Cylinder
Cylinder turns up in 2 fields: concrete, mechanical. Here is what it means to the people in each one.
Cylinder in concrete
A cast concrete test specimen, usually 4 by 8 in or 6 by 12 in, crushed to measure compressive strength.
Field technicians fill plastic molds from a sample of the load, rod them in layers and leave them on site at 60 to 80 F for up to 48 hours before they go to the lab for moist curing. Standard-cured cylinders decide whether the concrete met the spec, while field-cured cylinders kept beside the structure show when it is safe to strip, stress or load. A set is commonly four to six cylinders, broken at 7 and 28 days with spares held back.
"Make a set of six cylinders off truck 12 and leave them in the cure box, not in the sun on the tailgate."
Cylinder in mechanical
The tubular chamber in which a piston travels to compress a fluid or convert fluid pressure into mechanical work.
A bored and honed cylindrical space that houses a reciprocating piston. In engines and compressors, it contains the combustion or compression process. In hydraulics and pneumatics, the term refers to the entire linear actuator assembly including the barrel, piston, and rod.
"Check the bore on cylinder three for scoring before we order the oversize rings."