Designation for underground rural distribution.

See Polyurethane.

Designation for underground service entrance cable, 75°C (167°F) wet locations.

Designation for cables suitable for service entrance underground installation. They are available as a single conductor, multiple conductor and multiple conductor with an outer jacket. USE cable with an outer jacket can be installed as type SE Cable.

Designation for cables similar to USE except it has a 90°C (194°F) wet rating.

Designation for Unshielded Twisted Pair, a cable construction consisting of four pairs of small gauge copper identified by color-coded insulation, per ANSI/TIA/ EIA standards.

See Ultimate Tensile Strength.

Designation for varnished cambric insulation with fibrous covering.

Designation for voltage to frequency.

Designation for voltamperes, the apparent power in an AC circuit.

Vacuum is best characterized as a lack of atmosphere (e.g., air, oxygen or other gases). Hence when metals or alloys are heated to high temperatures in a vacuum furnace, there is essentially no oxygen present to oxidize and discolor the surface of the material. Note: vacuum annealing is not conducive to strand annealing (e.g., uncoiling, heating and recoiling).

Technique of casting where there is a vacuum suction at the exit end of the mold.

Testing procedure to determine oxygen content in a copper sample.

Melting in a vacuum to prevent contamination from air, as well as to remove gases already dissolved in the metal; the solidification may also be carried out in a vacuum or at low pressure. Also known as vacuum refining.

A method of cleaning hardware that is used in extruding jacketing material.

See Vacuum Melting.

1) A switch with contacts in an evacuated enclosure. 2) A switch that senses a vacuum level to actuate contacts.

Any void between the insulated conductors of a cable or between a cable core and its covering. See also Interstice.

Chrome-silicon or chrome-silicon-vanadium alloyed steel wire that has 0.50 to 0.70 percent carbon. Valve springs are typically made by cold coiling of wire that has been subjected to shaving, cold drawing, hardening and tempering. Fatigue strength and sag resistance are two major factors. Tensile strength has increased over the years from 1700 MPa (247 ksi) to as much as 2150 MPa (312 ksi). Nitriding and special designed shot peening can further enhance the fatigue properties. Valve springs in applications working at elevated temperature or corrosive atmosphere are made of a precipitation hardened stainless steel grade 177 PH (AISI 631).

Element, chemical symbol V. A gray metal primarily used as an alloying agent for iron and steel and as a strengthener for titanium-based alloys. It imparts an even distribution of carbon, but requires the inclusion of other elements to develop this property to its fullest extent. Vanadium increases the toughness of medium and low carbon steels by its solid solution with the ferrite, and prevents brittleness in high carbon qualities. Frequently used in conjunction with chromium and manganese as an alloying agent, chrome-vanadium steels being used for springs, tools, etc. It is also a catalyst in sulfuric acid production.