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Glossary of technical terms for the use of metallurgical engineers Terms starting with alphabet ‘D’


Glossary of technical terms for the use of metallurgical engineers

Terms starting with alphabet ‘D’

Dam – It is a structure built across a liquid stream for the control of its flow. It is flow control device which is used in continuous casting tundishes. It is also the boundary support or ridge used to prevent excessive edge bleeding or resin runout of a laminate and to prevent crowning of the bag during cure.

Damage – It is the impairment of the useful life of a part.

Damage tolerance – It is a design measure of crack growth rate. Cracks in damage-tolerant designed structures are not permitted to grow to critical size during expected service life. It is also the ability of a part component to resist failure because of the presence of flaws, cracks, or other damage for a specified period of usage. The damage tolerance approach is used extensively in the several industries.

Damping – It is the loss in energy, as dissipated heat, which results when a material or material system is subjected to an oscillatory load or displacement. Damping is the result of frictional forces working in that system.

Damping capacity – It is the ability of a material to absorb vibration (cyclical stresses) by internal friction, converting the mechanical energy into heat.

Damping ratio – It is a parameter which indicates how rapidly oscillations in a system die out, if ever.

Danger – It is a state or condition in which personal injury and / or asset damage is reasonably foreseeable. It is the presence of a hazard.

Dangerous occurrence – It is a near miss with serious injury potential.

Dark-field illumination – It is the illumination of an object such that it appears bright and the surrounding field dark. This results from illuminating the object with rays of sufficient obliquity so that none can enter the objective directly. In electron microscopy, the image is formed using only electrons scattered by the object.



Data analysis – It is described as a set of concepts and methods intended for presentation of the data in a form which improves the quality of the decision making. It is the process of collecting, modelling, and analyzing data using different logical methods and techniques. It is a data science which is used to break data into individual components for inspection and integrating these components to create knowledge.

Data acquisition system – It is a system which includes measurement devices, sensors, a computer, and data acquisition software. A data acquisition system is used for acquiring, storing, visualizing, and processing data. This involves collecting the information needed to understand electrical or physical phenomena.

Data associativity – It is the ability of a computer-aided engineering system to share design information among a variety of computer-based applications (such as design, drafting, and numerical-controlled machining) without each application having to translate or transfer the data. Associativity also requires that applications can recognize when geometry or other information has been changed so that the application can adjust its own data to these changes.

Database – A database is an electronically stored, systematic collection of data. It can contain any type of data, including words, numbers, images, videos, and files. It is a collection of specific information, such as alloy compositions or mechanical properties. Several databases are accessible through on-line connections or with a CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory).

Data compression – It is a technique which allows information to be transmitted more compactly than originally expressed, for example, codes.

Data integration – It is the process of combining data from multiple source systems to provide a complete, accurate, and up-to-date dataset and unified sets of information for both operational and analytical uses.

Database management system (DBMS) – It is a software to store, manage, retrieve, and edit data.

Data networks – It is a network for interconnection of computers and peripherals.

Data sheet – In statistical process controls, it is a tool for the systematic collection of data.

Daubing – It is filling of cracks in moulds or cores by specially prepared pastes or coatings for preventing penetration of metal into these cracks during pouring.

Day-light – It is the distance, in the open position, between the moving and the fixed tables or the platens of a hydraulic press. In the case of a multi-platen press, daylight is the distance between adjacent platens. Daylight provides space for removal of the moulded / formed part from the mould / die.

DC casting – It is direct chill casting and is a continuous method of making ingots for rolling or extrusion by pouring the metal into a short mould. The base of the mould is a platform which is gradually lowered while the metal solidifies, the frozen shell of metal acting as a retainer for the liquid metal below the wall of the mould. The ingot is normally cooled by the impingement of water directly on the mould or on the walls of the solid metal as it is lowered. The length of the ingot is limited by the depth to which the platform can be lowered, hence, it is frequently called semi-continuous casting.

DC intermittent non-capacitive arc – It is a low-voltage electrical discharge used in spectrochemical analysis to vapourize the sample material. Each current pulse has the same polarity as the previous one and lasts for less than 0.1 second.

DC plasma excitation – The use of a high-temperature plasma jet to excite an element in a sample, for example, for atomic emission spectroscopy.

Deactivation – It is the process of prior removal of the active corrosive constituents, normally oxygen, from a corrosive liquid by controlled corrosion of expendable metal or by other chemical means, thereby making the liquid less corrosive.

Dead-burned – It is term applied to materials which have been fired to a temperature sufficiently high to render them relatively resistant to moisture and contraction.

Dead-man zone – It is the stagnant flow region (dead-man) which is a discontinuous mass of partially reacted coke particles in the centre part of the hearth.

Dead soft – It is a temper of non-ferrous alloys and some ferrous alloys corresponding to the condition of minimum hardness and tensile strength produced by full annealing.

Dead time – It is the total time during which the spectrometer is processing information and is unavailable to accept input data.

Dead weight tester – It uses the most fundamental pressure measurement technique. It is favoured for the primary calibration of pressure sensors, or piston gauge. This device uses calibrated weights (masses) which exert pressure on a fluid (usually a liquid) through a piston. Dead weight testers can be used as primary standards because the factors influencing accuracy are traceable to standards of mass, length, and time. The piston gauge is simple to operate. The pressure is generated by turning a jack-screw which reduces the fluid volume inside the tester, resulting in increased pressure.

Dead zone / band / space – It is defined as the range of different input values over which there is no change in output value. It is that range of possible values for which the instrument does not give a reading even there is changes in the parameter being measured. Any instrument which shows hysteresis also displays dead space. However, some instruments which do not suffer from any substantial hysteresis can still show a dead space in their output characteristics. Backlash in gears is a typical cause of dead space. Backlash is normally experienced in gear-sets used to convert the translational motion to rotational motion.

Dealloying – It is the selective corrosion of one or more components of a solid solution alloy. It is also called parting or selective leaching.

Debinding – It is one of the main production steps in the ceramic and powder-metallurgical industries. It refers to the thermal or catalytic removal of additives used in steps prior to production such as casting.

Debond – It is a deliberate separation of a bonded joint or interface, normally for repair or rework purposes. It is also an unbonded or non-adhered region, a separation at the fibrer-matrix interface because of the strain incompatibility.

Debris, wear – It is the particles which become detached in a wear process.

Debulking – It is compacting of a thick laminate under moderate heat and pressure and / or vacuum to remove most of the air, to ensure seating on the tool, and to prevent wrinkles.

Deburring – It is the removing of burrs, sharp edges, or fins from metal parts by filing, grinding, or rolling the work in a barrel containing abrasives suspended in a suitable liquid medium. It is sometimes called burring.

Debye-Scherrer method – It is a method of x-ray diffraction using monochromatic radiation and a polycrystalline sample mounted on the axis of a cylindrical strip of film.

Debye ring – It is a continuous circle, concentric about the undeviated beam, produced by mono-chromatic x-ray diffraction from a randomly oriented crystalline powder. An analogous effect is obtained using electron diffraction.

Decalescence – It is a phenomenon, associated with the transformation of iron to iron on the heating (super-heating) of iron or steel, revealed by the darkening of the metal surface owing to the sudden decrease in temperature caused by the fast absorption of the latent heat of transformation.

Decarburization – It is the loss of carbon from the surface layer of a carbon-containing alloy because of the reaction with one or more chemical substances in a medium which contacts the surface.

Decay constant (lambda) – It is the constant in the radioactive decay law dN = -lambda Ndt, where ‘N’ is the number of radioactive nuclei present at time ‘t’. The decay constant is related to half-life t(1/2) by the expression t(1/2) = ln 2/lambda.

Decay, radioactive – It is the decrease in the radioactive nature of any material with the passage of time. This is because of the spontaneous emission from the atomic nuclei of either alpha or beta particles and is frequently accompanied by gamma radiation.

Deceleration period – In cavitation or impingement erosion, it is the stage following the acceleration period or the maximum rate period (if any), during which the erosion rate has an overall decreasing trend although fluctuations can be superimposed on it,

Decentralized peripherals – It is used to operate sensors and actuators through a centralized controller in production (factory) automation applications. It is used to describe distributed input / output devices connected through a fast serial data link with a central

Decision matrix – It is a formalized process by which design concepts or materials are ranked prior to a selection decision.

Deck – In mining, it is the area around the shaft collar where men and materials enter the cage to be lowered underground.

Decline – In mining, it is a sloping underground opening for machine access from level to level or from surface, It is also called a ramp controller.

Decobaltification – It is the corrosion in which cobalt is selectively leached from cobalt-base alloys or from cemented carbides with cobalt binders.

Decohesion – It is the process of creating a pair of free surfaces where a grain boundary or second-phase boundary existed previously.

Decohesive rupture – It is a brittle fracture which shows little or no bulk plastic deformation and does not occur by dimple rupture, cleavage, or fatigue. This type of fracture is normally the result of a reactive environment or a unique micro-structure and is associated almost exclusively with rupture along grain boundaries.

Decommissioning – It is the final phase in the life cycle of a nuclear installation covering all activities from shutdown and removal of fissile material to environmental restoration of the site through to its agreed end state, and / or it is the process of closing down a facility followed by reducing residual radioactivity to a level which permits the release of the property for unrestricted use.

Decommissioning plan – It is a plan for the decommissioning of a nuclear facility.

Decommissioning waste management plan – It is a part of the decommissioning plan which sets out the steps and costs involved in disposal of the waste at the time of decommissioning a nuclear power station.

Decomposition – It is the separation of a compound into its chemical elements or components.

Decomposition potential (or voltage) – It is the potential of a metal surface necessary to decompose the electrolyte of a cell or a component thereof.

DECON – It is a method of decommissioning in which the equipment, structures, and portions of a nuclear facility and site containing radioactive contaminants are removed. The contaminants are safely buried in a low-level radioactive waste landfill or decontaminated to a level which permits the property to be released for unrestricted use shortly after cessation of operations.

Decontamination – It is the reduction or removal of (radioactive) material from any structure, area, object, or person. Decontamination can be accomplished by treating the surface to remove or decrease the contamination.

Decoration (of dislocations) – It is the segregation of solute atoms to the line of a dislocation in a crystal. In ferrite, the dislocations can be decorated with carbon or nitrogen atoms.

Decorative chromium plating – It is different from hard chromium plating in terms of thickness and the type of undercoating used. The average thickness of decorative plating is actually very thin, normally not more than 1.25 micrometers. A decorative chromium deposit is used mainly for its pleasing blue-white colour. Its highly reflective appearance is maintained in service since chromium can resist tarnish, chemicals, scratches, and wear. Decorative chromium plating baths normally produce deposits in the range of 0.13 micrometers to 1.25 micrometers in thickness. These deposits normally reproduce the finish of the substrate, or, in a multilayer system, the undercoating which is applied prior to the chromium layer. Optimum lustre of the final chromium deposit is got by plating the substrate coating to a uniformly bright condition.

Deep drawing – Deep drawing is a sheet forming process in which in its simplest form, a cylindrical shape or alike is produced from a thin disc of sheet metal by subjecting it to a compressive force (while it is held between a die and blank holder) through a circular punch which mainly work on the blank thickness. Deep drawing process is used to produce containers from flat circular blanks. The central portion of sheet of blank is subjected to pressure applied by punch into a die opening to get a sheet metal of needed shape without folding the corners. This normally needs the use of presses normally having a double action for blank holding force and punch force.

Deep drawing steel – It is a high-quality low carbon steel possessing high ductility and desirable grain size which permits deep drawing.

Deep-draw mould – It is a mould having a core which is long in relation to the wall thickness.

Deep etching – In metallography, it is macro-etching, especially for steels, for determining the overall character of the material, i.e., the presence of imperfections, such as seams, forging bursts, shrinkage-void remnants, cracks, and coring.

Deep geological repository – It is a nuclear waste repository excavated below 300 metres within a salt dome or bed-rock. It entails a combination of waste form, waste package and engineered seals which is designed to provide a high level of long-term storage without future maintenance.

Deep ground bed – It is one or more anodes installed vertically at a nominal depth of 15 metres or more below the earth’s surface in a drilled hole for the purpose of supplying cathodic protection for an underground or submerged metallic structure.

Defect – It is an imperfection (deviation from perfection) which can be shown to cause failure by a quantitative analysis and which would not have occurred in the absence of the imperfection. In manufacturing, a defect is (ai a failure to conform to stated specifications, (ii) non-satisfaction of customer requirements, (iii) deviation from the norm, and (iv) when a product leaves the assembly line in sub-standard condition, differs from the manufacturer’s intended result, or differs from other ostensibly identical units of the same product line. It is also a discontinuity whose size, shape, orientation, or location makes it detrimental to the useful service of the part in which it occurs. It is also a discontinuity or discontinuities which by nature or accumulated effect (e.g., total crack length) render a part or product unable to meet minimum applicable acceptance standards or specifications. This term designates rejectability.

Defective – It is a quality control term, describing a unit of product or service containing at least one defect, or having several lesser imperfections that, in combination, cause the unit not to fulfill its anticipated function.

Define (x-rays) – It is to limit a beam of x-rays by passage through apertures to obtain a parallel, divergent, or convergent beam.

Definition – it is the clarity or sharpness of a microscopic image.

Deflashing – It is a finishing technique used to remove the flash (excess, unwanted material) on a plastic moulding.

Deflection – In metal-forming and forging, it is the quantity of deviation from a straight line or plane when a force is applied to a press member. Normally it is used to specify the allowable bending of the bed, slide, or frame at rated capacity with a load of pre-determined distribution.

Deflection temperature under load (DTUL) – It is the temperature at which a simple cantilever beam deflects a given amount under load. It was earlier called heat distortion temperature.

Deflector – It is a flat or angle like section placed longitudinally over the conveyor making an angle (can be adjustable or fixed) with the conveyor axis. This acts as an obstruction to the movement of the load and deflects them to one side of the conveyor axis.

Deflocculating – It is thinning the consistency of a slip by adding a suitable electrolyte.

Deformability – In tribology, it is that quality of a plain bearing material which allows it to adjust itself to shaft deflections and minor misalignments by deformation or by wearing away of bearing material without producing operating difficulties.

Deformation – It is a change in the form of a body because of the stress, thermal change, change in moisture, or other causes. It is measured in units of length.

Deformation bands – These are the parts of a crystal which have rotated differently during deformation to produce bands of varied orientation without individual grains.

Deformation curve – It is a graph in which corresponding values of stress and strain are plotted against each other. Values of stress are normally plotted vertically (ordinates or y-axis) and values of strain horizontally (abscissas or x-axis).

Deformation energy – It is a measure of the energy absorption characteristics of a material determined by measuring the area under the stress-strain diagram.

Deformation limit – In drawing, It is the limit of deformation which is reached when the load needed to deform the flange becomes higher than the load-carrying capacity of the cup wall. The deformation limit (limiting drawing ratio, LDR) is defined as the ratio of the maximum blank diameter which can be drawn into a cup without failure, to the diameter of the punch.

Deformation lines – These are thin bands or lines produced by cold working in grains of some metals, particularly those of face centered cubic structure. They are not removed by repolishing and re-etching.

Deformation processes – These processes transform solid materials from one shape into another. The initial shape is normally simple (e.g., a billet or sheet blank) and is plastically deformed between tools, or dies, to get the desired final geometry and tolerances with needed properties.

Deformation processing – It is a class of manufacturing operation which involves changing the shape of a work-piece by plastic deformation through the application of a compressive force. It is frequently carried out at high temperature.

Deformation twin – It is a twin formed in a crystal by simple shear and / or simple shear plus shuffle movements under external loading.

Deformation under load – It is the dimensional change of a material under load for a specified time following the instantaneous elastic deformation caused by the initial application of the load.

Deformation wear – It is the sliding wear involving plastic deformation of the wearing surface. These are several forms of wear which involve plastic deformation, hence this term is imprecise and is not to be used.

Degasification – It is the process of removing contaminants like hydrocarbons from a sample to prevent interference with adsorption systems and analyses in chemistry. It involves cleaning the sample and ensuring a clean surface to avoid issues like blockages and desorption during analysis.

Degasifier – It is a substance which can be added to molten metal to remove soluble gases which can be otherwise occluded or entrapped in the metal during solidification.

