MOD 6 MATERIALS AND HARDWARE

EXAM POINTS

 Molybdenum is added to steel to increase wear resistance and increase the

toughness of the steel.
 The addition of chromium to carbon steels is used with nickel to control the grain size
of the steel.
 Steel, which contains vanadium withstand vibration and stress.
 The addition of carbon to plain carbon steel produces an increase in hardness and
grain size.
 Steel that contains vanadium will have a very fine grain structure and extremely
tough.
 If the carbon content is increased up to about 0.83 % the steel will be tougher and
stronger.
 Invar steel is a low carbon steel and contains what percentage of nickel? 36%.
 Invar steel is a low carbon steel with 36%, nickel which has a negligible coefficient of
expansion.
 When nickel is added to steel, it refines its grain structure.
 Nickel added to steel will cause a decrease in grain size.
 Low nickel/chromium steel contains 3% nickel 1% chromium.
 Low carbon steels are known as invar steel when the steel contains 36% nickel.
 During the steel making process a small amount of manganese is left behind in the
steel causing a reduction in brittleness by reducing sulphur content.
 In nickel chromium steel, temper brittleness of the steel can be reduced by adding
molybdenum to the metal composition.
 Temper brittleness in nickel chrome alloy steel can be reduced by adding
molybdenum.
 Temper brittleness in nickel chrome steel can be largely eliminated by adding 0.3%
molybdenum.
 Maraging steel has a better resistance to hydrogen embrittlement than low carbon
steel.
 Maraging steels resist hydrogen embrittlement more than carbon steel.
 What effect does normalising have on alloy steel? Restore crystalline structures
and strength.
 When a piece of steel is normalised, the steel is heated to its upper critical
temperature and then allowed to cool slowly to restore its crystalline structure and
relieve stress.
 At what temperature should steel be tempered? Below its annealing
temperature.
 When tempering a piece of steel the heat treatment includes increasing the
toughness of the steel, and decreasing its brittleness by heating to below the critical
temperature and quenching in water.
 Plain carbon steel is tempered at a temperature below the critical point then
quenched in water.
 Normalising a steel restore grain structure making it tougher.
 The nitriding process to harden steel alloys is carried out by passing a steady stream
of ammonia gas for 10 to 90 hours.
 A steel alloy that is hardened by a nitriding process uses a steady stream of
ammonia gas which passed over the material for 10 to 90 hours.
 Gas carburising of a material takes place in a heated atmosphere which contains a
mixture of methane and propane.
 During surface hardening by a box process copper is used to prevent carbon
absorption in areas not requiring hardening.
 Surface hardening of a material could be carried out on a steel with a higher than
0.4% carbon contents by healing with an oxy-acetylene torch and quenching.
 A Charpy test is carried out to test a material’s toughness.
 Which type of test is carried out on an izod machine? Toughness.
 Izod test are carried out at room temperature.
 The Charpy test can be used to test both ferrous and non-ferrous metals for
resistance to shock at both high and low temperatures.
 Impact test are used to find out how much shock the metal will resist.
 The pendulum is released in a charpy test from the angle of 160 degrees.
 The specified time of contact between indenter and test piece in both the Vickers and
Brinell test is 15 seconds.
 An indication of surface hardness of steel can be found by using a shore
scleroscope.
 The hardness of steel can be found by using the Vickers pyramid machine.
 The method of testing a material hardness that uses a diamond indenter is known as
a Vickers hardness test.
 The method of hardness testing that uses a steel ball indenter is known as Brinell
hardness test.
 The contact time for a Vickers hardness test during a test procedure is 15 seconds.
 Within the elastic extension of a low carbon steel, if the stress is released the
reaction of the test piece is to return to its original length.
 A test piece that is placed under a tensile stress will, when the stress is removed
below its yield point, return to its original length.
 When testing a piece of steel, the nominal value of the tensile strength is calculated
by the maximum force before necking and its original cross sectional area.
 A carbon steel that is hardened will yield compared to a normalised piece of steel at
a higher level of stress.
 The extension of a material beyond the yield point would be considered a plastic
extension.
 In a tensile test, the stress applied is plotted against strain.
 Annealing of aluminium removes stresses caused by forming.
 The process used to soften aluminium alloy for manipulation purposes is annealing.
 So that heat treated aluminium alloy may be worked without fracturing, it should be
annealed by heating to its UCP and then allowing it to cool slowly in the furnace.
 Before heat treated aluminium sheet can be formed the ductility of the sheet should
be increased and strength and hardness reduced.
