Unit UUnniitt 38 Finding fault - English Central

Unit

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UUnniitt

38

Finding fault

You will learn about …

• the causes of mechanical

failure

• the role of a mechanical

engineer in preventing failure

You will learn words like these …

sensor

equipment

poisonous leak radioactivity accurate injury inspect stuck disaster

fulcrum metal fatigue calculation structure faulty wear out monitor collision

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GED0127_Moving into ME.indb 107 11/11/2015 12:32

8 Unit 8: Finding fault

Things fall apart

the Titanic Bhopal

A What does each photograph show?

1. Match the photographs with the words in the box.

a chemical plant a nuclear reactor

a passenger liner a space shuttle

2. Each was the subject of a famous disaster. What

do you know about each disaster? Which one(s)

involved the following?

• an explosion

• a gas leak

• radioactivity

• a collision

• a fire

• bad design

• bad construction

• poor communication

• poor maintenance

B g 098 Listen and complete the research notes

about the Titanic.

Name the Titanic

Structure, etc. a passenger liner

Date

Location

Event(s)

Deaths

Cause(s)

C Work in groups to research the other disasters.

Group A: Bhopal, page 160.

Group B: The Challenger, page 170.

Group C: Chernobyl, page 175.

Practise making sentences from the notes.

108


Name

Date

Structure, etc.

Location

Event(s)

Deaths

Cause(s)

Name

Date

Structure, etc.

Location

Event(s)

Deaths

Cause(s)

Chernobyl the Challenger

D Share your research.

1. Work in groups of three, with one student

from each group in Exercise C. Ask and answer

questions to complete the notes. Check the

meaning of any new words.

What happened?

A poisonous

gas leaked.

What does

‘poisonous’ mean?

It means ‘harmful’.

It hurts or kills people.

2. Complete the research notes for the other two

disasters.

E Look again at Exercise A2. Use your new

information to answer the questions.

The Challenger disaster involved an explosion.

109



Safe for life

Mechanical equipment must be safe … for the whole of its life.

A In each picture, what process is the engineer

involved in?

1. Make correct sentences from the words in each

column.

He is

testing gauges.

monitoring a plane engine.

inspecting a car engine.

2. Why do engineers test, monitor and inspect?

3. What other actions are engineers involved in?

4. Complete the verbs.

a. design

b. in

c. pl

d. co

e. ma

B You are going to take part in a seminar. Read the

information about the seminar.

1. Is this a good message? Why/Why not?

2. How can mechanical equipment fail? Think

about, e.g., a car engine.

Mechanical Engineering Group

Next seminar:

Safe for life: How can we ensure that

mechanical equipment doesn’t fail?

Room C12 at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday

C In the introduction to the seminar, the lecturer

talks about the main engineering processes.

1. Number the processes in the correct order.

2. g 099 Listen to the introduction (Part 1). What

order does the lecturer give? Check your answers.

3. Underline the stressed syllable in each noun.

construction

1 design

inspection

maintenance

monitoring

testing

Listening skill: Active listening

Speaker: What’s the first element? It comes at

the very start.

Student: Design?

Speaker: Yes, exactly!

A speaker sometimes asks questions during a talk.

Be ready to answer at any point.

Often, a speaker does not want an answer from

the audience. But your preparation helps you to

listen actively.

110


Subject Verb Extra information

Engineers must do maintenance

Companies have a problem

D g 100 Listen to the seminar. The teacher asks

several questions. Choose a good answer for

each one.

Because the equipment is not constructed

according to the design.

Because the water cools the engine.

Because things wear out or get damaged in use.

It means checking all the fastenings, for example.

1 It’s called ‘Design’.

The design must follow the laws of physics.

There are many sensors on the engine.

Water temperature and oil pressure.

We must do good maintenance.

With a computer simulation or in a wind tunnel.

E Complete the sentences about safety in

engineering processes.

1. Engineers must make good calculations using the

laws of physics.

2. A wind tunnel is probably more

than a computer simulation.

3. Engineers must use good construction

.

4. A safe design can become an

device.

5. All equipment needs inspection.

6. Engineers must damaged

components.

7. Sensors send about the

functioning of equipment.

g 101 Listen and check.

F Study some examples of safety issues. How can an

engineer do each of these points?

1. monitor the pressure of a boiler

monitor – look at pressure gauge regularly

2. test the strength of a bridge

3. inspect the wing of a plane at night

4. design a safe mechanical toy

5. maintain a car

6. construct a safe electrical device

g 102 Listen to the last part of the seminar and

check your ideas.