Degassing – It is a chemical reaction resulting from a compound added to molten metal for removing gases from the metal. Inert gases are frequently used in this operation. It is also a fluxing procedure used for aluminum alloys in which nitrogen, chlorine, chlorine and nitrogen, and chlorine and argon are bubbled up through the metal to remove dissolved hydrogen gases and oxides from the alloy.

Degaussing – It is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. Because of the magnetic hysteresis, it is normally not possible to reduce a magnetic field completely to zero, so degaussing typically induces a very small known field referred to as bias. Degaussing is also used to reduce magnetic fields in cathode ray tube monitors and to destroy data held on magnetic storage.

Degradation – It is a deleterious change in the chemical structure, physical properties, or appearance of a material.

Degreasing – It is the removal of grease and oils from a surface. It can be accomplished by immersion in liquid organic solvent, by solvent vapours condensing on the parts being cleaned (vapour degreasing), or by spraying the parts with solvent.

Degree of polymerization – It is the number of structural units, or mers, in the average polymer molecule in a sample measure of molecular weight.

Degrees of freedom – It is the number of independent variables (such as temperature, pressure, or concentration within the phases present) which can be altered at will without causing a phase change in an alloy system at equilibrium, or it is the number of such variables which are to be fixed arbitrarily to define the system completely. In statistical process control, it is the number of ways a value can differ from others – one less than the total number of in a sample (n-1).

Delamination – It is the separation of layers in a laminate or composite material because of failure of the matrix, either in the matrix itself or at the interface between the matrix and the fibre. It is either local or covering a wide area. It can occur in the cure or subsequent life.

Delamination wear – It is a wear process in which thin layers of material are formed and removed from the wear surface. A ‘delamination theory of wear’ proposed by N.P. Suh in the early 1970s involves the nucleation and propagation of cracks so as to form lamellar wear particles. However, there are other ways to form lamellar wear particles (for example, by the loss of transfer layer fragments), and the term delamination wear is not to be used unless further clarification of the context of usage is provided.

Delayed fishscaling – Fishscaling is the appearance in a porcelain enamel coating in which the evolution of hydrogen from the base metal (iron or steel) causes loss of adhesion between the enamel and the base metal. Delayed fishscaling occurs after the final porcelain enamel processing.

Delayed yield – It is a phenomenon involving a delay in time between the application of a stress and the occurrence of the corresponding yield-point strain.

Delta ferrite – Delta ferrite is the high temperature form of iron, formed on cooling low carbon concentrations in iron-carbon alloys from the liquid state before transforming to austenite. In highly alloyed steels, delta ferrite can be retained to room temperature. It is a solid solution of one or more elements in body-centered cubic iron. Unless otherwise designated (for example, as chromium ferrite), the solute is normally assumed to be carbon.

Delta iron – It is the solid phase of pure iron that is stable from 1,400 deg C to 1,539 deg C and possesses the body-centered cubic lattice.

Delta layer – It is the second layer of zinc iron alloy growth from the base steel formed during the galvanizing process. The chemical composition of the delta layer is around 90 % zinc and 10 % iron. The delta layer is 60 % harder than the base steel it protects from abrasion and corrosion. It is the thickest alloy layer in the galvanized coating. Reactive steels increase the delta layer thickness.

Delta-wye transformer – It is a type of connection of a three-phase transformer.

Demand factor – It is the fraction of actual use of some quantity, related to the maximum which can be used in a specified time.

Demarest process – It is a fluid forming process in which cylindrical and conical sheet metal parts are formed by a modified rubber bulging punch. The punch, equipped with a hydraulic cell, is placed inside the work-piece, which in turn is placed inside the die. Hydraulic pressure expands the punch.

Demineralized (DM) water – It is that water where are the minerals of the water has been removed.  DM water is also used as boiler feed water. The demineralization process is usually done when the water is to be used for chemical processes and the minerals present may interfere with the other chemicals. With the demineralization process, the water is softened by the removal of the undesired minerals. Demineralized water has a higher conductivity than deionized water.

Dendrite – It is a crystal which has a tree-like branching pattern, being most evident in cast metals slowly cooled through the solidification range.

Dendritic powder – It consists of particles normally of electrolytic origin typically having the appearance of a pine tree.

Dendritic segregation – It consists of inhomogeneous distribution of alloying elements through the arms of dendrites.

Denickelification – It is the corrosion in which nickel is selectively leached from nickel-containing alloys. Most commonly, it is observed in copper-nickel alloys after extended service in fresh water.

Denier– It is a yarn and filament numbering system in which the yarn number is numerically equal to the weight in grams of 9,000 meters. It is used for continuous filaments. The lower the denier, the finer is the yarn.

Dense conventional castables – These are created with high alumina cement and can withstand temperatures from 1,300 deg C to 1,800 deg C. These refractory castables are very good for common furnace applications, burner blocks, specialty muffle furnaces and boiler work. These castables are much stronger than insulating castables with strengths normally equaling those of normal firebrick of the same class. In dense conventional castables, hot strength behaviour with increasing temperature is principally dependent on the cement type (low, medium-purity, or high purity calcium aluminate cement), and the quantity used in the formulation.

Dense refractories – These are shaped refractories with their true porosity less than 45 %. These refractories have high-density and offer very good resistance in challenging operating environments, such as slags with different chemical compositions, fumes, dust, and gases.

Densification – It refers to the compacting process of material under specific conditions, such as palletization, briquetting, and extrusion. It is widely used in different industries to increase bulk density, improve transportation, reduce dust generation, and enhance handling and logistics efficiency.

Density, absolute – It is the mass per unit volume of a solid material, expressed in grams per cubic centimeter or kilograms per cubic metre.

Density, apparent – It is the weight in air of a unit volume of a material.

Density, bulk – It describes the measure of mass and volume including the pore space. Bulk density is normally considered in conjunction with apparent porosity. It is a measure of the weight of a given volume of the material.

Density (of gases) – It is the mass of a unit volume of gas at a stated temperature and pressure.

Density (of solids and liquids) – It is the mass of a unit volume of a material at a specified temperature.

Density ratio – It is the ratio of the determined density of a powder compact to the absolute density of metal of the same composition, normally expressed as a percentage. It is also referred to as percent theoretical density.

Density, relative – It is also called specific gravity. It is a dimensionless quantity and defined as the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Relative density for solids and liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water at its densest (at 4 deg C) and for gases, the reference is air at room temperature (20 deg C). The term ‘relative density’ is preferred, whereas the term ‘specific gravity’ is gradually being abandoned.

Dent – For rolled products, it is a sharply defined surface impression on the metal which can be caused by a blow from another object. For extrusions, it is a synonym for handling mark.

Dent, expansion – It is a localized surface deviation from flat generated by expansion of vapour during thermal treatment of cold-rolled coiled sheet.

Dent, repeating – It consists of repeating depression caused by a particle adhering to a rotating roll over which the metal has passed.

Deoxidation – It is the removal of excess oxygen from the molten metal. It is normally carried out by adding materials with a high affinity for oxygen.

Deoxidation products – These are those non-metallic inclusions which form as a result of adding deoxidizing agents to molten metal.

Deoxidized copper – It is the copper from which cuprous oxide has been removed by adding a deoxidizer, such as phosphorus, to the molten bath.

Deoxidizer – It is a substance which can be added to molten metal for removing either free or combined oxygen.

Deoxidizing – It is the removal of oxygen from molten metals through the use of a suitable deoxidizer. Sometimes it refers to the removal of undesirable elements other than oxygen through the introduction of elements or compounds which readily react with them. In case of metal finishing, it is the removal of oxide films from metal surfaces by chemical or electro-chemical reaction.

Dependent failures – These are failures of two or more elements of a system where these failures cannot be considered independent (q.v.). Common cause and common mode failures are dependent failures.

Depletion – It is selective removal of one component of an alloy, normally from the surface or preferentially from grain-boundary regions.

Desulphurization – It is a chemical process for the removal of sulphur from liquid iron or molten steel.

Dephosphorization – It is the elimination of phosphorus from molten steel.

Depleted uranium – Depleted uranium is uranium mainly composed of the isotope uranium-238. Typically, it has a percentage of uranium-235 smaller than the 0.7 % found in natural uranium. It is obtained from used fuel elements or as by-product tails, or residues, from uranium isotope separation.

Depolarization – It is a decrease in the polarization of an electrode.

Depolarizer – It is a substance which produces depolarization.

Deposit – It is the coating or layer of surfacing material applied by a thermal spraying process.

Deposit attack or corrosion – It is the corrosion which is occurring under or around a discontinuous deposit on a metallic surface. It is also called poultice corrosion.

Deposited metal – It is the filler metal which has been added during welding.

Deposition – It is the process of applying a material to a base by means of vacuum, electrical, chemical, screening, or vapour methods. It is frequently with the assistance of a temperature and pressure container.

Deposition efficiency – In arc welding, it is the ratio of the weight of deposited metal to the net weight of filler metal consumed, exclusive of stubs. In thermal spraying, the ratio, usually expressed in percent, of the weight of spray deposit to the weight of the material sprayed.

Deposition rate – In thermal spraying, it is the weight of material deposited in a unit of time. It is normally expressed as kilograms per hour.

Deposition sequence – It is the order in which the increments of weld metal are deposited.

Depreciation – It is the periodic, systematic charging to expense of plant assets reflecting the decline in economic potential of the assets.

Depressions – In continuous casting process, these are local deformations in the cast surface. Depressions can be longitudinal or transverse. Longitudinal depressions appear like the shallow ditches oriented along the length of the cast product. They occur due to the uneven heat transfer in the mould. These depressions can be controlled by uniform cooling in the mould, by centering of the liquid steel jet in the mould, by controlling the fluctuations of the mould steel level, use of a casting powder with suitable viscosity and melting characteristics, and by regularly monitoring the degree and uniformity of the mould wear. Transverse depressions can occur cyclically along the strand length. The peritectic steels with low carbon and high manganese contents and the stainless steels are sensitive to this defect. The transverse depressions can be caused by the fluctuations in the mould level, large quantity of casting powder, and by the turbulence of steel the sub-meniscus level. These depressions are controlled by controlling the mould steel level, having proper mould taper, use of a casting powder with suitable viscosity and melting characteristics, and proper positioning of the input nozzle and its support.

Depth of cut – It is the thickness of material removed from a work-piece in a single machining of the part.

Depth of field – It is the depth in the subject over which features can be seen to be acceptably in focus in the final image produced by a microscope.

Depth of fusion – It is the distance which the fusion extends into the base metal or previous pass from the surface melted during welding.

Depth of penetration – In various analytical techniques, it is the distance the probing radiation penetrates beneath the surface of a sample.

Derivative – It is an image created from the master image, through some kind of image editing process to create a user or working copy. The process normally involves a loss of information to reduce the size by sampling it to a lower resolution, using lossy compression techniques, or altering an image using image processing techniques. Typically, derivatives are made for purposes such as web access, including ‘thumbnail’ images, or as ‘reference’ or ‘service’ images which can fit completely within an average monitor.

Descaling – It is removing the thick layer of oxides formed on some metals at high temperatures. It is also a chemical or mechanical process for removing scale or investment material from castings.

Descaling equipment – It is placed before the mill after the reheating furnace. High pressure water is sprayed onto the surface of the hot rolling stock steel to remove the scale. The equipment required for this process basically consists of a high-pressure pump, powered by an alternating current motor, which can be controlled by a variable speed drive. High pressure pump supplies water through specifically designed header and nozzles, which are directed at the hot steel. The removal of scale takes place due to the combined action of the water pressure and the rapid cooling of the steel.

Describing function – It is a method for analyzing non-linear control systems.

Descriptive – In data analysis, it is an analysis method which summarizes the data to reach a simple presentation as a result. This method can be categorized into (i) univariate analysis, and (ii) bivariate analysis.

Design allowables – These are statistically determined materials property values which are derived from test data. They are limits of stress, strain, or stiffness which are allowed for a specific material, configuration, application, and environmental condition. The selection of appropriate design allowables for structures composed of composite materials is necessary for the safe and efficient use of these materials.

Design and engineering – It consists of the task of translating a set of functional requirements of the project into a full set of specifications and drawings providing the details needed. It involves a variety of special fields which include (i) process engineering, (ii) civil engineering, (iii) structural engineering, (iv) mechanical engineering, (v) electrical engineering, (vi) fluid engineering, (vii) instrumentation and control engineering, (viii) automation and control activities, (ix) geo-technical engineering, and (x) environmental and safety engineering etc.

Design assembly drawing – It is an assembly drawing or a design layout which is first drawn when an equipment is designed to clearly visualise the performance, shape, and clearances of different parts comprising the equipment.

Design basis –The set of requirements which bound the design of systems, structures, and components within the facility. These design requirements include consideration of safety, plant availability, efficiency, reliability, and maintainability. Some aspects of the design basis are important for safety, although others are not.

Design basis accident – It is a postulated accident leading to accident conditions for which a facility is designed in accordance with established design criteria and conservative methodology. It is also a postulated accident which a nuclear facility is to be designed and built to withstand without loss to the systems, structures, and components necessary to ensure public health and safety.

Design code – It is a set of rules or regulations which tell the designer what to do and when and under what circumstances. While codes are frequently developed by technical or professional groups, they frequently are adopted by governmental jurisdictions and become legal requirements. Examples are the building code for the structural safety of buildings and the fire code.

Design constraint – It is a design parameter (variable) which is required to fall within a fixed range of values.

Design control drawing – It discloses the basic technical information and performance requirements necessary for a contractor to complete the detailed design required to develop and produce an item. The drawing in itself does not provide complete design for which a detailed design drawing is needed. It includes those details which are necessary to develop the detail design of the item such as (i) configuration, mounting, mating, and other necessary dimensions, (ii) performance, installation, reliability, and interchangeability requirements, (iii) test requirements, (iv)  schematic, connection, or other appropriate diagram (if electrical, electronic or other circuitry is involved), (v) the mating connections, their location, and a connection diagram, and (vi) reference to other documentation.

Design defect – It is an aspect of a design or product which causes it to fail to perform as safely or reliably as an ordinary consumer expects.

Design drawing – Design drawing is made during the initial stages of the project and used for all initial activities including contract bidding. Design drawings are subject to revision with the progress of the project. Design drawing is used to develop and communicate ideas about a developing design.

Design factor – It is the quantity of lifting value a magnet is labelled against the lifting value under ideal conditions. Ideal conditions are when a magnet is new and pulled off a newly machined, thick, low carbon steel plate. The kilograms of pull it takes to break the magnet away from the steel surface is the ‘maximum’ lifting value. Design factor (de-rating) values are then determined by taking this maximum lifting value and dividing it by the manufacturers design factor. Design factors are minimum 2:1 and in the majority of cases 3:1.

Design features – These are the elements which comprise a part, such as walls, holes, and grooves, and the solid elements, such as rods, cubes, and tubes.

Design for assembly (DFA) – It is a methodology for examining the assembled parts of a product in terms of the time and cost for assembly of each part. The overriding strategy is to produce an acceptable design with the minimum number of parts.

Design for disassembly (DFD) – It is a methodology for designing a product so that it can be economically disassembled and the material from which the individual parts are made can be recovered and reused.

Design for the environment (DFE) – It is a design methodology in which environmental factors are considered of equal importance to performance factors. It is sometimes called green design.

Design for function and fit – It is an expression which exemplifies the two central rules of design namely (i) first and foremost, the design is to perform the function for which it is intended, and (ii) the design is to be designed to tolerances appropriate to the application.

Design for manufacture, design for manufacturability (DFM) – It is an approach toward integrating the product and process concepts so that the best match is made between product and process requirements. Design for manufacture includes detailed examination of the design so that it is most easily and inexpensively manufactured by the intended process.

Design for ‘X’ (DFX) – It is a catch phrase which describes the understanding that engineering designs increasingly are to be consciously designed for factors other than function and tolerances. These issues include design for assembly, design for manufacture, and design for installation, maintenance, safety, and disposal etc.

Design intent – It is a general term used with respect to describing and documenting the aspects of some part of the design which are crucial to the success of the design.

Design layout – It is an engineering drawing, either two-dimensional or three-dimensional, which shows the individual parts of a system in relationship to one another. An assembly drawing frequently serves the same purpose.