 Before forming aluminium alloy sheets that are supplied direct from the manufacturer,
the alloy must be treated so that its ductility is increased and hardness reduced.
 In order to soften an aluminium alloy before working it should be heated above its
upper critical point and slowly cooled in a furnace.
 A 7000 series aluminium alloy would have a main alloying element of zinc.
 The first digit in the international 4 figure code for aluminium alloy identification
indicates the main alloying element in the alloy.
 The third and fourth figure digit in the international four figure code for aluminium
alloy identifies the specific aluminium alloy.
 The specification of a 2024 aluminium alloy that has been solution heat treated and
strain hardened would be identified by the code 2024-T3.
 The specification of a 2024 AL alloy which has been solution treated and left to
harden naturally, would change to 2024-T4.
 Aluminium alloy that is identified as H24, indicates the steel is a strain hardening;
material half hard.
 The property of a non-heat treatable wrought aluminium alloy is changed by cold
working during the final shaping.
 The maximum number of times that Alclad sheets can be heat treated is 3 because
long periods at high temperature alter the molecular structure making it less resistant
to corrosion.
 Alclad sheet metal must not be heat treated more than three times because the
surface molecular structure is altered which makes it less resistant to corrosion.
 Alclad should not be heat treated more than three times.
 An aluminium alloy which is not heat treatable would be strengthened by controlled
working by cold rolling.
 A section of aluminium alloy structure, which cannot be heat treated, can be
strengthened by cold rolling.
 You can distinguish between pure aluminium and a aluminium alloy by testing with a
10% solution of caustic soda.
 Pure aluminium can be distinguished from an aluminium alloy by testing with a
solution of 10% caustic soda.
 Caustic soda when applied to a piece of aluminium alloy will cause the metal to turn
white if it is pure aluminium.
 The most suitable mixture for salt bath operation is 90% nitrate soda, 10% sodium
nitrate.
 One reason why titanium alloys are used on modern aircraft is because they maintain
their strength when subjected to heat.
 A suitable mixture for a salt bath operation is given by the weight of 50% sodium
nitrate and 50% potassium nitrate.
 Aluminium alloys that have been annealed after cold working do not have a well
defined yield point.
 An aluminium alloy that has been cold worked will, when tested, show a higher yield
point.
 The proof stress for most alloy material is given when the material shows a
permanent extension of 0.1%.
 Proof stress is used to determine the yield point of a material.
 What type of test is used for ductility? Bend.
 A material that can be bent many times before it breaks would be classed as a tough
material.
 The endurance limit of a material under fatigue is increased by the metal having a
fine surface finish.
 During fatigue testing the time taken for the sample to fail can be increased by
polishing the sample to a fine surface finish.
 During the creep test of an alloy material the final breaking point of the material is
known as the rupture point.
 When testing ferrous materials, an S/N (stress/number of stress reversals) the
fatigue limit for a material is given when the curve of the graph becomes horizontal.
 The limit creep stress of a material is given as the maximum stress the material can
withstand without showing any measurable extension.
 The impact strength of an aluminium alloy is tested using which of the following?
IZOD or Charpy tester.
 The type of hardness test that measures the height of rebound of a diamond tipped
hammer is a Shore Scleroscope hardness test.
 An Izod test carried out on an aluminium test piece is taken when the material is at
room temperature.
 An advantage of using a Vickers test over a Brinell hardness test is that it is more
accurate on very hard materials.
 Rockwell test for measuring a material hardness are not suitable for measuring the
absolute hardness of a material.
 Extensometers would be used for measuring material extension during a tensile test.
 Thermosetting materials are made permanently hard during moulding.
 ‘S glass’ glass fibre composite material is used where high resistance to tension is
required.
 Thermoplastic materials become soft when heated.
 Compared to carbon fibre, Kevlar has greater tensile and less compressive strength.
 Glass fibre pre-impregnations are cured using hot curing systems.
 Kevlar 49 is the grade used in aircraft composites due to its high tensile strength and
resistance to impact.
 A plain weave has the lowest mechanical properties because it has the highest
number of crimps.
 Twill weave fabrics have superior wet-out and drape properties than plain weave
fabrics.
 Glass fibre roving is formed by combining strands without twisting to form Matts.
 The fibre orientation of the warp thread in a fabric is length-wise along the fabric.
 The ability of a fabric to conform to an irregular shape is the fabrics drape properties.
 Weft is the thread, yarn or monofilament running in a fabric widthwise.
 Sandwich panels made of metal honeycomb construction are used in high-speed
aircraft because this type of construction has a high strength-to-weight ratio and
greater stiffness than a single sheet.
