Dictionary of Automotive Terms Abbreviations

DICTIONARY OF AUTOMOTIVE TERMS - "Be"

Beach cruiser: A bicycle that is designed for casual and comfortable road riding and that features a relaxed frame, fat 26-inch tires, a wide saddle, a wide handlebar, and rubber pedals

Beaching gear: Floatable, detachable, temporary trolleys which enable a seaplane to be run on and off the shore or slipway.

Beach marks: Fracture surface markings associated with fatigue crack propagation.
Also see
Fractography

Beacon

System of visual lights indicating fixed features, e.g., masts, reefs.
A radio-beacon, which can be of any frequency but is usually very high frequency, and can be omni-directional or of directional beam type.
Vertical fan marker beacons are radio beams used to identify particular spots in control zones and on approach patterns.
A non-directional beacon (NDB) is a transmitter, the bearing of which can be determined only by an aircraft equipped for direction finding.

Bead

The portion of a tire which fits onto the rim of the wheel. On a Tubeless tire, the contact of the bead with the rim seals the air into the tire. Bead heel, bead sole, and bead toe form a foot-like shape.
A small ball-like particle used in bead blasting or in some catalytic converters.
In welding, it is the appearance of the finished weld. It describes the neatness of the ripples formed by the metal while it was in a semi liquid state.

Also See
Alumina beads
Dual bead tire
Rim bead seat taper
Rim bead seat
Rolled Bead
Single bead
Tire bead

Bead base: The part of the tire bead which is in contact with the rim bead seat.

Bead blaster: A cleaning device for removing paint and contaminants from an object.

Also see
Bead blasting

Bead blasting: A cleaning process which uses glass beads which are forced by air pressure against the object to be cleaned. This system removes paint and contaminants from objects which are awkwardly shaped.

Bead breaker: A device used to remove a tire from its rim by releasing the tension the bead has upon the rim.

Bead-coil: The part which keeps the tire on the wheel rim.

Bead core: The ring of steel wires in the bead of the tire. Also called Bead wires

Beaded edge: The edge of a body panel or upholstery panel wrapped around a wire or other stiffening item. Also called Rolled bead

Beaded edge tire: An older form of high-pressure tire with projecting beads.

Beader: A power tool for forming beads on the edges of body panels.

Bead expander: A device used in the mounting of tubeless tires to prevent inflation air from escaping and bring the tire beads against the tapered bead seat area (rim).

Bead heel: The portion of the tire bead in contact with the rim flange.

Beading: The action of forming a step in the middle of a panel (not at the edge) which creates a shallow indentation to reinforce the panel.

Also See
Fender beading

Bead lock: See
Tire bead lock

Bead movement: Movement of the bead on the rim caused by improper inflation, excessive loading, improper design, improper seating, or improper rim or tire size. Also called bead rocking.

Also see
Bead unseating

Bead point: A feathered rubber extension of the bead toe used where a flap is not required; protects the tube from chafing between bead toes and rim base.

Beads: See
Lubricate beads

Bead seat: The portion of the wheel rim below the rim flange providing radial support to the bead of the tire.
Also See
Rim bead seat taper
Rim bead seat
Safety bead seat

Bead seat mat: A seat cover made of a network of wood beads.

Bead seats: See
Contre pente on both bead seats

Bead seat taper: See
Rim bead seat taper

Bead seat diameter: The measurement of tire diameter, at the bead heel, where it seats on the rim. It is marked on the tire sidewall following Section width.

Bead separation: A situation where the bead comes off the wheel rim.

Bead tire: See
Dual bead tire

Bead toe: The bottom portion of the tire bead in contact with the rim bead seat.

Bead unseating: Shifting of the tire bead from its seat on the wheel rim which often leads to the removal of the tire.

Also see
Bead movement

Bead wires: Steel wires wound around the circumference and placed in the beads. Their tension prevents the beads from lifting over the rim flanges. Also called Bead core

Beak: See
Bird's Beak

Beak iron

The pointed, or horn=shaped, end of a blacksmith's anvil, used in forging rings, bends, etc.
A T-shaped stake, similarly shaped, fitting in the hardy hole of the anvil. Also called beck iron, bickern, bick iron.