Design of experiments (DOE) – It is a methodology involving statistically designed experiments in which the character and sequence of individual experiments are planned in advance so that data are taken in a way which provides the most unbiased and precise results commensurate with the available time and money. The chief classes of statistically designed experiments are (i) blocking designs to remove the effect of background variables from the experimental error, (ii) factorial designs, in which all levels of each factor in an experiment are combined with all levels of every other factor, and (iii) response surface designs, which determine the empirical relation between the factors (independent variables) and the response (performance variable).

Design optimization – It consists of the process of searching for the best combination of design parameters. Design optimization suggests that for a given set of possible designs and design criteria there exists a single design which is the best or optimal.

Design parameters – It is a term used to describe the main variables of a design issue. It is sometimes called the design attributes or design characteristics. Design parameters define the object or process which is being designed and hence provide a means for changing the design for improving the performance.

Design performance measures – It consists of the performance measures which are functions of the design parameters and are used to quantify the effectiveness of a given design. Performance measures frequently are grouped into an objective function and the problem constraints.

Design review – A design review is a milestone within a product development process whereby q design is evaluated against its requirements in order to verify the outcomes of previous activities and identify issues before committing to, and if need be, to re-prioritize further work. The ultimate design review, if successful, hence triggers the product launch or product release. The conduct of design reviews is compulsory as part of design controls, when developing products in certain regulated contexts.

Design rules – These are a set of guidelines which are developed from experience and which tell the designer how to make decisions in typical situations. Frequently these rules suggest how to design to minimize cost of manufacture, e.g., to try to design the part so it can be machined on one machine tool only.

Design sensitivity – It is an analytical method for determining the importance of each design parameter to the performance of the design (output measure) and the critical ranges of those parameters.

Design standards – These are agreed-upon descriptions of best solutions to repetitive design issues, arrived at by general consent of an appropriate broad-based technical group. While standards do not have the force of law, they frequently are incorporated into a design code.

Design team – It is a multi-functional group which contains not only the technical expertise to design the product but also expertise in manufacturing and marketing.

Desiliconization of hot metal – It is the removal of silicon from the hot metal prior to the oxygen converter process. Silicon removal is beneficial to the converter to reduce the chemical attack on the basic refractory lining and to allow the use of only minimal amounts of slag-making fluxes, thereby maximizing process yield. These are several methods which are being used for desiliconization of hot metal including adding iron ores or sinter to hot metal during its flow in blast furnace runner.

Desizing – It is the process of eliminating sizing, which is normally starch, from gray (also greige) goods before applying special finishes or bleaches (for yarn such as glass or cotton). It is also removing lubricant size following weaving of a cloth.

Desorption – It is a process in which an absorbed material is released from another material. Desorption is the reverse of absorption, adsorption, or both.

Destructive distillation – It is a chemical process in which decomposition of unprocessed material is achieved by heating it to a high temperature. The term normally applies to the processing of organic material in the absence of air or in the presence of limited amounts of oxygen or other reagents, catalysts, or solvents, such as steam or phenols. It is an application of pyrolysis. The process breaks up or ‘cracks’ large molecules. Coke, coal gas, gaseous carbon, coal tar, ammonia liquor, and coal oil are examples of commercial products historically produced by the destructive distillation of coal. Destructive distillation of any particular inorganic feedstock produces only a small range of products as a rule, but destructive distillation of many organic materials commonly produces very many compounds, often hundreds, although not all products of any particular process are of commercial importance.

Desulphurizing – It is the removal of sulphur from molten metal by reaction with a suitable slag or by the addition of suitable compounds.

Detail design – It is the final phase of design in which all information on materials, manufacturing processes, dimensions, and tolerances are supplied. The output of this design phase is a complete set of drawings and product specifications. It is also known as parametric design.

Detail drawing – Detail drawing is the engineering drawing of any kind of geometric structure which is to be constructed. The drawing is more detailed and pay attention to the intricate designs and details of any construction project. Detail drawing is an engineering drawing presenting single item (object / equipment component / work-piece etc.). The drawing is meant for enabling a person in a workshop to produce (by machining / casting / forging / fabricating etc.) the desired item. Such details as dimensional tolerances, surface finish, special treatments, material to be used for the component etc. are specified. The number of views to be presented depends on the complexity of the item. In several situations, sectional views are included to show hidden details which cannot conveniently and explicitly appear in any external view.

Detailed assembly drawing – It is normally made for simple equipments, comprising of a relatively smaller number of simple parts. All the dimensions and information necessary for the construction of such parts and for the assembly of the parts are given directly on the assembly drawing. Separate views of specific parts in enlargements, showing the fitting of parts together, can also be drawn in addition to the regular assembly drawing.

Detailed emergency planning zone – It is the area around a facility for which the regulations need the local authority to prepare a detailed off-site emergency plan with the purpose of restricting, as far as reasonably practicable, exposure to the public in the event of a radiation emergency.

Detailed engineering – It takes place during the actual project execution phase. It consists of producing drawings and documents which are necessary for (i) manufacturing of the plant and equipment, (ii) carrying out civil foundations, (iii) fabrication of building and technological structures, (iv) erection of structures as well as plant and equipment, (v) laying of cables and making of electrical and instrument connections, and (vi) laying of pipes and piping connections etc. During the detailed engineering, the information from the suppliers is integrated with other information of the project. Also, the responsibility of carrying out the detailed engineering is split between the suppliers and the project engineering personnel including the project consultants.

Detailed feasibility report – It aims to provide an independent assessment which examines all aspects of a proposed project, including technical, economic, financial, legal, and environmental considerations. This information then helps decision-makers determine whether or not to proceed with the project. Detailed feasibility report evaluates a set of proposed project paths or solutions to determine if they are viable.

Detailed project report – It is a blueprint of a project with an extensive and elaborative outline of a project, which includes essential information such as the resources and tasks to be carried out in order to make the project turn a success. Detailed project report is the document which gives a 360-degree view of any project. It is a vital document

Detection limit – It is the level at which radioactivity can be detected above background levels.

Detergency and dispersant property – With the exception of detergency and dispersant property in the combustion chamber, deposits in the lubricating oil are controlled by its detergent power. The role of the detergent additives is to reduce the quantity of deposits formed and their removal easy. The detergent property imparted to the lubricating oils by additives seems to perform differently depending upon whether deposits result from high or low temperatures. Low temperature deposits are mainly come from the fuel combustion and the detergency function of the lubricating oil is to keep them in suspension or in solution in the lubricating oil. However, high temperature deposits are mainly related to the oxidized fraction of the oil. The role of detergency here is not only to maintain these products in suspension, but also to stop the development of those chain reactions which promote the formation of varnishes and lacquers. The physical and functional properties of the lubricating oils depend on the properties of the carbon atoms in the various ring structures and aliphatic side chain.

Detergent – It is a surface-active agent which possesses the ability to clean soiled surfaces. Types of Detergents are anionic, cationic, and nonionic.

Detergent additive – In lubrication technology, it is a surface-active additive which helps to keep solid particles suspended in an oil.

Detergent oil – It is a heavy-duty oil containing a detergent additive. Detergent oils are used mainly in combustion engines.

Determination – It is the ascertainment of the quantity or concentration of a specific substance in a sample.

Detinning – It is the slow corrosion of the tin coating of a can.

Detonation flame spraying – It is a thermal spraying process variation in which the controlled explosion of a mixture of fuel gas, oxygen, and powdered coating material is utilized to melt and propel the material to the work-piece.

Detritus – These are the particles which become detached in a wear process.

Deuteron – It is the nucleus of the atom of heavy hydrogen, deuterium. The deuteron is composed of a proton and a neutron. It is the simplest multi-nucleon nucleus. Deuterons are used as projectiles in several nuclear bombardment experiments.

Developed blank – It is a sheet metal blank which yields a finished part without trimming or with the least quantity of trimming.

Development – In mining, it is the underground work carried out for the purpose of opening up a mineral deposit. It includes shaft sinking, cross=cutting, drifting and raising.

Development drilling – It consists of drilling to establish accurate estimates of mineral reserves.

Deviation – A deviation is a departure from the specified standards or from an established process. Deviations can be intentional or unintentional, and they can occur at any stage of the production process. In statistical process control, it is difference between desired and actual values. It is used for difference between individual values and their mean.

Deviation (x-ray) – It is the angle between the diffracted beam and the transmitted incident beam. It is equal to twice the Bragg angle theta.

Deviatoric stress – It is the non-hydrostatic component of the state of stress on a body. It is the deviatoric component which causes shape change (plastic deformation).

Devitrification – It is the crystallization of an amorphous substance. In porcelain enamel, it is a surface defect caused by crystallization of the enamel because of the overfiring or contamination, resulting in the loss of the glassy, vitreous appearance of the surface.

Dewar flask – It is a vessel having double walls, the space between being evacuated to prevent the transfer of heat and the surfaces facing the vacuum being heat reflective. It is used to hold liquid gases and to study low-temperature phenomena.

Dewaxing – In casting, it is the process of removing the expendable wax pattern from an investment mould or shell mould. It is normally carried out by melting out because of the application of heat or by dissolving the wax with an appropriate solvent.

Dew point – It is the temperature and pressure at which a gas begins to condense to a liquid.

Dew point analyzer – It is an atmosphere monitoring device which measures the partial pressure of water vapour in an atmosphere.

Dezincification – It is a type of corrosion in which zinc is selectively leached from zinc-containing alloys leaving a relatively weak layer of copper and copper oxide. It is normally found in copper-zinc alloys containing less than 85 % copper after extended service in water containing dissolved oxygen.

D-glass – It is a high boron content glass made especially for laminates needing a precisely controlled dielectric constant.

Diabase – It is a common basic igneous rock usually occurring in dykes or sills.

Diagnosis – It is used in several different disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, for the determination of cause and effect. In systems engineering and computer science, it is typically used to determine the causes of symptoms, mitigations, and solutions.

Diagram – It is a drawing, sketch, plan, or chart which makes something clearer or easier to understand.

Diamagnetic material – It is a material whose specific permeability is less than unity and is hence repelled weakly by a magnet.

Diameter – In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight-line segment which passes through the centre of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for the diameter of a sphere.

Diametric projection – In diametric projection, all dimensions along two axes are drawn to ‘true size’ The dimensions along the third axis are halved. This projection is preferred when one view of the object is to be emphasized than the other two views (i.e., when one view is of more interest than the other views).

Diamond – It is the hardest known mineral. It is composed of pure carbon. Low-quality diamonds are used to make bits for diamond drilling in rock.

Diamond drill – It is a rotary type of rock drill which cuts a core of rock that is recovered in long cylindrical sections, two centimeters or more in diameter.

Diamond driller – It means a person who operates a diamond drill.

Diamond film – It is a carbon-composed film, normally deposited by chemical vapour deposition or related process, which has three characteristics namely (i) a crystalline morphology which can be visually discerned by optical microscopy, (ii) a single-phase crystalline structure identifiable by x-ray and / or electron diffraction, and (iii) a Raman spectrum typical for crystalline diamond. The sharpness of the sp3 carbon-carbon bonding peak (wave-number 1,332 cm-1) is frequently used to determine the perfection of the film.

Diamond-like film – It is a hard, non-crystalline carbon film, which is normally grown by chemical vapour deposition or related techniques, and which contains predominantly sp2 carbon-carbon bonds.

Diamond pyramid hardness test – It is also known as Vickers hardness test which is a micro-indentation hardness test employing a 136-degree diamond pyramid indenter (Vickers) and variable loads, enabling the use of one hardness scale for all ranges of hardness–from very soft lead to tungsten carbide.

Diamond pyramid number – It is system of assigning values to metals quantifying their hardness.

Diamond tool – It is a diamond, shaped or formed to the contour of a single-point cutting tool, for use in precision machining of non-ferrous or non-metallic materials. It is also an insert made from poly-crystalline diamond compacts.

Diamond wheel – It is a grinding wheel in which crushed and sized industrial diamonds are held in a resinoid, metal, or vitrified bond.

Diaphragm – It is a porous or permeable membrane separating anode and cathode compartments of an electrolytic cell from each other or from an intermediate compartment. It is also universal die member made of rubber or similar material used to contain hydraulic fluid within the forming cavity and to transmit pressure to the part being formed.

Diaphragm forming – It is a method of simultaneously consolidating and forming thermoplastic composites in which the lay-up is sandwiched between two heat-formable sheets (frequently superplastic aluminum sheets) and placed under gas pressure in a press to form and consolidate the desired shape.

Diaphragm valve – A diaphragm valve is a linear motion valve which is used to start, regulate, and stop fluid flow. The name is derived from its flexible disk, which mates with a seat located in the open area at the top of the valve body to form a seal. Diaphragm valves are, in effect, simple ‘pinch clamp’ valves. A resilient, flexible diaphragm is connected to a compressor by a stud moulded into the diaphragm. The compressor is moved up and down by the valve stem. Hence, the diaphragm lifts when the compressor is raised. As the compressor is lowered, the diaphragm is pressed against the contoured bottom in the straight through valve or the body weir in the weir-type valve.

Dichromate treatment – It is a chromate conversion coating produced on magnesium alloys in a boiling solution of sodium dichromate.

Didymium – It is a natural mixture of the rare-earth elements praseodymium and neodymium, frequently given the quasi-chemical symbol Di.

Die – It is a tool, normally containing a cavity, which imparts shape to solid, molten, or powdered metal mainly because of the shape of the tool itself. It is used in several press operations (including blanking, drawing, forging, and forming), in die casting, and in forming green powder metallurgy compacts. Die-casting and powder metallurgy dies are sometimes referred to as moulds.

Die (in casting) – It is metal form(s) used to produce a die casting, a lost foam pattern, or a wax pattern. It is a metal block used in the die casting process, incorporating the cavity or cavities that form the cast component, the molten metal distribution system, and means for cooling and ejecting the casting.

Die (in forging or extrusion) – It is metal forms between which metal is forged or through which metal is extruded. The shapes of the dies control the form and shape of the finished parts.

Die assembly – It consists of the parts of a die stamp or press which hold the die and locate it for the punches.

Die block – It is a block, frequently made of heat-treated steel, into which desired impressions are machined or sunk and from which closed-die forgings or sheet metal stampings are produced using hammers or presses. In forging, die blocks are normally used in pairs, with part of the impression in one of the blocks and the rest of the impression in the other. In sheet metal forming, the female die is used in conjunction with a male punch.

Die body – It is the stationary or fixed part of a powder pressing die.

Die casting – It is a casting made in a die.

Die casting process – It is a metal casting process which is characterized by forcing of liquid metal under high pressure into a mould cavity. The mould cavity is created using two hardened dies made of tool steel. These dies are machined into shape and work similarly to an injection mould during the process. Majority of die castings are made from specifically zinc, copper, aluminum, magnesium, lead, pewter (alloy of tin, copper and antimony) and tin-based alloys. Die castings of ferrous metal are also possible.

Die casting, cold chamber – It is the die casting process in which the metal injection mechanism is not submerged in molten metal.

Die casting, gravity – It is the term used in for producing a casting by pouring molten metal (gravity pouring) into a metal mould, with no application of pressure. It is also called as the permanent mould casting process.

Die casting, hot chamber It is the die casting process in which the metal injection mechanism is submerged in the molten metal.

Die casting, pressure – It is a casting made in a metal mould (set of metal dies) in which the metal is injected under high pressure, by either cold-chamber or hot-chamber die casting machines. It is also used for simply die casting. High-pressure die casting and low-pressure die casting are terms normally used to differentiate between the two processes which are also called die casting and low-pressure permanent moulding respectively.

Die cavity – It is the machined recess which gives a forging or stamping its shape.

Die check – It is a crack in a die impression because of the forging and thermal strains at relatively sharp corners. Upon forging, these cracks become filled with metal, producing sharp ragged edges on the part. Normal die wear is the gradual enlarging of the die impression because of the erosion of the die material, normally occurring in areas subject to repeated high pressures during forging.

Die clearance – It is the clearance between a mated punch and die. It is normally expressed as clearance per side. It is also called clearance or punch-to-die clearance.

Die closure – It is a term frequently used to mean variations in the thickness of a forging.

Die cushion – It is a press accessory placed beneath or within a bolster plate or die block for providing an additional motion or pressure for stamping or forging operations. It is actuated by air, oil, rubber, springs, or a combination of these.

Die forger hammers – These hammers are similar in operation to power-drop hammers but have shorter strokes and more rapid striking rates. The ram is held at the top of the stroke by a constant source of pressurized air, which is admitted to and exhausted from the cylinder to energize the blow.

