsocket s
are also equippedwit h covers,j ust insidet he
opening.Thesecoversonly open whenpressure
is appliedt o bot h by t he t wo pinsof t he plug
simult aneously. So we needt o look at t he
advant agesof t hisconf igurat ion...
I 3.5
Andy: I n t his f ormatt he plugslot sint ot he recess
in t he socket .That allowsit t o f it in reallyt ight ly,
comparedwit h ot her designs.P| us,t heserid€es
and grooveson t he sidesincreaset he amountof
friction.That helps it to resist pullout forceseven
more,so it won't fall out of the socket.
Karin: Yeah,but at t he end of t he day,how
securelydo you want it t o be ret ained?lf it 'sheld
in t oo hard,t hat makesit dif f icultt o pull out .
Andy: That'strue.
Karin: Plus,it couldbe dangerous.lf you're
vacuumingent husiast ically t o loud music,let 's
say, and you pull the cord, you actually want the
plugt o pull out , don't you?Ot herwiseyou might
rip t he cablehalf wayout of t he plug,or t he
appliance.
Andy: So, really,we needt o comparet he pullout
resist anceof all t he f ormat s.
Karin: And det erminewhat t he ideal resist ance
is.
Andy: Yeah.OK. Erm,what elsecan we say
about t hisone?
88 Audioscript
I
Karin: Well I guessanother advantageis, given
t hat t he plug'sin a recess,if it get spulledout
j ust a f ract ion,and t he pinsare st ill live,not hing
can physicallyt oucht hem.
Andy: So you think that's more effectivethan
havinginsulat orsroundt he t opsof t he pins?
Karin: I 'd say so, yeah.
Andy: Thisone'salso got coversinsidet he live
and neut ralslot s.
Karin: That s a st andardf eat ureon moreor less
everyf ormat ,t hough,isn't it ?
Andy: Yeah.But I t hink it 'ssomet hingwe should
look at . I mean,it 'sobviouslya goodt hing.
Anyt hingt hat st opschildrenf romst ickingt hings
in is obviouslya good idea.The only problem
with this system is, if the mechanism'stoo
sensit ive,it makesit dif f icultt o insertt he plug,
somet imes.And t hat makesit easyt o damage.
Karin: When people try to force it.
Andy: Exact l y. . .
r 3. 6
Evan: Most of what we do is sheet met al
working.We don't do foundrywork - you know,
cast ingand t hat t ype of t hing.That 'sobviously
a dif f erentdiscipline.But apart f romt hat ,we're
equippedt o do most t hingst o do wit h met al
bashing.
Mr Barret t : That 'st he t echnicalt erm f or it , is it ?
Evan: I 'm not surewhat t he t echnicaldef init ion
of met albashingwouldbe. A collect ivet erm f or
hammering,grindingand generallymakinga lot
of noise,probably.
Mr Barret t : lt 'sact uallynot t hat noisyin here,
isit ?
Evan: No, it 'snot t oo bad. We had a specialist
f irm come in a whileago t o measurenoise
levelsat each machine- you know for health
and safety regulations.A lot of what we do isn't
all t hat noisy.Thingslikedrillingand milling
machinesare not t oo bad, relat ivelyspeaking.
Anyt hinginvolvingabrasivest endst o be noisy,
t hingslikegrinders,evenif t hey'reonly hand
tools.And that big pressover there makesa loud
bang whent hey'reshearingst eel.lt cert ainly
savesa lot of t ime,t hough,comparedwit hf lame
cut t ing,or sawingwit ha grinderblade.
Mr Barret t : So, it 'sa guillot ine?
Evan: That'swhat we use it for mostly,yes.
- 3. 7
Evan: So we use high-pressurewaterjetcutting
quit ea lot . The goodt hingabout it is you don't
need to do any finishingafterwards.The edges
are virtually perfect.So they are especiallygood
when you have intricateshapes.
Mr Barret t : Whichwouldbe dif t icultt o f inish
otherwise.
Evan: That'sright.
Mr Barrett: Saw blades are obviouslyuseless
Whenyou'recut t in€curvedshapes.
Evan:That 'sright .And whenyou'reusingany
sort of abrasivet echniquef or cut t ingmet al,
it inevit ab| €yet s hot .And t hat can a| t ert he
propert iesof t he met alaroundt he cut , whichcan
be a oroblemin somesit uat ions.
3
Evan: The other problemwith abrasivecuttingis
it exerts shear forcesnear the cut. So sawingis
not t he best solut ionif you wantt o avoidalt ering
t he mat erial.
Mr Barret t : The sameappliest o guillot ining,
presumably.
Evan: lt does, yes.
IL
Mr Barrett: lt's amazingto think that a waterjet
can cut t hroughst eel.Youcouldimaginewat er-
cut t ingt imberor relat ivelysof t mat erial,but ...
Evan: No, it's ideal for metals.Actually,lt's not
.iustwater that's used. They sometimesadd an
abrasivepowderto the water to increasethe
cutting power.
Mr Barret t : Oh. I didn't knowt hat .
Evan: The water'sobviouslyconcentratedinto
a veryf inej et . Dependingon how it 'sset up, it
can t akeout lesst han a t ent hof a millimet re.
somet imes.
Mr Barrett: Really?
I 3.8
Pedro: So, basically,our obiectiveis to get key
suppliersmoreact ivelyinvolvedin t he design
process.So rat hert han us goingt o a supplier
and saying,we want a specif ict ypeof bolt or
screwor rivetf or connect ingt hesecomponent s,
can you give us a price?We want to be able to
say,we needa wayof j oiningt his part t o t his
part, what'sthe best way of fixing them to each
ot her?
Alicia: OK.
Pedro: So it might be that you say,well, actually,
inst eadof bolt ingt hisont ot he machine,what
about usinga weld?Or inst eadof rivet ingt hese,
howabout bondingt hemwit h adhesive,or f ixin€
t hemon wit h somekind of clip,or what ever,
whatever'sthe most cost-effectivesolution.
Alicia: Right .But , obviously,we'rea supplier
of mechanicalf ixings,so we can only providea
mechanicalsolut ion.So if you ask us t o design
someioint s,whichis obviouslyquit ean involved
.iob,and t hen,af t erall t hat ,a rivalf irm comes
alongand says,wellwe suggestweldingit all
t oget her,or gluingit t oget herf or halft he price,
um, it wouldmeana lot of work f or no ret urn.l'm
not saying it's a bad idea. lt's just that we would
haveto be carefulwe coveredour costs.
Pedro: I appreciat et hat . But t he f lip side is, we
want t o workwit hf ewersupplierst han we have
in t he past .So, overall,t hat problemwouldbe
offuetby the greater volumeof work you'd get.
Alicia: Hmm.
r 3. 9
Lenny:So a t ypicalclust erconsist sof somewhere
in t he regionof a hundredballoons.That 'susing
ordinary-size weat herballoons.Wit h about
t went ypeoplehelpingit t akesan houror so t o
inf lat et hem all.
Eva: An hour or morewit h t went ypeople?
Lenny:Yeah.lt 'spret t yt ime-consuming.
Eva: And is eachballoont ied on individually?
Lenny: That'sthe way it's often done, yeah.
Eva: And is the rope just fastenedaround the
bot t om,or . . . ?
Lenny:Well,somepeopleuse plast iccablet ies.
Or you can use tape.
Eva: So it 'sa big.iob,t hen,put t ingeveryt hing
together.The harnessis suspendedfrom a
hundredor so ropes,t hen.Well,how is it
fastened?
Lenny: Well, you can put nylon straps beneath
the ropes.So you haveseveralropes tied to a
single strap, then each strap is fastenedto the
harness.
Eva: I see. So it's like a kind of tree structure.
Lenny: That's right. And you havedifferent
lengt hs,so t he balloonsaren'tall at t he same
level,so t heyf it aboveand belowone anot herin
a round-shaoed clust er.
Eva: I see. So you inflatethe balloons,keep tying
them to the harness,via the straps,and keep
doingt hat unt ilyou t akeof f .
Lenny: Basically,yeah.The pilot'sroped to
sandbagson t he ground.So t he balloonsare
addedprogressively unt ilt here'sa marginal
amountof lif t .Thent he anchorropesare
released,and up you go, niceand gent ly.
Eva:And how do you cont rolyour alt it ude?You
carryballast ,presumably.
Lenny: Yes.Water,usually.Those big water bags
wit ht aps on, ideally,so it 'seasyt o drain out .
Eva: And how do you come back down to earth?
Lenny:Well,t hat 'sact uallya reasonf or having
t he balloonst ied on individually. Youcan release
t hem,one by one,whichallowsyou t o reducet he
amountof lif t increment ally.
Eva: I see. BecauseI wast hinking,surelyit would
be easiert o iust haveall t he balloonscont ained
wit hina big net ,t o makeit f ast ert o assemble.
You know,rat hert han spendingagest yingevery
singleballoonon individually. But t hen if you
did t hat ,you wouldn'tbe able t o releaset hem,
wouldyou?
Lenny: No. That'strue.
Eva:Youcouldburst t hem,somehowI suppose.
Lenny:Yeah.I mean,t hereare obviouslyvarious
waysof doingit ...
- 4. 1
Joe: I havea quest ionabout t he panelson
St aircase3. You knowt hoseglasspanelsaround
t he opening,t hroughDeckC?
Linda: Um, yes.I knowwhereyou mean,yeah.
Joe: Well,I 'vebeen lookingf or a cross-sect ion
t hrought he deck,at t he st air opening.But I can't
f ind one anywhere.
Linda: lsn't t herea not eon t he general
arrangementdrawing,with a referenceto a
sect ionon anot herdrawing?
Joe: I couldn'tf ind one.
Linda: I 'vegot t he deck plansout , somewhere
on here.What 'st his?Air condit ioning schemat ic,
t hat 'sno good.Ah herewe are. Deckplan.Um,
no, you'reright .There'sno sect ionment ioned.
Joe: I mean.in act ualf act .what I needis an
elevat ion,showingall t he panelsf romt he f ront .
I t houghtt hat mightbe ref erenced on t he main
sectionthroughthe stairs.
Linda: Thereis a f ull set of drawingsf or all t he
int ernalpanelling,wit h det ailsshowingexploded
viewsof all t he f ixingdet ails,and sect ions
t hrought he panelj oint s.Do you havet hose?
Joe: Not as f ar as I know.
Linda: And t here'sa writ t ensoecif icat ionf or
t he panels,as part of t he mainspec.That might
specifythe sizes.
Joe: Thoseare obviouslywhat I need,t hen.I
want to see how many there are, and what size
they are. Have those drawingsbeen issued?
- 4. 2
Pavel:So how wideis t his panelat t he t op?
Joe: Good ouest ion.There'sno dimension.
Pavel: ls this drawingto scale? lt's one to five.
Haveyou got a scalerule?Let 'smeasureit . lt
lookst o be about t hreehundredmil.
Joe: The goldenrule is, you shouldn'tscaleof f
drawings,t hough,shouldyou?
Pavel:Well ...
Joe: lt's not so bad if it's actual size.on a full-
scaledrawing,but I 'd rat hernot wit h t his.Let 's
queryit . l'll givet hemanot hercall in t he of f ice.
a 4.3
Mei: Basically,t he clienthassaid t heywant
a suoerf latf inishover t he ent iref loor area.
That makesit a free movementfloor, where
vehiclescan run anywhereon it . But on t he
manufacturingprocessdrawings,it shows
preciselyspecifiedroutesfor these automated
vehicles.So, t echnically, it shouldbe a def ined
movementfloor,whereyou can just havea few
narrowlanesf or t he vehicles,whichare superf lat ,
and t hen t he rest of t he slab is j ust laid t o
normalt olerances.
Lewis:Right .So you'request ioning t he ext ra
cost of doing everythingsuperflat?
Mei: That 'st he maint hing,yeah.The ot her
t hingis qualit y.To get t he best f inishon t hese
superflat floors, it's better to lay narrowwidths
of slab in f airlylonglengt hs.So, ideally,you want
lanes,rat hert han big, wideareas.
Lewis: OK. But maybethey want everywhereto
be superf latso t heycan changet he layoutof t he
product ionlinein t he f ut ure.
Mei: Possibly.But evenif t heywant t o do
t hat ,t he surf acecan alwaysbe modif iedat a
lat erdat e.lt 'sa t hickslab,so t here'snot hing
t o st opt hem grindinga layerof f t he t op. I n
fact, we could increasethe depth of the steel
reinf orcement slight lywhenwe pour t he slab,
so there'ssome extra thicknessof concreteover
it . so, if t heydid Wantt o €rind a t hin | ayerof f a shownin t he middle.So t herewouldonly be six,
sect ionin f ut ure,t heywouldn'thaveproblems
with shallowcover.
Lewis:Right .Well let 'slook int oan alt ernat ive
desi€ n for a defined movementf| oor.
I 4. 4
I wouldbe t o redesignt he T sect ion,whichwould
Leo: I 'veworkedon projectsin the past where
everysingleworkingdrawingis circulat ed
t o everyt eam - st ruct ural,mechanicaland
elect rical- and lt .iustget scomplet elyout of
cont rol.So we want t o avoidt hat sit uat ion.
Engineerl: Sure.But af t ersayingt hat ,if
someonehast o analyseeverysinglerevisiont o
det ermineexact lywhicht eam needsit , t hent hat
t akesa lot of t ime as well.
Leo: Not if t here'sa properprocedurein place.
As longas we makesuret here's...
Leo: Thisproj ectst rikesone as pret t ycomplex,
in t ermsof t he amountof int egrat ionand overlap
betweenthe differentdesign packages.
Engineerl: Yeah.
Leo: Part icularlybet weenmechanicaland
electricalteams so we haveto coordinatethat.
And it 'sobviouslya specialistj ob. lt 'sbeyondmy
expert iseas t he overallproj ectmanager.So, in
ordert o makesuret hat we ...
5 Sabino; Just t o giveyou someexamplesof t he
Leo: Thinkingabout howt he separat edesign
groupsWorkt o€et her, I don't Wantt o re| yt oo
muchon scheduledmeet ings.We don't want
quest ionsand problemspilingup, wait ingt o
be resolvedat a meet ingin a week'st ime,or
whenever. Youall needt o be t alkingt o one
anot heron an ongoingbasis.
Engineer2: I agreewit hwhat you'resaying.
Thá t roub| eis, Whenyou'ret ryingt o sort oú t
problemsWithdetailson drawinls and that kind
of t hing,you needt o meet f ace-t ó.f ace. And given
t hat wó a| |Workin separat eof f ices,it 's, you
know we can phoneeachot her,but ...
Engineer l: Yeah,you st ill needmeet ings.
Engineer2: Especiallyas t here'sso much
integrationbetweenthe differentpackages,the
point we weret alkingabout bef ore.
Leo: Well,t hereis a solut iont o t he problem.
- 4. 5
Leo: So, t o sum up. As regardsdesign
inf ormat ionf low,all preliminarydrawingsare
goingt o be shownt o t he seniorengineerin
chargeof eachdesignt eam.The seniorengineers
t hen say whet heror not t heir t eamsneedt o
receivecopiesof lat er revisions.lf t heydon't ,
t heywon't receiveany f urt herrevisions.lf t hey
do, t hey'llbe issuedwit h everysubsequent
revisionand, lat er,revlsionsof workingdrawings.
To coordinat et he int erf acebet weenmechanical
and elect ricaldesign,I 'mgoingt o appointa
mechanicaland elect ricalcoordinat orresponsible
f or liaisingbet weent he seniorengineersin t he
t eams,report ingt o me.We'relocat ingall t hree
designt eamsin a single,open-planof f iceso
Whenanyone's€o t a quest ionor a problem,t hey
can talk to the appropriateperson face-to-face.
We st ill havescheduledmeet ingst o discuss
f ormalissues,but t he emphasiswill be on
ongoing,inf ormaldialoguebet weent he t eams.
- 4. 6
Chen:There'sa discrepancybet weent hese
det ailst hat you mightbe able t o clarif yst raight
away.On t he plan of t his plat e,it showseight
bolt s.But on sect ionA. here.t hereare no bolt s
whichobviouslycont radict st he plan. But as you
can see,t his plat e'sgoingt o be bolt edt o a T
profile.So we couldn't put a row of bolts down
t he middle,becauset hey'dclashwit h t he f lange
runningalongt he middleof t he T. So I 'd propose
j ust goingf or t wo rowsof bolt s.The alt ernat ive
obviouslybe a bigger.iob.
Ron: Yes. Let'sgo for two rowsof bolts, as per
t he sect ions.
Chen: OK, f ine.Will you send an emailt o conf irm
t hat ?
I 5.1
Sabino: A raceis not j ust a t est of speed,but
t he ult imat et est of reliabilit y.
There'san old
sayin1,to finish first, first Uou must finish, and
it 'sespeciallyt rue in enduranceracing.You're
not j ust compet ingagainstrivalt eams,you're
also f ight ingwhat you couldcall engineering
enemies,whichcan causepart sof t he car t o
f ail,t hingslike heat ,pressure,vibrat ion,shocks,
abrasion- t here'scont inualst resson almostall
t he component s, all t he nut sand bolt son t he
car.The chassis,engine,gearboxand clut ch,
suspension,brakes,t yres,wings,coolingsyst em
- t heyall havet o copewit h phenomenallevelsof
wear and t ear.
J 5. 2
t ypesof t echnicalproblemswe'vehad so f ar at
t hist est .on one of t he cars' a nut Worked| oose
on a radiat orpipe,whichresult edin coolant
liquidleakingout . That causedt he enginet o
st art overheat ing.Fort unat ely, t he driversaw
t he warninglight comeon, and he swit chedof f
bef oret he syst emhad run out of coolant .Then
on t he ot her car we had a f uel f eed problem;
t he enginecut out on one of t he corners.That
causedth€ driver to spin off. We Werefortunate'
he didn't hit anyt hing.But Whent he car goesof f
t he circuit .t he openingsin t he side podsa| ways
Audí oscript 89
 clog up wit h dirt . So t hosehad t o be cleaned
out . Obviously,you don't want anyt hingblocking
the airflow to the radiators.And then becauseof
the spin, the rubber was flat spotted. The tyres
weren'tcloset o wearingout , but t heyst ill had
to be changed,becauseof the flat spots. And
t hen whilet heywereput t ingt he wheelsback on
af t ert hat ,t hey had a wheelnut j am, it wouldn't
t urn.And t hat 'sact uallyhow problemst end t o
happen,veryof t en.Youget a kind of chainof
events,when you feel that everything'sgoing
againstyou. Havingsaid t hat , you couldalso say
we were lucky.Fortunately,the radiator problem
didn'tcauset he enginet o blow up. And af t ert he
spin,luckilyhe didn't hit t he barrieB and bend
t he suspensionor snap it complet ely. And even
moref ort unat ely, it didn'tcrackt he t ub - t he
chassis.
I 5.3
Al: So what does the warning messagesay?
Mr Rooney: When you start the engine,it says
checkinj ect ion.
Al: Right .
Mr Rooney: Obviously,it must be some sort
of def ectin t he f uel iniect ionsyst em.The t hing
is, t hough,it only happensint ermit t ent ly.
Sometimes,you start it and there'sno message
problem,I don't
at all. So it might be a sof t ! ryare
know.Or maybe it could be a defectivesensor.
Al: ls t he engineworkingproperly?
Mr Rooney: lt seemsto be fine, yeah.
Al: lt doesn'tappeart o be misf iringor downon
power?
Mr Rooney: No, we haven'tnot icedanyt hing.
Presumably,it can't be anyt hingt oo serious.We
thought it was possibly water in the fuel system
becauseit 'san out doorunit .But in t hat case,I
assumet here'dbe maj orproblemswit h it .
Al: Has it been refuelledrecentlv?
Mr Rooney: Not that recently.
Al: And was it ref uelledwit h dieselst oredin your
own t ank,or direct lyf rom a deliveryt anker?
Mr Rooney: Froma t ankert ruck.
Al: I doubt it's water.then. if the fuel went in
directly from a delivery.You said the warning
doesn'tdisplaysyst emat ically?
Mr Rooney: No.
Al: ln what sort of circumst ances does it come
up?
Mr Rooney:Well,whenyou st art it up f or t he
f irst t ime each day,it comesup. But t hen if you
stop it, and start it again a short time after,
there'sno message.lt's when it's been off for a
longt imet hat you get t he warning.
Al: oK. So it's certainlya questionof
temperature.lt only comes up when it's started
from cold?
Mr Rooney: Um, yeah.Exact ly.
Al: Hm, it soundslike it 'sa f ault yf uel pre-heat er.
I t 'sprobablyj ust one of t he pre-heat erplugs
t hat 'sgone.lt 'sonly a minorf ault .
Mr Rooney: Oh, right. So it doesn't need urgent
at t ent ion?
Al: No. lt can be replacedat t he next service.
Keepan eyeon it , t hough.lf any ot her problems
start to show up give us a call and we'll send
someoneover.
90 Audioscript
I
a 5. 4
Alan: Hello.
Julia: HelloAlan, it 'sJulia. I 'veiust st art eda
landinggear checkand f ounda bit of a problem
with some tyres.All the pressureson one of the
wing blocksare welldown.
Alan: On t he sameblock?
Julia: Yeah.On all t he ot her blockst hey're
correct .So it seemsodd t hat t hisone groupof
tyres,on one corner of the aircraft,are all low.
And the strangething is, they'redown by exactly
the same amount on every tyre on the block.
Alan: I see.You'reright ,t hat is unusual.
Julia: The wear rate'sconsistentacrossthe
wholeaircraf t t, hough.There'snot hingunusual
about t he wear oat t ern.
Alan: Are you sure the pressuregauge is working
properly?
Julia: Um, well,t o be honestyou can t ell j ust by
lookingat t he t yrest hat t hey'redown.
Alan: Right. Let me come out and havea look.
I s. s
Paul: OK, let 'shavea look at t he coolant ,f irst .
The level'sOK.
Eric: lt 'sf ullof residue,t hough,by t he look of it .
Paul: lt looksa bit black,doesn'tit ? Timet o
changeit , I t hink.
Eric: OK. What 'st he f ilt er like?
Paul: Um ... it looksreasonablet o me.
Eric: ls it due t o be changed?
Paul: lt is if we followthe serviceprogrammeto
t he let t er.The t roubleis, if you do t hat ,you end
up wast ingpart shalfof t he t ime.
Eric: We can take it out and give it a bit of a
clean.lt 'll be alright .
Paul: OK. Blades,next .Hm, t heylook moreor
less OK to me. There are no signsof damage.
Eric: Yeah.No needt o changet hose.They'll
havemoveda bit sincet heywerelast checked,
t hough.The alignmentwill needt o be lookedat .
Paul: Sure.
Eric: Apart from that, it's not lookingtoo bad.
I 6.1
Claudia: So with regard to the capacity,in terms
of t he numberof peopleit act uallyneedst o
carry,what sort of figure are you lookingat?
Kevin:Um, 36 is what we'reaimingf or.
Dave: lf you think we can add a few seats
wit houtmakingcompromises, t hen by all means,
let 'slook at it .
Kevin: I think 36 is going to be at the top end as
far as size is concerned.
Claudia: And as regardsthe graphics,is the
video sequencefinalised?Will it be exactlyas it
is on t his DVD?
Kevin:Unlessyou haveany problemsgenerat ing
the physicaleffectsthat go with it, then, yeah, as
far as we'reconcerned,that's it.
Claudia:Right ,excellentWe . can st art lookingat
that straight awaythen, and get thingsmoving.
Um, so regardingthe schedule,then, what sort
of t imescaledo you havein mind,f or t he whole
project?
f 6. 2
Claudia: I n terms of the physicaleffects,to
what extent do you want the experienceto be
physical?The degreeto which it movescan be
variedquit econsiderably.
Kevin:Well,I mean,we want it t o be physical,
t hat 'swhywe'rehavinga dynamicsimulat or.But
we obviouslydon't want it t o be so ext remet hat
peopleare closingt heir eyesand not wat ching
the amazinggraphicswe'vegot.
Claudia: Sure. I mean, it's obviouslydifticultto
quant if ysomet hingliket his,in t heory sit t ing
in a meet ingroom.The only wayt o det ermine
what 'sright is t o act uallysit in a simulat orand
experienceit yourself,in practice.
Dave: Of course.
Claudia: So what I 'd suggest is, after the meeting
we can strap you into one of our machines,and
you can assessthe possibilities.
Kevin: Sounds interesting!
I 6.3
Rick: lt obviouslyhas t o be lif t edwit ha crane.
Gabriella: Yes, but do the slings necessarilyhave
to pass under the base? Why not come up with a
way of hookingonto the side of the statue?
Rick: How?
Gabriella:Well,couldn'twe drill int o it ,
horizont ally, and insertbarsint ot he holes?Then
hookont ot he bars.
Rick: Peoplewouldsee t he holesaf t erwards,
t hough.
Cabriella:We couldf ill all t he holes,couldn'twe?
Surely they could use some sort of filler that's
t he samecolouras t he st one.
Rick They'dnever hide the holes completely,
t hough.lt wouldst ill leavemarks,wouldn'tit ? |
don't t hinkt hat wouldbe acceot able.
Gabriella:Or, alt ernat ively, we couldmakesure
t he ho| eswereout of sight .What about dri| | in€
into the top, vertically?lf the holeswere right
on t he t op, t hey'dbe lessvisible.Thent he bars
couldbe set in, wit h lif t ingeyeson t he end.
Rick: Hmm. The trouble is. if the bars were set
in with resin, they'd nevercome out. They'd have
t o be cut of f ,wouldn'tt hey?And t his mammot h's
lyingdown,so t he t op will probablybe seen,t o
an ext ent .
Gabriella: True.
Rick: To be honest ,I don't t hinkwe can envisage
drillingint o it . I supposeanot heropt ionwould
be to use some sort of grab, on the end of the
cranejib. You know,like the ones they use for
offloadinglorries. So, the statuewould be held
by f rict ion.But I can't imaginet herebeing
anyt hingcapableof lif t ing36 t onnes.Especially
not somet hingt hat wide.
Gabriella:Hm, no. Haveyou spokent o t he
masonsabout t his?
Rick: Not yet , no.
Gabriella: Why don't we ask them?
J 6. 4
Viktor: So all the steel beams shownon this
drawingare goingt o be f ixedt o t he walls,bolt ed
throughthe concrete.
Raiesh: Right.
ViKor: So to bolt through,obviouslywe need
holesin t he walls.We can coredrill t hem,wit h
a diamonddrill,whichwouldobviouslybe done
af t ert he wallshavebeencast . Um, we'ddrill
them ourselves,as part of our contract package.
Alternatively,the holescan be preformedby
put t ingplast ict ubesint ot he concret ewhen
they cast the walls, in whichcase the contractor
resoonsiblefor the concretestructurewould do
rhej ob.
Rajesh: OK.
Vikt or: Now t he oroblemis, t hesebolt swon't
havemuchplay.
Raj esh: How do you mean?
Vikt or: Well,t hey'vegot t o f it quit et ight lyin t he
holes,so t heywon'tbe able t o movemuch.There
won't be muchspacearoundt hem,t o adj ust
t heir oosit ion.
Raj esh:I see.
Vikt or: So t hat meanst he holeshavegot t o be
posit ionedvery precisely.lf t hey'reslight lyout
of posit ionon t he wall,t heywon'tmat chup wit h
t he holest hat havebeenpre-drilledt hrought he
steel beams, at our factory.
Raiesh:Sure.
Vikt or: That 'st he main t echnicalissue,in t erms
of decidinghowwe f ormt heseholes.Obviously,
t he t echnicalside'snot t he only considerat ion.
There'salso t he quest ionof t imescales- given
t hat t hereare a lot of t heseholest o do. And,
obviously,t he quest ionof cost ,as well.
I 6.5
Vikt or: I n t ermsof cost ,pref ormingis obviously
a lot cheaper,becauseall you needare plast ic
t ubes,whichare cheapt o buy,and quickt o put
in. lf we do it t hat way,it 'll be dead easy,and it 'll
cost peanut s.Whereascoredrillingwill be slow
it 'll be quit ea painst aking j ob. But ...
Raj esh:But coredrilling'smoreaccurat e,clearly. Marc: We'vegot a CO, detector here,haven't
Vikt or: A lot moreaccurat e.I mean.somet imes. we?
you can get awaywit h pref orming.lf you needt o
get wit hint went ymil, t hen it 'sperf ect lyf easible.
Tenmil is - it 'sachievable, but it 'sst ret chingit . running,and you'ret ryingt o t alk t o someone,
Anyt hinglesst han t en mil, and t here'sno way
you can do it .
Raiesh:And what sort of t oleranceare you
lookingf or?
Vikt or: About t en mil.
Raj esh:So it 'sborderline,t hen.
Vikt or: lt 'sa t all order.The saf ebet wouldbe
goingf or coredrilling.
Raj esh:The problemis goingt o be t he schedule,
t hough.
Vikt or: Exact ly.I mean,t o diamonddrill t he
numberof holeswe'ret alkingabout will t ake,
u m. . .
Rajesh: lt'll take foreverand a day,won't it?
Whereasif t hey'repref ormed,t hey'dbe readyas
soonas t he wallsare cast .
Vikt or: But if halfof t hem are in t he wrongplace, Rosana: Hm, I 'mnot sureabout t hat .
it 'llcost an arm and a leg t o put t hem right .
Becauseif t hey'rewrong,it 'snot j ust a quest ion
of drillingnewonesin t he right place.lf t hey're
slight lyout of posit ion,t heyhavet o be f illed
in, f irst ,wit h cement ,t o avoidhavingt wo holes
overlapping.so put t ingt hem right is easiersaid
t han done.
Rajesh: Sure. So as I see it, the key issue here,in
t ermsof f easibilit y,is t he t olerance.lf t he holes
can be bigger,and there'smore play for the
bolt s.we won't havet his oroblem.
f 6. 6
Marta: So, to be clear about how far we can go
wit ht his redesign,we'renot aimingt o reinvent
t he wheel,in t ermsof t he maincomponent sand
how they fit together.The reasonsfor that are
firstly,from a hardwarepoint of view,the existing t he insides,leadingdownt o t he bot t om.So
design has provedto be effective.And secondly,
we don't havet he resourcesat t his ooint in t ime
t o makef undament alchangest o t he product ion
orocess.
Engineer l: So t he overallint ernallayoutneeds
t o remaint he same?
Mart a: Yes.We'relookingf or an evolut ion,
rat hert han designingt he wholet hingf rom
t he groundup. Presumably, t hereis roomf or
improvement ?
Engineer2: Well,t his modelhas been revamped
oncebef ore.of course.But . no doubt we can
ref ineit a bit more.
Marta: However,given that softwareredesign
isn't an assemblyissueand has beent he Achilles
heelof t he exlst ingmodel,it wouldmakesense
t o ret hinkt hat wholesyst em.
Engineerl: So f or sof t ware,back t o t he drawing
board,t hen?
Marta: Well, er, whateverwe do, we need to
makea quant umleap.Whet hert hat means
designingt he syst emf romscrat ch,I don't know.
We needt o maket he wholet hingmuchsimpler
to use.
- 7. 7
Rosana: Next weekt hey'redue t o st art
maint enance work on t he grainsilosin Zone4.
We need to make sure that everyone'sawarethat
all t hosesilosare classedas conf inedspaces.
I n ot her words, no one should go inside t hem
wit hout f irst doing an air t est .And we need
keep a check on dust levels, as well.
b St ephanie:Yeah.Woulda vent ilat orclear t he
Rosana: lf you walk past t hat machinewhileit 's
you havet o shoutt o be heard.And as a ruleof
t humb,t hat meansit shouldbe an ear prot ect ion Ben: Mm. I 'mnot sure.
area.
Marc: Yeah,but the regs differentiatebetween
brief exposure,whenyou'rewalkingpast
somet hing,and cont inuousexposure,don't t hey? seriousdangeris present .So it 'sessent ialt hat
c no circumst ances
Marc: So is it harmf ulif it splasheson your skin? accesst hem,unlesst hey havea permitt o work,
Rosana:Accordingt o t he not iceit 'san irrit ant ,
and it 'st oxic.
Marc: But it's not corrosive?
Rosana: Not as f ar as I 'm aware.
Marc: So you don't need glovesand eye
prot ect ionand masks and all t he rest of it ? lf you St ephanie:That 'sright .So t hat one individual
get any on your skin,you.iustwashit of f .
o Lin: Presumably,it 'simport antt hat permit s
Rosana:We needt o enouirewhet heror not
t his maint enance involveswelding.Thereare
f orklif t rucksgoingt hrought hat areacarrying
f lammableliquids.lf t hereare goingt o be any
naked flamesor sparks,we'll need to put a
properprocedurein place.
Marc: Right .l'll get in t ouchwit ht heir people,
t hen.
- 7. ?
St ephanie:So in t ermsof access,t heoret ically,
t here'sa risk of someonef alling,as t heyclimb
up a silo,or downint oone.But t here'salways
an ext ernalst aircasewit ha guardrail,leading
t o t he t op, and t hereare permanentladders,
with protectivehoopsaround them, fixed to
workersshouldbe ablet o accesst hesesilos
f airlysaf ely.The big problemwill be get t ingt he
weldingequipmentt,he gas bot t les,downint o
the bottom.
Ben: They can be lowereddown by rope.
Stephanie: Won't they be too heavy?
Ben: Not if t hey uset he smaller-sized bot t les.
St ephanie:We'llneedt o specif yt he bot t lesizein
t he orocedure.t hen.
Ben: Yeah.They'llhavet o t ake caret hat t he
bot t lesdon't f all ont o someone,as well.That no
one'sst andingin t he bot t omof t he silo,while
t hey lowert hem down.
St ephanie:True.That 'sanot herpoint t o
ment ion.OK, so accessisn't reallya problem,
t hen.The maindangeris t he f act t hat it 'sa
conf inedspace.Especiallygivent hat t hey're
welding,wit han oxy-acet ylene t orch burning,
whichwill producea f air amountof COr.
Ben: So t hey'llneeda CO, det ect or.
St ephanie:I mean,t o be saf e,t hey'llneedt o
t est t he air bef oret heygo down,anyway.But we
shouldprobablyspecif yt hat t hey needt o keep
t he det ect orwit h t hem whilet hey'reworking,
and keepit swit chedon.
Ben: Yeah.Anot herhazardis t here'llbe met al
f umesgivenof f as t hey'react uallywelding,which
is a dif f erentproblemt o t he CO, issue.
St ephanie:Sure.So really,t hey'llneeda
vent ilat ionsyst emdownt here,some kind of air
extractor.
Ben: Probably,yeah.And t here'st he problem
t o of dust ,as well.They'llhavet o be verycaref ul
about t hat . lf t hey'reweldingand t here'sgrain
dust in t he air, t here'sgoingt o be an explosion
hazard.
dust ,or makeit worse?| supposeif t here'sa lot
lyingaround,it 'd keep blowingit up int ot he air,
wouldn'tit ?
J 7. 3
St ephanie:Rest rict edareasare placeswherea
t heseshouldbe kept lockedat all t imes.Under
shouldanyonebe able t o
in ot her words,a writ t enf ormgivingpermission
to work in the restrictedarea.
Lin: And permit st o work,and t he keyst o
rest rict edareas,can only be issuedby t he
elect ricalsuoewisor?
is responsiblef or elect ricalsaf et yf or t he whole
plant .Only t hat personis aut horisedt o issue
oermitsto work.
are issuedeverysinglet ime someoneent ersa
rest rict edarea- eacht ime t heydo a newj ob,
t hey needa new permit .
St ephanie:Exact ly.Theyshouldn'tbe issuedf or
any longert han a f ull shif t .
Lin: OK.
St ephanie:And it 'scrucialt hat t here'sj ust a
singlekeyt o each rest rict edarea.The whole
idea of havinga lock-outsyst emis t o ensure
t hat only one personhas accesst o swit chgear at
any givent ime.So what everhappens,someone
cannotswit chon a circuitat a swit chboard while
somebodyelse is workingon it somewhere else
in t he plant .
Lin: Mm, if we imaginea t echnicianneedst o,
let 'ssay t hey'regoingt o changea mot oron
one of t he lines,t heyget a permitt o work,and
obtain the key to the switchboardfrom the
electricalsupervisor.Then they take the key,
unlock the door to the switchboard,switchoff
the circuit-breakerfor the motor.to isolateit.
t hen lock t he door again.
Audioscript 9t
 St ephanie:That 'sright .Then,whilet hey're
working,it 'svit al t hat t hey keept he key on t hem
cont inuously.
J 7. 4
Kriszt of :The main hazard,whenmanoeuvring
a helicopt ercloset o powerlines,is t he risk of
a collisionwit h t he line.So bef orecommencing
work, it's essentialfor the crew to havedetailed
inf ormat ionabout weat hercondit ions,especially
wind direct ionand speed.Operat ingin very
windyweat heris obviouslyout of t he quest ion.
The pilot sinvolvedin livelinework are highly
t rainedand experiencedand t heir expert iseis
arguablyt he crucialf act orin ensuringsaf et y.
Anot herhazardis snagging,as at cert aint imes
t he plat f ormwill moment arilybe at t achedt o
t he powerlineand t o t he helicopt er,leavingt he
aircraf tt et hered.lt 'sessent ial,t heref ore,t hat
t he cableis equippedwit h a t ensionrelease
mechanism,so t hat if t he helicopt erpullsaway
suddenlyf or any reason,t he cablecan break
free.To orevent electrocutionand burns from
arcingcurrent s,t he crewon t he plat f ormwear
hot suit s.Thesehavest ainless-st eel t hreads
whichchannelt he elect ricit yaroundt he
t echnician's body,allowingt he 400,000 volt
supplyt o f low bet lveent he powerlineand t he
plat f orm.The suit salso havea f ireprooflining,t o
provide protectionfrom heat. And eye protection
is worn,as a prot ect ionagainstf lashesf rom
elect ricarcs.Again,t rainingis one of t he key
f act orsin ensuringsaf et y.As a precaut ion
againstmechanicalf ailure,t he suspensioncable,
plat f ormand all associat edequipmentare
syst emat ically inspect edbef oreeachoperat ion,
t o checkf or damage.And t he helicopt eris
maint ainedin linewit h aviat ionregulat ions. One
addit ionalprecaut ionis t akenregardingt he
helicopt er's engines:only t win-engine craf t are
usedf or livelinework,so t hat if an enginef ails,
t he pilot can st ill land saf ely.
J7 . 5
lsobel: The f ocusof t he coursewill be on your
personalobligat ionsin t ermsof lookingaf t er
your own safety,and the safetyof others.That
meanswe'llbe f ocusingon specif icsaf et y
regulat ions.For inst ance,we'llbe lookingat
personalprot ect iveequipmentt hat 'scompulsory. Roland: Or in wint er,if t he blindshad been
Or act ivit iest hat are prohibit edin cert ainareas,
suchas smoking.The ma.iorit of y t he obligat ions bef ore,t he next morning,t he sensordet ect s
we'lldeal wit h are legal requirement s. ln ot her
words,t hey'rest ipulat edby law as part of
healt hand saf et ylegislat ion.lf you cont ravene
t hesekindsof regulat ions, it 'snot t he sameas
t urningup f or work lat e,or merely breaching
your cont ractof employmentin someway.lf
someonef ailst o complywit h healt hand saf et y
regs,t hey'rebreakingt he law.lt 'sas simpleas
t hat . I 'msure you're all awareof t hat , but it is an
import antpoint t o emphasise.
?7. 6
Pet rus: lf t here'sa f ire,you shouldn'tuse
wat erext inguishers on t his machine,because
it cont ainselect ricalcircuit s,and it can cause
elect rocut ion. Youshouldonly use a carbon
dioxideext inguisher.
Pet rus: Whenyou lif t t his machine,it 'sessent ial
t hat you shouldonly use t he t wo lif t ingeyes
markedin red. No ot her part sof t he f rameare
load-bearing, so you must n'tuse t hem as anchor
oolnt s.
92 Audioscript
i!
3 becauseyou wouldn'tneedt o cont rol
Pet rus:Youshouldt akecarewhenyou're
cleaningbelowt he guillot ineblade,because
t here'sa dangert hat t he bladecouldcome
down.Bef oreyou cleanit , you shouldalwaysset
the control lever in the Blade Locked position.
And you shouldwear prot ect ivegloveswhile
you'recleaninglt , becauset he sump belowt he
bladecan cont ainsharDmet alof f -cut s.
r 8.1
Roland: We knowt he clientis a verygreen
orient at edcompany,very big on all t hings
environment al.
Saskia: Absolut ely.
Roland: so ener€y savingobvious| yneedst o be
in t he design.Clearly,
an import antconsiderat ion
it 'sa big subj ect ,and somet hingwe needt o look
int o in dept h.But one specif icaspectof it where
I t hinkwe can makea real dif f erenceis wit ht he
BuildingManagementSyst em- specif ically, wit h
the way we use presencedetectors.And I 'vehad
a coupleof ideast hat I 'dappreciat eyour views
on.
Saskia: Sure.
Roland: I t hinkwe shouldput t wo t ot ally
dif f erentdesignopt ionst o t he client .Opt ionone
is t o havea buildingwit h maximumaut omat ion.
So wit ht he maximumaut omat ionopt ion...
- 8. 2
Roland: ... wit ht he maximumaut omat ion
opt ion,we put presencedet ect orsall over t he
place,and link t hem t o as manysyst emsas
possible.Not j ust t he usualsyst emst hat act ivat e
t he light swhenpeoplewalk int o roomsand t urn
t hem of f whent heyleave.We coulduse presence
detectorsto control other systems,as well, like
t he blindson t he windows.So, if it 'st he middle
of summer,and a presencedet ect orsensest hat
everyone'sleft a meetingroom, a temperature
sensorpicksup a posit ivereadingf romsunlight
comingt hrought he glass,t he elect ronics act ivat e
t he blinds,whichaut omat ically comedown
and blackout t he room.That wouldlimit heat
absorDt ionand reducet he load on t he air-
condit ioning, savingenergy.
Saskia: OK.
pulleddownin t he meet ingroomt he evening
sunlight and, t riggerst he blindst o raiseand let
in as muchsunlightas possible,cont ribut ingt o
t he heat ing.And t herecouldbe t emperat ure
measurementtso det erminewhichroomsare t he
Warmestand , t hosesensorsset oÍ Ía circulat ion
syst emt o dist ribut et he warmair t hrought he
building,int ot he corridor,or int oroomsat t he
ot her sideof t he building,or wherever.
Saskia: So, we'duse presencedet ect orsand
heat sensorst o regulat eas manysyst emsas
oossible?
Roland:Yes.Well,t hat 'swhat we'dhavewit ht he
maximumaut omat ionopt ion.
r 8.3
Roland:The secondopt ionis t his.lt 'sa very
environment ally consciouscompany,so I assume
that green attitude is shared by all the staff. lf
that'sthe case,why is there a need to automate
everyt hingin t he buildingwhenmost t hingscan
be operat edmanually?Why doesn'tt he bossj ust
circulat ean emailremindingpeoplet o swit cht he
light sof f whent heygo out and t ell t hem t o lower
t he blindswhent heyleavea room in summer,so
it helpst he air-condit ioning? | mean,you'dsave
elect ricit y,
all t he syst emsaut omat ically, and t he moneyyou
savedby buyingold-f ashioned manualcont rols
inst eadof hi-t echelect ronics couldbe spent on
plant ingt reesor somet hing.I mean,it sounds
si mpl e,but . . .
Saskia: Mm ... it 'sa veryint erest ingidea.We
havet o bear in mind.of course.t hat t he client 'sa
manuf act urer of hi-t echelect ronicgizmos.I 'm not
surehowt hey'df eelabout ...
F 8.4
Jochem:The obviousdangerhereis t hat you
couldget a build-upinsidet he vesselif t here'sa
blockagef urt heralongt he pipe.
Katerina: So the vessel needsa safetyvalve?
Jochem:Yes,and maybesomesort of warning
syst em,as well.lt couldbe somet hingt hat 's
trlggeredby a differentialmeasurement.So if
t here'sa hi€h readingin t he t ank,and a | ower
one f urt heralong,you'dknowt herewasa
blockagesomewhere.
Katerina: We'll need a systemfor monitoringgas
consumot ion.
Jochem; What ,a met eron t he supplypipe?
Kat erina:Well,yes,t hat wouldmeasure
cumulat iveconsumpt ion.But we also need
t o monit ort he act ualrat eof consumpt ionat
dif f erentpoint sin t ime duringt he react ion
cycle.And if we havethose two parameters,we
can t hen det erminet he f requencyof peaksin
consumpt ion, whichis t he t hird paramet erwe
neeo.
Jochem: So t hat 'sa sof t wareissue,t hen.As
longas t he cumulat ivevalue'sbeingrecorded
against the timescale,we can plot the rate of
consumpuon. . .
3
Katerina: The reactionthat takes place is going
t o be exot hermic.But t he amountof heat will
part lydependon how hot t he gas is whenit
ent erst he vessel.
Jochem:Yes.becauset hat input heat can be
adj ust ed.
Kat erina: Exact ly.So we'llneeda sensornext
t o t he valvet o measuret he inputvalue,as gas
comesin, and t hen anot hert o giveus an out put
value.Then,we can workout t he opt imuminput
t emperat uref or t he gas.
r 8.s
Helen: One of t he biggestheadachesin
powergenerat ionis t he f act t hat elect ricit y
consumpt ionf luct uat esconsiderably. So in order
t o maint aina cont inuoussupplywe havet o make
cont inualchecks,and adj ustt he powerloadwe
generat e.To help us plan t hosead.iust mentwe s,
f orecastf luct uat ionsin demand,so t hat we can
ant icipat epeaksand t roughs.We baset hese
f orecast son a numberof dif f erentf act ors.One
of t hem,one of t he most import antones,is
Duringperiodsof verycold or very
t emperat ure.
hot weat her,demandincreases. The increasein
demandis obviouslydue t o millionsof elect ric
radiat orscomingon whenit 'scold,and air-
condit ioningunit sworkinghardwhenit 'shot .
Another factor,a key factor which increasesor
decreasesdemand,is whet heror not it 'slight
or dark in t he morningand evening- obviously
t hat dict at eslight ingconsumpt ion.So t hoseare
t he t wo malnseasonalf act ors.Theygenerallygo
hand-in-hand so on cold,dark, wint erevenings,