Beam

A projection of light. A collimated, or approximately unidirectional, flow of electromagnetic radiation (radio, light, X-rays), or of particles (atoms, electrons, molecules). The angular beam width is defined by the half-intensity points.
Also see
Asymmetrical beam
Dipped beam
Headlight beam setting
High beam
High beam indicator
Low beam
Main beam
Main beam indicator
Sealed beam headlight
A supporting bar. A bar or member which is loaded transversely, predominantly in bending
Also See
Asymmetrical beam
Cant beam
Deck beam
Door beam
Hatch beam
I-beam
Knee, beam
Molded beam
Pulling beam
Side impact intrusion beam
Transom beam
The width of a ship. Also called breadth.
A wooden or metal cylinder having large flanges at each end. Warp yarns are wound on the beam from cones or cheeses correctly arranged for inserting into the loom or warp-knitting machine. Beams are also used to furnish thread during lace making.

Beam antenna: Generally, any antenna which has focus or direction. Most commonly used to describe short-wave or very high-frequency antennas, rather than microwave antennas which are almost invariably directional.

Beam axle: A rigid or Dead axle which supports the non-driven wheels.

Also see
Axle

Beam compasses: An instrument for describing large arcs. It consists of a beam of wood or metal carrying two beam heads, adjustable for position along the beam, and serving as the marking points of the compasses. Also called trammels

Beam control: See
Automatic beam control

Beam-coupling coefficient: The ratio of the ac signal current produced to the DC beam current in beam coupling

Beam current: That portion of the gun current in cathode-ray tube which passes through the aperture in the anode and impinges on the fluorescent screen.

Beam-engine: A form of construction used in early steam-engines, now obsolete. The vertical steam-cylinder acted at one end of a pivoted beam, the work load being connected to the other.

Beam-forming electrode: Electrode to which a potential is applied to concentrate the electron stream into one or more beams. Used in beam tetrodes and cathode-ray tubes.

Beam hole: Hole in shield of reactor, or that around a cyclotron, for extracting a beam of neutrons or γ-rays or to insert equipment or samples for irradiation.

Beam headlight: See
Sealed beam headlight

Beam indicator: A light on the instrument panel which comes on when the high beams are activated. Also called High beam indicator

Also see
High beam indicator
Main beam indicator

Beam knee: Bracket between a deck beam and frame.

Beam lead: An integrated circuit bonding option for high-frequency applications in which material is etched clear of part of the metallization layer to provide a short beam of metal (usually gold). The chip is then inverted and the beam is bonded direct to conducting tracks.

Beam optimizer: See
Automatic beam control

Beam relay: An electromagnetic relay in which the contacts are mounted on a balanced beam with energizing coils acting on each end and tending to tilt it one way or the other.

Beam rider: System in which a guided missile maintains and returns to a course of maximum signal on a radio beam.

Beam setting: See
Headlight beam setting

Beam splitter: Optical device for dividing a light beam into two or more paths. In particular, a prism system in a camera to produce three color-separation images from a single objective lens.

Beam Suspension: See
Walking Beam Suspension

Beam tetrode: Tetrode having an additional pair of plates, normally connected internally to the cathode, so designed as to concentrate the electron beam between the screen grid and anode, and thus reduce secondary emission effects.

Beam unit: See
Sealed beam unit

Bear

To turn, as in the expression, When you get to the corner, bear right.
Trucker slang for a highway patrol police officer named for Smokey the Bear because they both wore similar hats.

Bear bait: Trucker slang for a leader in a group of trucks as in "Looks like Swift is the bear bait tonight" where bear refers to a police officer (i.e., Smokey the Bear).

Bear cave: Trucker slang for a police station on the highway (also called a zoo) as in The bear cave is empty tonight so watch out.

Bearding: Picture defect in which dark image areas spread into adjacent light areas

Beard protective system: A form of balanced protective system in which the current entering the winding of an alternator is balanced against that leaving it by passing the conductor at the two ends around the core of a single current transformer, in opposite directions, so that there is normally no flux in the transformer core.

Bearer: The physical medium and set of protocols used to carry useful traffic as opposed to those used merely for the control signals that set up and maintain the link.

Bearing

The area of a unit in which the contacting surface of a revolving part rests in order to minimize wear and Friction between two surfaces.
The horizontal angle between any survey line and a given reference direction
Angle of direction in horizontal plane in degrees from true north, e.g., of an arriving radio wave as determined by a direction-finding system. Also azimuth.
An antifriction reducing device that is usually found between two moving parts. The Babbitt bearings found between the Connecting rod and the Crankshaft are lubricated and cushioned with oil, and the front wheel bearings must be repacked with Grease at regular intervals. Bearings can be ball or Roller type.

