Sacrificial Part is the general term.
this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2023
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Another example would be a sacrificial piece of metal that will attract the corrosion over that of the metal of a boats prop under the waterline
Sacrificial anode
Usually zinc
I've seen it on residential gas lines too.
Old beetles had some zinc under the bonnet for that, I think.
TIL
Pegs on a snowblower are called shear pins.
'Failsafe' the word you are looking for?
"Ackshyually" incoming...
Failsafe has a specific meaning, describing a system that enters an inherently safe state in the case of a failure.
For example, semi truck parking brakes are actually disengaged by applying air pressure to the system; without air pressure the brakes are engaged automatically by heavy springs. Therefore most failures in the braking system would just result in being unable to disengage the brakes, as opposed to a truck rolling away.
So, while a sacrificial component like OP is describing could be designed as part of a failsafe, generally it's a different design principle at play.
In german its "Sollbruchstelle", that would translate to "intended breaking point".
In electronics it's a breaker or a fuse
Technically just fuses are meant to be sacrificial in most cases. A breaker is more like a switch that has a special fuse for super high currents.
I wanted to say fuseβ¦
Fire sprinkler heads have a little glass vile filled with a glycerin based liquid holding the valve closed. When they heat up beyond a certain point, the liquid expands and bursts the vile, releasing the water from the sprinkler head. Note: only the sprinkler head exposed to the fire will dispense water, not the entire system as seen in movies. Also note: that water has been setting in an iron pipe for probably years and is absolutely disgusting.
Similarly, some commercial kitchens have a fuse-able link, which is a metal link in a chain made of some metal with a low melting point. When thereβs a fire this link will melt and cause the roll up door between the kitchen and the rest of the building to slam shut.
After writing this I realize that it doesnβt necessarily answer the spirit of the question. But I guess these parts fail to protect the rest of the building, so maybe it does answer the question.
Mechanical fuse. Typically composed of shear pins or can be geartrain shafts manufactured with intentionally thinner cross-sections placed at strategic points. A plastic cog in some power tools serves a similar purpose.