 The relative stiffness of a sandwich material is increased by doubling the thickness of
the core material.
 An over expanded honeycomb cell used as part of a sandwich material can be
curved in the web direction but not across it.
 A pre-impregnated material used in manufacturing the skin of a sandwich material
must be stored in a refrigerator at a temperature of -18 degrees Celsius.
 When too much resin is used in a composite structure, the structure becomes weaker
due to fibres having little effect.
 Boron fibres are very strong in compression but not commonly used in sandwich
construction as they are expensive.
 Polyester resins are cured by the use of a peroxide catalyst and accelerator.
 In composite materials, a peroxide catalyst is not particularly flammable but can
cause other substances to burst into flames.
 Epoxide resins are used within the aerospace industry because its shrinking rate
during bonding is low.
 The cross-linking of bonds in a polyester matrix is assisted by adding and mixing the
accelerator first to the resin before adding the catalyst.
 The length of time a resin remains stable after the addition of a curing agent is known
as the pot life of the polymer.
 A typical epoxide resin is cured by adding together equal amounts of hardener to
resin.
 Barely visible damage (BVD) normally occurs in the material made from a sandwich
construction.
 Delamination of fibre reinforced plastic structure may be found by tapping the
suspected area with a coin.
 A structure made up of a sandwich material could be inspected for damage by lightly
tapping with a coin or small hammer to hear a change in ringing tone.
 Detection of damage to honeycomb structures may be confirmed by tap testing.
 The type of inspection procedure used to check for water in the honeycomb of a
composite structure uses radiography.
 Barely visible damage (BVD) would be found on laminated structure by taking x-rays
photography of the structure.
 Repairs to small scratches in a composite would be repaired by filling the damage
area with a mixture of resin and hardener.
 Small areas of Delamination or blistering of composite skin are repaired by injecting
with resin and applying pressure.
 Resin used as a filler in small hole repairs is generally reinforced with chopped glass
fibre.
 Repair to small hole in a glass fibre reinforced structure has the centre section
plugged with chopped glass fibre.
 When repairing a small hole in a glass fibre reinforced structure chopped fibres and
resin can be used to plug the hole and upper and lower material replaced.
 The type of drill that would be used to carry out a repair to a Kevlar composite would
be C-shaped brad point drill.
 Moisture absorption on a carbon fibre composite is normally found by x-ray
photograph because moisture meters don’t work on all carbon fibres.
 In a fibre reinforced plastic a growing crack would form a star pattern around the
fibres.
 When repairing an aircraft using a composite structure carbon fibre structure could
be joined using a composi-lock fastener.
 A crack on a composite fibreglass structure would appear as a star shaped design
around the area crack initiation.
 A star crazing shape found on the top surface of a composite glass fibre structure
would indicate crack growth within the structure.
 Large area damage to the laminations of a composite material may be caused by
moisture entering surface cracks.
 After a repair to a radome it may be necessary to carry out a electrical test for
conductivity.
 To prevent the material used in a vacuum bag process sticking to the repair during
curing a release film is used between the repair and bag material.
 Vacuum bagging is a process used to control fibre to resin ratio by removing excess
resin.
 If the final weight of a resin hardener mix is 60g, how much resin and hardener would
be required if the Resin/Hardener ratio was 100:40? 42.85g of resin and 17.15g
of hardener.
 Vacuum bag processes are used in the repairs to a composite material as the
bleeder fabric removes excess resin maintaining the correct fibre to resin ratio.
 Hardwoods commonly used in aircraft structure include mahogany and birch.
𝑊1 −𝑊2
 The moisture content of wood is determined by using the formula 𝑊2
x 100.
 Dote disease can be recognised by brownish yellow patches on the wood.
 Aircraft timber is unlikely to decay or rot if the moisture content is maintained at less
than 20%.
 The minimum length of a scarf joint in a length of timber should be 15 times the
thickness of the member.
 As a plank of timber dries it shrinks mainly along the annual growth lines.
 Rib stringing cord failure on glass fibre coverings may be found by using a large
suction cup.
 Before polyester fabrics are doped they must be pre-shrunk by applying heat with an
electric iron.
 A darn repair on a fabric covering can be carried out provided the damaged area
does not exceed 50mm (2 in.).
 On single engine aircraft the slipstream area for rib stringing purposes, is considered
to be the diameter of the propeller, plus one rib on either side.
 An advantage of glass fibre fabric is that sunlight has no effect on it.
 Dissimilar metals may corrode on contact as the result of electrolytic action.