Grammar for listening: Predicting content after a linking word – because/so

because = a reason; so = a result

linking Subject Verb Extra information

because things wear out.

so they change the design.

You must recognize linking words in a sentence. (See Unit 6.) They help you predict the next information.

g 103 Listen to the start of six sentences with because or so. Number the best ending in each case.

because they are constructed wrongly.

because they can damage equipment.

because they can come apart.

so it is unsafe.

1 because there may be hidden problems.

so we must replace them regularly.

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Safety is child’s play

In engineering, you often have to work in a team.

metal rope seat handles ladder wood

roundabout swing slide see-saw

A Work in pairs.

1. Did you go to a children’s playground when you

were a child?

2. What was your favourite piece of equipment?

B Read the description of playground equipment

from an engineering textbook.

1. Complete the sentences with the correct piece of

playground equipment.

2. Find a word or phrase in the text for each

definition.

a. the horizontal parts of a ladder

b. pushing away from a central point

c. turning

d. a lever rests on it

e. things to hold on to

f. something to sit in or on

Playground equipment

The has an inclined plane. The child

converts chemical energy to potential energy by

climbing the rungs of the ladder. Then the child

converts potential energy to kinetic energy by

returning to the ground. Friction uses some of the

energy.

The is a wheel and axle. The child

converts chemical energy to kinetic energy by

pushing against the ground. The equipment turns

and centrifugal force pushes the child away from

the centre. Friction slows the rotation down.

The is a lever with a fulcrum in the

centre. Two children sit on the equipment and

hold the handles. One child pushes down and the

other child goes up. The second child comes down

and the first child goes up.

The uses Newton’s third law of

motion. The child sits in the seat and an adult

pushes the child. The child moves away, then

back towards the adult. The adult pushes again.

Friction takes some of the energy each time.

C Cover the text. Describe each piece of playground

equipment in engineering terms.

The slide has an inclined plane …

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Listen OK. That’s clear.

That’s a good point.

Share ideas What do you think about …?

I think we should …

Help each other Shall I make notes?

I’ll draw a map of the

location.

Encourage

everyone to

take part

Hannah, what do you think?

What about you, Alain?

Has anyone got any other

ideas?

Make decisions OK. Let’s do that.

Right. That’s our decision.

To: All managers

From: CEO

Date: 17th August

Subject: New Playground for Belport

: Belport playground draft design

As you know, we have the contract to construct the

new playground in Belport. We now have the plans

from the designers, but I am not happy with them.

I would like your ideas about:

• the general safety of the playground

• the best materials to use for each piece of

equipment

• access to the playground

• a monitoring schedule

• a maintenance plan

I will be at head office next week. Please present

your ideas to me then.

Ivan Daniltsev

CEO

Playtime Engineering

Building for safety

D You are an engineer at Playtime Engineering.

Read the email and discuss the design.

1. Work in groups. Discuss each point in the email

and make decisions.

2. How will you present your ideas? (e.g., on a

poster, with a PowerPoint presentation, on a

whiteboard/Smartboard)

3. Present your ideas to the class.

Speaking skill: Working in a team

g 104 Listen and repeat. Copy the intonation and

stress.

113


English in action: Talking about accidents

A Look at the pictures of an accident at a power

station on the opposite page.

1. Find the items in the box.

2. What was the cause of the accident? Guess or work

it out!

B Look at the accident report form.

1. Write questions to find out information for each

section in Part B.

Date: When did the accident happen?

2. g 105 Listen and complete the form.

3. Check your answers with the completed form on

page 161.

C Cover the accident report. Complete each sentence

from the conversation with one word.

1. Mr Green was in the power plant.

2. He was at the control .

3. The pressure rose in number two .

4. The pressure got too .

5. Mr Green did not notice the .

6. The safety valve was .

7. The valve got .

8. It did not .

9. It did not release the .

10. The boiler .

D Role play.

Student A: You are a supervisor. Imagine there was

another accident at the power station.

Report the accident.

Student B: You are a manager. Fill in the form on

page 161.

Swap roles.

a trainee an explosion an injury

a boiler a control desk a pressure gauge

ElecGen Co. Accident Report Form

This form must be filled in by the manager of the

department. Part A: About you

Full name: Jana Seles Title:

Manager

Reported by: Nadim Mustafa

Part B: About the accident

Date: Wednesday 3rd June

Time:

Location:

People involved:

Events (in order): Injuries (if any):

Cause (if known):

Part C: About management actions

1.