Die forging – It is a forging which is formed to the required shape and size through working in machined impressions in specially prepared dies. Based on the arrangements of dies, the process of forging can be (i) open die forging, and (ii) closed die forging.

Die forming – It is the shaping of solid or powdered metal by forcing it into or through the die cavity.

Die height – It is the distance between the fixed and the moving platen when the dies are closed.

Die holder – it is a plate or block, on which the die block is mounted, having holes or slots for fastening to the bolster plate or the bed of the press.

Die impression – It is the portion of the die surface which shapes a forging or sheet metal part.

Die insert – It is a relatively small die which contains part or all of the impression of a forging or sheet metal part and is fastened to the master die block.

Dielectric – It is a non-conductor of electricity. It is also the ability of a material to resist the flow of an electrical current.

Dielectric constant – It is the ratio of the capacitance of an assembly of two electrodes separated solely by a plastic insulating material to its capacitance when the electrodes are separated by air.

Dielectric curing – It is the curing of a synthetic thermosetting resin by the passage of an electric charge (produced from a high-frequency generator) through the resin.

Dielectric heating – It is the heating of materials by dielectric loss in a high-frequency electrostatic field.

Dielectric loss – It is a loss of energy evidenced by the rise in heat of a dielectric placed in an alternating electric field.

Dielectric material – It is a material which does not allow free flow of electric current.

Dielectric monitoring – It is a means of tracking the cure of thermosets by changes in their electrical properties during material processing.

Dielectric shield – In a cathodic protection system, it is an electrically non-conductive material, such as a coating, plastic sheet, or pipe, that is placed between an anode and an adjacent cathode for avoiding current wastage and for improving current distribution, normally on the cathode.

Dielectric strength – It is the property of an insulating material which enables it to withstand electric stress. It is also the average potential per unit thickness at which failure of the dielectric material occurs.

Dielectrometry – It is the use of electrical techniques to measure the changes in loss factor (dissipation) and in capacitance during cure of the resin in a laminate.

Die life – It is the productive life of a die impression, normally expressed as the number of units produced before the impression has worn beyond permitted tolerances.

Die lines – These are lines or markings on formed, drawn, or extruded metal parts caused by imperfections in the surface of the die.

Die lubricant – It is a lubricant applied to the working surfaces of dies and punches for facilitating drawing, pressing, stamping, and / or ejection. In powder metallurgy, the die lubricant is sometimes mixed into the powder before pressing into a compact. It is also a compound which is sprayed, swabbed, or otherwise applied on die surfaces or the work-piece during the forging or forming process for reducing friction. Lubricant also facilitates release of the part from the dies and provide thermal insulation.

Die match – It is the condition where dies, after having been set up in a press or other equipment, are in proper alignment relative to each other.

Die number – It is the number assigned to a die for identification and cataloging purposes, and which normally is assigned for the same purpose to the product produced from that die.

Die opening – In flash or upset welding, it is the distance between the electrodes, normally measured with the parts in contact before welding has commenced or immediately upon completion of the cycle but before upsetting. In powder metallurgy, it is the entrance to the die cavity.

Die pad – It is a movable plate or pad in a female die. It is normally used for part ejection by mechanical means, springs, or fluid cushions.

Die proof – It is a casting of a die impression made to confirm the accuracy of the impression.

Die pull – It is the direction in which the solidified casting is required to move when it is removed from the die. The die pull direction is to be selected such that all points on the surface of the casting move away from the die cavity surfaces.

Die radius – It is the radius on the exposed edge of a deep-drawing die, over which the sheet flows in forming drawn shells.

Diesel oil, light – Light diesel oil (LDO) is having flash point above 66 deg C. It is a blend of distillate components and a small quantity of residual components. It is used as a fuel in certain boilers and furnaces.

Diesel oil, high speed – High speed diesel (HSD) oil is a complex mixture of hydro carbons. It is a brown-coloured oily liquid with pungent smell. It has a pungent smell. It is used in diesel engines of mobile equipment, diesel-generator sets, and locomotives.  It is the prime mover in a wide range of power generation and pumping applications.

Die separation – It is the space between the two halves of a die casting die at the parting surface when the dies are closed. The separation can be the result of the internal cavity pressure exceeding the locking force of the machine or warpage of the die because of the thermal gradients in the die steel.

Die set – It is a tool or tool holder consisting of a die base and punch plate for the attachment of a die and punch, respectively.

Die shift – It is the condition which occurs after the dies have been set up in a forging unit in which a portion of the impression of one die is not in perfect alignment with the corresponding portion of the other die. This results in a mismatch in the forging, a condition which is to be held within the specified tolerance.

Die sinking – It is the machining of the die impressions for producing forgings of the needed shapes and dimensions.

Die shoes – These are the upper and lower plates or castings which constitute a die set (punch and die holder). It is also a plate or block upon which a die holder is mounted, functioning mainly as a base for the complete die assembly. This plate or block is bolted or clamped to the bolster plate or the face of the press slide.

Die space – It is the maximum space (volume), or any part of the maximum space, within a press for mounting a die.

Die stamping – It is the general term for a sheet metal part which is formed, shaped, or cut by a die in a press in one or more operations.

Die steels – These are steels which are used in die forging for making dies which work under heavy pressure and which produce a flow of metal compressing it into the desired form or shape. These steels are used for making crimping dies, embossing dies, heading dies, extrusion dies, and staking dies etc. These steels are properly heat treated to get the desired properties.

Die swell – It is the expansion of the polymer melt which occurs as the extruded melt exits the die. This is because of the aligned polymer chain

Die welding – It is also known as forge welding and cold welding. It is a solid-state welding in which metals are heated in a forge (in air) and then welded together by applying pressure or blows sufficient to cause permanent deformation at the interface.

Differential aeration cell – It is an electrolytic cell, the electro-magnetic force of which is because of a difference in air (oxygen) concentration at one electrode as compared with that at another electrode of the same material.

Differential coating – It is a coated product having a specified coating on one surface and a significantly lighter coating on the other surface such as a hot dip galvanized product or electrolytic tin plate.

Differential floatation – It means separating a complex ore into two or more valuable minerals and gangue by flotation. It is also called selective flotation.

Differential heating – It is the heating which intentionally produces a temperature gradient within an object such that, after cooling, a desired stress distribution or variation in properties is present within the object.

Differential interference contrast illumination – It is a microscopic technique using a beam-splitting double-quartz prism, i.e., a modified Wollaston prism placed ahead of the objective together with a polarizer and analyzer in the 90-degree crossed positions. The two light beams are made to coincide at the focal plane of the objective, revealing height differences as variations in colour. The prism can be moved, shifting the interference image through the range of Newtonian colours.

Differential pressure – It is the pressure measured with respect to another pressure and is expressed as the difference between the two values. This represents two points in a pressure or flow system and is referred to as the ‘dp’.

Differential quenching – It is the selective quenching of the different parts of the same steel object.

Differential scanning calorimetry – It is a thermo-analytical technique in which the difference in the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of a sample and reference is measured as a function of temperature. Both the sample and reference are maintained at nearly the same temperature throughout the experiment.

Differential thermal analysis (DTA) – It is a technique in which the difference in temperature between the sample and a reference material is monitored against time or temperature while the temperature of the sample, in a specified atmosphere, is programmed. It is a thermo-analytic technique which is similar to differential scanning calorimetry. In this analysis technique, the material under study and an inert reference are made to undergo identical thermal cycles, while recording any temperature difference between sample and reference.

Diffraction – It is a modification which the radiation undergoes, e.g., in passing by the edge of opaque bodies or through narrow slits, in which the rays appear to be deflected. It is also the coherent scattering of x-rays by the atoms of a crystal which necessarily results in beams in characteristic directions, which is sometimes termed reflection. Diffraction is also the scattering of electrons by any crystalline material through discrete angles depending only on the lattice spacings of the material and the velocity of the electrons.

Diffraction contrast – In electron microscopy, it is the contrast produced by intensity differences in Bragg-diffracted beams from a crystalline material. These differences are caused by regions of varying crystal orientation.

Diffraction grating – It is an artificially produced periodic array of scattering centres capable of producing a pattern of diffracted energy, such as accurately ruled lines on a plane surface.

Diffraction pattern (x-rays) – It is the spatial arrangement and relative intensities of diffracted beams.

Diffraction ring – It is the diffraction pattern produced by a given set of planes from randomly oriented crystalline material.

Diffuse necking – It is the non-uniform strain distribution along the length of a member loaded in tension which develops at the maximum load. The term ‘diffuse’ is used since the neck develops slowly, with little change in load, but an increase in axial strain near the load maximum.

Diffuse transmittance – It is the transmittance value obtained when the measured radiant energy has experienced appreciable scattering in passing from the source to the receiver.

Diffusion – It means spreading of a constituent in a gas, liquid, or solid, tending for making the composition of all parts uniform. It is also the spontaneous movement of atoms or molecules to new sites within a material.

Diffusion aid – It is a solid filler metal sometimes used in diffusion welding.

Diffusion bonding – It is also known as diffusion welding and diffusion brazing. Diffusion welding is a solid-state welding process which produces coalescence of the faying surfaces by the application of pressure at high temperature. The process does not involve macroscopic deformation, melting, or relative motion of parts. A solid filler metal (diffusion aid) can or cannot be inserted between the faying surfaces.

Diffusion brazing – It is a brazing process which produces coalescence of metals by heating them to suitable temperatures and by using a filler metal or an in-situ liquid phase. The filler metal can be distributed by capillary action or can be placed or formed at the faying surfaces. The filler metal is diffused with the base metal to the extent that the joint properties have been changed to approach those of the base metal. Pressure may or may not be applied.

Diffusion coating It is a process whereby a base metal or alloy is either (i) coated with another metal or alloy and heated to a sufficient temperature in a suitable environment or (ii) exposed to a gaseous or liquid medium containing the other metal or alloy, hence causing diffusion of the coating or of the other metal or alloy into the base metal with resultant changes in the composition and properties of its surface.

Diffusion coefficient – It is a factor of proportionality representing the amount of substance diffusing across a unit area through a unit concentration gradient in unit time.

Diffusion creep – It refers to the deformation of crystalline solids by the diffusion of vacancies through their crystal lattice. Diffusion creep results in plastic deformation rather than brittle failure of the material. Diffusion creep is more sensitive to temperature than other deformation mechanisms.

Diffusion-limited current density – It is the current density, frequently referred to as limiting current density, which corresponds to the maximum transfer rate that a particular species can sustain because of the limitation of diffusion.

Diffusion streak – It is the surface discolouration which can vary from gray to brown and found only on alclad products.

Diffusion welding – It is a solid-state welding process which produces coalescence of the faying surfaces by the application of pressure at high temperature. The process does not involve macroscopic deformation, melting, or relative motion of parts. A solid filler metal (diffusion aid) may or may not be inserted between the faying surfaces.

Diffusion zone – It is the zone of variable composition at the junction between two different materials, such as in welds or between the surface layer and the core of clad materials or sleeve bearings, in which interdiffusion between the different components has taken place.

Digital control – It is a control system which processes signals in digital form.

Digital image processing – It is the use of a digital computer for processing the digital images through an algorithm. As a subcategory or field of digital signal processing, digital image processing has several advantages over analog image processing.

Digital images – These images are the electronic snapshots taken of a scene or scanned from documents, such as photographs, manuscripts, printed texts, and artwork. The digital image is sampled and mapped as a grid of dots or picture elements (pixels). Each pixel is assigned a total value (black, white, shades of gray or colour), which is represented in binary code (zeros and ones).

Digital instrument – It is an instrument which represents the measured value in the form of the digital number. It works on the principle of quantization. The quantization is the process of converting the continuous input signal into a countable output signal.

Digital manufacturing – Digitalization of controls during the manufacturing process helps identifying and automatically correcting the flaws in the products during each step of the production process. This in turn improves the product acceptance rates.

Digital measuring device – A digital measuring device is that in which the value of the measured physical quantity is automatically represented by a number on a digital display or by a code, that is, a set of discrete signals. Digital measuring devices can be divided into digital measuring instruments and digital measuring transducers. Digital measuring instruments are self-contained devices which automatically present the value of the measured quantity on a digital display.

Digital preservation – It is a process by which digital data is preserved in digital form in order to ensure the usability, durability and intellectual integrity of the information contained therein. A more precise definition is ‘the storage, maintenance, and accessibility of a digital object over the long term, usually as a consequence of applying one or more digital preservation strategies’.

Digital repository or archive – The digital repository is where digital content, assets are stored and can be searched and retrieved for later use. The repository supports mechanisms to import, export, identify, store and retrieve digital assets. Putting of digital content into a repository enables the people to manage and preserve it, and hence derive maximum value from it.

Digital signal – A digital signal is a signal which represents data as a sequence of discrete values. At any given time, it can only take on, at most, one of a finite number of values. In contrast the analog signal which varies in a continuous fashion and takes on infinity of values in any given range, the digital signal varies in discrete steps and hence takes up only finite different values in a given range.

Digital to analog converter – It is a device in which inputs are a binary number and outputs arean analog voltage or current signal.

Digitization – It is the process of converting information into a digital format. In this format, information is organized into discrete units of data (called bits) which can be separately addressed (normally in multiple-bit groups called bytes). This is the binary data which computers and several devices with computing capacity can process. Text and images can also be digitized. Similarly, digitization of audio and video presentations is also possible.

Dilatant – It is a reversible increase in viscosity with increasing shear stress.

Dilatometer – It is an instrument for measuring the linear expansion or contraction in a metal resulting from changes in such factors as temperature and allotropy.

Diluent – It is normally a liquid inert substance added to some other substance or solution so that the volume of the latter substance is increased and its concentration per unit volume is decreased.

Dilution – It is the process of lowering the concentration of a solute in a solution by simply adding more solvent to the solution, such as water. Diluting of a solution entails adding more solvent without adding more solute.

Dilution (mining) – It means that the rock that is, by necessity, removed along with the ore in the mining process, subsequently lowering the grade of the ore.

Dilution factor – When diluting a sample, it is the ratio of the final volume or mass after dilution to the volume or mass of the sample before dilution.

Dimensional defects – These are mainly related to the shape and dimensions. During the rolling of a material, there can be different defects which can cause the shape not to be as desired or the measurements not to fall within the required tolerances. The majority of the frequent causes of dimensional defects are because of the poor adjustments to the mill control and tension while rolling.

Dimensional management – It is an engineering design methodology which aims to absorb as much variation as possible without affecting the function of the product. It does this through the optimal selection of datums, feature controls, assembly methods, and assembly sequence. It differs from the conventional practice of assigning tolerances to drawings prior to release in that it is more systematic and more global in outlook and uses three-dimensional tolerance analysis computer aided engineering tools.

Dimensional stability – It is the ability of a plastic part to retain the precise shape in which it was moulded, fabricated, or cast.

Dimer – It is a condensation compound formed from two monomers or molecules.

Dimerization – It is the formation of a dimer.

Dimple – In porcelain enamel, it is a cone-like depression defect in the fired enamel surface, somewhat larger than a pinhole.

Dimple rupture – It is a fractographic term describing ductile fracture which occurs through the formation and coalescence of micro-voids along the fracture path. The fracture surface of such a ductile fracture appears dimpled when observed at high magnification and normally is very clearly resolved when viewed in a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Dimpled rupture fracture – It is a ductile fracture which occurs through the formation and coalescence of micro-voids (dimples) along the fracture path. The fracture surface of such a ductile fracture appears dimpled when observed at high magnification and normally is most clearly resolved when viewed in a scanning electron microscope.

Dimpling – It is the stretching of a relatively small, shallow indentation into sheet metal. In aircraft, it is the stretching of metal into a conical flange for a counter-sunk head rivet.

Diorite – It is an intrusive igneous rock composed mainly of sodic plagioclase, hornblende, biotite or pyroxene.

Dip – It is the angle at which a vein, structure or rock bed is inclined from the horizontal as measured at right angles to the strike.

Dip brazing – It is a brazing process in which the heat needed is furnished by a molten chemical or metal bath. When a molten chemical bath is used, the bath can act as a flux. When a molten metal bath is used, the bath provides the filler metal.

