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Mechanical Engineering vocabulary · Maintenance and Reliability

Failure

Meaning in mechanical engineering, with examples

/ˈfeɪljər/nounCore term

In mechanical engineering, failure means: The state in which a part or machine can no longer do its job, for example because it has cracked, worn out, leaked or stopped working.

In Turkish: arıza, hasar, bozulma

How it is used

Used in design, testing and maintenance. Engineers investigate failures, identify the failure mode and write failure analysis reports. Parts fail by fatigue, wear, corrosion or overload. FMEA (failure mode and effects analysis) is a common method for studying possible failures.

Example sentences

  1. The failure started at a small crack near the keyway.

  2. Bearing failure is the most common cause of motor downtime in our plant.

Common collocations

  • failure mode
  • failure analysis
  • bearing failure
  • premature failure
  • cause of failure
  • root cause analysisA structured way of finding the basic reason why a failure or problem happened, so that the real cause can be removed and the problem does not come back.
  • fatigueGradual damage and cracking of a material caused by loads that are applied and removed many times, even when each load is below the material's static strength.
  • wearThe gradual loss of material from a surface caused by friction, rubbing or hard particles during use, for example on bearings, gears, seals and cutting tools.
  • MTBFShort for mean time between failures: the average operating time between one failure of a repairable machine and the next. A higher MTBF means more reliable equipment.
  • break downTo stop working because of a fault. It is used for machines and vehicles; the noun breakdown means a failure that stops the equipment.

More terms: Maintenance and Reliability

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