 Dissimilar metal corrosion is also known as galvanic corrosion.
 The type of corrosion caused by electrolytic action is dissimilar metal corrosion.
 Surface rust will normally occur on steels containing a high level of carbon.
 Stress corrosion only occurs in the presence of tensile stresses.
 Crevice corrosion is normally found in areas where metal overlap.
 Microbiological corrosion is caused by a fungal growth occurring in the water,
presence in kerosene.
 Microbiological corrosion usually occurs in the tanks with micro-organism growing in
the water.
 Corrosion caused by microbiological contamination is commonly found in fuel tanks.
 Between steel and aluminium, dissimilar metal corrosion can occur if the potential
differences between materials are greater than 0.25 volts.
 Stress corrosion in a material can occur due to incorrect quenching after heat
treatments of material.
 Corrosion can be caused indirectly by chemicals, which are present in the air as nitric
acid from exhaust gases could corrode unprotected structures.
 Plain carbon steel is less susceptible to stress corrosion than a high alloy steel.
 Carbon fibre in contact with aluminium alloys will result in dissimilar metal corrosion.
 Accumulation of deposits such as dirt, dust or grease on unprotected metal can
cause pitting corrosion and perpendicular extension of chemical action into the metal.
 Where pitting corrosion starts on the surface of the metal the corrosion is dangerous
because it penetrates deep into the metal and can seriously reduce its strength.
 Surface corrosion, if not removed, may lead to a pitting corrosion and perpendicular
extension of the corrosion into the material.
 Plain carbon or low alloy steels usually suffer from which type of corrosion?
Surface.
 British standard marking for nuts and bolts applies to BA and BSF threads.
1
 The British Association (BA) has a thread angle of 472 degrees.
 On the British Standard bolt with a part number BSA 111 5G. The three figure digits
111 would indicate that the blot has a unified thread.
 A British Standard thread would have its crest and root radiused and a thread angle
55 degrees.
 Which of the following types of screw threads would have the same thread angle?
Metric, UNF and UNC.
 A unified bolt would have a radiused thread root and an angle of 60°.
 Intergranular corrosion in aluminium alloy structures can be grain growth due to
incorrect solution heat treatment.
 A whiskery growth on aluminium alloy is an indication of possible mercury
contamination.
 Intergranular or intercrystalline corrosion is normally confined to aluminium alloys.
 Whiskery growth on the surface of a material would indicate mercury contamination
to the grain boundaries of an aluminium alloy.
 When mercury is split on aluminium alloy structures it attacks the grain boundaries
and forms and amalgam.
 The susceptibility of a 2043 aluminium alloy rivet to suffer from dissimilar metal
corrosion when joined to a pure aluminium panel is unlikely as pure aluminium is
more cathodic.
 Verdigris deposits on a material surface would be a sign of surface corrosion on a
brass, bronze or copper structure.
 Intergranular corrosion can be caused by allowing enough grains of dissimilar metals
to come together to cause corrosion to form.
 The incorrect application of pain treatment to an aircraft could lead to the formation of
filiform corrosion due to wash primers containing phosphoric acid.
 Mild steel compared to aluminium alloy 2024-T3 is more cathodic and less
susceptible to corrosion.
 An area of severe corrosion, which has moisture content and is high in oxygen, is the
cathodic part of the crevice corrosion.
 The lead of a two start thread is twice the pitch.
 The rams of aircraft lifting jacks have a square thread.
 A buttress thread combines low friction with resistance to shear.
 The smallest BSF thread used on standard bolts is ...................................
 A fine screw thread of given diameter, when compared to a coarse screw thread of
same diameter has a short flank length.
 If a coarse thread and fine thread bolt have the same diameter and thread angle the
fine thread will be the strongest as it will have the largest root diameter.
 A bolt that would provide a snug fit when fitted would be a fatigue resistant bolt of
class 3 fit.
 The plain shank of a waisted stud is reduced to the minor diameter of the screw
thread.
 A steel stud fitted to an aluminium casting will be slightly oversize and have a coarse
thread in the casting end.
 The diameter of an internal thread can be checked using a plug GO and NO-GO
gauge.
 A plug screw gauge measures major, minor and effective diameters of internal
threads.
 GO and NO-GO screw plug gauges ensure that an internal thread is correct.
 A standard British cold forged high tensile steel (HTS) bolt would be identified by an
embossed ring on the head of the bolt.
 The triangle marked on the head of an American AN series bolts indicates that the
bolt is a close tolerance bolt.