Dip coat – In the solid mould technique of investment casting, it is an extremely fine ceramic precoat applied as a slurry directly to the surface of the pattern to reproduce maximum surface smoothness. This coating is surrounded by coarser, less expensive, and more permeable investment to form the mould. In the shell mould technique of investment casting, it is an extremely fine ceramic coating called the first coat, applied as a slurry directly to the surface of the pattern for reproducing maximum surface smoothness. The first coat is followed by other dip coats of different viscosity and normally containing different grading of ceramic particles. After each dip, coarser stucco material (Portland cement, sand and water + lime) is applied to the still-wet coating. A build-up of several coats forms an investment shell mould.

Dip coating – It consists of applying a plastic coating by dipping the article to be coated into a tank of melted resin or plastisol, then chilling the adhering metal.

Diphase cleaning – It is removing soil by an emulsion which produces two phases in the cleaning tank namely a solvent phase and an aqueous phase. Cleaning is done by both solvent action and emulsification.

Dip needle – It is a compass with the needle mounted so as to swing in a vertical plane, used for prospecting to determine the magnetic attraction of rocks.

Dipping – In porcelain enameling, it is the process of coating a metal shape by immersion in slip, removal, and draining. In dry process enameling, it is the method of coating by immersing the heated metal shape for a short time in powdered frit.

Dip plating – It is depositing a metallic coating on a metal immersed in a liquid solution, without the aid of an external electric current.

Dip soldering – It is a soldering process in which the heat needed is furnished by a molten metal bath which provides the solder filler metal.

Direct chill casting – It is a continuous method of making ingots for rolling or extrusion by pouring the metal into a short mould. The base of the mould is a platform which is gradually lowered while the metal solidifies, the frozen shell of metal acting as a retainer for the liquid metal below the wall of the mould. The ingot is normally cooled by the impingement of water directly on the mould or on the walls of the solid metal as it is lowered. The length of the ingot is limited by the depth to which the platform can be lowered. Hence, it is frequently being called semi-continuous casting.

Direct current (DC) – It is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current can flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even through a vacuum as in electron or ion beams.

Direct current cleaning – It is electrolytic cleaning in which the work is the cathode.

Direct current electric arc furnace – It is an electric arc furnace in which a single electrode positioned at the centre of the furnace roof is the cathode of the system. Current passes from the electrode through the charge or bath to a cathode located at the bottom of the furnace. Current from the bottom of the furnace then passes through the furnace refractories to a copper base plate to outside cables. It is used in the production of ferroalloys, carbon and alloy steels, and stainless steels.

Direct current electrode negative (DCEN) – It is the arrangement of direct current arc welding leads in which the work is the positive pole and the electrode is the negative pole of the welding arc. It is also referred to as straight polarity.

Direct current electrode positive (DCEP) – It is the arrangement of direct current arc welding leads in which the work is the negative pole and the electrode is the positive pole of the welding arc. It is also referred to as reverse polarity.

Direct current (DC) resistance – It is the ohmic resistance of a conductor which is directly dependent on the conductor material, the conductor gauge and the length of the conductor. A precise measurement of the direct current resistance is possible with a micro-ohmmeter.

Direct current reverse polarity (DCRP) – In arc welding, it occurs when electrode is connected with positive terminal of the welding power source (direct current type) and base metals are connected with the negative terminal.

Direct current straight polarity (DCSP) – In arc welding, it occurs when the plates are positive and the electrode is negative, causing the electrons to go from the electrode tip to the base plates.

Direct fire – It is a method of maturing porcelain enamel so that the products of combustion come in contact with the ware.

Direct-fired tunnel-type furnace – It is a continuous-type furnace where the work is conveyed through a tunnel-type heating zone, and the parts are hung on hooks or fixtures to minimize distortion.

Direct (forward) extrusion – The conversion of an ingot or billet into lengths of uniform cross section by forcing metal to flow plastically through a die orifice. In forward (direct) extrusion, the die and ram are at opposite ends of the extrusion stock, and the product and ram travel in the same direction. Also, there is relative motion between the extrusion stock and the die.

Direct injection burner – It is a burner used in flame emission and atomic absorption spectroscopy in which the fuel and oxidizing gases emerge from separate ports and are mixed in the flame itself. One of the gases, normally the oxidant, is used for nebulizing the sample at the tip of the burner.

Direct iron ore smelting (DIOS) process – It is a smelting reduction process for the production of hot metal. It is a two-stage process. It uses non-coking coal in a powder or granular form to smelt iron ore fines into liquid iron and hence, there is no necessity of a coke ovens plant and a sintering plant. The ore fines are pre-reduced in a fluidized bed furnace and are charged in the smelting reduction furnace along with non-coking coal and fluxes. Oxygen is blown into the smelting reduction furnace. The two stages of the DIOS process consist of (i) pre reduction of iron ore in preliminary reduction furnace (PRF), and (ii) the final reduction and melting in the smelting reduction furnace (SRF). The pre reduction of the ore is carried out in two steps utilizing the exhaust gas from the SRF. Each of the steps uses a fluidized bed reactor which is designed as a vertical furnace.

Directional control valves – These valves determine the path through which a fluid traverses a given circuit. For example, they establish the direction of motion of a hydraulic cylinder or motor. This control of the fluid path is accomplished primarily by check valves, shuttle valves, and two-way, three-way, and four-way directional control valves. Directional control valves can be classified in four ways namely (i) type of construction (poppet valves, and spool), (ii) number of ports (two-way valves, three-way valves, and four-way valves), (iii) number of switching position (two position, and three position), and (iv) actuating mechanism (manual actuation. mechanical actuation, solenoid actuation, hydraulic actuation, pneumatic actuation, and indirect actuation).

Directional drilling – It is a method of drilling involving the use of stabilizers and wedges to direct the orientation of the hole.

Directionally solidified (DS) eutectic composite – It is a metal-matrix composite material produced by directional solidification of the eutectic composition of an alloy.

Directional property – It is the property whose magnitude varies depending on the relation of the test axis to a specific direction within the metal. The variation results from preferred orientation or from fibering of constituents or inclusions.

Directional solidification – It is the controlled solidification of molten metal in a casting so as to provide feed metal to the solidifying front of the casting. Normally this results in the metal solidifying in a preferred direction. In the limit, the solidification can be controlled to grow as a single grain (single crystal casting).

Direct measuring instrument – It converts the energy of the measurement directly into energy which actuates the instruments and the value of the unknown quantity is measured or displayed or recorded directly. Examples of this category of instruments are ammeters, voltmeters, watt-meters and energy meters.

Direct numerical control computers – These computers distribute instructional data to, and collect data from, a number of machines or machining cells. These control computers occupy a location which is typically remote from the machines under their control. Direct numerical control computer software is developed not only to control individual pieces of production equipment but also to serve as part of a management information system in the manufacturing sector of an organization.

Direct on line starter – It is a kind of motor starter which does not reduce the voltage at the motor terminals.

Direct quenching – It means quenching carburized parts directly from the carburizing operation. It is also used for quenching pearlitic malleable parts directly from the malleabilizing operation.

Direct radiation – It is the radiation received directly from a source such as a nuclear power plant, rather than indirectly as a result of radioactive discharges.

Direct reduced iron – Direct reduced iron (DRI) is produced by the reduction of iron ore (in the form of lumps or pellets) by either non-coking coal or a reducing gas produced by reforming of natural gas. The reducing gas can also be produced by the gasification of coal. The reduction process is conducted at high temperature but substantially below the melting point of iron. Since the reduction reaction takes place in solid state, the lump or pellet retain their original shape, but are considerably lighter due to the removal of the oxygen from the ore. Hence the produced direct reduced iron has a highly porous structure. This porous structure gives direct reduced iron an appearance of a sponge and because of it, direct reduced iron is also known as sponge iron.

Direct shipping ore (DSO) – It is the high-grade iron ore after dry or wet sizing at the ore mine. This ore contains higher than 62 % of Fe. This ore is normally known as natural ore or direct shipping ore. This ore can be directly used in the production of iron and steel.

Direct torque control – It is method of estimating motor torque as part of a variable speed motor drive.

Dirt – It is the foreign debris from rolling or post-rolling operations imbedded in or under the coating.

Dirt content – It is a measure of the size and concentration of foreign particles present in a lubricant. Dirt content is normally reported as the number of particles per cubic centimeter, for specified particle Sizes.

Disaster – It is defined as an event or series of events, which gives rise to causalities and damage or loss of properties, infrastructures, environment, essential services or means of livelihood on such a scale which is beyond the normal capacity of the affected community to cope with. Disaster is also described as a ‘catastrophic situation in which the normal pattern of life or eco system has been disrupted and extra ordinary emergency interventions are required to save and preserve lives and / or environment’.

Disbond – It is an area within a bonded interface between two adherends in which an adhesion failure or separation has occurred. It is also an area of separation between two laminae in the finished laminate (in this case, the term delamination is normally preferred).

Disbondment – It is the destruction of adhesion between a coating and the surface coated.

Disc – The disc is that part of the valve which allows, throttles, or stops the fluid flow, depending on its position. For a valve having a bonnet, the disk is the third primary principal pressure boundary. The disk provides the capability for permitting and prohibiting fluid flow. With the disk closed, full system pressure is applied across the disk if the outlet side is depressurized. For this reason, the disk is a pressure-retaining part. In the case of a plug or a ball valve, the disk is called plug or a ball. The disk is the third most important primary pressure boundary. With the valve closed, full system pressure is applied across the disk, and for this reason, the disk is a pressure related component. Disks are normally forged, and in some designs, hard surfaced to provide good wear properties.

Disc grinding – It consists of grinding with the flat side of an abrasive disk or segmented wheel. It is also called vertical-spindle surface grinding.

Discharge – It is the release of gaseous or liquid materials to the environment.

Disc machine – In tribology, it a testing machine for rolling or rolling / sliding contact in which two disc-shaped rollers, with parallel axes of rotation, make tangential contact on their circumferences as they move relative to one another. One or both discs can be crowned on the rolling-contact surface.

Discontinuity – It is an interruption in the normal physical structure or configuration of a part, such as cracks, laps, seams, inclusions, or porosity. A discontinuity may or may not affect the utility of the part. It is also an interruption of the typical structure of a weldment, such as a lack of homogeneity in the mechanical, metallurgical, or physical characteristics of the material or weldment. A discontinuity is not necessarily a defect.

Discontinuous fibre-reinforced composite – It is a ceramic-matrix composite material reinforced by chopped fibres.

Discontinuous precipitation – It is the precipitation from a supersaturated solid solution in which the precipitate particles grow by short-range diffusion, accompanied by recrystallization of the matrix in the region of precipitation. Discontinuous precipitates grow into the matrix from nuclei near grain boundaries, forming cells of alternate lamellae of precipitate and depleted (and recrystallized) matrix. It is frequently being referred to as cellular or nodular precipitation.

Discontinuous yielding – It is the non-uniform plastic flow of a metal showing a yield point in which the plastic deformation is inhomogeneously distributed along the gage length. Under some circumstances, it can occur in metals not showing a distinct yield point, either at the onset of or during plastic flow.

Discrete cosine transform – It is a mathematical technique for representing a sampled signal as a sum of cosine waves of different frequencies.

Discrete Fourier transform – It is a mathematical technique for representing a sampled signal as a sum of sine and cosine waves of different frequencies.

Discrete-time signal – It is a signal represented as a time series of samples taken at regular intervals.

Disc spring – It is a spring washer with a conical shape. This shape gives the spring washer its flexible effect. Disc springs are also called Belleville-spring washers and conical spring washers. The properties of the disc spring make it unique in applications where space is limited – but where high force is wanted.

Dishing – It is forming of a shallow concave surface, the area f which being large compared to the depth.  These are (i) an edge dislocation which corresponds to the row of mismatched atoms along the edge formed by an extra, partial plane of atoms within the body of a crystal, and (ii) a screw dislocation which corresponds to the axis of a spiral structure in a crystal, characterized by a distortion that joins normally parallel planes together to form a continuous helical ramp (with a pitch of one interplanar distance) winding about the dislocation. Most prevalent is the so-called mixed dislocation, which is an combination of an edge dislocation and a screw dislocation.

Dislocation – It is a linear imperfection in a crystalline array of atoms. The two basic types recognized are (i) an edge dislocation which corresponds to the row of mismatched atoms along the edge formed by an extra, partial plane of atoms within the body of a crystal, and (ii) a screw dislocation which corresponds to the axis of a spiral structure in a crystal and is characterized by a distortion joining normally parallel lines together to form a continuous helical ramp (with a pitch of one inter-planar distance) winding about the dislocation. A mixed dislocation, which is any combination of a screw dislocation and an edge dislocation, is prevalent.

Dislocation density – It is the total length of dislocation lines per unit volume, or the number of dislocation lines that cut through a unit cross-sectional area.

Dislocation etching – It is the etching of exit points of dislocations on a surface. It depends on the strain field ranging over a distance of several atoms. Crystal figures (etch pits) are formed at exit points. For example, etch pits for cubic materials are cube faces.

Disordered structure – It is the crystal structure of a solid solution in which the atoms of different elements are randomly distributed relative to the available lattice sites.

Disordering – It means forming a lattice arrangement in which the solute and solvent atoms of a solid solution occupy lattice sites at random.

Dispersal – It is the spread of a radioactive discharge in the environment.

Dispersant additive – · In lubrication technology, it is an additive capable of dispersing cold oil sludge.

Dispersant oil – It is a heavy-duty oil containing a dispersant additive.

Dispersing agent – It is a substance which increases the stability of a suspension of particles in a liquid medium by deflocculation of the primary particles.

Dispersion – It means breaking big particles into small particles and suspend them in water so that they can be removed by rinsing. Alkaline silicates and phosphates are beneficial for dispersion. In data analysis, dispersion is the way of spreading the variables around the central tendency. Common tools are range, variance, and the square root of the variance which is known as standard deviation.

Dispersion hardening – It is strengthening of a metal or alloy by incorporating chemically stable sub-micron size particles of a non-metallic phase which impede dislocation movement at high temperature.

Dispersion-strengthened material – It is a metallic material which contains a fine dispersion of non-metallic phase(s), such as alumina, magnesia, silica, cadmium oxide, thorium di-oxide, yttrium oxide, zirconium oxide singly or in combination, to increase the hot strength of the metallic matrix. Examples include dispersion-strengthened copper (alumina) used for welding electrodes, silver (cadmium oxide) used for electrical contacts, and nickel-chromium (yttrium oxide) superalloys used for gas turbine components.

Dispersion strengthening – It is the strengthening of a metal or alloy by incorporating chemically stable sub-micron size particles of a non-metallic phase which slow down dislocation movement at high temperature.

Dispersoid – It is finely divided particles of relatively insoluble constituents visible in the micro-structure of certain metallic alloys.

Displacement – It is the distance that a chosen measurement point on a cracked sample displaces normal to the crack plane as the crack grows.

Displacement angle – In filament winding, it is the advancement distance of the winding ribbon on the equator after one complete circuit.

Displacement current – It is the effect of a time-varying electric field, which induces a magnetic field just as the motion of electrical charges does.

Display data channel – It is a collection of protocols for digital communication between a computer display and a graphics adapter that enable the display to communicate its supported display modes to the adapter and that enable the computer host to adjust monitor parameters, such as brightness and contrast.

Display device – It is a device which displays data from an information system.

Disposability assessment – It is an advisory process) to provide advice on whether a proposed waste package is suitable for geological disposal.

Disposal – In the context of solid waste, disposal is the emplacement of waste in a suitable facility without intent to retrieve it at a later date. Retrieval can be possible but, if intended, the appropriate term is storage. Disposal can also refer to the release of airborne or liquid waste to the environment (i.e., emissions and discharges).

Disposal facility – it is also known as repository. It is a long-term radioactive waste storage facility.

Dissection – In case of a product, it is the systematic process for taking apart and analyzing the product and all its parts. It is an important tool in engineering design. Product dissection helps in understanding how products work, and can also be a source of inspiration when designing a new product. Mechanical dissection is the process of disassembling, inspecting, and reassembling a mechanical device to discover how it works.

Disseminated ore – It is the ore carrying small particles of valuable minerals spread more or less uniformly through the host rock.

Dissimilar metals – These are two or more different metals in contact. Due to varying surface conductivity, one or more metals can experience accelerated corrosion. Since zinc is high in the galvanic series, it preferentially corrodes to protect most dissimilar metals.