Also See
Angle bearing
Annular Ball Bearing
Antifriction bearing
Ball bearing
Big-end bearing
Bridge bearing
Camshaft bearing
Carrier bearing
Clutch pilot bearing
Clutch release bearing
Clutch throwout bearing
Clutch thrust bearing
Connecting rod bearing
Con rod bearing
Friction bearing
Insert bearing
Jet bearing
Loose Ball Bearings
Main bearing
Main bearing support
Needle bearing
Oilless bearing
Pilot bearing
Plain bearing
Precision insert bearing
Radial bearing
Re-metalling the bearings
Release bearing
Roller bearing
Sealed bearing
Shell bearing
Sleeve bearing
Slip-in Bearing
Small end bearing
Spigot bearing
Split-lit-type Rear Main Seal Bearing
Tapered roller bearing
Throw-out bearing
Thrust bearing
Timken bearing
Timken roller bearing
Wheel bearings

Bearing assembly: When more than one load needs to be supported, several bearings are used making up the bearing assembly. For instance, a crankshaft may have two bearings (one at each end) as well as a few more in the middle.

Bearing attachment: See
Split bearing attachment

Bearing block: The two halves of metal which encase a bearing.

Bearing cage: See
Ball cage

Bearing cap: A rigid, semicircular part which encloses and holds the outer shell of a shell bearing.

Bearing clearance: The amount of space left between a shaft and the bearing surface, this space is for lubricating oil to enter.

Bearing cone

A Tapered roller bearing.
The inner race in an adjustable axial or radial ball bearing.

Bearing crush: The additional height which is purposely manufactured into each bearing half to ensure complete contact of the bearing back with the housing bore when the engine is assembled.

Bearing cup

Retainers, held in place by bolts and nuts, that hold the bearings in place. Also called Bearing shell.
The bearing Race that curves around the outside of a ring of Ball bearings and works in conjunction with a Cone.
The outer race for a ball or roller bearing.

Bearing current: A stray current, induced by magnetic flux linking the shaft of an electrical machine, that flows between the shaft and bearings and may injure the bearing surfaces.

Bearing face: The bottom part of a nut or bolt head which clamps down on the surface of the part it is securing.

Bearing housing: The cavity into which the bearing fits.

Bearing knock: The noise created by movement of a part in a loose or worn bearing.

Bearing material: The metal layer which forms the surface of the wear part of the bearing.

Bearing metals: Metals (alloys) used for that part of a bearing which is in contact with the Journal; e.g., bronze or white metal, used on account of their low coefficient of friction when used with a steel shaft.

Bearing pile: A column which is sunk or driven into the ground to support a vertical load by transmitting it to a firm foundation lower down, or by consolidating the soil so that its bearing power is increased. Formerly of timber but now mor usually reinforced concrete or steel.

Bearing puller: Bearing puller

A tool used to remove bearings from a shaft by pulling them off. It has two or more arms which circle around the back side of the bearing and a center post which butts up against the end of the shaft. As the center post is screwed down, the arms pull the bearing toward the end of the shaft.

Also See
Ball bearing puller

Bearing race

In ball or roller bearings, it is one of the two steel rings on either side of the ball or roller.
The inner or outer ring that provides the smooth, hard contact surface for the balls or rollers in a bearing.

Bearings: Supports provided to locate a revolving or reciprocating shaft.

Bearing scraper: A small, triangular tool that looks like a file without teeth. Used for deburring and chamfering the edges of camshaft bearings.

Bearing Seals: See
Wheel Bearing Seals

Bearing separator: Bearing separator

A tool used to separate double bearings or close-fitting gears when a conventional Bearing puller cannot be used

Bearing shell: One of a pair of thin semicircular steel cups lined with an alloy such as coper-lead or lead-indium, which together enclose a shaft or other rotating member, and are held in a circular housing which can be divided into two halves.

Bearing spin: A type of bearing failure in which a lack of lubrication overheats the bearing until it seizes on the shaft, shears its locking lip, and rotates in the housing or block.

Bearing spread: A purposely manufactured small extra distance across the parting faces of the bearing half, in excess of the actual diameter of the housing bore. Thus the diameter is slightly greater than the housing into which a shell bearing is being placed. Thus the bearing is forced into place to reduce its movement.

Also see
Interference fit

Bearing support: See
Main bearing support

Bearing surface

The area of the bearing that is in actual contact with the shaft or other supporting member.
The part of a fastener such as the washer face of a nut or under the head of a machine screw that actually comes in contact with the part it fastens.

