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The Book of Terms

The Book of TermsThe WJI Book of Wire & Cable Terms: an interactive experience of learning and sharing
This book, written by industry volunteers and containing more than 5,000 entries, is an asset for newcomers to wire and cable.

At the same time, it also represents an opportunity for industry veterans to give back by either updating or adding to the more than 5,000 entries. This is an honor system process. Entries/updates must be non-commercial, and any deemed not to be so will be removed. Share your expertise as part of this legacy project to help those who will follow. Purchase a printed copy here.

   

 

All   0-9   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

FPM

Designation for Feet Per Minute.

FR-1

Designation for a flammability rating established by Underwriters Laboratories for wires and cables that pass a specially designed vertical flame test. This designation has been replaced by VW-1.

Fracture

The separation of material into two or more parts. Fractures are often described by the appearance of the surface of the break in a piece of steel. Crystalline is bright and glittering, failure having developed along the cleavage planes of individual crystals and can be typical of brittle material. A silky fracture has a smooth dull grain indicative of ductile material such as a mild steel. In tensile testing fractures are described by shape, e.g. cup and cone.

Fracture Test

Breaking a piece of metal for the purpose of examining the fractured surface with the unaided eye or with a low power microscope to determine such things as composition, grain size, case depth or soundness.

Fracture, Columnar

A fracture that has angular, finger-like projections.

Fracture, Conchoidal

A fracture that is either convex or concave, resembling a shell.

Fracture, Crystalline

A fracture that is characterized by a lack of visible plastic deformation.

Fracture, Cup and Cone

A fracture that has a pointed cup on one broken piece and a cone-like shape in the other.

Fracture, Fatigue

A fracture that has a smooth surface and frequently shows concentric markings with a nucleus, at which there is an abnormal concentration of stress. Also known as a Progressive or a Detail Fracture.

Fracture, Fibrous

A fracture that has a long stringy nature, usually denoting a tough and ductile material.

Fracture, Granular

A fracture that has a rough surface, similar to sandstone.

Fracture, Ragged

A fracture that has no regularity and pieces frequently break away from it. Also known as a Broken Stick Fracture.

Fracture, Shear

A straight plane frac­ture at an angle of about 45 degrees to the principal stress axes, i.e., the axis of a tensile specimen. Also known as an Angular Fracture.

Fracture, Silky

A smooth gray frac­ture of very fine grain giving a lustrous appearance reminiscent of silk. Usually a characteristic of tough, strong metals.

Fracture, Star

A fracture that has a broken surface resembling a star or rosette. Also known as a rosette fracture.

Fracture, Woody

A fracture that has slag particles that appear similar to wood.

Fragmentation

The subdivision of a grain into small discrete crystallites, or sub-grains, outlined by a heavily deformed network of intersecting slip as a result of cold working. These small crystals or fragments differ slightly from one another in orientation and tend to rotate to a stable orientation determined by the slip systems. Also referred to as dislocation cell structure.

Fraying

In cabling, a term used to describe the unraveling of a fibrous braid.

Free Angle

The angle between the legs of an unloaded torsion spring.

Free Carbon

The part of the total carbon in steel or cast iron that is present in elemental form as graphite or temper carbon.
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