Dissipation – It is the loss of energy in a system.

Dissipation factor, electrical – It is the ratio of the power loss in a dielectric material to the total power transmitted through it. Hence, it is the imperfection of the dielectric. It is equal to the tangent of the loss angle.

Dissociation – It is as applied to heterogeneous equilibria, the transformation of one phase into two or more new phases of different composition.

Dissociation pressure – At a designated temperature, it is the pressure at which a phase transforms into two or more new phases of different composition.

Dissolution – It is the process of dissolving, splitting, or separating into component parts.

Dissolution etching – it is the development of micro-structure by surface removal.

Distilled water – It is that water which is produced by distillation process that is first evaporating the treated water and then condensing the water vapours. Distilled water is the purest form of water and normally used in laboratories for the wet chemical analysis of the materials.

Distortion – It is a deviation from an original size, shape, or contour which occurs because of the application of stress or the release of residual stress. Some steel sections distort during galvanizing due to differential heating and cooling or inbuilt welding stresses. Distortion occurs when the application of heat during the galvanizing process releases stress from the steel induced in the fabrication process or during the steel making process. Distortion is of concern when galvanizing asymmetric structural shapes and / or fabrications.

Distributed control system – It is a computerized control system for a process or plant normally with several control loops, in which autonomous controllers are distributed throughout the system, but there is no central operator supervisory control. Distributed Control System automates industrial equipment used in continuous and batch processes, while reducing the risk to people and the environment.

Distributed impact test – In impingement erosion testing, it is an apparatus or method which produces a spatial distribution of impacts by liquid or solid bodies over an exposed surface of a sample. Examples of such tests are those employing liquid sprays or simulated rain-fields. If the impacts are distributed uniformly over the surface, the term uniformly distributed impact test can be used.

Distributed numerical control – It combines the centralized data base feature of direct numerical control with the distributed computer power available in computer numerical control machine tools. This creates a communications network for the shop floor which eliminates paper tape and provides an automated part program library, status reporting on machine tool operation, and the capability to run part programs of practically infinite length.

Distribution board – It is a piece of electrical switchgear which distributes electric power to multiple branch circuits.

Distribution of data – It is a measure to determine the quality characteristics. When the distribution of data is symmetric then there are same numbers of observations below and above the mean. This is what is normally found when only normal variation is present in the data. When a disproportionate number of observations are either above or below the mean, then the data has a skewed distribution.

Distribution transformer – It is a power transformer, normally used to change the utility distribution voltage to a lower voltage for use on the user premises.

Disturbed metal – It is the cold-worked metal layer formed at a polished surface during the process of mechanical grinding and polishing.

Divariant equilibrium – When both the pressure and temperature in a unary system are freely and arbitrarily selected, the situation corresponds to having two degrees of freedom, and the phase rule says that only one phase can exist in stable equilibrium. This situation is known as divariant equilibrium.

Divergent thinking – It is a thought process in which the mind moves in several different directions, combining different bits of information into new patterns until several different solution concepts evolve.

Diversity – It consists of two separate and independent systems that perform the same task so as to reduce the chances of both failing at the same time.

Divided cell – It is a cell containing a diaphragm or other means for physically separating the anolyte from the catholyte.

Divorced eutectic – It is a metallographic appearance in which the two constituents of a eutectic structure appear as massive phases rather than the finely divided mixture characteristic of normal eutectics. Frequently, one of the constituents of the eutectics is continuous and indistinguishable from an accompanying pro-eutectic constituent.

DN value – It is the product of bearing bore diameter in millimeters and speed in revolutions per minute.

Doctor blade or bar – It is a straight piece of material used to spread resin, as in application of a thin film of resin for use in hot melt prepregging or for use as an adhesive film. It is also called paste metering blade.

Document – It is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought. It is an official piece of writing which gives information, proof or evidence. It is also a computer file which contains text that has a name which identifies it.

Documentation – It enables communication of intent and consistency of action. Its use contributes to (i) achievement of conformity to the process or system requirements and improvement, (ii) provision of appropriate training, (iii) repeatability and traceability, (iv) provision of objective evidence, and (v) evaluation of the effectiveness and continuing suitability of a process or a system.

Document control procedure – It establishes methodology for the issuance, maintenance, revision, and distribution of the documents. It also ensures that a person does not refer to any unauthorized document which is not approved.

Dolly – In filament winding, it is the planar reinforcement applied to a local area between windings to provide extra strength in an area where a cut-out is to be made, e.g., port openings. It is normally placed at the knuckle joints of cylinder to dome.

Dolomite – Dolomite is a common rock-forming mineral. It is a calcium magnesium carbonate. It is the primary component of the sedimentary rock known as dolostone and the metamorphic rock known as dolomitic marble. Dolomite is a complex mineral with a composition of CaCO3.MgCO3. It is used as fluxing material as well as adjusting the MgO content of the slag.

Dolomite brick – A refractory brick which is manufactured substantially or entirely of dead-burned dolomite.

Dolomite, burnt – When dolomite is heated at a high temperature then it loses its reactivity and the product is known as burnt dolomite. Burnt dolomite is a refractory material and is used in the manufacture of basic refractories.

Dolomite, calcined -It is the calcined dolomite (CaO.MgO) which is produced on heating of dolomite (CaCO3.MgCO3). Calcined dolomite is also known as dolime or doloma.

Dolomitic lime – It is the lime having some percentage of MgO (normally 2 % to 4 %).

Dolomitic limestone – It is that limestone which contains some dolomite.

Domain, magnetic – It is a substructure in a ferromagnetic material within which all the elementary magnets (electron spins) are held aligned in one direction by inter-atomic forces. If isolated, a domain is a saturated permanent magnet.

Dome – In filament winding, it is the portion of a cylindrical container which forms the spherical or elliptical shell ends of the container.

Domestic water – It is the water which is used for washing and in wash rooms. In industrial plants normally drinking water is used as domestic water.

Dominic method – It is a qualitative method for evaluating and choosing between alternative design concepts or materials. The method uses an evaluation table in which the evaluation criteria are grouped according to priority (high, moderate, low), and the alternative solutions are ranked as excellent, good, fair, poor, or unacceptable.

Donnan exclusion – It is the mechanism by which an ion exchange resin can be made to act like a semi-permeable membrane between an interstitial liquid and a liquid occluded inside the resin particles. Highly ionized molecules are excluded from the resin particles by electrostatic forces. Weakly ionized or non-ionized molecules can pass through the membrane.

Doppler effect – It is the change in the observed frequency of an acoustic or electro-magnetic wave because of the relative motion of source and observer.

Doppler shift – It is the quantity of change in the observed frequency of a wave because of the Doppler effect. It is normally expressed in hertz.

Dor bar – It is the final saleable product of a gold mine. It is normally consisting of gold and silver.

Dose – It is the measurement characterizing the exposure of individuals subjected to radiation. The term dose is frequently mistakenly used instead of dose equivalent. The absorbed dose is the quantity of energy absorbed by matter (living or inert) exposed to radiation. It is expressed in Grays (Gy). Dose equivalent in living organisms is an absorbed dose which has different effect depending on the type of radiation (alpha, beta and gamma). For taking these differences into account, a dose-multiplying factor is used to produce a ‘dose equivalent’. Effective dose is the sum of weighted dose equivalents deposited on various tissues and organs by internal and external irradiation. The unit of measurement for effective dose is the Sievert (Sv). Lethal dose is the fatal dose of nuclear or chemical origin. Maximum permissible dose is the dose which is not to be exceeded for a given period of time.

Dose limitation – It is the process of limiting radiation doses to individuals. It is also known as the third radiation protection principle.

Dose rate – The dose rate is the quotient of dose and time. For example, rem (roentgen equivalent man) per hour or Sieverts per hour.

Dosimeter – It is the instrument for measuring absorbed dose.

Dosimetry – It is the theory and application of the principles and techniques involved in the measurement and recording of ionizing radiation doses. What is calculated is the absorbed dose in matter and tissue resulting from the exposure to ionizing radiation.

Dot map – It is an intensity map (normally corresponding to an image) in which the intensity in any area is proportional to the concentration of a specific element in that area.

Double-acting hammer – It is a forging hammer in which the ram is raised by admitting steam or air into a cylinder below the piston, and the blow intensified by admitting steam or air above the piston on the downward stroke. Double acting hammers are similar to gravity hammers in that a lifting cylinder raises the moving tup, but power is also applied to the downward-moving tup to increase the energy capacity. Energy ratings for similar tup weights are considerably more than for gravity hammers, and the die closing speeds are higher also. Power comes from double-acting steam, compressed air, or hydraulic cylinders.

Double-action die – It is a die designed to perform more than one operation in a single stroke of the press.

Double-action forming – It consists of forming or drawing in which more than one action is achieved in a single stroke of the press.

Double-action mechanical press – It is a press having two independent parallel movements by means of two slides, one moving within the other. The inner slide or plunger is normally operated by a crankshaft; the outer or blank-holder slide, which dwells during the drawing operation, is normally operated by a toggle mechanism or by cams.

Double aging – It consists of employment of two different aging treatments for controlling the type of precipitate formed from a super-saturated matrix in order to get the desired properties. The first aging treatment, sometimes referred to as intermediate or stabilizing, is normally carried out at higher temperature than the second.

Double basket hitch – It consists of two single basket hitches placed under the load. On smooth surfaces, the legs tend to draw together as the load is lifted. For countering this, the hitch is braced against a change in contour, or other reliable means, to prevent the slings from slipping. It is also necessary to keep the legs far enough apart to provide balance, but not so far apart that they create angles of less than 60-degree with the horizontal.

Double-beat valve – It is also called drop valve or equilibrium valve. It is a type of poppet valve arranged to allow it to be opened against a high pressure with a minimum of force.

Double bevel groove weld – It is a type of groove weld.

Double dipping – It is the process of dipping steel, which is too large in one dimension to completely fit into the galvanizing pot, more than once in cleaning solutions and molten zinc metal in order to produce a coating which covers the entire surface of the steel. Fabricated items longer or wider than the galvanizing bath in one dimension can be galvanized by double dipping, where one side or end of the fabrication is galvanized first. The fabrication is then rotated or turned over allowing the second section to be galvanized.

Double etching – In metallography, is consists of the use of two etching solutions in sequence. The second etchant emphasizes a particular micro-structural feature.

Double flare bevel groove weld – It is a weld in grooves formed by a member with a curved surface in contact with a planar member.

Double flare V-groove weld – It is a weld in grooves formed by two members with curved surfaces.

Double helical gears – In these gears, thrust loading is eliminated by using two pairs of gears with tooth angles opposed to each other. In this way, the side thrust from one gear cancels the thrust from the other gear. These opposed gears are normally manufactured with a space between the opposing sets of teeth.

Double J-groove weld – It is a type of groove weld.

Double layer – It is the interface between an electrode or a suspended particle and an electrolyte created by charge-charge interaction leading to an alignment of oppositely charged ions at the surface of the electrode or particle. The simplest model is represented by a parallel plate condenser.

Double pour roll – These are also called composite or duplex rolls. In order to get both high resistances to wear and high strength, roll makers have developed a roll making technology wherein the outer shell is made hard and the inner core tough by double pouring of metal of different compositions. The shell composition is maintained to give very high wear resistance properties and the core composition to give more strength. These are very costly type of rolls.

Doubler – It is the localized areas of extra layers of reinforcement, normally to provide stiffness or strength for fastening or other abrupt load transfer.

Double-row roller conveyor – This design is used to convey wide and heavy loads. In place of one long and proportionately large diameter roller, two smaller diameter rollers with lengths less than half of the larger roller are used. For the support the inner ends of the pair of rollers, additional support frame is used. This design has lower cost than the same width conventional single row conveyor with longer and larger rollers.

Double shear notch – It is an abrupt deviation from straight on a sheared edge. This offset can occur if the flat sheet or plate product is longer than the blade for the final shearing operation.

Double-shear test – It is a shear test having two stationary, shear blades and one moving one and which uses solid round bars as test samples.

Double square groove weld – It is a type of groove weld.

Double tempering – It is a treatment in which a quench-hardened ferrous metal is subjected to two complete tempering cycles, normally at substantially the same temperature, for the purpose of ensuring completion of the tempering reaction and promoting stability of the resulting micro-structure.

Double U-groove weld – It is a type of groove weld.

Double V-groove weld – It is a type of groove weld.

Double-welded joint – In arc and oxy-fuel gas welding, it is a fusion welded joint which is welded from both sides.

Double wrap basket hitch – It is a basket hitch wrapped completely around the load and compressing it rather than merely supporting it, as it is done in the ordinary basket hitch. The double wrap basket hitch can be used in pairs like the double basket hitch. This method is excellent for handling loose material, pipe, rod or smooth cylindrical loads because the sling is in full 360-degree contact with the load and tends to draw it together. On smooth surfaces, this type of hitch is a better choice.

Double wrap choker hitch – It is formed by wrapping the sling completely around the load and hooking it into the vertical part of the sling. This hitch is in full 360 degrees contact with the load and tends to draw it tightly together. It can be used either singly on short, easily balanced loads or in pairs on longer loads. The loosely-bundled loads are usually lifted with this hitch.

Dowel – It is a wooden or metal pin of different types used in the parting surface of parted patterns and core boxes. In die casting dies, it is the metal pins for ensuring correct registry of cover and ejector halves.

Down comer – It is the pipe which carries BF gas from uptake to the dust catcher.

Down-gate – It is the mould channel which connects the pouring basin with the runner or, in the absence of a pouring basin, directly into which molten metal is poured. Sometimes it is referred to as sprue or down-sprue. It is also sometimes used to mean all gates, risers, runners, and similar scrap which are removed from castings after shakeout.

Down-hand welding – It is welding from the upper side of the joint, the face of the weld being horizontal. It is also known as flat-position welding.

Down milling – It is the milling in which the cutter moves in the direction of feed at the point of contact.

Down sprue – It is the mould channel which connects the pouring basin with the runner or, in the absence of a pouring basin, directly into which molten metal is poured. Sometimes it is referred to as sprue or down-gate. It is also sometimes used to mean all gates, risers, runners, and similar scrap which are removed from castings after shakeout.

Dow process – It is a process for the production of magnesium by electrolysis of molten magnesium chloride.

Draft – It is an angle or taper on the surface of a pattern, core box, punch, or die (or of the parts made with them) which facilitates removal of the parts from a mould or die cavity, or a core from a casting. It is also the change in cross section which occurs during rolling or cold drawing.

Draft angle – It is the angle of taper, normally 5-degree to 7-degree given to the sides of a forging and the sidewalls of the die impression.

Drag – It is the bottom section of a flask, mould, or pattern. In thermal cutting, it is the offset distance between the actual and the theoretical exit points of the cutting oxygen stream measured on the exit surface of the material.

Drag chain conveyor – It is a conveyor having one or more endless chains, which slides in a track or tracks, resting at the bottom of a trough, and materials resting directly on the chain are carried by the chain links. The layers of materials above the chain level are moved by the cohesiveness with the material below. The troughs or sliding base surface can be made of steel, concrete or even wood. The chain tracks are frequently made from steel channels. These conveyors normally work in the same horizontal plane with little inclines, for movement of bulk materials, hot materials, abrasive materials, logs / timber, and packages etc. Even cars can be moved in a car assembly line by putting two wheels on one chain.

Drag force – It is the resistance force caused by the motion of a body through a fluid, such as water or air. A drag force acts opposite to the direction of the oncoming flow velocity. The first point of view for the cause of drag is the skin friction.

Drag fold – The result of the plastic deformation of a rock unit where it has been folded or bent back on itself.

Drag-in – It is the water or solution which adheres to the objects introduced into a bath.

Drag mark – It is a surface area showing a scratch or abrasion resulting from contact of the hot extrusion with the press equipment or tooling or, in the case of multi-hole dies, with other sections as they exit the press.

Drag-out – It is the solution which adheres to the objects removed from a bath.

Drainage – It is the act, process, or mode of becoming emptied or freed of cleaning solutions and / or zinc. Fabricated items immersed in molten zinc are to be designed and to allow the zinc to freely drain from internal and external surfaces are to be suspended correctly during the galvanizing process.

Draining – It is part of the dipping or flow coating process during which the excess slip flows from suitably positioned ware.

Drain time – It is the time needed for porcelain enamel slip applied by dipping, slushing, or flow coating to complete movement across the surfaces of a coated part.