t he rise in demandis signif icantcompared
, wit h
warm,light ,summerevenings.We also t ake int o
accountwhat day of t he weekit is, part icularly
whet herit 'sa weekdayor t he weekend.
Cenerally,demandrisesduringt he week,when
f act oriesand oÍ f icesare operat ional,and t hen
decreaseswhena lot of t hem closeat t he end
of t he week.So demandf allsat t he weekend.
Thoseare variat ionst hat t ake olacewit hina
givenweek.Duringany givenday,t hereare
f act orssuchas mealt imes,whenelect ricovens
are swit chedon - obviously,t hat causesa j ump
in consumpt ion.Evencommercialbreaksduring
popularTV showscan causeblipsin demand.
Therecan be a suddenrisewhenpeoplerush
t o swit chket t leson, or heat up snacksin
microwaves, and t hen a suddenf allshort ly
afterwards.
I 8.6
Helen: Becauseelect ricit yconsumpt ion
f | uct uat esacrossa signif icantran€e, in order t o
copewit h peakdemandour maximumcapacit yis
equivalentt o t he t op of t hat band of f luct uat ion.
That meanst hat duringof f -peakperiods,we
havesignif icantsparegenerat ingcapacit y.Now,
in an idealworld,it wouldbe goodt o uset hat
spare capacityto generatepower and store it
f or use duringpeakt imes.Unf ort unat ely, as you
probablyknoWelect ricalchargeis ext remely
dif f icultt o st orein largeamount s- you can't
j ust chargeup hugebat t eries.So we use an
innovat ive t echniquet o st oreup powerpot ent ial
duringof f -peakperiods.
- 8. 7
Helen:The conceptof pumpedst orageis
relat ivelysimple.Duringof f -peakperiodswhen
main power stationshavegot spare capacity,
some of the extra power they produceis used
by pumpedst oragest at ionst o pumpwat erf rom
a lowlevel reservoir up to a high-levelreservoir,
wheret he wat er'sst ored.lt 'st hen heldt here
unt ilt here'sa peak in demandat somepoint t he
next day.At t hat point ,t he wat er'sreleased,and
it f lowsdownt he pipes,drivingt urbinesat t he
bot t omwhichgenerat eelect ricit y. Obviously,t he
st at ioncan only run f or a f airlyshort period,but
it 'ssuf f icientt o covert he peak in demand.Then,
as soonas t here'sa dip in demand,t he wat er
can be pumpedback up and held readyf or use
again.So t he ef f ectis t o smoot hout f luct uat ions
in t he out putof t he main powerst at ions.Some
of t he main st at ions'sparecapacit yis usedwhen
t herewouldbe a t roughin t he demandcurve,at
night .The peak dayt imegenerat ingcapacit yof
t hosemain st at lonscan also be lowerbecause
t he pumpedst oragest at ionsare t heret o back
t hem up whent hereare blipsin t he demand
curve.
I 8.8
Gerry: Ouest ionnaires liket hisdriveme
mad. I mean.look at t his f irst ouest ion.What
percent age
of my t ime do I spenddoingt echnical
t askst hat use my skillsext ensively? How are you
supposedt o put a numberagainstt hat ?
Eleanor:Youonly needt o givea ballparkf igure.
Gerry: I know but even so. lt's difficultto say,off
t he t op of my head.
Eleanor: lt 'seasierif you compareit wit ht he
secondoot ion.
Gerry: Doingt askst hat a lessqualif iedcolleague
coulddo. Well,let 'ssay roughlyhalf and half .
Eleanor:Are you sure?Aren't you t he least
qualif iedpersonin t hisdepart ment ?
Gerry: Do you know,I knewyou were going to
say t hat . Numbert wo - t echnicalt askst hat add
valueand t askst hat don't add value,suchas
admin.Add value?What 'st hat supposedt o ...
Eleanor:Well,do you not do someadmin?Or
do you spendall of your t imedoingproduct ive
t hings?
Gerry: Well,no. Nowherenear all of it .
Eleanor: Right. So is it fifty-fifty?
Gerry: Um well,no. I spendmoret ime problem
solvingt han I do on admin.Thankf ully. Let 's
say somewherein t he regionof t wo t hirds.So,
about a t hirdon admin.Three- t askst hat
are purelyt echnicalversust askst hat relat et o
t echnicalorganisat ion. Well,most of what I do is
organisat ion, isn't it ? | spendpret t ymuchall my
t imeon t hat .
Eleanor:Or in your case,disorganisat ion.
Gerry: Niceone.What f iguredid you put down
f or addedvalue,by t he way?Wasit a negat ive
number ?
r 8.9
Beatrice: At this stage,I 'm not asking you to give
me a det ailedbreakdownof all t he lT equipment
we'regoingt o need.lt wouldj ust be usef ult o
havea roughideaof what 'smost urgent .
Dan: Sure.Well,one of t he biggestproblems
is t he screensat t he CAD st at ions.A lot of
t hoseneedreplacingwit h biggerones.Roughly
speaking,I 'd say wellover half of t hem are t oo
small.A good t wo t hirdsof t hem,act ually.So,
we'ret alkingabout I 5 t o I 8 screens,somet hing
liket hat .
Beat rice:OK. How urgentis t hat ?
Dan: Well,I meant heyall work,t heyall f unct ion
properly.The t roubleis, t he engineersspendt he
vast maj orit yof t heir t imeworkingwit ht hese
screens.And becauset he det ailon t hem is so
small,it 'spret t yhardworkon t he eyes,t o t he
point t hat it af f ect sproduct ivit so
y ...
Beat rice:OK. And what about t he big print erin
here?I 'veheardit 'sa bit of a dinosaur.
Dan: Well,it is, but it worksperf ect lywell,and
we print next t o not hingwit h it , anyway.Most of
t he drawingsare print edat t he f act ory.
Beat rice:Oh.
r 9. 1
Tony:Wit h t he aerodynamics t hereare t hree
develoomentt oolsavailablet o us.The f irst is
-
CFD sof t ware Comput at ionalFluidDynamics.
Wit ht hat ,t he t est swouldobviouslybe virt ual,
basedon a comput ermodel.The secondopt ion
is t o go int oa wind t unnel,wit ha scalemodel,or
a f ull-sizemock-up.I n eit hercase,we'dprobably
needt o usea t unnelwit h a rollingroad.
Lisa: Wouldt hat be necessary?
Tony:Well,t he t hingis, t he wheelsgenerat ea
lot of t urbulencewhent hey'respinning.So t o
simulat et hat ,you needa rollingroad.
Lisa: Yes,I know,but if we go for a bodywork
designwheret he wheelsare most lyenclosed,
whichis likely,wouldt hat be an issue?
Tony:Possiblynot . lt dependshowf ullyenclosed
t heyare.
Lisa: OK. l'm j ust raisingt he quest ion.
Tony:Sure.lt 'ssomet hingwe can look at . The
t hirdopt ion,t hen,is f ieldt est ing,act ually
runningt he prot ot ypeout sideon a runway,
or somewhere. So we can uset heset oolsin
isolat ionor as a combinat ion. The quest ionis,
howcan we gat heras muchdat a as possiblewit h
t he limit edbudgetwe have?
I
Guy: Well,we needt o bear in mind t hat t he
problemwit h aero is t hat it 'snot j ust about dat a
gat hering.Youalso havet o validat et he dat a.
CFD and wind t unnelsare not a hundredoercent
reliable.The acid t est only comeswhenyou t ry
out a f ull-scaleprot ot ypein real condit ions.We
needt o makesuret hat everyt hingis t ried-and-
t est edout side,wit h a f ull-scalet rial run.
Lisa: Yeah,but let 'snot f orgetwe'redesigninga
car t hat doesa hundredkilomet resan hour,it 's
not a supersonicaircraf t The ! aero'snot goingt o
be t hat crit ical.
Tony:Plus,wit h changeableweat her,it 'snot easy
t o do back-t o-back t est ingout in t he f ield.
Guy: No, of coursenot . I 'm.iustsayingwe need
t o be caref ul...
- 9. 2
Arnaud: So, t heoret ically, t he horizont alspeed
will keepdecreasingunt ilt he cont ainerhit st he
ground.The highert he drop alt it ude,t he lower
t he horizont alsoeedat t ouchdown.
Jenna: Sure.
Arnaud: But , obviously,t he highert he alt it ude,
t he highert he vert icalspeed,up t o a cert ain
pornt .
Jenna: Absolut ely.So, assumingt he drop
alt it ude'svery low t he vert icalspeedwon't be all
t hat highon impact .
Arnaud: True.
Jenna: And in t ermsof prot ect ingt he cargo,
surelya low vert icalspeed is t he crit icalf act or.
Arnaud: I 'mnot so sure it 'st he crit icalf act or.
I 'd say t he horizont alspeed'smoreproblemat ic.
Because,presumably, if t he groundspeed's quit e
high,t here'sa dangert he cont ainerwill roll
over and bouncealongwhenit t ouchesdown.I n
f act ,if you'redroppingf rom low alt it ude,t hat 's
probablyinevit able.
So if t he cont ainerrolledand
bouncedf or 50 met res,or what ever,t hen you'd
havet o havesome kind of dest ruct ibleext ernal
envelopet o prot ectit f rom t he mult ipleimpact s.
Whichwouldbe veryexpensive.So, arguably,
rollingis t he worst problem,worset han a high
vert icalimpactspeed.
Jenna: Hm, you t hinkso?
Arnaud: So you don't t hink rolling'sa bad t hing?
Jenna: I 'mnot convincedt he cont ainerwould
act uallyroll.
Arnaud: No?
Jenna: Not necessarily. The milit arydrop t anks
out of f lyingaircraf tat low level,t ied t o special
plat f orms,and t heyj ust slidealongt he ground.
And t he syst emst hat e.iectt hingsout of t he
backsof planesare incrediblypowerf ul.So
because,obviously,t heyf ire t he cont ainerin t he
opposit edirect iont o t he plane,t hat reducest he
groundspeed.Plus,t hey use a parachut et hat
deployshorizont ally, whichalso helpst o slow it
oow n.
Arnaud: Of course.
Jenna: So, basedon what t heydo wit h t anks,I
t hinkwe can saf elyassumet hat we can st op a
cont ainerf rom rolling.
Arnaud: But a t ank'sgot massiveweight ,and
a low cent reof gravit y.Wit h a smaller,light er
cont ainer,t here'sno way of knowinghow it would
behave,not wit houtact uallyt est ingit . And even
if you t est edit t en t imes,it wouldprobably
behavedlf f erent lyeacht ime,it wouldbe very
unpredict ab| e. Whereasif you drop f rom a hi€h er
alt it ude,OK, t he vert icalspeedis higher,but
wit ha lowergroundspeed,it wouldbehavemore
Audioscript 93
 predict ably. And t hat wouldmakeit easiert o
designa cushioningsyst embecauseyou'dbe
dealingwit h a single,predict ableimpact .
Jenna: Yes,but surely,a heavyvert icallanding
is a hugeproblem.The f orceof it wouldbe f ar
gr eat er . . .
r 9.3
Manf red: The f irst t imewe launchedone of
t heset hings,er, we basically.iust got a plast ic
washing-upliquidbot t le,f illedit about half f ull
of wat er,t hen pumpedit up wit h an ordinary
f oot pump.
I nt erviewer:So it wasj ust ordinaryhousehold
stuff?
Manf red: Oh, yeah,not hingt oo t echnical.
And, act ually,t herewas a bit of a coincidence,
becauset he openin€in t he bot t | eWasj ust
slight lybiggert han t he f it t ingat t he end of t he
pump,so t herewasquit ea good seal.So we
pumpedit up - one of us held t he bot t lewhile
someoneelseworkedt he pump.And we released
it , and it went up, lit erally,likea rocket .I mean,
we expect edit wouldshoot up reasonably
f ast ,but we didn't ant icipat ej ust how powerf ul
it wouldbe. lt j ust went Moosl, and t ot ally
exceededour expect at ions. So you can imagine
'l
us, a groupof 2-year-olds, we wereabsolut ely
ecst at ic.And havingsaid t hat ,t herewasone
problem.Once all t he wat er had comeout , which
happenedvirt uallyin a split -second, t he bot t le
- becauseit wasvery light - st art edt umbling
over in t he air.
I nterviewer:So it wouldn't fly straight?
Manf red: That 'sright .But we quicklycameup
wit h a solut iont o t hat problem.
a 9. 4
Manf red: What we did wast o get a plast iccup,
a st rongone not a dlsposablecup,and pushed
it ont o t he end of t he bot t le,at t he t op, t o f orm
a nose.lt didn'tgo exact lyaccordingt o plan,at
f irst .lt st abilisedit a bit , but it st ill wasn'tf lying
st raight .So we t ried put t ingwat er in t he beake(
t o act as ballast ,and t hat workeda t reat .Wit h
t he ext rainert ia.and t he f act t hat it wasf ront -
heavy,it went likean arrow.So, so, yes,we
sort edt hat problemout . Thent he next goal was
to increasethe power,to try and reach a higher
alt it ude.
I 9.5
Manf red: One of t he t hingswe did wast o
exoerimentwit h t he amountof wat er insidet he
bot t le.I t hink,init ially,we expect edt hat t he
morewat erwe put in, t he morepowerf ulit would
be. But as it t urnedout , it wast he opposit e.
What act uallyhappenedwas,if you overf illed
it , t herewasn'tenoughpressuret o expelall t he
wat er.We reducedt he amountof wat ert o about
a quart eror a t hird f u| | somet
, hin€| iket hat ,and
we also put somet ape aroundt he end of t he
pump,t o get a bet t erseal wit ht he bot t le.That
was reallyef f ect ive.I t hinkwe underest imat ed
t he pressurewe weregenerat ing.And, cert ainly,
we were overestimatingthe strengthof the
bottle. Becauseit got to the point wherewe were
f iringt heserocket sup t o, I don't know,maybe
somet hinglike 20 met reshigh,somet hinglike
t hat , so you can imaginet he sort of pressure
involved.And plast icbot t lesare hardlyup t o
the job of high-pressurerocketry obviously.So,
inevit ably, t he bot t leevent uallyblew up while
I was holdingit . I was rollingaroundon t he
groundwit h sore hands,whileeveryoneelsewas
rollingabout laughing.So I learnedt he hardway.
94 Audioscript
t
I
I 9.6
Caroline:So howcredibleis t his hoaxt heory,
t hen?I wat cheda document aryabout it a while
ago.
Renat o:Well,someof t he quest ionsare quit e
int erest ing, but f romwhat I 'veread,t heycan all
be explained,scient if ically. Youknow,liket he
f act t hat t he st arsaren'tvisiblein t he sky on t he
phot os.Apparent ly,it 'sj ust due t o sunlighton
the surfaceof the moon. lt was too bright to see
t hem,t hat 'sall.
Caroline:lsn't t he f lag supposedlywavingin t he
wlnd,in one of t he shot s?
Renat o:That 'sright ,yeah.Theysay it 'sbecause
of t he poleshakingaf t erit 'd beenst uckin.
There'sobviouslyno air, so as a result ,it kept
movingf or ages,due t o t he f act t hat t herewas
no f rict iont o slow it down.
Caroline: I see.
Renat o:Anot hert hingt hat 'sbeenexplainedis
t he f oot print son t he surf ace.Peoplehad said
t he groundlookedwet ,so it couldn'thavebeen
on t he moon.But , apparent ly, t hat 'st he way
t hat t ypeof dust behavesin a vacuum.lt st icks
t oget her,like mud.
Caroline:Wasn'tt heresomeot her t heoryt o do
wit h dust whent he modulelanded,t hat t here
shouldhavebeenmoredust ,or somet hing?
Renat o:Well,duringt he landing,t herewas
supposedlya lot of dust f lyingup, you know,
causedby t he blast f romt he engines.But when
t he module'sact uallyseenon t he surf ace,t here's
no crat ervisiblebelowit . So t he t heoryis t hat ,
if it had reallylandedt here,it wouldhavelef t
a crat er.But t he argumentagainstt hat is t hat
it had alreadysloweddownsubst ant ially by
t he t ime it reachedt he surf ace,and it wasonly
descending gently, becauseof the low gravity.
Caroline:So t herewasonly a bit of surf acedust
blownuo?
Renato: That'sright.
I 10. 1
Mike: Obviously,a t ubularst eelt oweronly
givesyou suf f icientst ruct uralst rengt hif you
give it adequateprotectionfrom corrosion- fl,e
big problemwit hof f t horeinst allat ions. So,
t echnically, you couldsay st eelis inappropriat e in
t hat environment .
Loret a: Theymakeshipsout of it .
Mike: I know,Loret a,but only becauset here's
no cost-effectivealternative.But we're not talking
about ships,we'ret alkingabout f ixedst ruct ures.
The point is, I t hinkwe shouldlook more
seriouslyat alt ernat ives t o all-st eelsupport s.And
t he obviousalt ernat iveis reinf orcedconcret e.
Loret a: We'vealreadylookedint oit , t hough,and
it wasn't cost-effective.
Mike: Not in t he short t erm.But we didn'treally
look int o it properlyover t he longt erm.
Loret a: But you madet he point yourself Mike, ,
t hat st eel'scomplet elyinef f ect iveif it 'scorroded.
And one of t he mainconst it uentof s reinf orced
concret eis st eel.
Mike: lt 'sprot ect ed,t hough,isn't it ? lt 's
embeddedinsideconcret e.That 'sa muchmore
effectiveprotectionthan paint.
Loret a: Not necessarily. lf we'ret alkingabout t he
longt erm,as you say,what happenst o concret e
when it's exposedto the sea for a few years? lt
erodes.Whichmeanst he st eelevent uallyget s
exposed.You look at concretecoastal defences.
How of t endo you see t he concret eall crumbling
away,and all t he st eelexposed?
Mike: That 'sdue t o inconsist entqualit y,t hough.
Youonly get t hat problemif t here'sinsuf f icient
cover.As long as there'sappropriatecover
qualit y's
at designlevel,and t he const ruct ion
consist entt,hen t hereshouldn'tbe a problem.
Loret a: lsn't inadequat ecovermoreof a problem
in a slenderst ruct ure,t hough?You'dprobably
havelesscover,comparedwit ht he big lumpsof
concretethey use for coastal defences.
Mike: Not if ...
Hanif :Just a second.
Mike: Yes,HaniP
Hanif : Let 'sj ust t hinkabout what we'ret rying
t o resolve,here.The key issueis, what 'st he
most suit ablelong-t ermsolut ion?And in bot h
cases,we'resayingst eel is necessary, eit herin
an all-st eelt ubularst ruct ureor in t he f ormof
reinf orcement insideconcret e.But obviously
exoosedst eelis unsuit ablebecauseof t he
problemof corrosion.So t he quest ionis, what 's
t he most reliablewayof prot ect ingst eel,over
t he longt erm?And we havet o bear in mind
t hat ' j ust becausesomet hingrequiresre€u I ar
maint enance, suchas paint ing,t hat doesn't
necessarilymeanit 'sunreliable. As longas t he
maint enance is consist entThe. key quest ion
is, what 'st he most economicalapproach?So
paintinga steel structureeverycouple of years
is uneconomical only if t he cost of paint ingis
moreexpensivet han t he addit ionalcost of using
concret eat t he t ime of const ruct ion.
Mike: So, t o det erminet he most ef f icient
solut ion,we needt o assesst he lif espanof a
reinf orcedconcret est ruct ure.lf we knowt hat ,we
can det erminehow manyt imest he equivalent
st eelst ruct urewouldneedt o be repaint edover
t hat sameoeriod.and what t he cost of t hat
wouldbe.
Hanif : Yeah.
Mike: But t his is reallyt he point I 'mmaking,
Hanif .We can'tcat egorically say t hat reinf orced
concret eis inef f icientunlesswe look int o it in
det ail.
Hanif: Of coursenot. Look, let me makea
suggest ion ...
I 10. 2
Su: Wit h veryt all st ruct ures,one of t he main
loadsyou needt o t ake int oconsiderat ion,
clearly,is t he massof t he st ruct ure,it s weight .
Due to gravity,that massexerts a downward
load,whichhast o be t ransmit t edt o t he ground.
So that downwardforce meansthe structure
is in compression, especiallynear t he bot t om.
Obviously,the closer you are to the bottom,
t he morecomoressive f orcet he st ruct ureis
subj ect edt o. But wit h t all st ruct ures,downward
load compressing t he st ruct uralelement sis
only part of t he problem.Anot hermaj orf orce
act ingon t he st ruct ureis wind load,whichis a
horizont alload,exert edby air pressureagainst
one sideof t he st ruct ure.Becauset he st ruct ure
is f ixedat groundlevel,and f reeat t he t op, t hat
generat esbendingf orces.And whenelement s
bend,you haveopposingf orces:compression
at one side,t ensionat t he ot her.And at ground
level,t he windef f ect ively t riest o slidet he
st ruct urealongt he ground,and t he f oundat ions
belowt he groundresistt hat .The resultof t hat
is shearf orcebet weent he subst Í uct ure and t he
superst ruct ure. The windgenerat est ensileloads
on t he f oundat ions of t all st ruct uresas well,
as t he bendingact iont riest o pull t hem out of
t he groundon one side,a bit likea t ree being
uproot edby t he wind.So t he f oundat ions need
t o relyon f rict ionwit h t he groundt o resistt he
pull-outf orce,iust as t ree root sdo. The act ion
of t he wind can also generat et orsion.Youget a
t wist ingf orcesomet imes,whent he air pressure
is comparat ively higheragainstone cornerof a
building,alt hought hat 'slessof a problemwit h
chimneysbecauseof t heir circularprof ile.Wit h
very largemassesof concret e,you also have
t o t hinkabout t he f orcesgenerat edby t hermal
movement.When concreteabsorbs heat from
t he sun,you get expansion;as soonas t he sun
goesin, t here'scont ract ion.
That movementcan
be signif icantover a largearea,especiallyas t he
sun generallyheat sone sideof a st ruct uremuch
moret han t he ot her.So t hereare all kindsof
differentforcesacting on a tall structure.
I wat er,St app had pulleda crushing46 Cs.
10. 3
Andrej: The record speed exceededthe standard
operat ingspeedby a hugemargin.lt was80o/ o
f ast erat it s peak.So you wouldimaginet hat
the TCV used for the record run was heavily
modified.I n fact, that wasn't really the case.
The t rainwas modif iedt o a cert ainext entbut ,
wit h a f ewexcept ions,it wasessent ially j ust anlesst han t hat ,and t he t rack lengt h'sgoing
ordinaryTCV.As you can see f romt his slide,one
of the biggest differenceswas that the modified
t rainwas signif icant ly short er,in ordert o make
it light er.Therewas a 500/ 0 reduct ionin lengt h, averagepassenger.
downt o 100 met res.comoaredwit h a 200-
met rest andardlengt h.The coachesbeingpulled
were perfectlystandard - the only differences
weret hat someof t he seat shad beenremoved
t o makewayf or all of t he monit oringequipment
t hat wascarriedon board.And somechanges
weremadet o t he bodywork,t o makeit slight ly
moreaerodynamic, whichmeantt he drag
coefficientwas reducedby I 5olo.The wheelson
t he modif iedt rain Weremarginallybi€€er t han
the standard size.The diameter was increasedby
| 9olo,in order to reducethe speed of revolution,
t o limit f rict ionand cent rif ugalf orce.And t he
powerof t he elect ricmot orswassubst ant ially
higher than the standard units - boosted by
680ó' But noneof t he changesWasf undament a| .
So my point is, st andardhigh-speed t rainscan be
madet o go f ast erby a considerable amount .
I 10. 4
Narrat or: I n t he lat e I 940s and early'50s, t he
United StatesAir Forcecarried out a seriesof
experimentsto explore how much physicalstress
t he humanbody couldwit hst and.A keyaim
was to test how much C-forcepilots were able
t o copewit h and see what wouldhappenif t hey
exceededtheir limits. Led by Air Forcedoctor
John Paul Stapp, a number of spectaculartests
werecarriedout at EdwardsAir ForceBase in
Calif ornia,a locat ionsuit ablef or t he experiment s speed,I workedout t hey'dbe spinningat over
t hankst o it s 600-met rerail t rack,specially
designedfor high-speedrocket tests. A rocket
sled,capableof reachingspeedsapproaching
t he soundbarrier,was mount edon t he t rack.On
t opof t hesled, namedSonicWind,researchers
f ixeda seat ,int endedf or an abnormallybrave
volunteer.Refusingto give the dangerousjob to
a memberof his t eam,t he man in t he hot seat
was John Stapp himself.Over several runs, Stapp
was subjectedto progressivelygreater extremes
of force.Each time, he resisted.Eventually,the
t ime camet o t ake t he ult imat erisk,t o surpass
what many doctorsbelievedto be a deadly level
of G-f orce.And so on Decemberlot h I 954,
Stapp Wasstrapped onto soí ,ic Wind Í orthe
mot herof all rides.
Andrew: Possibly.lt 'd dependhow muchdrag
I 10. 5 t herewas,whichobviouslydependson t he
Narrator: That day, Stapp was sub.iectedto
bodyworkdesign,doesn'tit ?
ext remesof f orcebeyondt he imaginat ion. When
the sled'srocketsfired, he shot from zero to over Jasmine:Yeah.
Andrew: I don't liket he ideaof a f rict ionsyst em,
1,000 kilomet resper hour in j ust t hreeseconds,
againstt he rails.lt wouldhavet o wit hst anda
sub.iect inghim t o 20 Gs. when t he sled hit t he
t remendousamountof heat .
pool of wat erin t he brakingzone,it was like
hit t inga brickwall.St appslowedf romt he speed Jasmine: Yeah.I t hink t hat 'sa non-st art er, at
of a bullett o a complet est op in lit t lemoret han t hesekindsof speeds.Aerodynamicbraking
a singlesecond.I ncredibly, John St appsurvived hasgot t o be t he best opt ion.Possibly,you
t he ride,alt houghso muchblood had rushedint o coulddeployf lapsinit ially,at t op speed,t hen
his eyest hat he was unablet o see f or somet ime maybereleasea parachut eas a secondst age.
afterwards.Beforethe test. doctorshad believed Maybedeployt he parachut eat , I don't know,
t hat humanbeingswereincapableof surviving what sort of speedsdo dragstersreach?They
f orcesgreat ert han I 7 Cs. Whent he sled hit t he use parachut es,don't t hey?what do t heydo?
400 Ks?
Andrew: A bit more,I t hink.450, somet hinglike
I 10. 6 t hat .There'salso t he opt ionof reverseengine
Jasmine: I t hinkwhat he'ssuggest ingin t erms t hrust ,liket hey use on aircraf t .
of accelerat ion and decelerat ion f orcesis Jasmine: I n t hat case,t hough,you'dst ill need
reasonable. anot hersyst em,in caseyou get an enginef ailure.
Andrew:Yeah.2 C soundsabout right .Anyt hing But it 'sa possibilit y.I t hinkt he bot t omlineis
t hat it needsa combinat ionof svst emst o makeit
to exceedthe size of the site. And if you start absolut elyf ail-saf e.
get t ingcloset o 3 c, or beyondt hat ,t hent hat 's
probablygoingt o be a bit t oo muchf or t he
Jasmine: I 'dsay so. His calculat ions f or t he
total distancefor accelerationand deceleration
seemabout right .The problemI haveis wit h
t he lengt hof t he t rack.I t hink his t en-kilomet re
f igureis OK f or an idealworldscenario,but it
doesn't leavemuch margin for error.
Andrew: No. Becauseat full speed, you'regoing
to be covering,what, a kilometreeverythree
seconds.So if t here'ssomekind of oroblem.
you'regoingt o be eat ingup t he kilomet resat a
pretty frighteningrate.
Jasmine:Youcan say t hat again.I t hink he'll
neé devery ki| ometreof track | engthhe can
get on t hat sit e.Plussomesort of emergency
st oppin€f aciI it yat t he end of t he | ine,j ust in
case.
Andrew: Definitely,yeah.
Jasmine:Then I don't knowwhat you t hink
about usingwheels,inst eadof skids.
Andrew: Well,t echnically, it 'sf easiblet o build
wheelscapableof spinningat t hat sort of speed,
becauseit's been done on land soeed record
cars.The only problemis, if you get a wheel
f ailureat t he kind of speedswe'ret alkingabout ,
t he consequences are goingt o be unt hinkable.
Jasmine:Yeah.I haven'tcalculat edexact lywhat
centrifugalforcesthey'd haveto cope with, but
f or wheelsof about 500 mil diamet er,at f ull
1 3 , 0 0 0r o m .
Andrew:Yeah,t hat 'sa lot . Plus,of course,skids
shouldgivebet t erf rict ionalresist anceunder
braking.
Jasmine: Possibly.
Andrew: Maybe not?
Jasmine:Well,t he f rict ionf romwheelbearings
spinningat t hat sort of speedmightbe higher.
And t he skidswouldn'tbe in oermanentcont act
wit ht he rails,don't f orget .But , anyway,I t hink
skidsare t he only saf eopt ion.
Andrew: I 'd go for skids. Definitely.
Jasmine:And t henf or t he brakes,I t hinkt he
f irst point is t hat ,f or t he init ialdecelerat ion,
evenwit houtapplyingany brakes,t he
aerodynamic resist anceis goingt o be huge.I n
fact, that alone might even exceed 2 C, for a
short t ime.
Audioscript 95
 The propulsion system c
I Unit 1 Will t he weightof t he cableallowt he baset o Richardsuggest susingeverydaylanguage
2a be movedby it s own propellersor will a more t o avoidexplanat ionsnot beingunderst ood;
I navigat ion powerfulsystemfor propulsionand control be usingsomej argonand t hen explainingit using
(monitoring)deliveryvehicles required?For example,an ext ernalpowersource. everydaylanguaget o avoidsoundingpat ronising;
3 (findin€
) sto| encars explainingdif f icultconcept sby comparing
4 drift b
Suggested answers technicalpoints with things in everydaylife to
5 man overboard illust rat et hem;and usingsomehumour
Anchor system
6 innovativeuses of t o avoidsoundingdull.
I t will be oossiblet o anchort he base more
b securelyin shallowwat er,near t he coast .A 15b
I uses 3 user's;useful oermanentanchorst ruct urecouldbe built on 2 A columngoingdownint ot he ground
2 use t he oceanbed, in shallowwat er.The basest at ion 3 To drill
couldt hen be f ixedsecurelyt o it wit h cables.lf 4 Concret eDouredon t he const ruct ionsit e in
3a severalanchor structuresare built at different
2d 3b 4f 5a 6e it s f inal oosit ion
locat ionsalongt he coast ,t he basest at ioncan 5 Made at a factory,away from the site
4a be movedbetweenthem. 6 To hammerin
I allows 3 ensures;enables Propulsionsystem 7 Likea giant hammer
prevents Tugs(powerfulboats used for pullingships) I Likea giant drill
could be used as an external oower source. 9 A kind of claysuspension/ a sort of mud
b However,the base station could be driven by
I allows/ enables its own propellers.The large,powerfulengines d
ensures I put simply;in ot herwords;basically
neededto propel it would be heavy,but that isn't
3 prevents necessarilya disadvantage,as extra mass,and 2 effectively;essentially;basically
thereforeextra inertia,would help to make the 3 what we call: what we refer to as
c
'| allow/ enable base more stable. 4 if you imagine;if you pict ure
allow/ enable 10 16
3 ensure A technicaladvantageis a type of technology Suggested answers
4 allow/ enable t hat is superiorin someway - f or example, Thereare t wo t ypesof pilef oundat ion;end-
5 prevent bearingpilesand f rict ionpiles.Essent ially,
more efficient,more powerfulor more reliable
- comparedwith a related type of technology end-bearingpilesare usedwhenyou havesof t
6a groundwhichis on t op of hard€round or rock.
6b on page8
Seet extin Exercise - for example,a competingproduct [ onesold by
anot hercompany)- or comparedwit h an earlier Basically,t he pilesgo t hrought he sof t ground
c model of the same product. and sit on t he hardgroundbelow.lt 'sa bit like
2i 3a 4b 5C 6h 7c buildingover water.The soft ground is like water,
8d 9f 11a whichcan'tsupportanyt hing,and t he hard
I t'sa flat belt for liftingelevatoB which is used groundbelowit is liket he seabed.Put simply,
7a insteadof a cable. Comparedwith cables,the t he pilesare likest ilt s.Frict ionpilesare dif f erent .
support Cen2 systemhas a number of advantages. They'reusedwhent here'sno hardground.I n
3 attached
b simplet erms,t he sidesof t he pilegrip t he sof t
4 raised groundaroundt hem.lf you pict urea nail in a
power 2e 3b 4t 5c 6a
pieceof wood,it 'st he samet hing.The nail is
6 ascenq c grippedby t he woodaroundit . Somet imest he
7 transport reduces 6 convent ional bot t omsof f rict ionpi| esare madeWider.| ma€ine
c 3 convent ional 7 superior a leg with a foot at the bottom, it's the same
The not esare missingart icles( a/ an,t he)and 4 reduce I eliminat es principle.
someauxiliaryverbs [ e.9.be) . 5 ennance
8a 72a I Unit 2
See audioscript1.3 on page86 I enhanced 4 convent ional 2a
2 reduced 5 superior 2 Class 5 Timber
b 3 eliminat ed
I By a floating structure 3 Copper 6 Rubber
2 To attach the base to the seabed b 4 Al umi ni um 7 Plast ic
3 Shipswouldcarryt hem lc 2b 3a 4d b
4 Cot lisionsbet weent he cableand space C 2a 3b 4f 5d 6h
debris 'I e
2 dramat ically 6 highly 8C
5 The anchorswouldbe raisedand t he st at ion 3 ent irely 7 except ionally
wouldbe moved. c
4 ext remely I signif icant ly 2 wit h 6of
9a 5 considerably 3 from 7ot
Suggested answer d 4 from 8 from
The anchoring system I ent irely;t ot ally 5 wit h
The wind loadson t he cablewill be huge.What 2 considerably; dramat ically
are t he implicat ions syst em?
f or t he anchorinC 3b
J except ionally; highly The main point t hat lrinamakesis t hat it 's
The basewill needt o be movedcont inuallyand
sometimesurgently.what temporarysystem 14a imoortant to considerthe total environmental
couldbe usedt o hold t he base in posit ion? I That you shouldn'tusej argonor it will sound impactof a product ,includingproducingit ( pre-
Shouldt he base be in shallowwat er near t he like nonsenseand t hat t echnicalconcept scan and recyclingit ( post -use) .
use) ,usingit ( in-use)
coast, or in deep water further ofEhore? The be dif f icultt o explain,evenusingeveryday She givest he exampleof an energy-saving light
choicewill havean impacton t he designof t he language. bul b.
anchorsyst em. 2 Explanat ions t hat are boring.
5 Speakingt o an adult as if you'ret alkingt o a
child.

