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Flip to reveal answersWhat does a safety factor of 1 mean?
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All 4 Flashcards — Designing for overload
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Question
What does a safety factor of 1 mean?
Answer
The allowable load is exactly the load at which the structure fails, so any variation at all — material, manufacture, use or age — causes failure.
Question
Why is nothing designed to a safety factor of 1?
Answer
Nothing is made exactly to drawing, no material is exactly as published, no load is exactly as calculated, and nothing stays as strong as it started.
Question
What pushes a safety factor up, and what pushes it down?
Answer
Up: a severe consequence, uncertain or dynamic loads, an inconsistent material, a part that cannot be inspected. Down: certainty, consistency, inspection, and a margin that costs a lot of mass.
Question
Why can aircraft use a factor near 1.5?
Answer
Loads are known precisely, material is tested batch by batch, every part is inspected on a schedule, and every kilogram costs fuel for the life of the aircraft.
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Topic 3.2 hub
Structural systems
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