Drape – It is the ability of a polymer sheet or composite sheet to conform to the shape of the mould.

Draw – It is a term used to denote the shrinkage which appears on the surface of a casting. This term has been used formerly for used to describe tempering.

Drawability – It is a measure of the formability of a sheet metal subject to a drawing process. The term is normally used for indicating the ability of a metal to be deep drawn. The drawability of a metal depends on two factors namely (i) the ability of the material in the flange region to flow easily in the plane of the sheet under shear, (ii) the ability of the side-wall material to resist deformation in the thickness direction.

Draw and iron-can bodies – It is the term which refers to a method of fabricating a can body in which a cup is drawn from flat sheet, redrawn to the final diameter, and then wall ironed to reduce the wall thickness and to achieve the needed height.

Draw bead – It is an insert or rib-like projection on the draw ring or hold-down surfaces which aids in controlling the rate of metal flow during deep draw operations. Draw beads are especially useful in controlling the rate of metal flow in irregularly shaped stampings.

Draw-bench – It is the stand which holds the die and draw head used in drawing of wire, rod, and tubing.

Draw depth – It is the depth of the drawn product.

Draw forging – It is a process using two or more moving dies for producing shafts with constant or varying diameters along their length or tubes with internal or external variations. It is frequently incorrectly referred to as rotary forging.

Draw forming – It is a method of curving bars, tubes, or rolled or extruded sections in which the stock is bent around a rotating form block. Stock is bent by clamping it to the form block, then rotating the form block while the stock is pressed between the form block and a pressure die held against the periphery of the form block.

Draw head – It is a set of rolls or dies mounted on a draw-bench for forming a section from strip, tubing, or solid stock.

Drawing – It is a term used for a variety of forming operations, such as deep drawing a sheet metal blank, redrawing a tubular part, and drawing rod, wire, and tube. Drawing is the process of pulling material through a die to reduce the size, change the cross section or shape, or harden the material. In forging, it is an operation of working metal between flat dies to reduce the cross section and increase length. The normal drawing process with regard to sheet metal working in a press is a method for producing a cuplike form from a sheet metal disk by holding it firmly between blank-holding surfaces for preventing the formation of wrinkles while the punch travel produces the needed shape.

Drawing, engineering – In engineering, drawing can be defined as ‘a graphic representation of an idea, a concept, or an entity which actually or potentially exists in life’. It is a two-dimensional representation of three-dimensional objects. It is a graphic representation of an object, or a part of it, and is the result of creative thought. The drawing itself is a way of communication all necessary information about an abstract, such as an idea or concept or a graphic representation of some real entity, such as a spare part, an equipment, an assembly, a system, a facility, a tool, or a structure. The drawings prepared is to be clear, unmistakable in meaning, and there is not to be any scope for more than one interpretation.

Drawing compound – It is a substance applied to prevent pickup and scoring during drawing or pressing operations by preventing metal-to-metal contact of the work and die. It is also known as die lubricant. In metalworking, it is a lubricant which has extreme-pressure properties.

Drawing out – It is a stretching operation resulting from forging a series of upsets along the length of the work-piece.

Drawing (pattern) – It is removing a pattern from a mould or a mould from a pattern in production work.

Drawing quality steels – These are flat rolled steel products which are produced either as rimmed steel or as aluminium killed steel. Special rolling and processing operations help in producing a product, which can stand extreme pressing, drawing or forming operations without creating defects.

Drawing ratios – Drawability can also be expressed in terms of LDR or percentage of reduction based on results of deep-drawing cup testing. The LDR is the ratio of the diameter ‘D’ of the largest blank which can be successfully drawn to the diameter of the punch ‘d’. It is given by the equation ‘LDR = D/d’. Percentage of reduction is then be defined by the equation ‘Percentage of reduction = [100(D – d)]/D’.

Drawing sheet – It is the medium on which drawings are prepared by means of pencils. Drawing sheets are normally of standard sizes. It has drawing space, title block and revision block table, grid reference system, sufficient margins, and the part list (bill of materials).

Drawing stock – It is a hot-worked intermediate solid product of uniform cross section along its whole length, supplied in coils and of a quality suitable for drawing into wire.

Draw marks – These are marring or scratching of a formed metal part by metal pickup on the punch or die.

Drawn fibre – It is the fibre with a certain quantity of orientation imparted by the drawing process by which it was formed.

Drawn-in scratch – It is a scratch occurring during the fabricating process and subsequently drawn over, making it relatively smooth to the touch.

Drawn product – It is a product formed by pulling material through a die.

Drawn shell – It is an article formed by drawing sheet metal into a hollow structure having a pre-determined geometrical configuration.

Draw plate – In metal forming, it is a circular plate with a hole in the centre contoured to fit a forming punch. It is used to support the blank during the forming cycle. In casting, it is a plate attached to a pattern for facilitating drawing of a pattern from the mould.

Draw point – It is an underground opening at the bottom of a stope through which broken ore from the stope is extracted.

Draw radius – It is the radius at the edge of a die or punch over which sheet metal is drawn.

Draw ring – It is a ring-shaped die part (either the die ring itself or a separate ring) over which the inner edge of sheet metal is drawn by the punch.

Draw stock – It is the forging operation in which the length of a metal mass (stock) is increased at the expense of its cross section. In this, no upset is involved. The operation includes converting ingot to pressed bar using ‘V’, round, or flat dies.

Dredge – It is the sieve used to apply powdered porcelain enamel frit to the ware during dredging.

Dredging – In dry process enameling, it is the application of dry, powdered frit to hot ware by sifting. It is also the removing of sediments and debris from the bottom of lakes, rivers, harbours, and other water bodies.

Drier – It is a catalyst added to speed the cure of oil-based paints. Driers are frequently metal salts of carboxylic acids. It is also an apparatus for removing moisture by forced draught, heating, or centrifuging.

Dressing – It is the process of eroding the bond matrix in a grinding wheel surface after truing or grinding in order to expose the abrasive grains and hence improve grinding efficiency. It also consists of cutting, breaking down, or crushing the surface of a grinding wheel for improving its cutting ability and accuracy. It is also removing of dulled grains from the cutting face of a grinding wheel to restore cutting quality. In case of galvanizing, the coating is inspected after galvanizing, and irregularities are removed by dressing the surface by buffing or filing.

Drift – It is a flat piece of steel of tapering width used to remove taper shank drills and other tools from their holders. It is also a tapered rod used to force mis-mated holes into line for riveting or bolting. Sometimes it is called a drift pin. In mining , drift is a A horizontal underground opening which follows along the length of a vein or rock formation as opposed to a crosscut which crosses the rock formation.

Drifter – It is a hydraulic rock drill which is used to drill small-diameter holes for blasting or for installing rock bolts.

Drill-indicated reserves – It is the size and quality of a potential ore-body as suggested by widely spaced drillholes. Normally, more work is needed before reserves can be classified as probable or proven.

Drilling – It consists of hole making with a rotary end-cutting tool having one or more cutting lips and one or more helical or straight flutes or tubes for the ejection of chips and the passage of a cutting fluid.

Drilling machine – It is one of the cast house equipment used for drilling the tap hole during its opening.

Drinking water – It is that water which is used in various production shops and canteens of the steel plant for drinking purpose. The quality of drinking water is to be maintained at the level which is fit for human consumption.

Drip feed (drop feed) lubrication – It is a system of lubrication in which the lubricant is supplied to the bearing surfaces in the form of drops at regular intervals.

Dripping zone– Dripping zone plays a crucial role in modern high productivity BFs. It affects production rate, hot metal quality, and process efficiency. Dripping zone is a four-phase region, where gas, solid, liquid, and powder coexist with each other. In this zone, solid and liquid flow downward driven by gravity, while gas and powder suspended in the gas flow upward due to the pressure force. The flow of four phases in this zone is considerably different from that in the upper shaft region because of the geometry and the presence of deadman zone at the centre and discrete raceways at the periphery.

Drive, electrical – It is a system in which the motor is located and makes it spin. The electrical drive controls the electrical motor.

Drive gear – It is also called driving gear. It is that gear among a pair of gears which that mesh, which transmits the rotational motion of a motor or other device through the drive shaft.

Drive, mechanical – It consists of a series of components which manages the transmission. This power can be channeled to power other equipment like pumps, blowers, air compressors, and other common industrial machinery.

Drive system – The drive system frequently offers substantial opportunities to improve energy efficiency and to lower overall system operating costs. There are two principal types of drive systems (i) direct drive, and (ii) belt drive. Gear drives are also used but are less common.

Drop – It is a casting imperfection because of a portion of the sand dropping from the cope or other overhanging section of the mould.

Dropped edge – It is a continuous, downward edge deflection.

Drop etching – In metallography, it is placing of a drop of etchant on the polished surface.

Drop forging – It is the forging got by hammering metal in a pair of closed dies for producing the form in the finishing impression under a drop hammer. It is also the forging method needing special dies for each shape.

Drop hammer – It is a term which is normally applied to forging hammers in which energy for forging is provided by gravity, steam, or compressed air.

Drop hammer forming – It is a process for producing shapes by the progressive deformation of sheet metal in matched dies under the repetitive blows of a gravity-drop or power-drop hammer. The process is restricted to relatively shallow parts and thin sheet from around 0.6 millimeters to 1.6 millimeters).

Drop hammer, gravity – It consists of an anvil or base, supporting columns which contain the ram guides, and a device that returns the ram to its starting position. The energy which deforms the work-piece is derived from the downward drop of the ram. The height of the fall and the weight of the ram determine the force of the blow. In a simple gravity-drop hammer, the upper ram is positively connected to a board (board drop hammer), a belt (belt drop hammer), a chain (chain drop hammer) or a piston (oil-drop, air-drop, or steam-lift drop hammer).

Drop hammer, power – In a power-drop hammer, the ram is accelerated during the down-stroke by air, steam, or hydraulic pressure. This equipment is used almost exclusively for closed-die (impression-die) forging.

Droplet erosion – It is the erosive wear caused by the impingement of liquid droplets on a solid surface.

Drop-through – It is an undesirable sagging or surface irregularity, normally encountered when brazing or welding near the solidus of the base metal, caused by over-heating with rapid diffusion or alloying between the filler metal and the base metal.

Drop-weight test – It is conducted by subjecting a series (usually four to eight) of samples to a single impact load at a sequence of selected temperatures to determine the maximum temperature at which a sample breaks. The impact load is provided by a guided, free-falling weight with energy of 340 joules to 1,630 joules depending on the yield strength of the steel to be tested. The samples are prevented by a stop from deflecting less than a centimeter. This is a ‘go – no-go’ test method in which the sample either breaks or fails to break. It is surprisingly reproducible.

Drop-weight tear test (DWTT) – It uses a test sample which resembles a large Charpy test sample. The test sample is 76 mm wide by 305 mm long, supported on a 254 mm span. The thickness of the sample is the full thickness of the material being tested. The samples are broken by either a falling weight or a pendulum machine. The notch in the sample is pressed to a depth of 5 mm with a sharp tool-steel chisel having an angle of 45-degree. The resulting notch root radius is around 0.025 mm. One result of the test is the determination of the fracture appearance transition curve. The average percent shear area of the broken samples is determined for the fracture area neglecting a region of ‘one thickness’ in length from the root of the notch and ‘one-thickness’ from the opposite side of the sample. These regions are ignored since it is thought that the pressing of the notch introduces a region of plastically deformed material which is not representative of the base material. Similarly, the opposite side of the sample is plastically deformed by the hammer tup during impact. The fracture appearance plotted against temperature defines an abrupt transition in fracture appearance. This transition has been shown to correlate with the transition in fracture propagation behaviour in cylindrical pressure vessels and piping.

Dross – It is the scum which forms on the surface of molten metal largely because of oxidation but sometimes because of the rising of impurities to the surface. It is also oxide and other contaminants which form on the surface of molten solder. In case of galvanizing, steel is reacting with molten zinc forms small zinc-iron crystals in the galvanizing bath. These are heavier than zinc and settle to the bottom of the galvanizing pot where they are periodically removed. Dross is the by-product of the galvanizing process which forms by reactions between zinc and loose particles of iron. Dross can exist at all depths of the pot, but normally sinks to the bottom.

Dross inclusions – It is the dross which is carried out on to the work piece upon removal from the galvanizing pot.

Drossing – It is the process of removing dross build-up from the bottom of the pot.

Drum shear – A drum type shear is normally used for product with a simple shape such as flats or rounds. The blades are mounted on a rotating cylinder (or drum) and are set at a ‘lead’ speed to minimize the ‘kinking’ of the bar.

Drum test – The test is based on Japanese standard JIS K2151. A 10 kg representative sample of +50 mm ‘square hole screen’ coke is placed in the specified tumbler drum and rotated for 30 revolutions, removed, screened and replaced in the drum and subjected to a further revolution of 150 revolutions. The drum contains lifters that raise the coke and allow it to fall so that it undergoes a large number of impacts with the drum walls. The indices reported are percentages of material remaining on +15 mm ‘square hole screen’ after 30 revolutions and the same after 150 revolutions. The larger is the value the higher is the coke strength.

Dry and baked compression test – It is a test for determining the maximum compressive stress which a baked sand mixture is capable of developing.

Dry classifiers – Dry classifiers are based on the principle that separation by air fluidization.  Air classification is a process of separating categories of materials by way of differences in their respective aerodynamic characteristics. The aerodynamic characteristic of a particular material is primarily a function of the size, geometry, and density of the particles. The process consists of the interaction of a moving stream of air, material particles, and the gravitational force within a confined volume. In the interaction, the drag force and the gravitational force are exerted in different directions upon the material particles. The result is that material particles that have a large drag-to weight ratio are suspended in the air stream, whereas components that have a small ratio tend to settle out of the air stream. The suspended fraction conventionally is referred to as the ‘air classified light fraction’ and the settled fraction is termed ‘air-classified heavy fraction’. The confined volume in which the separation takes place is called an ‘air classifier’.

Dry corrosion – It is the corrosion with gas as the only corrosive agent and without any aqueous phase on the surface of the metal.

Dry-cum-wet processing – In dry-cum-wet process, fines fraction (-10 mm) generated after dry processing of iron ore is further processed in mechanical classifiers, and hydro-cyclones etc. to get -10 mm to + 0.15 mm size product which constitutes the feed material for the sintering process. The classifier / hydro-cyclone overflow i.e., -0.15 mm (100 mesh) size product constitutes the slime and dumped into the tailing pond.

Dry cyaniding – It is an obsolete term. The present term is carbo-nitriding. It is a case-hardening process in which a suitable ferrous material is heated above the lower transformation temperature in a gaseous atmosphere of such composition as to cause simultaneous absorption of carbon and nitrogen by the surface and, by diffusion, create a concentration gradient. The heat-treating process is completed by cooling at a rate which produces the desired properties in the work-piece.

Dry etching – In metallography, it is the development of micro-structure under the influence of gases.

Dry-film lubrication – It is the lubrication which involves the application of a thin film of solid lubricant to the surface or surfaces to be lubricated.

Dry friction – It is the friction which occurs between two bodies in the absence of lubrication. However, this term is inaccurate since it historically implies that there is no intentionally applied lubrication, when in fact, solid lubrication conditions can be considered ‘dry’. Hence, this term is not to be used.

Dry fuel store – It is a building specifically designed for the storage in dry conditions of used nuclear fuel from the operation of a nuclear power plant.

Dry galvanizing – It is the dipping of steel in an aqueous zinc ammonium chloride solution and then thoroughly drying before immersing in the molten zinc bath.

Drying cracks – These are irregular cracks in dry, unfired porcelain enamel caused by uneven or too rapid drying of the ware. The cracks may or may not heal over during the firing operation.

Drying oil – It is a water-insoluble liquid, normally obtained from a plant source, which reacts with oxygen (from the air) to form a cross-linked polymeric film.

Dry laminate – It is a laminate containing insufficient resin for complete bonding of the reinforcement.

Dry lay-up – It is the construction of a laminate by the layering of pre-impregnated reinforcement (partly cured resin) in a female mould or on a male mould, normally followed by bag moulding or autoclave moulding.