I
96 Answer key
I I
t
C 4 Heat f romt he enginebeingabsorbedby t he 13a
Soohiaand Pet e'sideas: chassis,whichcan damagesensit ivepart s I corrosionresistance
Pre-use:aluminiumproduct ion[ ext ract ionf rom suchas elect roniccomponent sand plast ic 2 water resistance
, ingst eel ( galvanising) ,
ore and recycling)coat parts 3 scratchresistance
t ransport ingand handlingbulk mat erial,cut t ing c 4 shock resistance
and welding 29 5b 4f 5d 6a 7e t4a
I n-use:weight( impacton f uelconsumpt ion) ,
6c I Wat chmat erialsare somet imeschosenf or
lif espan( f requency
of manuf act uring)
I c 2b 3d 4a 5e market ingreasons,not t echnicalreasons.
d 2 Theyconsideredusingsubmarine-grade st eel
Suggested answers e in some modelsevent houghwat erresist ance
Elect ricalwiresin vehicles I b; c 4 e act uallydependson t he j oint sand seals,not
For pre-use,as far as I know it takes more 2 d; e 5 a; b; c t he met alused.
energyt o producealuminiumt han t o produce d
3 Many goodwat ch-making mat erialsare
copper,if it's derived from ore. However,it takes 8c eit herordinaryor complex,and so are not
lessenergyt o t ransportaluminium,becauseit 's 2 abrasionresist ance very market able.
light er. 3 t hermalst abilit y 4 Consumersare not t echnicalexpert s,and
For in-use,I 'msurealuminiumis bet t erbecause 4 dur abl e makechoicesbasedon t heir imoressions.
it 'slight er,so t he vehiclewouldconsumeless light weight rat hert han on f act ualinf ormat ion.
f uel.
For post -use,bot h aluminiumand coppercan be 9a b
lc 2e 5b 4a 5d I T
recycled'| 'dsay it t akes| essener€y t o hand| e
T
and t ransportaluminium,becauseit 'slight er.
b 3 F - it needsa prot ect ivecoat ing.
Ext ernalwallsin houses
1 tyres 4 bullet -resist ant armour F - he saysit 'sf airlypoor in t ermsof looks.
For pre-use,it takes a lot of energyto produce 2 drivebelt s 5 sealinggasket s q
F - no - for the reasonsgiven above.
bricksbecauset heyhavet o be f iredin a kiln.
3 brake pads 6 F - inadequat emat erialshaveneverbeen
They'realso heavyt o t ransport Sof . t woodis
chosenf or market ingreasons.
light ert o t ransport ,and I 'dsay it probablyt akes c
7 T
lessenergyt o saw it and handleit , compared Suggested answers
8 F - complicat ednamesare not good f or
wit h makingbricks.Duringconst ruct ion, building I n t yres,punct ureand t ear resist ancehelpt o
market ing.
with bricks uses more energy,as sand and st op punct uresand blowout sand abrasion
cementhavet o be t ransport edand mixedt o resist ancehelpst he t yret o last longer.I n drive c
make mortar. belt s,highelast icit yallowsbelt st o f it t ight ly 2 exceptionallyresistant
For in-use.wood is a bet t erinsulat ort han brick and abrasionresist ancehelost hem resistt he 3 not at all suit able
whichis an advant age,as t he houseshouldt ake f rict ioncausedby t he belt t urning.I n brakepads, 4 treoctdously marketable
less energyto heat. I n theory,softwoodcould abrasionresist ancehelpst he padst o last longer 5 I elativelycomplex
last as longas bricks,if it 'sproperlymaint ained. and t hermalst abilit yhelpst hem resistt he heat 6 not all t hat good
But in oract ice.t hat will of t ennot be t he case. generat edduringbraking.Kevlar@ helpsmake
So, const ruct ion energycouldsomet imesbe bullet -resist antarmour,whichis generallyheavy, d
higherf or sof t wood,as housesneedt o be rebuilt morelight weightwhich, is bet t erf or t he vehicle's I ext remely,except ionally, t remendously
performance.Kevlaromakessealinggaskets 2 qult e,f airly,pret t y,relat ively
moreof t en.
For post-use,it's possibleto recoverboth bricks durableand it s t hermalst abilit yallowst hem 3 not very,not part icularly, not ( all)t hat
t o reslstheat - f or example,in enginecylinder 4 not enough,insuf f icient ly, not adequat ely
and softwoodfor re-use,but neither is very easy
to recycle. heads- and it s chemicalst abilit ymeansgasket s 5 def init elynot , not at all
are not af f ect edby enginef luidssuchas f uel, 15
4
lubricat ingoil and coolantliquids. Suggested answers
Suggested answers
I Brakesare designedt o slowdownvehicles 10a St eelis relat ivelyheavyand veryt ough.lt is
pretty scratch-resistantand shock-resistant.
or movingpart s.Of t ent heywork t hrough I At t he dent ist 's
f rict ion,by app| yin€pressuret o padsWhich 2 The t ool is a dent aldrill. Mild st eel is not verycorrosion-resist ant but
are pressedagainstt he sidesof a disc,t he 3 Tit aniumcan be usedf or t he handle,and st ainlessst eel has good corrosionresist ance
insideof a drum,or direct lyagainsta wheel t ungst en-carbide and diamondf or t he bur. and is t heref oresuit ablef or wat ches.Classis
quit eheavyand is wat er-resist ant and corrosion-
rim. Alt ernat ivesincludesyst emst hat use
elect romagnet ficorce,syst emst hat exploit
b resist ant Ordinary
. glassis verybrit t leand
l I i€h t weight 5 durable hasf airlypoor shockresist anceand scrat ch
t he brakingef f ect sof enginesor f lywheels
( viaclut chesand gearboxes)aerodynamic
, 2 abrasionresist ance 4 t hermalst abilit y resist ance, alt houghit is st ill suit ablef or wat ches,
Toughened glassis moredurable.Aluminiumis
brakingsyst ems( f orexamplespoilerson c
aircraft,parachuteson dragsters),and relat ivelylight weightand is f airlyt ough.lt has
lb 2a 3e 4c 5d
good corrosion resistance.lt is thereforesuitable
reversethrusterson jet engines.Brake discs
are of t enmadeof f errousmet als( iron-based t2 f or wat ches.Tit aniumis except ionally light weight
- f or examplest eel) ,or somet imesceramic Suggested answers and t oughand has excellentabrasionresist ance.
mat erials. I Examplesof sit uat ionsusedin advert ising I t is also ext remelycorrosion-resist ant and is
includemot orracing,wat ersport ssuchas t heref orean excellentwat chmat erial.Gold is
2 Examplesof mat erialsusedt o makepads
include:comooundsof advancedmat erials surf ingand diving,and aviat ion. ext remelyheavyand pret t yt ough,alt hough
( cars)f,errousmet als( t rains)rubber
, 2 The int endedmessageis t hat wat chesare sof t ergradesof gold havequit epoor shock
( bicycles)ceramics
, ( perf ormance cars) . accurat eand are resist ant . resist anceand scrat chresist ance. Gold has
3 Higherqualit ywat cheskeepgood t ime; excellentcorrosionresist ance. lt is suit ablef or
5a are resist antt o wat erand shocks;and are more exoensive.decorativewatches.
Creen refersto ecologicalissues. Red refersto madef rom moreexpensive,bet t er-looking
heat (redhot meansvery hot). Also, a hot topic is mat erlals. I Unit 3
a currentimport antt opic. 4 Describingsomet hingas wat er-resist ant
suggest sit can resistwat erup t o a cert ain 2a
b The aim of t he proj ectis t o f ormulat ea
limit ,f or examplet o a cert aindept h
I Becauset hey usef rict ion,whichwast es policyt hat will st at ewhichplugand socket
or pressure.Describlngsomet hingas
energyas heat conf gurat
i ionst heir companyrecommends,
wat erproofsuggest sit givesunlimit ed
2 They recoverheat and use it to powerthe and explaint he t echnicalreasonswhyt heyare
orotectionfrom water.
car. recommended.
3 The abilit yt o generat ehighlevelsof f rict ion,
and to resist the effectsof frictionand
conseouentheat