 A mark reading 26J on the head of BS bolt indicates 3⁄8 inch BSF 2.6 inch plain
shank length.
 A hexagon headed bolt has the following identification marked on the head A25 3.5L.
The 3.5L indicates the plain shank length is 3.5 inches.
 Shear bolts made of HTS would have thin heads and V grooves cut in at right angles.
 Self-tapping screws are suitable for mounting light components on thin sheet metal
where there is access to only one side of the work.
 The nominal length of a raised countersunk screw is taken from upper surface of the
head excluding the raised portion to the end of the shank.
 The nominal length of a countersunk screw is the overall length.
 The nominal length of a British manufactured Mushroom headed screw is the
complete length of the threaded portion.
 The grip length of a non-unified flush fitting screw is taken from the top of the head to
the end of the plain shank.
 The length of engagement of a standard bolt is the axial distance of contact between
two mating surfaces.
 The grip length of a standard British series bolt with a protruding head is taken from
underside of the head of the bolt to the end of the plain shank.
 When a fibre stop nut can be threaded on a bolt or stud through the fibre with only
the fingers, it should be rejected.
 Where are thin self-locking nuts normally used? On bolts subject to shear loads.
 Self-locking nuts with a nylon friction element should only be used once.
 Studs are inserted and removed using a special tool, or two nuts locked together.
 A waisted stud would, in certain applications, be used as the reduction would not
affect the effective tensile strength of the stud but make the stud lighter.
 A stud broken flush with the surface can be removed using a screw extractor which
has a coarse left hand spiral groove.
 A self-tapping screw used in making a permanent fastening would be constructed
with a rounded screw of type B screw with a fine thread.
 New quick release fasteners must be adjusted to give a minimum clearance between
the edges of panels of 0.05 inch
 New cowling fasteners must be adjusted to give a minimum clearance of 0.05 inch.
 Plain washers may be used with spring washers to prevent surface damage to
components.
 To secure an aircraft panel fitted with Dzus fasteners. The screw head of the
fasteners is turned a ¼ turn clockwise as it is engaged which makes the legs of the
stud ride up the cam of the fastener body.
 Dzus turn-lock fastener consists of a stud, grommet and receptacle. The stud length
is measured in hundredths of an inch.
 A multi-tab washer used in locking a component could be used a second time
provided that the used part of the tab is removed and the lug is undamaged.
 When used in close proximity to magnetic compasses, cotter pins are made of what
material? Corrosion resisting steel.
 An acceptable safety device for a castle red nut when is a? Cotter pin when
installed on secondary structures.
 Locking devices for removable fasteners are provided in duplicate if aircraft
catastrophe would result from failure.
 Locking plates may be used repeatedly provided they remain a good fit around the
hexagon of the bolt.
 When using the peening method of locking 11⁄2 threads should protrude through the
nut.
 When securing an item with locking wire, the wire should be copper wire thinner than
22 swg if being used to lock an emergency switch.
 To align split pinholes between a stud and a torqued nut the nut would be torque
loaded to between the upper and lower limit to achieve alignment.
 When may a nut be slackened off to achieve alignment for a split pin? Never.
 Lengths of unsupported locking wire should not exceed 3 inches.
 Locking wire should be taut, with no untwisted lengths in excess of 3⁄8 inch.
 When a torque loaded fastener is to be secured by means of a split pin tighten to low
of torque range, if necessary tighten fastener to align slot with the hole ensuring
torque is within specified range.
 Standard for British Solid Rivets are issued by the Society of British Aerospace
Companies.
 British solid rivets products to the SP series are identified by a standard number
having two digits indicating imperial dimensions.
 In the SP series of rivets a rivet that has a three figure standard number indicates the
material and head type of a metric rivet.
 British solid rivets are identified by standard number, part number and a letter.
 Which of the following tubular rivet types always leaves a mandrel in the rivet body?
Cherry and Advel.
 Solid rivets should be heat treated in a salt bath for 15 minutes at 495 ± 5°C.
 Duralumin rivets may be heat treated to a maximum of three times if quenched in
cold running water.
 Rivets may be heat treated a maximum of three times if made from aluminium alloy.
 A solid rivet that is coloured green indicates that the rivet is an aluminium alloy rivet
with either a universal or countersunk head.
 Solid rivets of British Manufacture are identified by the colour black when made from
aluminium.
 Rivets are designed to be strong in shear and mild tensional loads.
 American solid rivets to military MS standard, in general use, have two standard
head shapes; universal standard and 100° countersunk.
 American modified shear head solid rivet improves the fatigue life of the aircraft
structure.
