factor of safety
- noun
- /ˈfæktər əv ˈseɪfti/
- Specialized
:
factor de seguridad
- Engineers often calculate a factor of safety to ensure that the bridge can support unexpected heavy loads.
Examples
-
Made from forged steel with a safe working load of 6,700 lbs and a 5:1 factor of safety, the clamp can connect beams of various widths (3 in. to 7 in.) and various angles of crossover.
Academic text (1999) -
If the minimum factor of safety is above 1.0, the model theoretically will not fail under the identified conditions.
Academic text (2010) -
This is because no matter what, you need to stay below the limit, so a factor of safety is introduced.
Blog text (12) -
The greater control you have over the environment, traffic, maintenance, etc., the less this factor of safety needs to be.
Blog text (12) -
The plot identifies the minimum factor of safety under all applied testing conditions.
Academic text (2010) -
This is close to the endurance limit of mild steel with a reasonable factor of safety.
Academic text (1998) -
In both of these situations, the SWIS provides a factor of safety against system failure and is integral to the proper functioning of the system.
Academic text (2006) -
The theoretical analysis reveals that the buckling and bending forces are at least 10 times greater than the piercing force, giving it a factor of safety greater than 10.
Blog text (11) -
I don't think we have a whole lot of control over such things on roads: weather and visibility, wildlife, and (other drivers') vehicle maintenance are all things that we can't do much about, which implies that a larger factor of safety is needed more often than not.
Blog text (12) -
The FEA software runs through the tests and, within a minute, provides the student with five full-color plots: stress, strain, displacement, deformation, and factor of safety.
Academic text (2010)
Synonyms
1
4.5
An extra amount beyond the minimum to keep something safe
1
3.7
An extra amount people keep to allow for errors and prevent harm
1
4.9
A number showing how much stronger a structure is than the weight it must carry
Surface Forms
Morphology
The combination of 'factor' and 'safety' makes clear that this is a measure or element relating to safety, so a B1 learner who knows the words will likely infer it is some numerical/qualitative measure about how safe something is. However, the precise technical sense — a specific engineering ratio comparing maximum withstandable stress to expected stress — is specialized and not predictable from the constituents alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Factor of safety comes from a simple idea engineers use: they choose a factor (a number) to give extra safety by showing how many times stronger a part or building is than what it will usually need. So it means the number that tells you how much extra strength a design has to stay 'safe'.