Answerkey 97
b c 4 I n air cr af t cockpit s, t he windshield is bonded
I he profile of the pins meansthe shape of the I especiallygood when to the fuselage with adhesive / glued to the
individualpins,f or examplea rect angularcross- uselesswhen fuselage.
sect ionor a clrcularcross-sect ion. 3 not t he best solut ion 13a
A standard configuroú lon meansa uniform ideal for See ar t icle on page 28
arrangementf,or examplein a givencount ryall
I
plugshavea st andardlayout- t heyall exact ly b
Suggested answers a2 b3 c4 d I
t he same.
Drillingwit h a bit is goodf or cut t ingblindholes.
c Drillingwit h a hole-sawis idealf or cut t ing c
a6 b4 cl d5 e2 t imber. a The balloonsclimbedf ast ert han expect ed,
r3 Flame-cuttingis perfect for cutting metals.lt's then enteredcontrolledairspaceadjacentto
uselessfor cuttingceramics. an airport .
d Crinding is perfect for cuttingwide kerts.lt's b A ropet an€|ed Wit ha power| ine,t hen Mr
2 rounded 5 linear t ot allyunsuit ableif you don't want a heat - Walterswas arrested.
5 rect angular 6 t riangular c The modernequivalentclust
, erballooning,
affectedzone.
4 cylindrical Cuillot iningis especiallygoodf or cut t ingt hin is not a mainst reamsport ,but is becoming
e mat erials.lt 's not part icularlysuit ablef or cut t ing more popurar.
t hick mat erials. Weat her
d A €arden chair,he| ium-f i| | ed
rcctangle; rectiangular;triangle; triangular;
Milling is especiallygood for cutting metals.lt's balloonsand ropes
lylinder; cylildrical; line; !!ear
t ot allyunsuit ablef or cut t ingt imber. ! 4a
3a Punchingis suit ablef or cut t ingt hroughholes.lt 's
Pict ureb a over
uselessfor cuttingblind holes. b below;beneat h;underneat h
b sawing is idea| for cuttingstrai€ ht edges. | t'snot c alongsideiadj acentt o; beside
2 ridges;grooves;recessed;flush with; set back so good if you need to cut curved edges. d around
5 oi ns jet
Water cuttingis ideal if you need curved e out side
edges. lt's not so good for cuttingvery thick f inside;wit hin
4a mat erials.
'|
Advant ages:The plug resist spulloutf orces. b
Not hingcan t oucht he pinsif t he plug is 9 I above 4 wit hin
part iallypulledout . See audioscript3.8 on page88 2 around 5 beneat h
Disadvant ages; lt 'sdif f icultt o pull out . 10a 5in
2 Advant ages:Childrencan't st ickt hingsin t he I To involvet heir suppliersmoreact ivelyin
socket. c
design 2 inserted 5 located
Disadvant ages: lf t he mechanismis t oo 2 Doinga lot of workf or no ret urnand 3 situated 6 projecting
sensit ive,it can be dif f icultt o insertt he plug. covenngcosts 4 suspended 7 posit ioned
5 3 They want to work with fewersuppliers,so
See audioscript3.6 on page88 there would be more work. d
locat ed;sit uat ed
6a b
I T I Mechanicalf ixings:screw,rivet ,clip 15a
F - cast ingis a dif f erentdiscipline 2 Non-mechanical f ixings:weld,adhesive See audioscript3.9 on page88
3 F - it 'sa slangt erm c b
F - work involvingabrasivesis noisier '|
I weld 4 screw lt 'spret t yt ime-consuming t o assemble.
5 T 2 bolt 5 rivet 2 Cable ties are fastenedaround the bottoms
6 T 3 adhesive of t he balloons,t o f ix t hem t o t he ropes.
b 3 The balloonsare attachedto ropes of
d differentlengths,which are attachedin
I Sawing 4 Milling I .ioining;
f ixing
2 Shearing 5 Flame-cut t ing groupsto straps, like the branchesof a tree.
2 bolt ing;rivet ing 4 Wat eris carriedin bags,as ballast .Tapson
3 Dr i l l i ng 3 bonding;welding;gluing the bags are used to releasewater.
c 1la 5 The balloonscan be releasedone by one.
2 guillot ine 5 abrasivewheel I together 6 The balloonscan't be releasedone by one.
3 kerf 6 hole-saw 2 eachot her
4 toothed blade c
3on Suggested answers
7a 4 to/ onto The heliumcouldbe cont ainedwit hina smaller
secondar| operafions: additional machining, b numberof largerballoons.The balloonscould
suchas polishing I on 4 onto/ to be made of stronger materialthan weather
net-shapedports: parts with accuratelycut 2 each other 5 to balloons,and couldbe permanent lyf ast enedt o
edges; often intricate shapes 3 together t he ropesor st raps.Thiswouldmaket he balloon
heat-affectedzone: the area modified by high cluster faster to put togetherand inflate.Twoor
temperatures(resultingfrom the heat of cutting) c t hreeof t he balloonscouldhavevalves,allowing
mechonical stresses:physicalforcessuch as I Main advantage:They can be removedeasily. heliumt o be releasedduringt he f light .This
shearf orceswhensawingor guillot iningmet al Main disadvant age: Theycan work loose. wouldalso allowt he balloonst o be def lat edaf t er
narrow kerf: narrow thicknessof material I t can't be removedeasily. t he f light ,so t hat t heycouldbe reused.
removedduring cutting;especiallyeasy to do 3 Fixingscan be inadequat ely t ight ened.
with waterjet cuttinc Adhesivescan be usedon improperly
tightlAnested: when severalcomponentsare cut preparedsurfaces.Weldscan be flawed. I Unit 4
from the same piece of material the components tza 1
can be placedcloset oget her,makingbet t eruse Suggested answers
For t he designof a largecruiseship,several
of t he mat erial. I I n early aircraft,timber frameswerejoined hundreddrawingswouldneedt o be produced.
Thesewouldincludegeneralarrangement
b togetherwith adhesive/ glued together,or
screws/ screwedtogether. drawings,suchas plansof t he overalllayoutof
I net-shapedparts
2 I nj et aircraf t alloy
, body panelsare j oined eachdeck,elevat ionsof t he sidesof t he ship,
2 heat-affectedzone and cross-sectionsthroughthe ship at different
3 mechanicalstresses togetherwith rivets/ rivetedtogether.
points. Notes on these general arrangement
4 narrow kerf 3 I n aircraft cabins,the seats are fixed to the
floor with bolts / bolted to the floor. drawingswould then refer to more detailed
drawingsof assemblydet ails.As well as being

