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safety factor

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safety factor

[′sāf·tē ‚fak·tər]
(electricity)
The amount of load, above the normal operating rating, that a device can handle without failure.
(mechanics)
factor of safety
(ordnance)
Increase in range or elevation that must be set on a gun so that friendly troops, over whose heads fire is to be delivered, will not be endangered.
Overload factor in design to ensure safe operation.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

factor of safety, safety factor

1. The ratio of the ultimate stress of a structure or pressure vessel to the design working stress.
2. The ratio of the ultimate breaking strength of a member or piece of material or equipment to the actual working stress or safe load when in use.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

safety factor

The ratio of the maximum load a structure is designed to withstand to the maximum load it will be subjected to during a normal operating regime.
An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
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References in periodicals archive
Using inverse transformation, the safety factor corresponding to the target probability of failure can be determined as follows:
A method for linking safety factor to the target probability of failure in fire safety engineering
Safety Factor for Woa (Humidity Ratio of the Entering Outdoor Air)
Role of safety factors in the design of dedicated outdoor-air systems
Allowable Whisker Length Whisker Length in in Testing Testing (safety factor = (safety factor 1/2 max.
Tin whisker management guidelines, part 2: how 40 [micro]m was found to be the maximum acceptable whisker length for high-rel product, and recommended strategies for mitigation
With statistically defensible design classes, reasonably selected compliance percentages, and justifiable "safety factors," we can retire the inaccurate and unfair standard of 100-150 gallons per bedroom, and look at houses holistically and in context with measured expectations.
A new alternative for sizing septic systems
Figure 3 shows the relation between safety factor and probability of liquefaction.
Probabilistic evaluation of liquefaction potential
Some organizations advocating for the application of this additional mandatory safety factor, such as the US-based Environmental Working Group, have suggested that age-related differences in susceptibility among humans can exceed 10-fold.
The Rule of Ten: Standards should be ten times stricter to ensure safe levels of exposure for children. (Children & Health)
Wind plays a major part in the effectiveness of the product, and a predrilled bucket must be used in combination with the sticks as a safety factor and airflow-control method.
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This algorithm is based on the principle of determining the distribution of the safety factor on the material subjected to the thermal fatigue load.
Thermal Fatigue Analyses of Riveted Structures
The geometry was optimized to have an overall safety factor of 3 for strength while having acceptable stress life calculated with a Modified Goodman curve.
Applying Fracture Mechanics to the Design of Low-Alloy Steel Castings: A crawler shoe case study illustrates how designers can use fracture mechanics to avoid over-designing and over-specifying a casting, which will reduce part cost
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