Bearing tang: A notch or lip on a bearing shell used to correctly locate the bearing during assembly.

Bearing wall: The supporting or abutment wall of a bridge or arch.

Bear in the air: Trucker slang for an overhead highway patrol as in "Slow down Roadrunner you got a bear in the air past the next rest area."

Bear meat: Trucker slang for a speeding truck without a radar detector as in "That gearjamming large car is bear meat."

Bear report: Trucker slang for asking for the location of the cops as in "Can I get a bear report there Covenant."

Beast: A vehicle which performs very well.

Beat: Periodic variation in the amplitude of a summation wave containing two sinusoidal components of nearly equal frequencies.

Beater

An old or collectible vehicle that is in Drivable condition, but looks terrible inside and out, and probably is missing many original parts. Often used to describe a vehicle that is past the easy Restoration stage but still contains many good driving miles. It is also a term for urban combat car and is usually used in conjunction with the word winter, as in winter beater, which is a vehicle that is so far gone, it is sacrificed to the salt covered roads of winter. It is a disposable collectible that is driven until it disintegrates. In other words, it looks as if someone had been beating it for quite a while. British term is Banger.
A device for hitting something.
A vat containing a heavy cylindrical roll (beater roll), fitted with bars, parallel to the Journal, which rotates against a fixed set of bars (bedplate). The paper fibers in suspension in water pass between these bars in preparation for sheet making.
High-speed revolving shaft having arms equipped with blades or pins. These beat out the heavy impurities in matted raw fibers in opening and Scutching processes.

Also see
Panel beater

Beat frequency: Generally, the difference frequency produced by the intermodulation of two frequencies. Specifically, the intermediate frequency in a superhet receiver.

Beat-frequency oscillator (BFO): The frequency changing stage of a superhet radio receiver.

Beating

The subjective difference tone when two sound waves of nearly equal frequencies are simultaneously applied to one ear. It appears as a regular increase and decrease of the combined intensity.
Process for partially breaking down the cell-wall structure of cellulose fibers in water before forming paper sheet.
Process for removing heavy impurities from matted, raw natural textile fibers in the opening and Scutching process.
The spare threads available during the weaving of wool to replace missing warp threads in the mending process.

Also see
Off-the-dolly panel beating
On-the-dolly panel beating
Panel beating
Spring beating

Beating spoon: See
Spring beating spoon

Beating-up: The process in weaving by which the newly inserted weft thread is pushed against the edge of the woven fabric.

Beauty: See
Bottom

Beaver cloth: Heavy woollen woven overcoating simulating the lustrous nap of the skin of the beaver by milling and raising the fibers, butting them level and laying them in the same direction.

Beavertail antenna: An antenna producing a broad, flat, radar beam.

Be back: A prospective buyer who has been in the dealership before, but has returned for more information or is ready to buy.

Bechgaard salt: (TMTSF)₂X where X is an inorganic anion such as (PF₆)-, (Al_O₄)-, (Re_O₄-, and TMTSF is the tetramethyl selenium derivative of TTF (tetrathiofulvalene). These salts are organic electrical conductors.

Beck: See
Back

Beck iron: See
Beak iron

Beck hydrometer: Hydrometer for measuring the relative density of liquids less dense than water. Graduated in degrees Beck, where °Beck=200(1-rel.d.)

Beckmann apparatus: Apparatus used for measuring the freezing and boiling points of solutions.

Beckmann thermometer: A limited range mercury thermometer with a large bulb. It is used to measure small changes of temperature with great precision. Its mean range can be altered by moving mercury from a reservoir in or out of the bulb.

Becquerel: (Bq) SI unit of radioactivity; one becquerel is the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one nucleus decays per second. Replaces the curie 1Bq=2.7x10^-11Ci. It is a very small unit and commonly used with the standard SI prefixes, a gigabecquerel (Gbq or 10⁹Bq) being often needed.

Bed: Any flat surface used as a support.

Also see
Catalyst bed
Low bed
Test-bed

Bedbuggers: Trucker slang for moving companies as in "Bedbuggers on the side of the road."

Bedding-in: The process of accurately fitting a bearing to its shaft by scraping the former until contact occurs uniformly over the surface.

Bedding-in oil: British term for Break-in oil

Bed in: British term for Break-in

Bedplate: A cast-iron or fabricated steel base, to which the frame of an engine or other machine is attached.