98 Answerkey
 I

dividedint o small-scale generalarrangement c 8

drawingsand larger-scale det ails,t he drawings
would also be organisedinto different
specialisat ions, suchas st ruct ure,elect rical
powercircuit s,light ingcircuit s,wat ersupply,air
condit ioning, lif t s,f ire sprinklersyst ems,engine
inst allat ions,
et c.
2a
I Part of a staircase(Staircase3, Deck C)
2 The numberof panels,and t heir size
b 4 out side
2 elevat ion
3 explodedview
4 cross-section
5 schemat ic
6 not e
7 specif icat ion
c Dif f erence in meaning:Plusor minusI mm
generalarrangementplan,
: elevat ion
det ail:explodedvieWcross-sect ion
d
I elevat ion 4 schemat ic
2 cross-sect ion 5 explodedview
pl an
3
3a
The scaleis t he rat iobet weent he sizeof it ems
shownon a drawing,and t heir act ualsize( in
realit y)A
. scalerule has severalscales,allowing
dimensionst o be measuredon a drawing,t o
det erminet he act ualsize.
b size.Thismeanst he sizemayvary by a maximum
I The widt hof t he panelat t he t op.
2 That you shouldn'tscaleof f drawings.
I t 'sment ionedbecausePavelsuggest s
measuringt he dimensionon t he drawings
wit h a scalerulet o f ind out t he act ual
dimensions.
c of 100,and a mi ni mumof 99. 5 anda maxi mum
I ls this drowing to sco/ e? : Do the
dimensionscorrespondwit h a scale?
2 I t'sone to five' = Í he dimensionson the
drawingare I / 5 of t heir real size.
J ... goushouldn't scoleof fdrowings... = You
shouldn'tmeasuredimensionson a drawing
usinga scalerule and t aket hem t o be exact .
... it'soctuol size, on a full-scaledrawing...
: The dimensionson t he drawingare t he
same as their real size.
4 I The drawingneedst o be amended/ revised.
Typesof drawingrequired:a plan showing
t he perimet erof t he handrail( possiblescale
I : I 00) ; an elevat ionof a short lengt hof t he
handrail( possiblescale 1: I 0) ; a sect ionof t he
handrail( possiblescale I : | 0) ; det ailsshowing
key connections,such as those betweenhandrail
post sand deck,and t op rail and post s( possible
scale- act ualsize) .Specif icat ion: t ypeof st eel,
types of weldedjoint, types of bolt, type and
colourof painucoat ing,ot her mat erialssuchas
plast icsurroundt o t op rail
6a
The wordsmeanhow exactsomet hingis, f or
examplehowcloselyt he sizesof manuf act ured
it emsmat cht heir designedsize.
b lf t he dr awing is needed, t he t eam will
I A suoerFlatfloor has a much flatter surface.
I t 'sf inishedmorepreciselyt han an ordinary
concretefloor.
2 Ordinaryslabscan be f lat t o + / - 5mm.
Suoerf latslabscan be f lat t o wit hin I mm.
3 Slightvariat ionsin f loor levelcan cause
f orklif t st o t ilt , causingt he f orkst o hit racks
or drop it ems.
Toleranceis the acceptabledifferencebetween
idealdesignedsizeand act ualsize.I n machining
and assemblyprocesses,it is impossiblet o
achieveent irelyprecisesizes.A degreeof
toleranceis alwaysrequired.
d joint betweenthe web and the flanges.The capital
I wit hin
2 pl us;mi nus
3 t ight
e j oint s,at t he pointwheret he curvesare f lushwit h
I out sidet olerance
2 + / - 0. 5mm
3 wit hint olerance
4 t ight t olerance
f st at est he designobiect ives.I nit ialideasare
meanst he sizemayvary by a maximumof I
mm eit hersideof t he 'ideal'dimension.As
an examDle.if t he diamet erof a st eel bar is
speci f i edas 100 mm + / - | mm,t he di amet er
may be a maximumof l0l mm at it s widest
point and 99 mm at it s narrowestpoint .Since
t he t ot alvariat ioncan be I mm eit hersideof t he
' 100
99 mm and l 0l mm) ,
mm' i deal ' ( bet w een
t he maximumt ot alvariat ionbet weent he widest
and narrowestpoint sis 2 mm. However,no point
must be f urt hert han I mm eit hersideof t he
'ideal'size.
Wit hin I mm describesonly t he t ot alvariat ionin
of I mm abovet he idealdimension( aslongas
no point is belowt he idealdimension)or it may
vary by a maximumof I mm belowt he ideal
dimension( aslongas no point is abovet he ideal
dimension)Theref . ore,
a minimumdiamet erof
100 and a maxi mumof l 0l w oul dbe w i t hi nI
mm,as w oul da mi ni mumof 99 anda maxi mum
of 100. 5.
Examplesof uses:lt is usualt o specif y+ / -
t oleranceswherea specif icidealsizeis crit ical,
f or examplet he sizeof a holef or a bolt . ln t his
case, if the ho| eis too narrow Í toofar be| owthe
idealsize)t he bolt will not f it int o it . lf t he hole
is t oo wide ( t oof ar abovet he ideal size) ,t he bolt
will not f it t ight lyenough.'Wit hin'is of t enused
when specifyingtolerancesfor concretefloor
surf aces.I n t hiscase,t he import antissueis t he
t ot alamountof variat ionbet weent he highest
and lowest ooints on the surfaceof the floor
( whichdet ermineshowsmoot ht he f loor is) .
7a
I A superf latf inishf or t he ent iref loor
2 Free movementfloors are superflat
everywhere.On defined movementfloors,
only specif iclanesare superf lat .
3 Long,narrowlanesallowa higher-qualit y
f inisht o be achieved.
4 This can be done at a later stageto make
ot her part sof t he f loor superf lat .
5 lt can be posit ioneddeeperin t he concret e.
b '|
I long 4 t hick
2 wide 5 dept h
3 height
c receive copies of all further revisions. lf not,
width 5 t hickness
J lengt h height
depth
d
diamet er:t he maximumwidt hof a circle
radius:the distancefrom the centreof a circle to
its circumference(halfthe diameter)
The capitalT refersto the thicknessof the flanges.
The small t refersto the thicknessof the web.The
capitalW refersto the width ofthe flanges.The
smallw ref erst o halft he widt hof t he columnf rom
the centreof the web to the edgesof the flanges.
The small r refersto the radiusofthe curveat the
D refersto the total depth of the column,from the
top of one flangeto the bottom of the opposite
flange.The small d refersto the depth of the web,
measuredbetlveenthe ends of the curvesat the
the faceof the web.
9
A designprocessis t he developmentof a design.
A t ypicaldesignst art swit h a designbrief ,which
t hen put t oget heras roughsket ches.Theseare
t hen developedint o preliminarydrawings,which
are more detailed and are often drawn to scale.
The preliminarydrawingsare t hen developed,
incorporat ing comment sf rom dif f erentmembers
of t he designt eam,consult ant sand t he client .
Oncet he designhas been suf t icient ly developed,
workingdrawingsare produced.Theseare t hen
usedf or manuf act uring/ assembly/ const ruct ion.
Frequent ly, workingdrawingsare revised
( changed) duringt his lat t er phase,in order t o
resolvet echnicalproblemsencount eredduring
manuf act uring/ assembly/ const ruct ion.
10a
I designinf ormat ion[ at dif f erentst agesof t he
design process)
2 sketches,design brief, revised/ amended
drawing,supersededdrawing,preliminary
drawing,workingdrawing,summary/ not es
b
I b 2d 3c 4a 5e
C
I sketch 3 workingdrawing
2 designbrief 4 preliminarydrawing
d
2 revise 6 supersede
3 rough 7 specif y
4 issue 8 resolve
5 commenton
e
Suggested answers
2 The designneedst o be sent t o t he clientf or
comment sand approval.
The sit eengineerneedst o be cont act edt o
checkwhichrevisionof t he drawingt hey
nave.
4 The three differentcontractorsneed to be
issuedwit h t he revision.
E Roughsket chesneedt o be donef irst and t he
clientt o commenton t hem.
11b
I b 2a 3c
d
The seniorengineerwill decidewhet heror
not t he t eam needsf urt herrevisionsof a
drawing.
no f ur t her r evisions will be issued t o t he
leam.
S/ he will liaise beBveen t he mechanical and
electrical teams, and will report to the proiect
manager .
All t hr ee design t eams will be locat ed in a
single open- plan of f ice.