2.

114


1 2

3 4

Grammar reference page 196 115



Failure by design

Sometimes the design or construction of mechanical equipment leads to failure.

A Where was the latest plane crash? What

happened? Why did it happen?

B You are going to read a case study about the

Comet. Look at the heading, the graph and

pictures from the case study opposite.

1. What was the Comet? What happened to it?

2. Why will these words be in the text? Explain.

aerospace altitude engine flight

jet passenger pressure window wing

Reading skill: Scanning for names and numbers

A company called de Havilland designed and

built the Comet in the UK in the late 1940s.

It is easy to find names and numbers in written

English.

Names of people, companies, countries, etc.,

have capital letters.

Numbers are usually written in figures, but you

should also learn to find number words.

Scan the case study for names and numbers.

What does each name or number refer to?

C Read the case study about the Comet. Answer the

questions.

1. What did people in the aerospace industry think

of the Comet?

2. What damaged its reputation?

3. Why was it pressurized every f light?

4. Why did the first passengers probably love the

Comet?

5. Why did the Comets crash in Pakistan and India? D Find all the noun + noun phrases in the case study.

passenger jet

E Work it out!

1. Why did the fuselage get metal fatigue?

2. How did engineers prove that metal fatigue was

the cause of the Comet crashes? F Work in pairs.

Student A: Read case study 2 on page 162.

Student B: Read case study 3 on page 171.

Ask your partner about his/her case.

Why exactly did each disaster happen?

116


T

Pre

ssure

(m

illib

ars

)

Case study 1:

The Comet he Comet was the first passenger jet. It was a beautiful

piece of mechanical engineering. Passengers and

aerospace professionals loved the plane. But several fatal

crashes damaged its reputation. What caused the crashes?

A company called de Havilland designed and built the jet

airliner in the U K in the late 1940s. The plane cost £250,000

to design and build. The first flight was on 27th July, 1949,

and the Comet began commercial operations in 1952 with a

flight from London to South Africa.

1200

Failure – lessons from disaster

The Comet had four jet engines in the wings. The jetliner was

50% faster than competitor planes at the time. It had a top

speed of 800 kph against 500 kph. For example, it could fly

from London to Tokyo in 36 hours. Other commercial flights

took 85 hours. In the first year of service, Comets carried

30,000 passengers. The jets had large square windows so

passengers had wonderful views of cities, mountains and

deserts. Other airliners had round windows.

1000

800

600

400

200

0 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000

Altitude (meters)

Figure 1: Atmospheric pressure and altitude

The airliner flew at 10,000 m. At this altitude, the pressure

of the atmosphere is 75% less than at sea level. Low pressure

can lead to health problems and death, so the fuselage of the

plane was pressurized every flight.

On 3rd March, 1953, a Comet crashed in Pakistan. Eleven

people died. Two months later, on 2nd May, another Comet

crashed in India. All 43 people on board were killed. Airline

companies stopped using the planes. Scientists examined

thousands of plane fragments. After many months, they

found the cause of the accidents. It was metal fatigue.

Some of the metal around the windows became soft and it

developed cracks. They got bigger each flight, and finally the

plane fuselage blew apart.

Grammar for reading: Understanding pronouns and noun references

The Comet was the first passenger jet plane. It was a beautiful piece of mechanical engineering.

Passengers and aerospace professionals loved the plane.

Pronouns (e.g., he, her, them, etc.) refer back to a previous noun.

Sometimes a new noun is another way of referring to a previous noun.

Check the reference of every noun and every pronoun.

Read the case study again. How is the Comet referred to? Find all the ways.

117



Oil and water

Oil and gas production are dangerous businesses ... especially at sea.

The Piper Alpha oil rig The Deepwater Horizon oil rig

A Discuss the questions about oil and gas.

1. How do you get oil from under the sea?

2. How do you get it to the land?

3. What about natural gas?

4. What products do we make from oil?

5. What do we use natural gas for?

B Read the case study about Piper Alpha.

1. Complete the text using a noun from the box in

each space.

1976 area billion disaster oil pipes

production rig room Scotland workers

2. Choose the correct sentence ending to follow

each because or so in the text. Write the correct

number (1–6) from the text.

4 gas escaped around a faulty pressure valve.

machines compress it.

nobody organized a rescue.

oil production in the area went down.

the disaster cost so much money.

they were safe in an accident.