Bed X-Tender: Bed X-Tender

An apparatus attached to a truck bed which allows longer items to be secured in place

Beefed-up

Colloquial term for making something stronger.
Colloquial term for modifying or improving something so it will work faster or more efficiently. Similar to Souped up

Beema: Colloquial term for BMW.

Beemer: Colloquial term for BMW.

Beetle

A machine consisting of a row of wooden or metal hammers, which fall on a roll of damp cloth as it revolves. The operation closes the spaces between the warp and the weft yarns, and imparts a soft glossy finish to cotton and linen.
Colloquial term for the original rear-engined Volkswagen.

Also see
Split-window Beetle

Before bottom dead center: (BBDC) As the Crankshaft rotates, it brings the Piston down to a place just before it reaches Bottom dead center.

Before top dead center: (BTDC) As the Crankshaft rotates, it pushes the Piston up to a place just before the top of its movement.

Before upper dead center: (BUDC) As the Crankshaft rotates, it pushes the Piston up to a place just before the top of its movement.

Bell

A device mounted on a bicycle and used to warn pedestrians and other bikes of your approach. A hollow metallic vessel with a flared mouth which, when struck, vibrates with a fundamental frequency determined by parameters such as its mass and dimensions.
A component that is shaped like half a ball or egg.

Also see
End Bell
Spray Bell

Bell center punch: A center punch whose point is automatically located centrally on the end of circular work by a sliding hollow conical guide.

Bell chuck: An attachment to a lathe (i.e., chuck) shaped like a bell or cup that is screwed to a mandrel and can grip bits. Also called Cup chuck

Bell-crank lever: A lever consisting of two arms generally at right angles, with a common fulcrum at their junction.

Bell housing: Bell housing

Sometimes called Clutch housing. The metal covering around the Flywheel and Clutch (of a Manual transmission) or Torque converter assembly (of an Automatic transmission).

Bell metal: High tin bronze, containing up to 30% tin and some zinc and lead. Used in casting bells.

Bell mouth: Bell-shaped air intake attached to some carburetors.

Bellmouth: A form of brake drum distortion in which the open edge of the drum has a large diameter than the closed edge.

Bell-mouthed: Said of a hole or bore when its diameter gradually increases toward one or both open ends, the bore profile in section being curved. Usually a manufacturing fault.

Bellows

A sealed, accordion-type chamber (gas filled or vacuum) which expands and contracts in accordance with temperature changes or provides a seal during movement of parts. Used as an air conditioning control device on many systems.
The flexible connection between parts of a camera or enlarger, necessarily light-tight, to permit delicate adjustments, usually of focusing.
corrugated cylindrical container which moves as pressures change, or provides a seal during movement of parts

Also See
Air bellows

Bellows seal

Method of sealing the valve stem. The ends of the sealing material are fastened to the bonnet and to the stem. Seal expands and contracts wit the stem level.
An expanding diaphragm used as a seal between the master cylinder reservoir and the reservoir cover. It prevents air from contacting the fluid, yet it allows the fluid to change in volume.

Bell-type furnace: A portable inverted furnace or heated cover operated in conjunction with a series of bases upon which the work is to be heated can be loaded and then left to cool after heat treatment. Used chiefly for bright annealing of non-ferrous metals and bright-hardening of steels.

Belt

A reinforcing band, normally textile, Fiberglass, or steel, which runs around the circumference of a tire and strengthens the Tread area.

Also See
Cog belt
A circular band which is used to transfer power from one Component to another. For instance, a Fan belt is used to transfer power from the engine to the Alternator, Water pump, and Air conditioner Compressor.

Also See
Camshaft Timing Belt
Cog belt
Dampening Belt
Diagonal belt
Drive belt
Fan belt
Ring belt
Serpentine belt
Stabilizer belt
Static belt
Steel thrust belt
Timing belt
Toothed belt
V-belt
An attaching strap.

Also See
Inertia reel seat belt
Integrated safety belts
Lap belt
Rear seat belt
Seat belt
Shoulder belt
Three-point seat belt
Y-belt

Belt Alternator Starter: (BAS) A Hybrid vehicle system from GM

Belt anchor: The point where the end of the Seat belt is attached.

Belt anchorage: The point where the end of the Seat belt is attached.