Answerkey 99
 e I Uni t 5 6a
Suggested answers 1 Checkinj ect ion
I First ,t he preliminarydrawingwill be t 2 Water in the fuel system
circulat edt o all t he seniorengineers.The See audioscript5. I on page89 3 Becauset he f uelwas put in direct lyf rom a
engineerswill decidewhet heror not t he 2a deliveryt anker
drawingis requiredby t heir t eam. lf not ,t hey I To f inishf irst ,f irst you must f inish 4 Whent he engineis st art edf romcold
will say it isn't requiredand af t ert hat , no 2 Engineering enemies 5 A f ault yf uel pre-heat erplug
morerevisionsof t he drawingwill be issued 3 Wear and t ear 6 The plugcan be changedat t he next service.
t o t hem. lf t he drawingis required,t hey'll I t 'snot an urgentproblem.
say it 's needed.Theymightcommenton t he b
drawingand requestamendment sor approve I heat 4 shocks b
it . Theywill also receiveall f urt herrevisions 2 pressure 5 abrasion I defect 5 propeny
of t he drawing,includingworkingdrawings. 5 vibrat lon 2 defective;faulty 6 int ermit t ent ly
2 The mechanicaland elect ricalt eamswill 3 maj or 7 syst emat ically
c 4 mi nor
be able t o work on t he preliminarydesign
Suggested answers
t oget hereasily,t hankst o t he open-plan '| c
shocks
of f ice.As t he drawingsare developedt hey'll 2 heat I b 2c 5a
be able t o discussamendment sin t he same 3 abrasion
way. d
4 shocks Suggested answers
3 The mechanicaland st ruct uralt eamswill be 5 abrasion '|
able t o work t oget hert o solvet he problemin This is an int ermit t entproblem.lt 'sprobably
6 abrasion causedby wear and t ear.
t he open-planof f iceand reviseddrawingswill 7 shocks
be produced.Thesewill t hen be approved 2 Thiswasa suddenproblem.lt 's probablya
I pressure(causedby heat) f ault ypart , or an inst allat ionproblem.
by bot h t he mechanicaland st ruct ural 9 vibrat ion
t eams.Reviseddrawingswill be issuedand 3 Thisis a syst emat icproblem.lt 'sprobablya
circulat edt o all t hosewho needt hem. 3a f ault ypart ,or an inst allat ionproblem.
I T e
12
F - t he driverswlt chedt he engineof f 2 lt soundslikeit 's
Of t enconf lict ing( dif f erentinf
) ormat ionis shown
3 T 3 lt couldbe / lt mightbe
on dif f erentdrawin€s. on one drawing,t he 4 T
dimensionsof a componentmay not correspond 4 | doubt it 's
F - t he wheelnut wouldn'tt urn 5 lt can't be
wit h t hoseshownon a relat eddrawing.Clashes 6 F - t he driverdidn't bendt he suspension
are anot hercommonproblem- dif f erent f
drawingsmay showdif f erentcomponent sin t he b 2 it mightbe 5 | doubt it 's
same posit ionwit hinan assembly,meaningt he I blocking 3 bend;snap 5 it mightbe 6 lt soundslike it 's
assembI yWi| |not f it t oget heras desi€n ed. Key 2 jam cracK 4 it can't be
dimensionsand assemblydet ailsmay also be
C 7a
missingf romt he set of drawings,leavingt he
I leakingout 4 clog up minor;syst emat ic
product ionwit h inadequat einf ormat ion.
2 r unout 5 wearingout
13a 3 cut out 6 blow up b
I Designproblemsand solut ions Suggested answers
d I t can't be wat erin t he f uel supply.ghis would
2 A queryis a quest ion.An inst ruct ionis an
See audioscript5.2 on page89 causemisf iring.)
explanat ionof what t o do / of f icialpermission
t o do somet hin€. e I t couldbe a cloggedf uel f ilt er.f lhe engineis
3 Writ t enf ollow-upis import antin order 2 leakingout 6 blocked( up) perf ormingconsist ent ly, but is downon power.)
t o keepa recordf or cont ract ual/ f inancial 3 j ammed 7 bent I doubt it 'sa compressionleak. [ f hiswould
purposes. 4 cloggedup I wornout probablyresultin increasedf uel consumpt ion,
5 worked loose 9 run out and wouldprobablycausemoremaj or
b problems.)
2 869 4 867; 868 4 I t can't be a lubricat ionproblem.f lhis would
5 869; 870 5 867; 868; 869 Monza has longst raight sand severalchicanes. causeoverheat ing.)
Thismeanscarsare at f ull-t hrot t le f or longer, I doubt it 'sa blockagein t he exhaustsyst em.
c and needt o do a lot of heavybraking.Problems:
I clash 4 advise f l'hiswouldcausemoremaj orproblems.)
Enginescan overheatand blow up; brakes
2 request 5 clarif y 8
can overheat riding
; t he kerbscan causet he
3 propose checklist s= list sof t hingst o be checked
suspensiont o crack,bendor snap;t he right -
14a handcornerscauset he t yreson t he lef t of t he st andardprocedures= specif ic,plannedwaysof
See audioscript4.6 on page89 car t o wear out f ast ert han t hoseon t he right dealingwit h sit uat ionsand problems
side:and leavescan block up t he radiat ors. back-upinst allat ions= secondary/ addit ional
b equipmentt hat will work if main equipmentf ails
2 c| ariÚ 6 alt ernat ive 5b plannedmaint enance- replacingpart sat
3 cont radict s 7 as per User'sobseNat ions= what t he personusingt he plannedt imesevenif t heyare not wornout
4 clash I conf irm machinehas not iced
5 propose Nat ureof f ault - t ypeof problem 9a
Circumst ances of f ault = in what t ype of I An incorrect( oversized) hydraulicpipewas
d sit uat iont he f ault happened/ happens f it t edt o t he right -handengine.
Suggested answers Ext ernalf act ors- t hingsf romout side,f or 2 The pipe rubbedagainsta f uel line.
As discussedt oday,I conf irmt hat t he connect ion 3 The f uel linerupt ured,result ingin a maj or
examplet he weat heror somet hinghit t ingt he
bet weent he plat eand T sect ionon t he ski lif t machine leak.
shouldhavesix bolt s,not eight as shownon t he Processof eliminat ion- t hinkingof possible
det ail.The t wo bolt sshownon t he det ailwhich b
problemsand decidingwhichare not possiblein
wouldclashwit h t he f langeof t he T sect ionare 04: 58b 05: 36d 0 6 : 1 3a
ordert o reducet he numberof oossibilit ies 06:27 c
not reouired. ldent if yt he f ault - f ind t he f ault/ decidewhat
t he f ault is c
Det ermineact ionand urgency= decidewhat t o 2 oversized 7 disproport ionat e
do about t he problemand decidehowquicklyit 5 inadequat e 8 irregular
needst o be done 4 undetected 9 imbalance
5 abnormal l0 malf unct ion
6 insuf f icient II inoperable

100 Answerkey

I
d 13a I n terms of / As regards/ With regard to /
'| Concerning/ Regardingt he mat erials,what is
I incorrecVabnormal The levelis OK.
inadequat e/ insuf f icient 2 The coolantis f ullof residue/ black. the bodyworkmade or.,
3 irregular 3 lt looksreasonable. I n terms of / As regards/ With regard to /
4 oversized 4 OK, t hereare no signsof damage. Concerning/ Regardingt he schedule,when
5 malf unct ion 5 Thiswill needt o be lookedat . will t he work st art ?
6 imbalance I n terms of / As regards/ With regard to /
b Concerning/ Regardingt he power,what will
7 undet ect ed
They'reworkingon an indust rialmachineas t he maximumout put needt o be?
I inoperable
t heir decisionnot t o changet he f ilt erwouldbe I n terms of / As regards/ With regard to /
10a unaccept able in aircraf tmaint enance. Concerning/ Regardingt he heat resist ance,
IF - the tyre pressuresare well down
c what sort of t emperat urewill t he paint need
2T t o wit hst and?
Draint he coolant .Removet he f ilt er,examineit
3 F _ on| yone €roup of t yresis | ow 6 I n terms of / As regards/ With regard to /
and cleanit . Put t he f ilt er back in. Replacet he
4r Concerning/ Regardingt he t olerance,what
coolant .Adj ustt he bladesand t ight ent hem.
b levelof precisiondo you want us to work to?
t4a
I abnormal/ incorrect 3a
A f or kl i ftt r uckhi t a machi neuni t l PSl 5 and
insuf t icienVinadequat e I Can be variedconsiderably
madea holein t he main oanel.The t echnician
disproport ionat e 2 Physicalbut not so ext remet hat peopledon't
proportionate at t he f act orylookedat t he machine[ hedid not
4 wat chgraphics
open it up or look inside)and report edt hat t he
c bladealignmentmechanismwasdamagedand 3 Best to try out effectsin practiceas it's
ln general,insuf f icient t yre pressurescouldbe t hat liquidlubricantwas leakingf romt he unit . difficult to do in theory
causedby: pressurelossover t ime ( allt yres Therewasalso an elect ricalcracklingsound b
lose air pressureprogressivelyover a period of [ presumably causedby eart hing/ short -circuit ing) I how much
severalmont hs)due t o inadequat emaint enance; whent he machinewasswit chedon. 2 t he amount
a slow punct urelair leakingslowlyf roma small 5 calculat e/ give a quant it y
b
holein t he t yre) ;air leakingf roma valvedue t o 4 j udge/ decide
lsolat e t he elect rical
supply. Dismant let he
a problemwit h t he valve,f or exampledirt in t he 5 measure/ test
ext ernaloanels.Draint he lubricant Check . f or
valveprevent ingit f romclosingproperly;a f ault y
int ernal damage. Remove damaged part sand c
pressuregauge on the compressorused to inflate
replacet hem.Add lubricant Adj . ustt he blades. 2 t he degreet o which
t he t yres,givlngan incorrectpressurereading.
Put on t he ext ernal Reconnect
oanels. t he 3 Towhat ext ent
Wit ht his specif icproblem,perhapst herewas
elect ricalsupply.Testt he machine. 4 t o what ext ent/ t he degreet o which
a f aultwit h t he compressorusedt o inf lat et hat
block of tyres - a differentcompressorto the 5 To what ext ent
one usedt o inf lat et he ot her blocks- and t his I Unit 6 6 quant ií y/ det ermine
gavet he maint enance t echnicianan incorrect 7 assess
1
pressurereadingwheninf lat ingt hat blockof 6a
Needsanalysis( alsocalledrequirement
t yres.lt 's unlikelyt hat a t echnicalproblemwit h analysis/ gap analysis)is f indingout what t he I I t 'sbeingcarvedf roma blockof sandst one.
t he t yres,suchas slow punct uresor leaking requirementare s f or a newproj ectby looking He's overseeingthe logisticsof the project.
valves,wouldoccuron severalt yresat t he same at all t he f act orst hat are involvedand howt hey On a st oneplint h
t ime and causeexact lyt he samelossin pressure will int eract . How t o st op t he slingsf romget t ing
acrossall t he t vres. Budget = how muchmoneyis available,f or t rappedbeneat ht he st at ue,so t heycan be
11a examp| et he budgetf or designing,bui| din€and wit hdrawn,af t ert he st at uehas been lowered
Suggested answers testing a prototypefor a new high-speedtrain ont o t he plint hby crane
Repairsare donet o correctt echnicalproblems -
Capacit y how muchsomet hingneedst o
produceor carry,for example how much power b
after breakdownshaveoccurred dr ill= cut ahole
Maint enanceis donet o preventt echnical an elect ricalcircuitmust be able t o carry
horlzontal = level
problemsf romoccurring. Dimensions= size.f or examolet he diamet erof
bar = a longpieceof met alwit h a circular
t he wheelsof a mount ainbike
broken = repait f or examplea bolt t hat has sect ion
Layout = t he overallshapeof somet hingand
broken vert ical= at 90 degreest o t he ground
t he posit ionsof dif f erentpart srelat ivet o one
=
clogged repair,f or examplea f ilt ert hat is lif t ingeyes - met alringst hat hookscan be f ixed
anot her,f or examplet he layoutof t he main
complet elycloggedand hascauseda t echnical t o f or lif t ing
component sof a car engine.
problem,or maint enance it is slight lyclogged resin = a type of strong adhesive
Looks = what somet hinglookslikef roman
and is ready to be replaced a grab = mechanicaliawst hat grip obj ect st o
aest het icpoint of view f or examplet he look of a
defective = repair,for examplea part that was lif t t hem
car in terms of the shape of its bodywork
incorrect lymanuf act ured and did not work friction = resistanceto sliding when two surfaces
= Performance= similar to capacity,for example
f ault y 1sp3; .f or examplea sensort hat is are pressedtogether
how much power a generatorneedsto produce
givingincorrectmeasurement s
= Regulat ions: lawsand st andardst hat a design c
worn maint enance, f or examplewornt yres
must complywit h,f or examplesaf et yregulat ions I Drill int ot he sidesof t he st at ueand insert
needt o be reolaced
and qualit yst andards horizont albars,whichcould be usedf or
b Timescale= howmucht ime is available,f or lif t ing.
Suggested answers examplet he schedulef or buildinga newairport Drill int ot he t oo of t he st at ueand insert
Similarit ies:part sand f luidsare replacedon vert icalbarswit h lif t ingeyes,set int o t he
2a
a plannedmaint enance programme,part sare st onewit h resin.
I capacit y 3 t imescale
checkedvisuallyf or wear and damage,and t hat Use a grab on t he end of t he cranej ib, t o lif t
2 graphics
t heyare t ight lyf ixed,correct lyaligned/ balanced, the statue by friction.
et c. b I & 2 are rejectedbecauseholes can't be
Main dif f er ence: st andar ds in aviat ion ar e mor e I regard 4 as regards drilledint ot he st at ue[ evenif t heyweref illed
r igor ous 2 t erms 5 regarding afterwards,they would be seen).
3 concerned 3 is rejectedbecausethe statue is too heavy
t Za and wide.
2d 3c 4a 5C 6b c
7j 8e th l0i I I n terms of / As regards/ With regardto / d
Concerning/ Regardingt he dimensions,what couldn't 5 about
b is t he overallsizeof t he module? 3 could 6 anot her
2d 3j 4c 5c 6b alt ernat ively 7 don't
7i 8a th l0e