3. Underline all the pronouns and possessive

adjectives in the text, including the sentence

endings after because and so. What does each

word refer to?

It was located in the North Sea = The oil rig.

The Piper Alpha Disaster

Piper Alpha was an oil rig. It was located in the

North Sea near the east coast of .

In the 1980s, the rig was very important because

its operations produced 10% of UK .

A company called Occidental Petroleum operated

the rig. The company built it in 1975 and production

started in . At first, the rig only

produced oil, but the company later converted it to

gas production because (1).

In the original design, areas for managers and off-

duty were separate from

operational areas so (2). However, this changed

with the conversion to gas . The new

control room and accommodation areas were above

the gas compression .

Gas from under the sea takes up a lot of volume for

transportation so (3). The gas is, therefore, under

high pressure in the .

In 1988, a fire started on the rig because (4). The

managers were in the control and

the fire killed them instantly. There were no other

managers in charge so (5). The fire killed 167 of the

226 men on the rig. It is still the world’s worst-ever

offshore , and it cost the company

over $4 . Occidental Petroleum went

bankrupt because (6).

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A fire started on the rig

No managers were in charge


gas escaped from a valve.

nobody organized a rescue.

Oil

rig

/pla

ce

/ye

ar

Grammar for writing

Giving reasons and results

linking

because

so

Use because to introduce a sentence with a reason (Grammar for listening, page 111).

Use so to introduce a sentence with a result.

Using pronouns and possessive adjectives

Piper Alpha was an oil rig. It was located … = subject pronoun

The managers were in the control room and the fire killed them … = object pronoun

The rig was very important because its operations … = possessive adjective

Use the correct type of pronoun or possessive adjective the second time you write about a person or

a thing.

C You are going to write a case study about another

oil rig disaster.

1. Read the title and the four topic sentences for

your case study. What information goes in each

paragraph?

2. Copy the title and the sentences. Leave spaces for

each paragraph.

Case study: The Deepwater Horizon Disaster

drilling pipe

to rig

to well

• The Deepwater Horizon was an oil rig.

• A company called Transocean built the rig in 2000.

• The rig operated safely for nine years.

• On 20th April, 2010, gas escaped through a

damaged valve.

D Write a draft of the case study with information

from the notes on page 163 and the figures

opposite.

E Exchange your draft case study with a partner.

Check your partner’s work.

F Write a final version of your paragraph.

automatic ram = closes pipe if there is

a blowout Figure 1: A blowout preventer (BOP)

0 50 100 150 200 250

Millions of gallons

Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, 2010

Ixtoc 1, Gulf of Mexico, 1979

Nowruz Field Platform, Persian Gulf, 1983

Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan, 1992

Castillo de Bellver, South Africa, 1983

Amoco Cadiz, France, 1978

Odyssey, Canada, 1988

Figure 2: Largest oil spills in history

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Over to you!

1. What do you think, from the information in this unit,

are the main causes of engineering disasters?

2. Check your ideas with Figure 1. What percentage does

each category cause, according to this research?

3. Which category (or categories) does each disaster in

this unit fit into?

Project

Choose a real-life accident in your country or region.

It must involve a product of mechanical engineering.

Design a poster to answer some of these questions.

1. When did the accident happen?

2. What time did it happen?

3. Where did it happen?

4. Who was involved in the accident?

5. What happened exactly?

6. Was anyone injured/killed?

7. Why did the accident happen?

Poor knowledge

Poor understanding of science

Lack of care

Poor management control

A new problem

Other

Figure 1: Causes of engineering accidents

Source: From M. Matousek and J. Schneider, (1976).

Untersuchungen Zur Struktur des Zicherheitproblems bei

Bauwerken, Institut für Baustatik und Konstruktion der ETH

Zürich, Bericht No. 59, ETH

8. What happened after the accident, to stop a similar accident happening again?

You can choose one of the products of mechanical engineering below, or think of another one.

• a plane

• a helicopter

• a train

• a ship

• a power station

• a factory

• an oil rig

Can you use words from the unit? Look at the Word list for Unit 8 on page 229 and do the tasks.

• Find ten verbs. Which ones are irregular verbs?

• Find eight words connected with accidents.

• Choose ten words and write a sentence with each word.

Can you now …

… listen actively during a talk?

? Yes I need more practice

… predict content after because/so?

… work in a team?

… scan for names and numbers?

… understand and use pronouns and nouns for referencing?

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Unit UUnniitt 38 Finding fault - English Central

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