Abbreviations (CalQlata)

CalQlata always tries to use generally accepted terms for abbreviations, to avoid confusion or misunderstanding. However, whilst the abbreviations listed below along with their descriptions apply only to this website, if you notice any obvious errors, we would appreciate your letting us know. Thank you!

If you do not find the abbreviation you are looking for on this page (e.g. 'V' for voltage), you should try the Symbols page

The Abbreviations

Abbreviation	Complete Term
ABMA	American Bearing Manufacturer's Association
ABS	acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
ABS	American Bureau of Shipping
AC	alternating current
ALS	accidental limit state
Acos	arccosine
Acosh	hyperbolic arccosine
AFBMA	Anti-Friction Bearing Manufacturer's Association
AISI	American Iron and Steel Institute
ANSI	American National Standards Institute
API	American Petroleum Institute
Asin	arcsine
Asinh	hyperbolic arcsine
ASME	American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ASTM	American Society for Testing and Materials
Atan	arctangent
Atanh	hyperbolic arctangent
BHN	Brinell hardness number
BPF	British Plastics Federation
BS	British Standard
BSI	British Standards Institute
CAF	compressed asbestos fibre
CEV	carbon equivalent
CGPM	Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures (General Conference on Weights and Measures)
CMS	comfortable minimum separation (between moving vehicles)
Cos	cosine
Cosec & Csc	cosecant
Cosh	hyperbolic cosine
Cotan & Ctn	cotangent
DAF	dynamic amplification factor
DC	direct current
DIN	Deutsches Institut für Normung
DnV	Det Norske Veritas
ETFE	ethylene tetra-fluoro-ethylene
FEP	fluorinated ethylene propylene
FLS	fatigue limit state
g	acceleration due to gravity
G	shear modulus
GiGo	Garbage in - Garbage out
GMTo	Greenwich mean time
HMX	high molecular weight (RDX)
HNBR	hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber
HPHT	high-pressure/high-temeprature (normally applies to offshore flexible pipes)
HSSC	hydrogen stress corrosion cracking
ID	inside diameter
IR	infra-red
IRHD	International rubber hardness degree
ISO	International Standards Organisation
IWRC	indepenedent wire rope centre
LH	left-hand
LHS	left-hand side
log	logarithm
m/c	machine (m/c'd = machined)
NACA	The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (this body was incorporated into NASA in 1958)
NASA	National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NBR	nitrile butadiene rubber also known as nitrile
NFPA	National Fire Protection Association
OD	outside diameter
OTR	off-the-road (applies to the tyrecord used for large earth moving trucks)
PE	potential energy
PA	polyamide {nylon}
PC	polycarbonate
PCD	pitch circle diameter
PEEL	polyester elastomer
PE	polyethylene
PEI	polyester imide
PETN	pentaerythrite tetranitrate
PFA	per-fluoro-alkoxy
pH	potential hydrogen (acid and alkaline)
PPE	polyphenylene
PP	polypropylene
PTFE	poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene
PUR	polyurethane
RAM	relative atomic mass
RAO	response amplitude operator
RDX	research department explosive
RH	right-hand
RHS	rolled hollow section
RHS	right-hand side
RTJ	ring type joint (flange gaskets)
SAE	Society of Automotive Engineers
SCC	stress corrosion cracking
Sec	secant
SF	safety factor
SG	specific gravity
SHS	square hollow section
SI	system international (metric)
Sin	sine
Sinh	hyperbolic sine
SLS	serviceability limit state
SMYS	specified minimum yield stress
S-N	stress-number (fatigue curve)
Tan	tangent
Tanh	hyperbolic tangent
TETRYL	trinitrophenylmethyinitramine
TFE	tetra-fluoro-ethylene
THS	tubular hollow section
TNT	trinitrotoluene
TPO	thermoplastic olefins
Trig	trigonometry
UhmwPe	ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene
ULS	ultimate limit state
UNS	unified numbering system
UOS	unless otherwise stated
USGS	United States Geological Survey
UTM	universal transverse mercator
UTS	ultimate tensile strength
UV	ultra-violet
YS	yield strength (stress)