Answerkey 101
 7b be verypainst akingand t imeconsuming g
The stonemasons' suggestion comparedwit h pre-drilling t hem during 1
Thisis t he oroduct 'sAchillesheel.
Use blocksof ice.The blockswouldact as manuf act uring. J There'sno point reinvent ing t he wheel.
temporaryspacersbetweenthe statueand the 4 Thisshouldbe f easiblef roma st ruct ural 4 We started from the ground up with this new
plint h,t o allowt he slingst o be wit hdrawn,and point of view,but it 'llcost an arm and a leg design.
Wou| dt hen melt ,a| | owin€ t he st at uet o sit down due t o t he needf or addit ionalst eelcolumns. 5 The newdesignis a quant umleap.
on t he plint h. For t hat reason,it is not a f easiblesolut ion. 6 I t hinkt here'sroomf or improvement .
Pot ent ialproblem l: Out doort emperat ures 11 13a
be| owf reezin€Wouldpreventt he ice f rom Suggested answers The f irst mechanicalmousewas improvedby
melt ing.Solut ion:I n t hiscase,blowt orchesor Bet t erqualit ymat erials,f or examplemakinga ref iningit s shape:by addingan addit ional
salt couldbe usedt o melt it . tool from stainlesssteel insteadof mild steel to but t onand a wheelt o t he t op and by revamping
Pot ent ialproblem2: Very hot weat herwould oreventcorrost on. t he wheelmechanismundert he mouse.The
causet he ice t o melt quickly.Solut ion:To Lowerunit cost ,f or exampleusinga single-piece mechanismwas redesignedt o use a ball inst ead
compensat ef or t his, largerblocksof ice could componentinst eadof one t hat needst o be of wheels,alt hougha wheelmechanismwas
simplybe used. assembledfrom severalDarts.to make it faster st ill used insidet he mouse;as t he ball rolled,
8a to oroduce. it causedt he wheelst o t urn. For t he opt ical
Feasibilita meansthe possláilita of doing Make lif eeasierf or user,f or exampledesigning mouse,t he designerscomplet elyret houghtt he
something. a simplercont rolpanelt hat 'squickerand easier undersideof t he mouse.lnst eadof usinga ball,
to use, or maintenance-free componentssuch as they used optical sensors.They also redesigned
9a bearingsthat don't need lubricatingregularly. the connectionbetweenthe mouseand the
I For t he bolt st hat will be usedt o f ix t he Examplesof ot her point st hat couldbe added: comput er,makingit wirelessinst eadof havinga
beamst o t he wall make productsfunctionmore effectively,make wire.For t he t ouchpad,t he designerswent back
2 Coredrilledholesare f ormedaf t ert he t hem saf er,maket hem last longer,maket hem to the drawingboard and inventeda new system
concret ewallshavebeencast , usinga more robust (stronger). usin€a sensit ivesurf ace.
diamonddrill. Pref ormedholesare f ormedby
put t ingplast ict ubesint ot he wallswhilet he t2a
concret eis beingpoured. Suggested answers I Unit 7
3 Spacearoundt he bolt s,in t he holes,t o allow cables/ connections: lmprovethe user interfaceby
1
their position to be ad.iusted makingcableseasiert o connectand disconnect ;
Workingwit h machinest hat havecut t ingwheels
4 Posit ioningt he holespreciselyor t heywon't reduceenvironment al impactby makingcables
and blades;work at a high levelwheret here'sa
mat chwit h t he beams onlyf rom recyclablemat erials.
risk of f alling;work in excavat ionsand t unnels
5 Timeand cost case: lmproveaestheticsby offeringa rangeof wheret hereis a risk of collapseor dangerous
colours;makemanuf act uring easierby making gases; lifting heavyobjectswith craneswhere
b t he casef roma smallernumberof component s.
See audioscript6.5 on page9l there is a risk of fallingobjects; processesthat
inldtonercartridges:lmprovethe user interface
use high-pressurevesselsand hoses/ pipeswhere
d by makingcart ridgeseasiert o removeand
- makecart ridgesbigger t hereis a risk of explosion;workingwit h high-
I The plast ict ubesare cheapt o buy and quick replace;consumables
volt ageelect ricalcircuit swheret hereis a risk
t o put in. so t heylast longerand needt o be replacedless processest hat usef lammable
of elect rocut ion;
2 lt's slow. often.
pape! : lmprovereliabilit yby ref iningmechanisms liquidsand gaseswheret hereis a risk of f ire or
3 Wit hin20mm exolosion.
4 Wt hi n l omm to help preventpaper blockages;improveoutput
5 That t hey'renot posit ionedaccurat ely speed by makingthe paper flow faster. 2a
6 The t olerance powe-r:Reduceenvironmentalimpact by having Suggested answers
t he print erswit chof f aut omat ically
whennot in I hazardoussubst ances:dangerousmat erials,
e use. for exampleacid, asbestos;PPE: protective
2 peanut sO software:lmprovethe user interfaceby making clot hingand accessories, f or example
3 painst akingO the softwareeasier to use. protectivegloves,safetyglasses
4 perf ect lyO 2 harmf ul;dangeroust o healt h,f or example
5 st ret chingO b
chemicalst hat causeskin rashes;f umes:
6 w ayo I t ems2 and 7
vapour or smoke,for examplefrom
7 borderlineO c liquidchemicalst hat evaporat eat room
8 t al l O I No. The existingdesign has provedto be t emperat ure; asohyxiat ionhazards:
9 forever6 effective.The companydoesn't havethe danger of suffocation,for exampledue to
' 10
l eg6 resourcesto make fundamentalchangesto concent rat ions of carbondioxide/ lackof
e the productionprocess. oxygen
'| 2 Once 3 fire/ exolosionhazards:substancesthat could
o 20 30 4@ so 66
3 The softwarehas been a maior weaknessof burn or explodeif exposedt o nakedf lames
10 t he exist ingmodel. or sparks,f or examplepet roleumproduct s,
su€
gested answers 4 - it needst o be simplert o use
Signif icant ly but ane/ propane gas,alcoho
I A hammer-act ion drill wouldnot be suit able 4 guards;prot ect iveshieldsarounddangerous
for reinforcedconcrete,as there'sno way it d machinepart s,f or examplet he guardsover
coulddrill t hrought he st eel reinf orcing bars. 2 inventagain t he t opsof circularsaw blades
Also, t he diamet erof t he holeswouldbe t oo 3 improvet he det ails
5 guardrails:railsat waist levelt o prevent
great t o drill usingan ordinarydrill bit . This 4 improveoverall peoplef romf alling,f or examplealongt he
is def init elynot a f easiblesolut ion. 5 t hi nkagai n edgesof high-levelwalkwaysand platforms;
2 Thiscouldbe a f easiblesolut ion.However, 6 stay (thesame) emersencyexits: doors to allow rapid escape/
dependingon t he designof t he endsof t he e evacuation,for examplefire exits
beams, it might be difficult to get accessto 2 groundup 6 elect ricalinst allat ions:
sit uat ionsinvolving
the holesafter the beamswere fitted. lt'll be 3 room;improvement contact with exoosed electricalconductors
quit ea painst aking j ob, as t he beamsmight 4 Achillesheel suchas elect ricalmaint enance or work
covert he holes,makingit impossiblet o get 5 back;drawingboard operat ionsc| oset o hi€h -voI t a€e cabI es
cementint ot hem. 6 quant umleap 7 noisehazards:loud noiset hat can damage
5 This isn't reallyf easible,as t he posit ionsof 7 scratch hearing,f or exampleloud machines
t he ho| esmight be in unsuit áb| e posit ions
on the beams, for examplevery close to the f b
edgesof plat es.Thiswouldnot be accept able b 4 c5 d6 e2: 7 f3 b7 cl d3
in t ermsof st ruct uralst rengt h.Also, drilling
holest hroughst eel beamson sit ewould

102 Answerkey

I
c t wo met resabovet he ground,scaf f oldingshould
2e 5b 4C 5f 6a
7h 8c
d and t heyare f ullymaint ainedt o aviat ion
ear prot ect ion,gloves,eyeprot ect ion,mask
e volt ageelect ricalequipment
ested answers
sug€
1 This is a confinedspace.You need to test the
air using a CO2 detector.
2 Thisis a corrosivesubst ance.You needt o
wear glovesand eye prot ect ion,and a mask
for orotectionfrom the fumes.
3 This makessDarksand is a noisehazard.You
need to wear eye protection,ear protection
and gloves.
4 This is a harmf ulsubst ance.Youneedt o wear
gloves,and if t here'sa risk of splashing,eye
orot ect ion.
3a
Suggested answers
I An analysis/ predict ionof t he dangers
involvedin a workingoperat ion
2 A saf eworkingprocedure/ met hod
3 Some maint enance work,whichincludes
welding,is goingt o be carriedout in t he
bot t omsof somelargegrainsilos( silo =
storagetank for solid substances/ powders)
4 Cet t inginsidet he silos
5 See audioscript7.2 on page9l
b
I Risk of someonef alling;risk of gas bot t les
f allingon someone
2 COr; f umesf rom met al;dust ( explosion
hazard)
c
I Access hazards:externa|stáircaseand
internal ladder for safe accessfor workers,
lowerbot t lesint osilo wit ha rooeand make
sure no workersare underneat hin silo.
Confined space hazards:use a CO, detector,
use an air extractor.
An air ext ract orcouldblowdust int ot he air
and maket he problemworse.
4 6c
One of the main dangersis from petrol fumes
insidet he t ank,as t here'sa risk of explosion
due t o sparksand f lames.The workerswill have
to be carefulthat there'sno oetrol inside the
t ank.The pet rolwill havet o be drainedand t he
insidewill needt o be washedout wit hwat erand
det ergentThe. openingcan t hen be f lame-cut
t hrought he st eelwall of t he t ank usingan oxy-
acet ylenet orch.PPE requiredf or t hisj ob is eye
protection(a weldingmask),glovesand heavy
overallsto protect the worker from molten metal.
t he cut t ingcan be donewit h an
Alt ernat ively,
angle-grinder. To be saf e,t he workerusingt he
grinderwill needt o wear eye prot ect ion,ear
protection,glovesand overalls.When welding
t he new pipe,t he welderwill needt o wear eye
prot ect ion( aweldingmask) ,glovesand overalls.
lf arc weldingis usedand t hereare ot her people
workingnearbyor passingby,screensshould
be placed around the welder to protect other
peoples'eyesfrom flashes.When shot-blasting,
t he main dangersare t o t he eyes,and f rom noise
and dust .Screensshouldbe placedaroundt he
area and workersshould wear eye protection,
ear protection,dust masks, glovesand overalls.
Beforepainting,it's important to read the
safetydocumentationprovidedwith the paint,
as PPE may be required- f or example,gloves,
eye protectionand possibly masks to protect
workersfrom hazardousfumes.During all the
operat ions,if any work is carriedout moret han
2 The engineerswear hot suit st hat channel
be orovidedwit h handrails.as t hereis a risk of t he elect ricit yand havea f ireproofliningt o
f alling( workersshouldnot st andon ladderswhile prot ectagainstheat .
working)Also,
. all workersshouldwear hardhat s. 3 on| y t win-en€inehelicopt ersare used
5a regulat ions.
I Maint enancework on low-volt age and high-
8
2 Changingf ault yor worn-outelect ricalpart s, Regulat ionsare laws;t heyare compulsory.For
suchas mot ors;repairinglooseconnect sor example,if companiesbreach( break)saf et y
damagedwires t heycan be f ined ( givenf inancial
regulat ions,
penalt ies)and, in seriouscases,managerswho
b are responsiblef or breachesof regulat ionscan
Suggested answers be €iven prisonsent ences.St andards,suchas
I A placewherea seriousdangeris present qualit yand designst andards,are somet imes
2 A writ t enf ormgivingpermissiont o work in a compulsory, f or examplet he designand
restrictedarea manufactureof motorcyclehelmetsor car tyres.
5 The personresponsiblef or elect ricalsaf et y Somet imes,however,t heyare opt ional,f or
f or t he wholeplant ,and t he only person exampleI SOqualit yassurance.
aut horisedt o issueoermit st o work
4 The procedureof havinga singlekey t o 9a
swit chboards, ensuringonly one personhas Suggested answers
accesst o swit chgearat any givent ime Risk of f ire/ explosion - no smoking,t he provlsion
equipmentand t raining.Dangerof
of f ire-f ight ing
c peoplef allingf romt all st ruct uresand I nt owat er
I at all t imes - handrailsrequiredt o giveedge prot ect ionand
shouldanvone
2 Underno circumst ances lif e.iacketneed
s t o be wornin cert ainsit uat ions.
3 everysinglet ime Risk of skin irrit at ionsf rom pet roleumproduct s
4 j ust a single - glovesand overallsrequired.Risk of air crashes
5 it 'svit al as helicopt ersland and t ake of f f rom plat f orms
d - specialt rainingrequiredf or pilot sand special
I more 3 less precautionsneededfor safe operation of
2 more 4 more helidecks.
e b
2 t oalt est t he circuitis
lt 'scrucial/ essent ial/ vit I Specificsafety regulations
isolat ed. 2 Compulsorypersonalprot ect iveequipment ;
3 The alarmshouldbe reseteverysinglet ime prohibit edact ivit ies,suchas smoking
you start the system. 3 That t he obligat ionsare legal requirement s
to check that the
4 lt's crucial/ essential/ vital c
cableis not damagecl. compursory 6 legislat ion
5 lt 'scrucial/ essent ial/ vit al you shouldonly
t hat 3 prohibit ed 7 contravene
st orenon-f lammable mat erialsin t hiszone. requirement s 8 complywit h
6 Underno circumst ances shouldanyoneent er 5 st ipulat ed
t he rest rict edareawit houtoermission.
7 Beforepressurisingthe system,everysingle d
connect ionmust be t ight . 2 permit t ed
3 complywit h
4 st ipulat ed
Suggested answers 5 contravene
I lt 'sessent ialt hat t he crewobt aininf ormat ion 6 legislat ion;requirement s;
obligat ions
on weat hercondit ions.lt 'scrucialt hat pilot s 7 compursory
are highlyt rainedand experienced.lt 'svit al
t hat a t ensionreleasemechanismis in place. 10a
2 Under no circumst ances shouldooerat ives 2 st ipulat ed 5 complywit h
work on t he linewit houtwearinghot suit s 3 compulsory 6 requirement s
and eye prot ect ion.lt 'svit alt hat t he creware 4 legislat ion 7 obligat ions
highlyt rained.
b
5 The cablesand plat f ormmust be checked
I to give the ground crew accessto all parts of
everysinglet imet heyare used.lt 'svit alt hat
t he helicopt er
t win-engine helicopt ers are usedand t hese
2 t o avoidrisk of collisionsduringt akeof f /
must be maint ainedt o t he highestst andard
l andi ng
at all t imes.
3 t o avoidrisk of collisionsduringt akeof f /
Í l andi ng
Beforestartingwork, it's vital to isolatethe 4 to tie down parked helicopters
circuitat t he swit chboard. Then,circuit sshould
be systematicallytested to be I 00o/ osure that
t2
I Saf et ywarnings,operat ingprecaut ions f or
t here'sno current .Duringwork,it 'sessent ial
machinesand maint enance inst ruct ions
on
f ully.And it 'scrucialt o
t o t ight enconnect ions
machines
ensuret hat no insulat ionis damaged.Tof inish,
2 Effectivenoticesand instructionsare as
all t he wiresshouldbe checked- underno
short as possible,use clear language,and
circumst ances shouldt herebe any loosewires.
emphasiseimport antpoint s,f or example
Thent he circuitshouldbe syst emat ically t est ed.
dangers.
7d
13a
I Collisionswit ht he lineare a hazard,so
Coulddo bot h
it 'sessent ialt o havedet ailedweat her h
Coulddamaget he machine
inf ormat ion,especiallywinddirect ionand
c Couldinj ureworkers
soeed.lt 'sessent ialt hat t he cablehasa
o Coulddamaget he machine
tension releasesystemin case of snagging.
e Coulddo bot h
Answerkey 103
b d c
I danger 2 cont rol 5 det ect s;t riggers consumpt ion 7 f requency
2 import ant 3 senses 6 set off 3 cumul at i ve 8 i nput
4 reading 7 regulat e 4 rat e 9 out put
14a
5 t i mescal e l 0 opt i mum
I Becauseit cont ainselect ricaleouiDmentand e
o cycle
couldcauseelect rocut ion Suggested answers
'|
2 A carbondioxideext inguisher; carbon Presencedet ect orsoick uo movementand 7a
dioxidegas does not conductelect ricit y can act ivat elight swit ches. Suggested answers
3 Theyare f or lif t ingt he machine. 2 Smokedet ect orssensesmokeand t rigger We needa met er/ sensor t o measure:t he rat e
4 The machinecouldbe damagedby t he lif t ing f ire alarms. of f lowof wat erat t he input point ;t he wat er
f orce,and if lif t edf romanchorpoint st hat are 3 Thermost at can s regulat eroomt emperat ure t emperat ureat t he input point ;t he rat eof f low
not secure,couldobviouslybe droppedf rom by cont rollingelect ricconvect orheat ers. of gas at t he input point ;t he t emperat ureof
a heightas a result . 4 Pressureplat escan det ectt he weightof a t he gas burner;t he wat ert emperat ureinside
5 Becauseit coulddescend,and inj uret he personand set of f int ruderalarms. t he vessel;t he levelof wat erinsidet he vessel;
personcleaningt he machine t he st eampressureinsidet he vessel;t he st eam
3a
6 Theremay be sharp met alof f -cut sbelowt he t emperat ureinsidet he vessel;t he st eam
I That t he greenat t it udeis sharedby all t he
bladewhichcouldcut t he personcleaning t emperat ureat t he out put point ;t he st eam
staff,so they would take care to switchoff pressureat t he out put point ;and rat eof f lowof
t he machine.S/ heneedst o wear sloves.
light set c. and so t hereis no needt o cont rol
st eamat t he out put point .
b everyt hingaut omat ically
I sp: active (Youshould do it) 2 lnst eadof aut omat ingeveryt hing, t heywould b
wr: passive(lt should be done) haveold-f ashioned manualcont rols. Suggested answers
2 sp: contractions(shouldn't,it's) 5 The advant ageof operat ingt he light s,et c. The cumulat iveconsumpt ionof wat erand gas;
Wr:Wordpairs Writtenin Í u| (should
| not, it is) manuallyis t hat t here'sno needt o supplyall t he cumulat iveout putof st eam;t he peak rat es
5 lf ( sp) : int heevent of ( wr) ; because( sp)= t he aut omat edcont rolswit h elect ricit y.
The of consumpt ionf or wat erand gas; peak st eam
os (wr);so (sp) : therefore(wr);can/ could moneysavedby not havingt o buy all t he out put ;t he f requencyof gas use / f iringof t he
[ sp) = moU [ wr] hi-t echgadget scouldbe spenton plant ing burner;t he dif f erent ialbet weenwat erinput
t rees,f or example. t emperat ureand wat ert emperat ureinsldet he
15a
bet weenst eampressure
vessel;t he dif f erent ial
Suggested answers 4
insidet he vesseland in t he out put pipe;t he
Objects should not be placed in front of the Suggested answers
dif f erent ial
bet weenst eamt emperat ureinslde
air inlet. The inlet grille should be kept free A t hermost atmeasuresand cont rolst he
t he vesseland in t he out put pipe.
from obstructions. and should be cleoned wat ert emoerat urein a boiler.and t hereis
regularlg. ln the event of damage to the inlet also somet imesa pressuresensorf or saf et y. 8a
grille, the blower must be stopped immediatelA. A t hermost atmeasuresand cont rolsroom See audioscript8.5 on page92
Serious harm mag be caused bA foreign bodies t emperat urein a heat ingsyst em.A ref rigerat or
b
enteringthe duct, os the unit contoinsprecision- also has a t hermost att o monit orand cont rol
1 t emperat ure
engineeredparts revolvingat speed, and is t he t emperat ureand a lightt hat is act ivat ed
2 light levels
therefore highlA susceptible to damoge. by t he door opening.Washingmachineshave
3 day of t he week
Before starting the blower, it is important to t hermost at st o cont rolt he t emperat ureof t he
4 mealt imes
ensurethat the externol ventsat the end of wat erinsidet he machine.The t imeof t he wash
5 commercialbreakson TV
the air-intake duct ore open. When opening cycleis also cont rolled.The act ionof t he drum is
the vents, the adjusting handle should be fullg linkedt o a saf et ydevicet hat prevent st he door c
extended. When closing the vents, the handle f r ombei ngopenedWhi | tehe dr umi s spi nni n€' I increase
should be turned and allowed to return under 2 increases;decreases
5a
the force of the spring. The handle should 3 rise
1e 2b 3a 4d 5c
not be pushed, as this mag strain the spring 4 rises
mechanism, and therefore result in damage. b 5 f alls
I pressuremeasurementf ,or example 6 rise;f all
I Unit 8 monit oringt he pressureof air insidea
d
comoressedair hose
7 I Becausemaximumcapacit yis equivalent
2 t emperat uremeasurementf ,or example
An aut omat edsyst emcan f unct ion t o peakdemand,t hereis signif icantspare
measuringt he t emperat ureof wat erin a
aut onomously, wit houthumancont rol.A manual capacit yduringof f -peakperiods.
boiler
syst emrequireshumancont rol.A Building 2 Beingable t o generat epowerduringof f -peak
3 f low f or examplemonit oringt he amountof periodsand st oreit f or peak periods
ManagementSyst emis a cent ralisedcomput er f uelf l ow i ngal onga f uelpi pei n an engi ne
syst emt hat monit orsand cont rolsa Wideran€e 3 Becauseelect ricalchargeis ext remely
4 levelmeasurementf ,or examplemonit oring
of f unct ionsin a largebuilding,suchas t he light s, dif f icultt o st orein largeamount s.
t he levelof f uel in a f uelt anf .
heat ing,air-condit ioning,smokedet ect ors,f ire 5 processrecorders,f or examplemonit oring e
alarms,lif t sand securit ysyst ems. t he rej ect ed( broken)it emsin a product ion z É 3d 4a 5b 6h
2a process I Í 8e
I lt 'sa verygreen/ environment ally orient at ed 6a Í
company. a A blockagein a pipecausinga build-upof Suggested answer
2 Energysavingwill be an import ant Dressure Thereis a band of f luct uat ionbet ween
considerat ion in t he design. b A saf et yvalveand a warningsyst em approximat ely 2,700 and 5,000 Megawat t s.
3 Sensorst hat det ectt he presenceof people t riggeredby a pressuredif f erent ial Peakdemandoccurseachday at about 8.00
4 He want st o presentt wo dif f erentdesign c A syst emf or monit oringgas consumpt ion pm, whent hereis a verybrief blip.The graph
opt ionst o t he client .He describesopt ionone d Cumulat iveconsumpt ion. t he rat eof showsa t rougheach night ,whendemandf alls
as a building with maximum automation. consumpt ionat dif f erentpoint sin t ime,and signif icant ly.At t he weekend,t he rangeof
b t he f requencyof peaksin consumpt ion f luct uat ionis smallert han it is duringt he week.
1,/ 2,/ 3x 4,/ e A t imescale Fluct uat ions in demandare cont inual- t hereare
f An exot hermicreact ion no ooint swheredemandremainsat t he same ,
c g The t emperat ureof gas at t he input point , levelcont inuously f or a longperiodof t ime.
2 reading 4 det ect ;pick up and at t he out outooint
3 regulat e 5 set off; trigger h The opt imuminputt emperat ure f or t he gas 9a
2 peakdemand 5 f luct uat ions
b 5 cont inual 6 range
2C 3a 4t 5c 6d 4 bl l ps
tf 8j 9b l0 e