 Blind rivets may only be used to replace solid rivets when this permitted by the repair
scheme.
 An Imex tucker pop rivet with a short break head will break the mandrel when formed
immediately under the head but will retain the head inside the body of the rivet.
 A break-stem Tucker Pop rivet would be used in preferences to a ‘break-head’ type
when a measure of sealing is required.
 When carrying out a repair that calls for British rivets could be used as an alternative
provided that written authority for their use is given by an approved design authority.
 Sealing pins can be used in Chobert rivets to increase shear strength and prevents
ingress of moisture.
 Advel rivets are lubricated by the manufacturer.
 If a Hi-shear rivet is underdriven during installation, the collar will be incompletely
swaged into the groove.
 Sealing pins in a Chobert rivet, apart from preventing ingress of moisture increases
the shear strength.
 The mandrel used to form a Chobert rivet must be lubricated before use and
replaced if head diameter reduced by 0.002 of an inch.
 Jo-Bolts when used in approved repair scheme in areas where only one side of the of
the work is accessible.
 The length of a flexible hose assembly with angled ends is the distance between the
centre lines of the nipples ends.
 A flexible hosepipe that is as part of an aircraft vent system may be marked with a
number of lines to indicate the layers of wire braiding within the pipe.
 The markings on a flexible hose must include the date of manufacture.
 Pipes manufactured to AS specification have an included flare angle of 32°.
 The included flare angle of a pipe manufactured to AS specifications is 32°.
 Pipes manufactured to AN specifications have an included angle of 74°.
 Conical nipples are attached to rigid metal pipes by silver soldering or brazing the
nipple to the end of the pipe.
 Synthetic rubber hoses used in aircraft fluid system are reinforced with either cotton
or metal braid depending on the pressure it’s required to withstand.
 Teflon hoses used in aircraft pipelines are made from polytetrafluoroethlene (PTFE)
so are unaffected by fluid in the system.
 Teflon hose pipes are normally protected on the outside by stain steel braiding.
 ‘Cold flow’ of a low pressure hose is caused when the hose clips are over tightened.
 The hosepipe in a low-pressure system of an aircraft could suffer from cold-flow if the
hose clips are over tightened.
 Rigid pipes are classified by materials outside diameter in increments of 1⁄16 inch.
 Rigid pipes are identified by material and part number.
 A rigid fuel pipe used in an engine fuel system would normally be ...........................
 Identification markers on pipelines are marked at both ends of a pipeline and at
intervals along the pipe depending on its length.
 A fuel pipe would be marked with a black four pointed star on a white background.
 The identification for the function of an aircraft pipe are denoted by a black symbol on
a white background.
 Adapter nipples are required on pipes with internally coned adapters.
 A rubber hose used as a low pressure coupling to join two pipes together would have
a clearance gap of between 6 to 12 mm to prevent contact during flexing.
 In the forming of a flare less coupling the sleeve under the force of nut bites into the
pipe permanently attaching it.
 When forming a flare less coupling, the coupling, when formed may allow the sleeve
on the pipe to rotate after it has made the seal.
 When connecting a flare less coupling, the nut should be tightened until a distinct
increase in torque is felt, then turned a further one or two hexagon flats.
 During the forming of a flare less coupling the operation can use a hardened steel
fitting for pre-setting purposes.
 A low-pressure pipe coupling consists of a union nut compressing a rubber seal fitted
to an unflared pipe.
 An AS coupling would be used in a high pressure system with an induced flare angle
of 32°.
 The types of pipes used in an aircraft fuel or high pressure hydraulic system are
normally made from stainless steel.
 Corbin hose clamps are fitted to low pressure hose coupling and made from spring
steel wire.
 Tinnerman hose clamps are made from a strip of spring steel that have series of
ratchet teeth that engage as the clamp is tightened.
 Drip shields are fitted to certain aircraft coupling to allow the drainage of leaks away
from danger areas.
 A Vee-band coupling used in a low-pressure fuel system would be fitted with a safety
link in some cases in case the coupling bolt suffers a failure.
 A sliding coupling can be used where only air vapour passes through a pipe.
 When self-sealing couplings are fitted to pipe assemblies, they must be pressure
tested with the pipe.
 Flexible couplings fitted to fuel vent pipelines are sealed by O-ring fitted between the
gland washers and the split retainers.
 Self-sealing couplings that are used in a pressurised hydraulic system are designed
to allow for the removal of component parts without the need to pressurise or drain
the system.
 V-Band couplings used in aircraft pipelines are used with or without a metal gasket in
a high temperature system.
