fuse plug

English

Noun

fuse plug (plural fuse plugs)

1. (aviation) A component of an aircraft wheel held in place by a metal alloy with a low melting point, such that, if the wheel is severely overheated (for instance, by heavy braking), pressure is released from the wheel and tire/tyre in a controlled manner rather than risking an explosion of the wheel assembly.
   • 2018 February 8, Terry Liittschwager, chapter 30, in Wrongful Act‎^[1], archived from the original on 31 January 2022:

     ACI's Hong Kong station manager was at a loss as to how best to proceed. Flight 103's brakes had been cooled with blowers, and the plane towed to its gate. It had three blown tires, one had burst on the runway when the aircraft's anti‑skid system failed and two had deflated when their red-hot brakes had overheated the tires and the fuse plugs had blown. The tire that had blown on the runway had disintegrated and punched two holes in the aircraft's undersurface. The holes were small, but they had to be fixed.

2. (civil engineering) A collapsible dam or levee designed to give way in extreme flood conditions in order to divert water away from more important water-control structures.