Also See
Seat belt anchorage

Belt conveyor: See
Band conveyor

Belt drive: In order to transmit power from a source to a destination, some kind of connection is needed. A Bicycle, for instance, uses a Chain drive to transmit the power from pedalling action to the rear wheel. A belt drive uses a leather or rubber belt to transfer power from one Pulley to another thus increasing or decreasing the Speed of rotation of the driven pulley through mechanical advantage. For instance the Alternator is rotated by a belt (sometimes called the Fan belt) which is driven by a shaft which is directly attached to the Crankshaft. Some Motorcycle models (like Harley Davidson and Honda) have a belt drive to transmit power to the rear wheels. Since a belt drive requires no lubrication (in contrast with Chain drive) it is one of the cleanest final drive systems.

Belt-drive system: A final-drive system that transmits the power to the rear wheel via a drive belt.

Belted bias tire: A tire which uses both cross-ply and radial-ply patterns with added belts (such as used on radial-ply tires) on diagonal body plies (as in cross-ply tires). As a result the tire has stiffer sidewalls than tires with just straight radial plies.

Belted piston: A Piston with a continuous steel band Cast into the Skirt below the rings for controlling skirt Expansion.

Belted radial tire: See
Steel belted radial tire

Belted tire: A tire with a stabilizing belt of two or more plies of steel, fiberglass, etc., running circumferentially around the tire between the carcass and the tread rubber. The carcass can be either radial or bias ply.
Also See
Bias belted tire
Steel belted radial tire

Belt end: The part of the Seat belt which has the bracket which is attached to the floor pan. Some cars attach this end to the car seat itself.

Belt fork: Two parallel prongs attached at right angles to a sliding rod, used to slide a flat belt from a fast to a loose pulley and vice versa. Also called belt striker.

Belt highway: A ring road. A road enabling traffic to bypass a town.

Belting: A general term descriptive of materials from which driving belts are made, e.g., leather, cotton, balata, woven hair, plastics, etc.

Belt line: The horizontal line that runs around the body of the vehicle just below the bottom of the glass Panels (greenhouse). The British term is waistline

Belt mounting: See
Belt anchor

Belt pulley: See
Timing belt pulley

Belt retractor: A device which automatically pulls the seat belt back into its reel.

Belts: See
Integrated safety belts

Belt sander: Belt sander

A power sanding tool with a rotating belt of sandpaper

Belt slack: The looseness of a belt (either the drive type belt or a seat belt)

Belt slip: When a drive belt is not as tight as it should be, it will slip on the pulley and thus will not transmit power. If a driven pulley is seized, the belt will also slip.

Belt striker: See
Belt fork

Belt system: See
Seat-integrated belt system

Belt tensioner: A device consisting of an idler pulley which is usually located between the drive and driven pulleys. It can be adjusted to increase the tension on the belt.

Also See
Seat belt tensioner
Timing belt tensioner

Belt transmission: See
Belt drive
Variable belt transmission

Belt up: A British term for Buckle up

Belt warning light: See
Seat belt warning light

Belt webbing: Strong fabric material used for Seat belts

Bench

A workbench.
A test bed for studying or repairing an engine.
Fixed rails with adjustable and slidable supports for a waveguide system.

Also See
Bench test
Hydraulic Service Bench
Straightening bench

Bench bleeding: A procedure used to bleed the air from a new or rebuilt master cylinder before installation in a vehicle.

Bench grinder: Bench grinder

A power tool mounted on a workbench with one or two grinding wheels

Bench seat: A front seat which runs from the left door to the right door. The alternative is Bucket seats.

Also See
Split bench seat

Bench test: A determination of the power output of an engine when it is mounted on a test bed. Also it can be checked for oil leaks, fuel consumption, emission levels, etc.

Bench vise: Bench vise

A vise which is mounted on a workbench

Bench work

Work executed at the bench with hand tools or small machines, as distinct from that done at the machines.
Small molds made on a bench in the foundry.

Bend

To form into a curved or angular shape.
A curved length of tubing or conduit used to connect the ends of two adjacent straight lengths which are at an angle to one another.
Alteration of direction of a rigid or flexible waveguide. It is E or minor when electric vector is in plane of arc of bending and H or major when at right angles to this. Also called corner

Also See
Free bend test
Quarter Bend

Bender: See
Fender bender
Tube bender

Bending: See
Lower bending die

Bending die: See
Lower bending die

Bending moment: At any transverse section of a beam, the algebraic sum of the moments of all the forces to either side of the section.

Bending moment diagram: Diagram representing the variation of bending moment along a beam. It is a graph of bending moment (y-axis) against distance along the beam axis (x-axis).

Bending pliers: Pliers with flat, smooth jaws used to hold sheet metal in place.