104 Answerkey
b sized prototypes.The main disadvantage t est scan t hen be carriedout on t he cont ainer
I
Operating on a start-run-stop-wait basis is t hat t heir behaviourduringt est scannot and def ormablest ruct ureby simulat ingt his
Moment aryblipsin demand perfectlysimulatethat of a fulFsize knownlandingspeed.I nit iallyt herewill be no
3 Frequencyof the AC (alternatingcurrent) prototype. needt o use t he parachut e.as t he cont ainercan
supply 3 The mainadvant ageof t his approachis be allowedto freefallfrom the crane - the droD
A slightdrop in f requencyindicat est hat t hat t est sare t ot allyrealist ic.The main heightbeingset so t hat t he vert icallanding
power stationsare workingat full capacity. disadvantageis that full-scaleprototypescan speedis t he sameas t hat reachedwit h a
St art -upof appliancesis delayedslight lyby be expensivet o buildand t est . parachut e.lnit ially,reduced-scale, f or example
holdingt he applianceon st andby half -size,mock-upscouldbe t est ed.Thenf ull-
2a
scalet est scan be carriedout . The cont ainer
10a Comput at ional FluidDynamics( CFD)is comput er
sof t wareusedt o assistin aerodynamic designcan t hen be t est edwit ht he parachut e
I Demandf or elect ricit yf luct uat es,
and design.lt
modelst he f lowof air over surf aces,suchas car by droppingit f romt he crane.Thiswill help t o
powerst at ionsneedt o be able t o copewit h
simulat et he ef f ect sof t he wind blowingt he
peak demand( at t he t op of t he rangeof bodyworkor t he f uselageand wingsof aircraf t .
parachut eand cont ainer,t husgenerat inga
. problemis t hat t he peak
f luct uat ion)The Virt ualt est ingwit h CFD sof t wareis t ypically
horizont al[ aswell as vert ical)landingspeed.
only last sf or a very brief periodeachday, donein t he earlyst agesof t he designprocess.
Wnd t unnelsequippedwit h rollingroadsallow Finally,f or t he acid t est , real lif et rial runscan be
meaningt hat powerst at ionshavea lot of
carriedout usin€an aircraf tt o Va| idat et he t est s.
generat ingcapacit ywhich,most of t he t ime, reduced-scale modelsof vehiclesor f ull-size
is not used.Theref ore,elect riccompaniest ry vehiclest o be t est ed.Air is blownt hrought he 4a
t o smoot hdemand- usingsparecapacit y tunnel by powerfulfansto createairflowsof Suggested answers
duringdemandt roughs[ at night )t o st oreup dif f erentvelocit ieswhichsimulat et he vehicle I Humanit arianaid, f or examplef oodand
energy,whichis t hen usedt he next day when travellingat differentspeeds.The airflowover medicine,and milit aryequipmentare of t en
demandpeaks. t he surf acesof t he vehicleis highlight edwit h airdropped,as t heyf requent lyneedt o be
st reamsof smoke,so t hat it can be analysed. deliveredt o remot elocat ionswit h limit ed
11a A ro| | in€road is ef f ect ive|ay conveyorbe| t t ransportlinks.
I A seniormanager whichmovesbeneat ht he st at ionaryvehicle 2 The main advant ageis t hat planesdo not
2 A reviewof t he company's organisat ion
and at t he samespeedas t he airf low,makingt he need to land and take off again to drop
f acilit ies wheelst urn.Thisallowsengineerst o analyse of f cargo,savingt ime and f uel.The main
3 Opt imisingef t iciency
/ t he useof engineers' t he ef f ect sof t he spinningwheelson t he airf low. disadvantageis the difficultyof protecting
skills Fieldt est ingref erst o t est ingin real condit ions. cargo from impact damage.
b For aerodynamic t est ingof a vehicle,t his might
involvedrivingt he vehicleat dif f erentspeedson b
I c 2b 3a
a circuitor runway. I decrease- As longas t he cont ainerremains
c in t he air, it s airspeed( it sspeedrelat ivet o
'| A: 50o/ o B: 50o/ o b t he movingair in t he at mosphere)will keep
2 A: 7 Oo/ o B: 3 Oo/ o I Usinga scalemodelor a f ull-sizemock-up decreasingunt ilit hasan airspeedof zero
3 A: l0o/ o B: 90o/ o 2 To simulat et he t urbulencecausedby wheels - unt il it is t ravellingat t he samespeedand
whent hey'respinning in t he samedirect ionas t he wind.Theref ore,
d 3 Whet heror not t he wheelsare most ly if t hereis a cert ainamountof wind,t he
2 off the top of my head enclosedby the bodywork cont ainerwill havea degreeof groundspeed
3 pr et t y much 4 Theyare not a hundredpercentreliable;t he ( horizont al speedrelat ivet o t he ground) as,
nowner e near dat a needst o be validat edby f ull-scalet est s it moveswit h t he wind. lf t he aircraf tis f lying
5 r oughly / somewher e in t he r egion of in real condit ions. int ot he wind ( int he opposit edirect iont o t he
6 r oughly / somewher e in t he r egion of 5 Changeableweat hermakesit dif f icultt o do Wind)Whenit dropst he cont áiner,and if t he
12a back-to-backtesting cont ainerremainsin t he air longenough,t he
IT c cont ainerwill slowdown unt il it moment arily
2T 2 mocK-up has a groundspeedof zero. However,if it
3 F - they print very few copies 3 validat e
remainsin t he air beyondt his point ,it s
groundspeedwill t hen begint o increase
b acid t est ;t ried-and-t est ed; t rial run
5 back-t o-back againin t he opposit edirect iont o t he aircraf t ,
I roughly t est ing;in t he f ield
as it is blownbackwardsby t he wind.
wellover d 2 higher- The cont ainer's vert icalspeedwill
5 a good b tried-and-tested keepincreasingunt il,if it remainsin t he air
4 t he vast maiorit y c in t he f ield long enough, it reachesterminalvelocit|
5 next t o not hing d virt ual - t he point at whichaerodynamic drag [ air
c e t he acid t est resistance)preventsit from travellingany
Pretty much f back-t o-back t est ing faster.
3 Nowherenear g validat e 3 and 4 Thiswill dependon t he shapeof t he
4 Roughly/ somewherein t he regionof h t rial run cont ainerand t he dist ribut ionof weight
c
Well over w i t hi ni t .
e
6 Next t o not hing 2e 4d 6a 8b loc c
7 Rough| y/ somewherein t he regionoÍ They agreeon the first two points (horizontal
I the vast majority 3 speeddecreasesand vert icalspeed increases) .
First ,t est ingof t he parachut ecouldbe done
Theydisagreeon t he last t wo point s( which
usinga weiehtt o simulat et he massof t he
I Unit 9 cont ainer.The Wei€h t shou| dbe so| idand
impactis worse,and what will happenon t he
groundwit ha verylow-alt it udedrop) .
1 unbreakable, f or examplea blockof st eel,t o
Suggested answers allow several parachutesystemsto be tested 5a
I Usingsof t waret o simulat ereal-lif esit uat ions. back-t o-back wit houtdest royingt he cont ainer I t heoret ically 4 presumably
The mainadvant ageof t hist echniqueis t hat eacht ime.For t est s,t he weightand parachut e 2 assuming 5 arguably
testing is often faster and easier to undertake could be dropped from a raised platform 3 surely
comparedwit h real-lif et est ing.Variables at t achedt o a crane.I nit ially,t he aim of t hese
t est swill be t o developa parachut esyst emt hat b
can also be changedeasily.The main
I Presumably 4 Arguably
disadvant age is t he lowerdegreeof realism. will slowt he cont ainer's f all as muchas oossible
2 Test ingsmallmodelsof designs.The main t o minimiset he vert icallandingspeed.Once 2 Assuming 5 Surely
parachut e 3 Theoret ically
advant ageof t his approachis t hat models t he syst emhas beendeveloped,and
are quickerand cheapert o buildt hanf ull- t he vert icallandingspeedhas beendet ermined,

Answerkey 105
 c b I Unit 10
Agree: Sure; Absolutely;True;Of course I t houghUpredict ed
Other phrases; I totally/ completelyagree didn't expect/ predict 1a
Disagree:I 'm not so sure ...; I 'm not convinced; 3 it was muchbet t ert han we had hooed Suggested answers
Not necessarily I Theyuse t he kinet icenergy,movementof t he
9a wind, to generateelectricity.
Ot her phrases:I 'mnot sure I agree;I disagree;
See audioscript9.4 on page94 2 Advantage:They use a renewable,non-
I t ot allydisagree
b pollut ingenergysourcet hat is readily
d available.
Theyput a plast icbeaker,wit hwat erinsideit ,
Suggested answers Disadvantages:The wind is not constant,so
onto the top of the bottle which made it front-
I An aircraf t sgroundspeedis it s speedrelat ive wind t urbinescannotf unct ionall t he t ime.
heavvand increasedit s inert ia.
to the ground. lts airspeed is the speed it Theyalso havea maior visualimpactdue t o
passest hrought he air. Becauseof t he wind, c their height and size,and are relativelynoisy.
t he air is usuallymoving.Theref ore,if an I accordingt o plan 3 Locat ionsexposedt o t he wind,suchas high
aircraf tis f lyingint ot he wind,it s airspeed 2 a treat ground,flat areas and coastal areas
will be highert han it s groundspeed.lf it has
t he wind behindit , it s airsoeedwill be lower 10b b
t han it s groundspeed. 9.5on page94
Seeaudioscript Suggested answers
2 Zero C The bladest urn due t o t he air f lowgenerat ed
3 The aircraft would need to fly into the practrce 5 inadequat e by t he wind.To f unct ion,t heyneedt o have
wind,and t he wind soeedwouldneedt o be 3 more 6 practical a speciallydesignedaerodynamicprof ile.
very high,highert han t he minimumspeed tess They must also be stiff,to avoid flexing and
requiredfor the aircraft to fly. consequent ly hit t ingt he t ower,and relat ively
4 lt shouldf ly int ot he wind so t hat t he wind 72 light t o allowt hemt o t urn easily.
helpst he cont ainert o slowdown. Suggested answeE The tower must be rigid, to resist the bending
5 Providedt he aircraf tf liesint ot he wind, I Possiblecauses:the tyre is inadequately forcegeneratedby the pressureof the wind. lt
higherwind speedwill resultin t he cont ainer inf lat edor punct ured must also havea relativelynarrowprofile,to
havinga lowergroundspeedon landing. Possibleeffects:the tyre could blow out minimiset he aerodynamicef f ectit hason t he
(explode)/ the tyre will wear rapidly / become blades.Whena bladeis in t he low posit ion,
However,above a certain wind speed, the
cont ainerwill reachzerogroundspeed, t hen damaged. alignedwith the tower,the pressureof the wind
start to travel in the opposite direction. 2 Possiblecauses:a surgein t he powersupply, on t he bladeis reduced,reducingef f ect iveness,
Beyondt his point ,evenhigherwind speeds t oo muchpowerbeingdemanded,a short and causingt orsionin t he t urbinedue t o
will resultin a highergroundspeedin t he circuit pressureon t he higherand lower
dif f erent ial
opposit edirect ion. Possibleef f ect a
: circuitbreakerbeing blades.
triggered,overheatingand damageto The t urbinegenerat eselect ricit yf romt he act ion
6b conduct orsand component s of spinning.To functioneffectively,it needsto
Suggested answers 3 Posslblecause:t hereis inadequat epaint minimisef rict ion.lt must also resistt he severe
I The cont ainercould be f lat wit h a low cent re cover to protect the hull weat herwhichis commonin t he areaswhere
of gravit yso t hat it s| idesalon€t he ground, Possibleeffect:the hull will degraderapidly / windt urbinesare locat ed.
or perhapssphericalwit h a def ormable couldf ail
protectivestructurewhich allowsit to roll 2a
alongt he ground. 13a I The tower
2 The cont ainercouldbe t all, f or examplea A mist akewit h a chickengun has madeclever, 2 Corrosiondue to the presenceof saltwater
cylinder shape,with a deformableprotective t echnicalpeoplelook likef ools. 3 Steel and reinforcedconcrete
structureat its base to absorb the vertical 4 Becausein reinforced-concrete coastal
b
impact . defences,the steel reinforcementis often
I To fire dead chickensin order to test aircraft
exposed,due t o erosion,and rust sas a result
7a enginesand windshlelds f or t heir resist ance
5 That j ust becausean inst allat ionrequires
Expect at ionsare what you predict ,f or example to bird strikes
regularmaint enance, t hat doesn'tnecessarily
how you t hink a vehicleprot ot ypewill behave Becauseit wasa high-speed t rainand bird
meanit 'sunreliable
whenit 'st est edin a wind t unnel.Result sare st rlkeswerea pot ent ialdanger
6 A comoarisonof the differencebetweenthe
what act uallyhappens,f or examplehowt he 3 The chickenbroket hroughbot h t he
constructioncost of a reinforcedconcrete
prot ot ypeact uallybehavesin t he wind t unnel, windshieldand t he backof t he driver's
tower and the cost of repaintinga steel tower
based on the completedtest. comoart ment .
over the period of a concretetower'slifespan
b c
They used a frozenchicken.
b
Trialand error meanstesting ideas to see what lb 2e 3c 4a 5f
happens.The expressionimpliest hat t he t est ing d 6d
processis not very scientific,and is simply based 2 becauseof; due to; owingto
on guesswork. c
3 result of
Unfamiliar territorUmeansan unknownsubiect, 2 inappropriat e6 inef f icient
4 becauseof
an areawheresomeonelacksexoerience. inconsist ent 7 unreliable
5 caused
On o steep learning curve meanslearning 4 uneconomical8 insuf f icient
6 consequent ly
rapid| y,of t enas a resu| tof bein€put in an 5 ineffective 9 unsuit able
unf amiliarsit uat ionwit houtt he necessarv e
.| d
knowledgeor experience. becauseof / due to / owin€to
See audioscript10.I on page 94
2 caused;consequent ly
c 3 becauseof / due to / owingto: resultedin; 3a
See audioscript9.3 on pages93 and 94 consequently 2 suit able 5 inef f icient
8a 3 effective 6 insuf f icienUinadequat e
14a
I Half f ull. 4 inconsist ent 7 unreliable
See audioscript9.6 on page94
2 The openingin t he bot t lewasj ust slight ly
bigger than the fitting at the end of the
pump, so there was quite a good seal.
3 Ouite powerful,more powerfulthan expected
4 The bot t let umbledover in t he air - it
wouldn'tf ly st raight .

106 Answer key

I
I

b than out-of-townairoorts. Planesalso tend to be f

Suggested answers delayed more often than trains, due to air traftic 2 caoable 6 unable
l Wind t urbinesare ext reme| yeí f icientThey. congestionat airports. Largeaircraft cannot take 3 able 7 incapable
use a free, renewablesourceof energy. of f and land immediat elyaf t erone anot herdue 4 withstand 8 exceeded
They'realso ext remelyreliable,requiringvery to the need for separationdistancesfor safety, 5 subjectedto
lit t lemaint enance. and t o allowair t urbulencet imet o clearalong
the runwayafter each takeoffand landing.Also, 9a
Clearly,wind t urbinesneedwindt o
checkingin f or f light st akeslongert han boarding Key information and questions
but wind condit ionsare
f unct ionef f ect ively
trains. For these reasons,overalliourney times The supersonicrocket sled ride for tourists is to
inconsist entFor . t his reason,a windt urbine
on high-speed t rainscan be as short as, or be locatedthe Australian desert. lt is to carry a
is a supplement ary sourceof energy.lt will
shorter than those on olanesover distancesof pilot and two passengers.lt must avoid extremes
still be necessaryto havea permanentsupply
500 km t o I , 500 km. of C force under accelerationand deceleration
of electricity.However,in suitable locations, ( max2 G) . Max t rack lengt hl6 km. ls it f easible
wind turbinescan work effectivelyfor a b t o havej ust l0 km of t rack?ls t hat enough
significantpercentageof time. I Speed,convenience, ef f iclencyand safety margin?ls the sled to havesteel skids or
The most suit ablesit esare exposed environment al-f riendliness wheels?Propulsionwill be by rocketor j et engine
locations.Sites locatedon the toos of hills. 2 To find the best way of transportingpeople ( bein€| ookedint o by someonee| se) .Braking
on t he windwardslopesof hills,near t he 3 That high-speed elect rict rainsare t he most system- not a water brake, as there is too much
coast ,or on f lat ,open land are t he most efficientsolution C force; possibly a friction system (againstrails),
suit able.
c an aerodynamicsyst em( f lapsor parachut es) ,
To work effectively,wind turbinesshould
I crit erion reverseenginet hrustsyst emor a combinat ion
be located awayfrom featuresthat can
2 factor of these.
obst ructt he wind,suchas buildingsor t rees.
Obstructionscan havea negativeeffect if 3 variable
t heyare locat edin f ront of t he t urbine,and 6a
also if t heyare relat ivelyclosebehindit . Most TCVSreach 300 km/ h.Newer modelsrun
4b at 320 km/ hon cert aint racks.Most t rainsare
10.2on page94
Seeaudioscript approximat ely200 met reslong.
c b
Shedoesn'tmentioncentrifugal
force. See audioscriptlO.3 on page94
d c
bé nding 7 shear I lt was modifiedto a certain extent but, with
3 torsion/ torque I friction a few exceptions,was essentiallyan ordinary
4 expansion 9 contraction TCV
5 pressure l0 centrifugalforce 2 100 met res
6 t ension 3 To makeit slight lymoreaerodynamic
4 To reducet he speedof revolut ion,t o limit
e f rict ionand cent rif ugalf orce
2 oressure
3 bending d
4 compression: t ension 2 - 50o/o
5 shear 3 - 15o/ o
6 friction 4 + lgoh
7 torsion (torque) 5 + 680/ o
I expansion;cont ract ion e
f cert ain 5 marginally
Suggested answers 3 signif icant ly 6 subst ant ially
Whent hereis no wind,t he columnsand legs 4 slight lymore 7 considerable
are all sub.iectedto compression.The legs are Í
also subjectedto bendingforces.The beam su€
gested answers
is subjectedto a vertical bendingforce.The I The supplyvolt agein t he cat enarycableshad
insulat orsare in t ension.Thef oundat ions
are to be increasedby a considerableamount.
in comoression.There are also shear forces 2 To limit oscillat ion,t he t ensionof t he
betweenthe legs and the foundations. catenarycableswas substantiallyincreased.
Whent he wind is blowingf romdirect ionl, t he 3 The camber of the track was increased
beam is subjectedto a horizontalbendingforce marginallyon somecurves.
from the wind. Both columnsare also subiected 4 The previousrecord was beaten by a huge
t o bending.Legs I and 2 are in t ensionas margin.
a resultof t he wind. Legs3 and 4 are in 5 I n perfectconditions,the TCV could probably
compressron. havegone slightlyfaster.
Whent he wind is blowingf romdirect ion2,
both columnsand legs are subjectedto bending 8a
by t he wind.Legs 1 and 3 and columnI are See audioscript10.4on page95
primarilyin t ensionas a resultof t he wind.Legs
c
2 and 4, and column2 are in compression.
1 1 . 0 r5
5a 23
Suggested answers 320
Planes travel much faster than high-speedtrains. 4 1.2
The fastest high-speedtrains can travel at just 546
over 300 km/ h.Commercialaircraft flying at an
e
altitude of around 30,000 feet can travel with
2 cope with; withstand
a groundspeedof around 800 km/ h.Therefore,
3 exceed:suroass
on board trips are typicallyfaster on planes. 4 intendedfor
However,rail networksgenerallylink city centres,
5 able to; capableof
which are often more convenientdestinations
5 incapableof ; unablet o

Answer key to7

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