#structural engineering

• Aerial cable — A conductive, electrical, or traction cable specially designed and installed to be suspended high on poles or support pillars in open airspace. In mechanical engineering, it refers to thick steel cables used for supporting and moving cable cars, funiculars, or aerobuses; in telecommunications, it represents aerial conductors protected against adverse weather.
• Aerospace — Relating simultaneously to airspace (atmospheric) and cosmic space (extra-atmospheric); located within these spaces or adapted to operate in both environments. The term describes technologies, vehicles, research missions, or related industries that integrate classical aviation and orbital or interplanetary spaceflight.
• Aerotechnics — The science or collective applied techniques studying the design, construction, testing, and maintenance of aircraft, as well as the functioning of mechanical and aerodynamic systems in aviation. This structural industrial field includes turbine manufacturing, load-bearing structure assembly, and gas flow optimization within engines under strict safety conditions.
• Sinking — The act of sinking or submerging and its result; the physical process of a body lowering below a liquid surface or inside soft soil; the structural sagging or settling of a building or ground under heavy weight or foundation failure.
• altazimuth — An astronomical instrument or mechanical mount utilized for determining the position of celestial bodies or for guiding telescopes and cameras, structurally characterized by rotation around two perpendicular axes: a horizontal axis (for measuring altitude or height above the horizon) and a vertical axis (for measuring azimuth).
• Mixer — An apparatus, manual instrument, household appliance (such as a mixer or agitator), or technical system component that performs the mixing or homogenization of substances or gases; in sanitary installations, it indicates the faucet that combines hot and cold water. As an adjective, it describes any structural element or agent capable of combining elements of different natures.
• Amortization — The act of amortizing and its result. In economics, it represents the process of phased recovery of a fixed asset's value by periodically transferring a quota-share to operating expenses, or the scheduled payoff of a debt. In physics and engineering, it defines the progressive reduction, dampening, or cancellation of the intensity of an oscillation, mechanical shock, or noise through kinetic energy absorption.
• Encastrement — A technical procedure or type of rigid structural connection through which a construction element (beam, bar, mechanical part) is partially or totally fixed into a massive support, preventing any rotational or translational movement at the point of contact. This structural technique ensures optimal absorption of stresses and bending moments in load-bearing structures.
• To anchor — To secure a ship or boat to the water bed using an anchor to prevent its movement caused by wind or currents; to anchor. In construction and engineering, the act of rigidly binding a structure, pole, or machine to a stable support using cables or rods. Figuratively, it means to firmly establish oneself in a place, an idea, or a social/cultural context.
• Android — An automated robot with a human appearance, structurally built to mimic the look, movements, and functions of a man or human being. In the context of modern computer science, the term (capitalized, Android) designates the most popular open-source operating system for mobile devices, based on the Linux kernel and developed by Google.
• Endurance — The capacity of an organism, an athlete, or a mechanical and technical system to withstand prolonged heavy physical effort, intense stress, fatigue, or wear without structural degradation or significant drops in performance.
• Counter-tilting support — A structural element, counterforce, or architectural consolidation technique used to counteract the tilt, uneven settling, or deviation from the vertical axis of a structure or tower; a technical method applied to create a back-pressure to that exerted by the asymmetrical weight of the building. In a historical and restorative sense, the term describes engineering solutions aimed at stabilizing monuments affected by soil instability, providing a support point opposite to the direction of collapse.
• Earthquake-resistant — Designed, constructed, or structurally consolidated to withstand seismic movements, ground vibrations, and earthquakes, minimizing the risk of collapse or severe damage. It applies to design codes, load-bearing structures, buildings, bridges, or technological materials equipped with damping systems, base isolation, or flexible reinforcements capable of absorbing inertial forces.
• Tire — An elastic outer covering made of reinforced rubber with fabrics and metal wires, mounted on a vehicle wheel rim, aimed at ensuring grip, shock absorption, and driving safety; (construction) the exterior protective barrier of a building (walls, roof, windows) thermally insulating the interior from the environment.
• Docking alongside — The act of docking or securing alongside and its result; a naval or aeronautical maneuver through which a light vessel, a helicopter, or a seaplane is guided, coupled, and structurally fixed aboard a mother ship or onto a specially prepared offshore platform.
• Arcare — The act of arching and its result; a physical, geometric, or structural process through which an object, line, surface, or construction element is bent, curved, or shaped into the form of an arch. In civil engineering and architecture, it represents the curved configuration of load-bearing structures to optimally distribute gravitational loads.
• Architrave — A horizontal structural architectural element, made of stone, wood, or marble, constituting the lower part of the entablature and resting directly on the capitals of the columns or supporting pillars. In classical architectural orders (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian), the architrave has the essential role of bearing the weight of the upper structures (frieze and cornice) and distributing it evenly to the vertical support elements.
• Arching — The act of bending into an arc and its result; a physical, mechanical, or biological process through which an elastic body, a material structure, or an anatomical line curves, bends, or alters its geometric flexibility under the action of an external force or internal tension. In design and art, it represents an aesthetic property conferring dynamism and harmony to outer shapes, while in engineering it defines the structural capacity of an assembly to absorb kinesthetic shocks through reversible deformations.
• Combustiometer — An industrial measuring instrument or laboratory device utilized for the precise determination of the flash point, flame propagation speed, or combustion temperature of various liquid or gaseous substances. In a structural-engineering sense, the ardometru operates based on thermoelectric sensors or optical cells that record rapid oxidation reaction parameters under controlled pressure and volume conditions.
• Arecibo — A proper geographical name designating a coastal municipality in Puerto Rico, globally famous for its iconic Arecibo Observatory, a massive astronomical structure built inside a natural sinkhole depression. Structurally, the observatory served for decades as a cornerstone in astrophysics, ionospheric research, and SETI programs searching for extraterrestrial intelligence, and was also the origin of the famous 'Arecibo Message' beamed into space in 1974.