Bending rolls: Usually three rolls with axes arranged in a triangle so that adjusting one relative to the others forms a curve on a strip or sheet of metal passed between them.

Bending spring: Coil spring which is placed on inside or outside of tubing to keep it from collapsing while bending it.

Bending strength: The ability of metal to resist bending (i.e., Bending moment). Also called flexural strength.

Bending test

A test made on a beam to determine its deflection and strength under bending load. The most usual forms are symmetrical three-point and symmetrical four-point bending, the advantage of the latter being that a constant bending moment is imposed between the two central loading points. Also called flexural test.
A forge test in which flat bars etc. are bent through 180° as a test of ductility.

Bending wave: Wave observed on thin plates and bars. The motion is perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Important for sound radiation from walls and enclosures.

Bendix: See
Bendix type starter drive
Pre-engaged Bendix starter

Bendix drive: See
Bendix type starter drive

Bendix screw: A helical screw on the shaft of a starter motor.

Bendix starter: A starter motor with a Bendix drive
Also see
Pre-engaged Bendix Starter

Bendix type starter drive: A self-engaging Starter drive gear, the gear moves into engagement when the Starter starts spinning and automatically disengages when the starter stops. Also called Inertia drive

Bend test: See
Free bend test

Benefits: See
Employee benefits

Bent: Colloquial term for a Recumbent bicycle

Bent Bolt: A cylindrical rod having a thread at one end and the other end bent to some desired conformation; also a bent cylindrical rod having threads at both ends.

Bentley: Click image for books on
Bentley

A vehicle brand of which the 1925-1945 models are Classic cars. The 1946-67 models are Milestone cars.

Bent-tail carrier: A lathe carrier having a bent shank projection into, and engaged by, a slot in the driving plate or chuck.

Benz: A vehicle brand of which the 1925-1948 models with required application are Classic cars.
Also See
Mercedes-Benz

Benzene: (C₆H₆) An aromatic hydrocarbon which is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid. It is present in small proportion in some crude oils and made commercially from petroleum by the catalytic reforming of naphthenes in petroleum naphtha. Also made from coal in the manufacture of coke. Used as a solvent in the manufacture of detergents, synthetic fibers, petrochemicals, and as a component of high-octane gasoline.

Benzol: A by-product of manufacture of coke. Sometimes it is used as an engine fuel. Has good anti-knock properties.

Berber: A carpet square hand-woven by North Africans from hand-spun yarns from the natural colored wool of local sheep. Commonly misused to describe machine-made carpets considered to have a similar appearance.

Bergstrom's method: A method of assessing the stresses in concrete pavements with particular reference to aerodrome runways and taxing tracks.

Berline: A term used during World War I which describes a closed luxury vehicle with small windows. The passengers were able to see out; but their privacy was maintained because it was difficult to see in.

Berm: A horizontal ledge on the side of an embankment or cutting, to intercept earth rolling down the slopes, or to add strength to the construction. Also called bench

Berm ditch: A channel cut along a berm to drain off excess water.

Bernoulli's Theorem

In a stream of liquid, the sum of elevation head, pressure head, and velocity remains constant along any line of flow provided no work is done by or upon liquid on course of its flow; decreases in proportion to energy lost in flow.
The law that for a non-viscous, incompressible fluid in steady flow, the sum of the pressure and kinetic energies per unit volume is constant at any point. It is a fundamental law of fluid mechanics.

Bertone: Bertone

An Italian automobile manufacturer noted for creative design. Usually called Gruppo Bertone. Includes X1/9 (1988).

Beryllides: Compounds of other metals with beryllium

Beryllium bronze: A copper-base alloy containing w.25% of beryllium. Develops great hardness (i.e., 300-400 Brinell) after quenching from 800°C followed by heating to 300°C.

Bessemer converter: Large barrel-shaped tilting furnace, charged while fairly vertical with molten metal, and "blown" by air introduced below through tuyères. Discharged by tilting. Now obsolete but replaced by variety of similar shaped but smaller vessels operating in slightly different ways and using oxygen in place of air.

Bessemer pig iron: Pig iron which has been dephosphorized in Bessemer converter lined with basic refractory material.

Bessemer process: Process in which impurities are removed from molten metal or matte by blowing air through molten charge in Bessemer converter. Used to remove carbon and phosphorus from steel, sulfur and iron from copper matte.

Best selected copper: Metal of a lower purity than high-conductivity copper. Generally contains over 99.75% copper. Compare Casting copper.

