Dictionary of Electrical Engineering

Commonly used terms in the Electrical industry.

fuel cycle
(1) the operating time of a nuclear reactor between shutdowns for refueling.

(2) the life cycle of nuclear fuel, e.g., raw materials, to fresh fuel, to irradiated fuel, to spent fuel, to recycling, and finally to residual waste.
fuel pool
a large vat of water used to store both fresh and spent nuclear fuel at the reactor site.
fuel rod
long, thin canister, typically made of zirconium or other metal, which contains the radioactive fuel in a nuclear reactor core.
fulgurite
a vitrified tube of fused sand created by power fault arcs or lightning strikes to sandy soil.
full load amperage (FLA)
a value, found on the nameplate of an induction motor, indicating the expected current drawn by the motor when operating at rated voltage and load.
full-load amperage
the current measured at the input of an electrical apparatus which has a rated variable at the output. The full-load amperage is also defined as a value that permits the system to operate in a safe condition if it is equal to the rated value. The full-load amperage is equal to the rated value if and only if the voltage is at its rated value. The full load is defined with the electrical power in the case of transformers, generators, or power electronics converters and it is defined with the mechanical power for electrical motors.
full-load speed
the speed of a motor that produces rated power when operating at rated voltage and, for AC motors, frequency.
full-load torque
the torque of a motor that is producing rated power at rated speed.
full-wave analysis
the rigorous computation of electromagnetic fields without approximations (apart for numerical discretization) is often referred to as full-wave analysis.
full-wave control
both the positive and negative half cycle of the waveforms are controlled.
full-wave rectifier
a device that passes positive polarity portions of a signal and reverses negative polarity portions of an AC signal. Ideally, for a sinusoidal input vi(t) = Vm cos(ωt), the output of an ideal full-wave rectifier is vo(t) = |Vm cos(ωt)|.
fundamental frequency
for a continuous time periodic signal, f(t) with fundamental period T (seconds), ω0π/T (rad/sec).
See periodic signal
fuse coordination
the process of matching the fuse or circuit breaker interruption capability to overload current and short-circuit current and insuring that the protective device closest to a fault opens first so as to minimize the service interruption.
fuse cutout
a primary distribution voltage level fuse that employs a replaceable fusible link and provides a means of disconnect. The interrupting rating of a fuse cutout can be somewhat lower than that of a power fuse, however.
fuse link
used in nonerasable programmable memory devices. Each bit in the memory device is represented by a separate fuse link. During programming, the link is either "blown" or left intact to reflect the value of the bit.
See fusible link ROM
fuse reducer
an adapter that allows fuses to be installed in fuseclips designed for larger fuses.
fuse saving
the practice of tripping distribution line reclosers or circuit breakers on a fast trip to beat sectionalizing fuses that are protecting laterals. The following re-close will restore all load. If the fault remains following the fast trip(s), subsequent slow trip(s) will allow the fuse to operate on a permanent fault on the lateral. Fuse saving decreases the customer outage rate but causes more sags to customers in a fault situation.
fused disconnect
a disconnect switch that also employs fuse(s) for the purpose of over-current protection.
fusible element(s)
are designed to melt and interrupt the circuit when current above a threshold value flows in the circuit.
fusible link ROM
read-only memory using fuse links to represent binary data.
See fuse link
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