 An extension spring that is fitted inside an aircraft component would normally have its
extension limited by mechanical stops to prevent overstressing.
 Tension springs are used as return springs in remote control systems.
 Extension springs usually have mechanical stops to prevent overstressing.
 The material used for coil springs is alloy steel with a small percentage of vanadium.
 Springs made from silicon chrome steel are used in areas where resistance to heat is
necessary.
 Springs are normally made from circular section high carbon steel wound on a
mandrel.
 In order to eliminate backlash in instrument gear trains a spiral spring should be
fitted.
 A spiral spring would be used in an aircraft system to eliminate the backlash in a gear
train.
 The springs used to eliminate lost motion in instrument are generally spiral springs.
 Cylindrical helical torsion springs are used to apply a turning force to the shafts to
escape hatch mechanism.
 In an aircraft control system, compression springs would be fitted to power flying
controls to provide artificial feel on compression.
 The types of springs used in a remote control cable system are tension springs which
keep the cable in tension as they apply the returning force.
 A conical spring would be fitted instead of the standard cylinder spring when a
component has a limited amount of space in the axial direction.
 A valve spring is said to have a progressive rate because it is manufactured with its
coils unevenly spaced so that it gives a different rate as it is compressed.
 Bellville Washers are used as wheel brake return springs.
 The type of springs used in ball type hydraulic non-return valves is cylindrical helical
compression springs of square cross section.
 The spring’s rate of a compression spring is the amount of load required to produce a
unit of deflection.
 Conical helical compression springs would on compression fit inside themselves and
are used in areas of limited axial space.
 A radial bearing using a ‘crowded ball race’ is used on shafts which oscillate or rotate
slowly.
 A needle bearing would typically would typically be used on a shaft in a confined area
which is subjected to oscillatory movement.
 Cylindrical roller bearings having rollers whose length is greater than their diameter
are needle bearings.
 Ball bearings can be divided into four groups, radial, angular, thrust and precision.
 The bearing ‘cup’ refers to the outer ring of a taper roller bearing.
 Bearings are made from low carbon steel containing nickel, molybdenum and
chromium.
 Spherical bearing take predominantly radial loads with moderate axial loads.
 Porous sintered bronze plain bearings are used on a lightly loaded drive shafts where
their ability to retain lubricating oil is required.
 Angular contact bearing accept radial and axial loads in one direction only.
 A bearing for carrying mainly radial loads is cylinder roller bearings.
 Spherical roller bearings are used in certain systems because they can carry
moderate axial loads and heavy radial loads in both directions.
 Tapered roller bearings can accept simultaneous radial and axial loads in both
directions.
 Rolling element type bearings are divided into three groups, taper, spherical and
cylindrical.
 A needle roller bearing used in an assembly where space is limited could suffer from
brinelling on the rollers due to their lack of rotational movement.
 A typical oscillation bearing used where space is limited is a needle bearing.
 Sintered bushes are used as bearings because they have a porous structure that will
retain lubrication oil within the bearing.
 A piece of equipment would use a caged bearing, when the bearings are generally
sealed and the rotational speed of the equipment is high.
 Shafts will slow rotation or oscillating movement may be supported by shielded,
double row radial bearings.
 Caged bearings are used for engine applications and in equipment with speed in
excess of 100 rpm.
 Precision instrument bearings generally radial bearing type of high finish.
 The pre-load on a taper roller bearing would stabilise the bearing housing walls,
shafts and the bearings.
 Thrust bearings take axial loads.
 Thrust bearings carry axial loading only.
 A type of bearing designed for axial loading only is a thrust bearing but usually only
for heavy loads at low speed.
 A chain has three principle dimensions pitch, width between inner plates and the
diameter of the bearing rollers.
 A chain that is used in a control run could have plates fitted every other link to make
them non-reversible.
 A bi-planar block fitted in a chain drive system will change the direction of straight
line motion in two planes.
 When fitting an 8 mm chain, the chain end is joined by a bolt which is peened.
 An idler pulley may be fitted in a transmission system to pretension a belt drive
system using a toothed belt.
 Synchronous belts used in a drive system will provide a light positive non-slip drive.
 Helical gears are used to transmit power between shafts because they can transmit
power between shafts at any angle according to the spiral of their teeth.
 Spur gears are used to transmit power between two parallel shafts.
 Two sets of helical gears mounted back to back are used to transmit thrust in
opposite direction to each other.
 When two involutes gears are meshed together the ideal point of contact on the teeth
is on the gear’s pitch circle.