Beta brass: Copper-zinc alloys, containing 46-49% zinc, which consists (at room temperature) of the intermediate constituents (or intermetallic compound) known as β.
Also See
Brass

Beta decay: Radioactive disintegration with the emission of an electron or positron accompanied by an uncharged antineutrino or neutrino. The mass number of the nucleus remains unchanged but the atomic number is increased by one or decreased by one depending on whether an electron or positron is emitted.

Beta detector: A radiation detector specially designed to measure β-radiation.

Beta disintegration: See
Beta decay

Beta disintegration energy: For electron (βa) emission it is the sum of the energies of the particles, the neutrino and the recoil atom. For positron (β⁺) emission there is in addition the energy of the rest masses of two electrons.

Beta-iron: Iron in the temperature range 750°C - 860°C, in which a change from the magnetic (alpha) state to the paramagnetic occurs at about 760°C. With carbon in solution the transition is lowered toward 720°C, and when cooling Recalescence is more marked.

Beta particle: An electron or positron emitted in beta decay from a radioactive isotope. Also called β-particle

Beta radiation: Beta particles emitted from a radioactive source

Beta rays: Streams of Beta particles

Beta-ray spectrometer: Spectrometer which determines the spectral distribution of energies of β-particles from radioactive substances or secondary electrons.

Beta thickness gauge: Instrument measuring thickness, based on absorption and backscattering (reflection) by material or sample being measured of β-particles from a radioactive source.

Betatopic: Said of atoms differing in atomic number by one unit. One atom can be considered as ejecting an electron (beta particle) to produce the other one.

Betatron: Machine used to accelerate electrons to energies of up to 300Me_V in pulsed output. The electrons move in an orbit or constant radius between the poles of an electromagnet, and a rapidly alternating magnetic field provides the means of acceleration.

Beta value: In fusion, the ratio of the outward pressure exerted by the plasma to the inward pressure which the magnetic field is capable of exerting. Also called plasma beta

Béton: French, originally for lime concrete, now for any kind of concrete.

Béton armé: French for Reinforced concrete

BET surface area: Surface area of a powder calculated from gas adsorption data, by the method devised by Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller.

Betts process: An electrolytic process for refining lead after drossing. The electrolyte is a solution of lead silica fluoride and hydrofluorsilicic acid, and both contain some gelatine. Impurities are all more noble metals than lead and remain on the anode. Gold and silver are recovered from anode sponge.

Better half: Trucker slang for a husband or wife as in "I sure do miss my better half."

Between duals: See
Kissing between duals

Between perpendiculars (BP): A naval term describing the length between the forward perpendicular and after perpendicular (after side of sternpost)
Also See
Length between perpendiculars

Between wheel spacer: An obsolete circular metal plate having a bolt hole circle and center bore and fitting between the faces of disc wheels to provide additional dual clearance.

Bevatron: A synchrotron at Berkeley, US, which gives a beam of 6.4 Ge_V protons.

Bevel

The angle that one surface makes with another when they are not at right angles.
A small slant, usually describing a flat washer which is square and thicker on one side than the other

Also See
Gutter bevel

Bevel differential: A Differential which has bevel gears for its main elements. This allows the input and output shafts to be at right angles to one another.

Also See
Spur differential

Bevel drive shaft: A shaft with a Bevel gear at one end or both ends. It is used primarily for driving an overhead camshaft.

Bevel gear

A gear shaped like the wide end (frustum) of a Cone, used to transmit motion through an angle. They are found in Differentials.
A system of toothed wheels connecting shafts whose axes are at an angle to one another but in the same plane.

Also See
Spiral bevel gear.

Bevel gear drive: A transmission which is used to drive one or more shafts which do not line up with the output shaft. Also called Bevel gear transmission

Bevel gear transmission: A transmission which is used to drive one or more shafts which do not line up with the output shaft. Also called Bevel gear drive

Bevel joint: A piston ring gap in which the two ends of the ring are tapered.

Beverage holder: A circular clip located on the center Console, door panel, or dashboard which is designed to hold a cup or bottle. Also called Cup holder

Bezel

Bezel

The crimped edge of metal that secures the glass face to an instrument. A bezel can be either decorative or functional. Some bezels are threaded and secure switches and control Buttons to the Dash, Console, or Steering column.
A small indicator light (e.g., for direction signal lights) on instrument panel or dashboard.
A grooved ring holding the glass of a watch or an instrument dial.