Word: metal
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...little uneasy. We have no handle on this one yet. Was it aging metal in a high-time machine? Was it stress? And what kind of stress? Was it quality control of the metal? And if we find out, what kind of fix can we ask to have made? We don't know...
...search for the cause of the DC-10 crash could be long and costly. Investigators, for example, are trying to determine just what effect the years of jolting landings and high-stress takeoffs have had on the key metal parts that hold the engine and pylon to the wing. They are even studying the possibility of "acoustical fatigue," the damage to metal that can be caused by oscillations of sound frequencies generated by the DC-10's engine and its associated metal structures. More than 100 FAA investigators are working with McDonnell Douglas to find the reasons...
...days, the NTSB put all of the blame on a broken bolt that searchers found beside the runway. It was one of five that held the pylon to the wing, and officials thought it had snapped because of "metal fatigue"-the progressive weakening that results from repeated stress. One investigator even christened it "the murdering bolt." But electron microscope studies showed the bolt had been broken by a sudden, violent strain. Meanwhile, a crack had been found in the plate that formed the aft bulkhead...
...rising engine and pylon, possibly trailing yards of metal "spaghetti," apparently tore through the skin of the whig. When the engine flew off, it carried away the pumps for one of the plane's three hydraulic systems. The engine may also have cut through hydraulic lines in the front of the wing. In either case, fluid necessary to maintain pressure on controls spilled out. The leading-edge flaps that were extended from the front of the whig to supply extra lift on takeoff may have been struck and damaged by the engine. Or the lack of hydraulic pressure...
Strong economies in many countries have also put the squeeze on th supply of those precious metals that are used in industry. Platinum, which is needed for pollution-fighting catalytic converters in cars, has risen an eye-popping 173%, to well over $400 an ounce, since the Soviet Union, a big supplier of the metal, started throttling back exports two years ago. Some market watchers expect it soon to hit $500. The demand last year for silver, used for coinage, camera film and tableware, was about 17 million ounces greater than the supplies of 433 million ounces from regular channels...