Hall-Héroult Process

Pitting corrosion is a localized form of corrosion that leads to the creation of small holes, or 'pits,' in a metal. It is one of the most destructive forms because it is difficult to detect, predict, and design against. Pitting can cause catastrophic failure of a structure with only a small percentage of total mass loss.

FMEA is a systematic, bottom-up, inductive method for identifying potential failure modes in a system, product, or process. For each failure mode, it assesses the potential effects or consequences, their severity, likelihood of occurrence, and the ability to detect them. The goal is to prioritize and mitigate high-risk failure modes before they occur.

A foundational economic fact is that the total monetary volume of business-to-business (B2B) transactions significantly surpasses that of business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. This is because a single finished consumer product often involves a long supply chain with multiple B2B transactions—from raw materials to manufacturing components to wholesale distribution—before the final B2C sale occurs.

FTA is a top-down, deductive failure analysis technique. It starts with a potential undesired event (the "top event") and uses Boolean logic gates (AND, OR, etc.) to determine the combinations of component failures or human errors that could cause it. It provides a graphical model for understanding and quantifying system risk, identifying critical failure paths.

Passive solar design is a building design strategy that uses a building's components—walls, floors, windows, and orientation—to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. Unlike active solar heating systems, it does not involve the use of mechanical and electrical devices.

The Buying Center is a model representing all individuals and groups within an organization who participate in a purchase decision. It's not a fixed unit but a set of roles assumed by different people for different purchases. These roles include initiators, users, influencers, deciders, approvers, buyers, and gatekeepers, each impacting the final decision through their specific function and authority.

Passivation is the process by which a material becomes 'passive,' meaning it is less affected by environmental factors such as corrosion. It involves the spontaneous formation of a very thin, non-reactive surface film that acts as a barrier, shielding the bulk material from further attack. This film is typically an oxide or nitride layer, a few nanometers thick.

The chloralkali process is an industrial method for the electrolysis of sodium chloride (NaCl) solution, known as brine. It is the primary source for producing chlorine (Cl₂), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and hydrogen (H₂), which are essential commodity chemicals. Modern methods use a membrane cell to separate the anode and cathode products, ensuring high purity and efficiency.

High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) and Ultra-Low Particulate Air (ULPA) filters are critical cleanroom components. A HEPA filter must remove at least 99.97% of airborne particles 0.3 micrometers (µm) in diameter. An ULPA filter is even more efficient, removing 99.999% of particles 0.12 µm or larger. They work via a combination of interception, impaction, and diffusion.

The PDCA cycle, also known as the Deming Cycle or Shewhart Cycle, is an iterative four-step management method used for the control and continuous improvement of processes and products. It provides a simple and effective approach for solving problems and managing change, ensuring that ideas are tested on a small scale before being implemented organization-wide.

A structured methodology for creating new products, typically involving analysis, concept development, and synthesis. It is an iterative cycle where designers research user needs, brainstorm ideas, create prototypes, and test them to refine the final product. This process ensures that the end product is both functional and meets market demands effectively before full-scale production.

The use of computer systems to assist in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. CAD software allows product designers and engineers to create precise 2D and 3D models, replacing manual drafting. This technology dramatically increases productivity, improves the quality of design, and facilitates better communication through detailed visualizations and simulations.

Solid modeling in CAD represents objects as unambiguous, voluminous 3D shapes. Two primary techniques dominate: Boundary Representation (B-rep), which defines a solid by its bounding surfaces (faces, edges, vertices), and Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG), which builds complex shapes by applying Boolean operations (union, subtract, intersect) to simpler primitive solids like cubes, spheres, and cylinders.

A design methodology where 'X' represents a specific product life cycle objective. DFX encompasses a collection of guidelines and techniques aimed at optimizing a product's design for a particular goal, such as manufacturability (DFM), assembly (DFA), reliability (DFR), or sustainability (DfS). This proactive approach addresses potential issues early in the design phase, reducing costs and improving quality.