 When two different size gears are running together, when the pinion is the driver, the
system becomes a speed increaser.
 The most common types of bevel gears are straight cut, and usually mounted on
shafts at 90° to each other.
𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑔𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠
 In a simple gear train, gear ratio is defined as 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑒𝑎𝑟
.
 The term backlash is associated with the amount of wear within the gear teeth.
 A compound gear train has an input drive with 20 teeth and an output with 50. The
intermediate drive has an input with 40 teeth and an output of 30. The gear ratio of
this train will be 10:3.
 To distribute the wear evenly in a pair of mating gears a ‘hunting tooth’ system is
used.
 An idler gear that is used in a gear train would not affect the overall ratio between the
driver and driven gear.
 The idler gear does not alter the overall velocity ratio.
 A synchronous drive belt requires low tensioning therefore imposing minimum loads
on bearings.
 Wedge and V-belts are used to drive refrigeration compressors cooling fans on
various aircraft.
 A belt drive that is used instead of a chain drive has the following disadvantage; it
has to be large and bulky in order to carry high power loads.
 When tensioning a belt drive system radial loads may be applied to pulleys if belts
are over tensioned.
 An endless wedge drive belt is formed deeper than V-belt to give greater surface
contact.
 Belt drives are not normally used to transmit power between shafts in large aircraft
because they are bulky when used to transmit high power.
 A cable designated as 7X 19 means that it contains of 7 strands and 19 wires.
 Cables made to BS W9 and W12 and American Standard MIL-W-83420 composition
A are made from galvanised carbon steel.
 When manufacturing completed control cables, ‘Preforming’ is the process where
each individual wire is formed into shaped.
 Control cables are preformed so that they resist unstranding.
 Bowden cable nipples are fixed to the cable by soldering or swaging.
 Lockclad cable is a standard twisted steel wire cable with an aluminium tube swaged
around it.
 Teleflex control rigid conduits are fixed to the aircraft structure, throughout their
length, approximately every 3 inches and fixed by ‘P’ type clips.
 To allow push/pull loads on a Teleflex control system, the cable has a tension core,
wrapped by a compression winding.
 A Teleflex control cable run that uses a straight lead unit would only engaged with a
few teeth of the gear wheel so it is not suited to heavily loaded controls.
 The reaction loads on the bowdenflex remote control are taken on the outer guide
rails and the anchor pieces located inside the tubular end fittings.
 Correct orientation of the bowdenflex remote control when fitting is shown by narrow
flats on the sliding rods.
 To bend a Bowden flex cable in the vertical plane, the identification flats on the
sliding rods should be visible on the top and bottom surfaces.
 An aircraft control would use fairleads in certain parts of the control cable run
because they can be used as cable guides and eliminate bulkhead damage and
cable chaffing due to frictional contact.
 The cable tension regulator used within a control run would be checked and if
necessary adjusted by the scale on the side of the regulator and adjusted by the
cable turnbuckles.
 Checking a tension type turnbuckle for correct assembly and locking would be
checked for the lock nuts are tight, the end fittings are in safety and correctly wire
locked.
 A cable Tensiometer would NOT be used to tension cables in a regulated system.
 In a cable tension regulator the braking device allows the springs to exert their force
only when the cable system is in neutral.
 An American turnbuckle is considered to being in safety when not more than 3
threads can be seen and spring locking clips fitted.

OTHER INFO.........

 Ferrite is a component of carbon steel is soft, ductile and not very strong.
 Chromium is added to steel to increase hardness, strength and corrosion
resistance.
 During steel making process a small amount of manganese is left in the steel as
a bi-product. What effect does the manganese have on the composition of the
steel? It reduces brittleness by reducing the sulphur content of the steel.
 When tempering a piece of steel the heat treatment includes increasing the
toughness of the steel, and decreasing its brittleness then finishing by heating to
below the critical temperature and quenching in water.
 When a piece of steel is normalised, the steel is heated to its upper critical
temperature then allowed to cool slowly to restore its crystalline structure and to
relieve stresses.
 When testing ferrous materials an S/N graph (stress/number of stress reversals)
is plotted as result of a fatigue test.
 Which test is carried out on an izod machine? Toughness.
 The method of ‘hardness’ testing that uses a steel ball indenter is known as
Brinell hardness test.
 Before aluminium sheet can be formed the ductility must be increased and the
strength and hardness must be reduced.
 Alclad sheet metal must be heated more than three times because the surface
molecular structure is altered which makes it less resistant to corrosion.
 A section of aluminium alloy structure, which cannot be heat-treated, can be
strengthened by cold rolling.