Dry lubricant – It is a solid which is used as a powder or thin film on a surface to provide protection from damage during relative movement, and to reduce friction and wear. However, it has been suggested that this term is not to be used as a synonym for solid lubricant since some solid lubricants perform better in the presence of moisture (e.g., graphite). Instead, it has to refer to lubricants which  function in low-moisture environments.

Dry objective – It is a microscope objective which is designed for use without liquid between the cover glass and the objective or, in the case of metallurgical objectives, in the space between objective and sample.

Dry permeability – It is the property of a moulded mass of sand, bonded or unbonded, dried at around 100 deg C to 110 deg C, and cooled to room temperature, which allows the transfer of gases resulting during the pouring of molten metal into a mould.

Dry pressing process – It is a simple and cost-effective method, and has been widely used to make parts thicker than 0.5 mm. Pressing methods might include cold, warm, hot, cold-isostatic or hot-isostatic pressing. In refractory brick production, plasticity of refractory powder mix is used in the dry-press process. A minimum of water is added, the material is placed in steel moulds, and pressures up to a0 MPa are applied. The dry-press process, using steel moulds, gives a smooth texture.

Dry process enameling – It is a porcelain enameling process in which the metal article is heated to a temperature above the maturing temperature of the coating, normally 870 deg C to 955 deg C. The coating materials are applied to the hot metal as a dry powder and fired.

Dry processing – In case of iron ore, dry processing is done for meeting the size requirements and involve multi-stage crushing and screening to meet the size requirements needed by different iron smelting processes.

Dry quenching – In the dry quenching process, the red-hot coke is cooled by mixed gas (mainly consisting of nitrogen) circulating in an enclosed system, thereby preventing the release of airborne coke dust. The thermal energy of the red-hot coke, which is lost in the conventional wet quenching, is collected and reused as steam.

Dry ramming mixes – These are based on high purity magnesite and a sintering aid are useful in steel making. magnesite ramming mixes of exceptional purity and stability are used primarily as lining materials for coreless type induction furnaces. Magnesite chrome fused grain ramming mixes provide exceptional density and strength.

Dry-running – In seals, it means running without liquid present at the seal surface.

Dry sand casting – It is the process in which the sand moulds are dried at above 100 deg C before use.

Dry sand mould – It is a casting mould made of sand and then dried at 100 deg C or above before being used.

Dry sand moulding – Dry sand moulds are made by several different processes. Sand mixed with binders which cure by baking is one form of dry sand mould. Other more common dry sand moulding techniques use sand with binders which can be cured by chemical, or catalytic, reaction induced by mixing

Dry-sand rubber wheel test – In wear testing, it is a term used to describe a standard abrasive wear testing method in which a stream of dry quartz sand is passed between a rotating rubber wheel and a stationary test coupon which is held against it under specified normal force.

Dry screening – It refers to the process of removing impurities and unwanted materials from the ore through the use of different screening techniques. This method does not need the use of water, unlike wet screening processes which rely on water to separate particles.

Dry sheet – It is because of failure of the lubricant to meet the agreed-upon minimum limit measured in weight per unit area.

Dry slag granulation process – In this process, it is essentially to atomize the liquid slag and then to cool the particles rapidly so as to produce a glassy slag. The atomization is done using a rotary cup air blast atomizer. The particles cool as they travel through the air and are then cooled further in a fluidized bed. Both of these processes provide the rapid cooling necessary for the formation of glassy slag product. The fluidized bed is a convenient method of containing the slag particles as it prevents the agglomeration of hot particles in addition to providing rapid cooling.

Dry slag pit – It is a pit where liquid slag is diverted for solidifying in case of some problem in the slag granulation plant.

Dry sliding wear – It is the sliding wear in which there is no intentional lubricant or moisture introduced into the contact area.

Dry steam – It is the steam that contains 100 % of water vapour in the gas phase. Steam which contains no water molecules, is referred to as dry steam, or dry saturated steam. Steam tables normally list data based on dry saturated steam values. Dry saturated steam is difficult to produce in a boiler since some water droplets are almost always present. Boiler systems are optimized for generating saturated steam. The actual level achieved is measured as the ‘dryness fraction’. If the water content of the steam is 4 % by mass, then the steam is said to be 96 % dry and has a dryness fraction of 0.96.

Dry strength (casting) – It is the maximum strength of a moulded sand sample which has been dried thoroughly at 100 deg C to 110 deg C and cooled to room temperature. It is also known as dry bond strength.

Dry storage – It is the storage of spent fuel in air or an inert gas rather than water.

Dry surface – It is  a foil surface which is substantially free from oily film and suitable for lacquering, printing, or coating with water-dispersed adhesives.

Dry winding – It is a term used to describe filament winding using pre-impregnated roving, as differentiated from wet winding, where unimpregnated roving is pulled through a resin bath just before being wound onto a mandrel.

Dual-metal centrifugal casting – It is the centrifugal castings produced by pouring a different metal into the rotating mould after the first metal poured has solidified.

Dual-phase (DP) steels – The term dual phase steels, or DP steels, refers to a class of high strength steels which is composed of two phases namely a purely ferrite matrix and a dispersed second phase of martensite (5 % to 30 %). In addition to martensite, small quantities of bainite and residual austenite can exist. The steel behaves like composite materials where the ferrite matrix assures high cold formability, and the martensite is the strengthening element. The correct proportion between the two phases allows a continuous yield point, low yielding stress, and a high elongation value, a smooth flow stress curve with a high strain hardening coefficient, and better plasticity and formability. The micro-structure of steel gives a good combination of high tensile strength, low yield-to-tensile strength ratio and very high initial work hardening rate with good elongation values. Dual phase is very formable, providing more flexibility in part design. The strength of the formed part is much higher than high strength low alloy steel, especially at very low strain. The high initial work hardening rate and high tensile strength give dual phase steel a very high capacity to absorb energy, making these steels suitable for use in structural and reinforcement applications.

Dual system shears – These shears are normally used as cooling bed shears. They are equipped with two cutting systems namely (i) crank rotary system, and (ii) crank lever system. The crank lever system is mainly used for cutting sections. The shear is moveable perpendicular to the rolling direction in order to bring the system being used in line of rolling.

Duct – Duct is a tube, canal, pipe, or conduit by which a fluid, air, gas, or other substance is conducted or conveyed.

Ductile – A material is ductile when it is capable of being plastically deformed before fracturing.

Ductile cast iron – It is a cast iron which has been treated while molten with an element such as magnesium or cerium to induce the formation of free graphite as nodules or spherulites, which imparts a measurable degree of ductility to the cast metal. It is also known as nodular cast iron, spherulitic graphite cast iron, and spheroidal graphite (SG) iron.

Ductile crack propagation – It is the slow crack propagation which is accompanied by noticeable plastic deformation and needs energy to be supplied from outside the body.

Ductile erosion behaviour It is the erosion behaviour having characteristic properties (i.e., considerable plastic deformation) which can be associated with ductile fracture of the exposed solid surface. A characteristic ripple pattern forms on the exposed surface at low values of angle of attack.

Ductile fracture – It is the fracture characterized by tearing of metal accompanied by appreciable gross plastic deformation and expenditure of considerable energy.

Ductile iron – Ductile cast iron also known as nodular cast iron, spheroidal graphite iron or SG iron, and spherulitic cast iron. As the name ductile iron suggests this grade of cast iron has a degree of ductility. The main characteristic of this material is the structure of the graphite.  Ductile iron is a family of cast graphitic irons which possess high strength, ductility and resistance to shock. Annealed cast ductile iron can be bent, twisted or deformed without fracturing. Its strength, toughness and ductility duplicate many grades of steel and far exceed those of standard gray irons. Yet it possesses the advantages of design flexibility and low-cost casting procedures similar to gray iron. The difference between ductile iron and gray iron is in the graphite formation. Ordinary gray iron is characterized by a random flake graphite pattern in the metal. In ductile iron the addition of a few hundredths of 1 % of magnesium or cerium causes the graphite to form in small spheroids rather than flakes. These create fewer discontinuities in the structure of the metal and produce a stronger, more ductile iron. This nodular graphite structure inhibits the creation of linear cracks hence the ability to withstand distortion.

Ductile to brittle transition – At low temperatures some metals that would be ductile at room temperature become brittle. This is known as a ductile to brittle transition.

Ductile-to-brittle transition temperature – It is the temperature at which the material starts becoming brittle from ductile. Ductile to brittle transition takes place over a range of temperature.

Ductility – It is the ability of a material to deform plastically without fracturing, measured by elongation or of area in a tensile test, by height of cupping in an Erichsen test, or by other means. Galvanized steel is ductile within certain recommended bending radii.

Duct sheet – It is coiled or flat sheet in specific tempers, widths, and thicknesses, suitable for duct applications.

Due diligence – It is the degree of care and caution which is needed before making a decision.

Dummy block – In extrusion, it is a thick unattached disk placed between the ram and the billet to prevent over-heating of the ram.

Dummy cathode – It is a cathode, normally corrugated to give variable current densities, that is plated at low current densities to preferentially remove impurities from a plating solution. It is also a substitute cathode which is used during adjustment of operating conditions.

Dummying – It is plating with dummy cathodes.

Dump – It is a pile of broken rock or ore on surface.

Duoplasmatron – It is a type of ion source in which a plasma created by an arc discharge is confined and compressed by a nonuniform magnetic field.

Duplex alloys – These are bearing alloys consisting of two phases, in which one is much softer than the other.

Duplex coating system – It is the galvanized steel which has been coated with an additional corrosion inhibiting product, typically liquid, powder, or paint. The two separate coating systems work synergistically to provide enhanced corrosion protection. Duplex coating systems enhance the appearance or durability of the steel being protected.

Duplex grain size – It is the simultaneous presence of two grain sizes in substantial quantities, with one grain size appreciably larger than the others. It is also termed mixed grain size.

Duplexing – It consists of any two-furnace melting or refining process. It is also called duplex melting or duplex processing.

Duplex micro-structure – It is a two-phase structure.

Duplex stainless steels – These steels have a mixed structure of bcc ferrite and fcc austenite. The amount of each phase is a function of composition and heat treatment. Most stainless steels are designed to contain about equal amounts of each phase in the annealed condition. The principal alloying elements are chromium and nickel, but nitrogen, molybdenum, copper, silicon, and tungsten can be added to control structural balance and to impart certain corrosion-resistance characteristics. The corrosion resistance of duplex stainless steels is like that of austenitic stainless steels with similar alloying contents. However, duplex stainless steels possess higher tensile and yield strengths and improved resistance to stress-corrosion cracking than their austenitic counterparts. The toughness of duplex stainless steels is between that of austenitic and ferritic stainless steels.

Duplicate measurement – It is a second measurement made on the same (or identical) sample of material for assisting in the evaluation of measurement variance.

Duplicate sample – It is a second sample randomly selected from a population for assisting in the evaluation of sample variance.

Duralumin – It is an obsolete term. This term is frequently applied to the class of age-hardenable aluminum-copper alloys containing manganese, magnesium, or silicon.

Durometer hardness – It is a measure of the indentation hardness of plastics. It is the extent to which a spring-loaded steel indenter protrudes beyond the pressure foot into the material.

Durometer hardness test – It involves forcing a 30-degree tapered indenter into the surface of the sample using calibrated loading springs. A dial gauge indicates the depth of penetration in durometer numbers, which are directly proportional to the load on the spring.

Durometer reading – It is an index which is used for ranking the relative hardness of elastomers.

Dust catcher – It is an equipment for the removal of coarse particles from the exhaust gas of a furnace. The internal construction of the dust catcher is such that there is a sudden change in the direction of the flow of exhaust gas. This causes the large dust-particles to separate because of its higher momentum. The separated particles then settle down because of gravitational force. In blast furnace ironmaking, it is situated by the side of cast house and used for preliminary cleaning of blast furnace gas. It works on the principle of reversing the direction of flow of blast furnace gas for separating coarse dust particles from blast furnace gas.

Dusting – It is a phenomenon, normally affecting carbon-base electrical motor brushes or other current carrying contacts, wherein at low relative humidity or high applied current density, a powdery ‘dust’ is produced during operation. It is also applying a powder, such as sulphur to molten magnesium or graphite to a mould surface.

Duty – It is the specification which gives the load, ambient temperature, and speed under which surfaces are required to move.

Duty cycle – The duty cycle refers to the ratio of a crane’s working time to its total cycle time. In simpler terms, it indicates how frequently a crane is expected to perform its lifting operation in each time frame. It is the proportion of time during which a crane   is operated. The duty cycle is expressed as a ratio or as a percentage.

Duty parameter – It is the product of the Sommerfeld number and the square of the length-to-diameter ratio of a journal bearing.

Dwell – It is the portion of a press cycle during which the movement of a member is zero or at least insignificant. It normally refers to (i) the interval when the blank-holder in a drawing operation is holding the blank while the punch is making the draw, or (ii) the interval between the completion of the

forging stroke and the retraction of the ram.

Dye-penetrant test – This is used to detect cracks and involves spraying a dye on the area to be tested. After allowing time for penetration, the surplus dye is removed and the area is then sprayed with a white developer. Any faults are revealed as coloured lines or spots caused by the developer absorbing the dye seeping from the cracks. If more sensitive results are needed, a fluorescent dye is used and the same process is followed. When viewed under ultra-violet light any defects show as a highly fluorescent line or spot.

Dyke – It is a long and relatively thin body of igneous rock which, while in the molten state, intruded a fissure in older rocks.

Dynamic – It means moving, or having high velocity. It is frequently used with high strain rate (less than 0.1 second) testing of metal samples.

Dynamic characteristics – These characteristics of the instrument are concerned with the measurement of quantities which vary with time. These characteristics are those which change within a period of time which is normally very short in nature. The different dynamic characteristics are speed of response, fidelity, lag, and dynamic creep.

Dynamic deformations – These deformations occur when a structure is subject to the actions of flutter, impact, and so on.

Dynamic electrode force – It is the electrode potential measured when current is passing between the electrode and the electrolyte.

Dynamic friction – it is the friction under conditions of macroscopic relative motion between two bodies. This term is sometimes used as a synonym for kinetic coefficient of friction. However, it can also be used merely to indicate that the type of friction being indicated is associated with macroscopic motion rather than static conditions.

Dynamic load – It is an imposed force which is in motion, i.e., one that can vary in magnitude, sense, and direction.

Dynamic mechanical measurement – It is a technique in which either the modulus and / or damping of a substance under oscillatory load or displacement is measured as a function of temperature, frequency, or time, or a combination thereof.

Dynamic modulus – It is the ratio of stress to strain under cyclic conditions (calculated from data got from either free or forced vibration tests, in shear, compression, or tension).

Dynamic programming – It is a technique for optimization of the solution of a problem by combining solutions to smaller sub-problems.

Dynamic recovery – it is a process occurring in hot working of metals in which a fine sub-grain structure forms within the elongated grains because of the annihilation of dislocations due to easy cross slip and climb. It results in a lowering of the flow stress. Dynamic recovery, as opposed to dynamic recrystallization which occurs in hot working, occurs in metals of high stacking fault energy such as aluminum, alpha-iron, and majority of the body centred cubic metals.

Dynamic recrystallization – It is is a type of recrystallization process, found within the fields of metallurgy and geology. In dynamic recrystallization, as opposed to static recrystallization, the nucleation and growth of new grains occurs during deformation rather than afterwards as part of a separate heat treatment. The reduction of grain size increases the risk of grain boundary sliding at elevated temperatures, while also decreasing dislocation mobility within the material. The new grains are less strained, causing a decrease in the hardening of a material. Dynamic recrystallization allows for new grain sizes and orientation, which can prevent crack propagation. Rather than strain causing the material to fracture, strain can initiate the growth of a new grain, consuming atoms from neighboring pre-existing grains. After dynamic recrystallization, the ductility of the material increases.

Dynamic crystalline materials – These materials are defined by their ability to change parameters such as structure, mass, momentum, and energy fluxes in response to environmental changes. This makes them thermodynamically open systems, constantly exchanging these quantities with their surroundings.

Dynamic seal – It is a seal which has rotating, oscillating, or reciprocating motion between its components, as opposed to stationary-type seal such as a gasket.

Dynamic strain aging – It is a behaviour in metals in which solute atoms are sufficiently mobile to move toward and interact with dislocations. This results in strengthening over a specific range of high temperature and strain rate.

Dynamic viscosity – It is the bulk property of a fluid, semi-fluid, or semi-solid substance which causes it to resist flow.


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