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French to English translations [PRO] Tech/Engineering - Engineering (general) / air quality testing
French term or phrase:sas matériel
This figures in a list of classified rooms to be tested for air quality (ventilation, air renewal rate, room pressure, temperature, humidity, number of particles per cubic meter). It has a surface area of 4,6 square meters.
So far I've found 'pass through-chamber' or 'material pass through' or 'airlock' but would like to find the term used in UK English.
Explanation: If there is no more detail, then I'd say this sort of non-specific solution may be the only way to go.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2 heures (2014-04-14 11:47:11 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Although we often think of 'airlock' in terms of the special kind of airtight compartments found in e.g. submarines and spacecraft, in more everyday contexts it is widely used much more generally to suggest a less stringent type of space, where there is simply some attempt to separate the air in two other spaces, e.g. for reasons of heat / cold, contamination etc.
Asker, I think your own suggestion of 'transfer airlock' is fine, and it does at least obviate any possible confusion with space / submarine-type airlocks.
As discussed above, my only qualm is with the use of 'material', which might not be a good translation of 'matériel'.
Apparently 'material transfer airlock' is not what is meant here. The client says it's more of a small room ajacent to a cleanroom. So maybe just 'airlock' will be enough, finally.
I have to get back to the client about something else in the document so I'll take the opportunity to ask his opinion on the translation of 'sas matériel'. Luckily it's a client who replies quickly to his mails!
I agree with 'equipment'. No difference so far. The difference between us is, that your equipment is passed through an airlock, while I consider the equipment of the chamber (which can be an airlock, but is not limited to this chamber type).
"it looks improbably [sic] to me that 'matériel' designates the material the 'sas' is made of."
If you were referring to my comment below, I certainly wasn't talking about the material the 'sas' is made of; can't imagine where you got that idea from!
I was talking about what might be passing through the 'sas', and seeking to highlight the important difference between 'material(s)' and 'equipment', which Asker seems in danger of confusing.
it looks improbably to me that 'matériel' designates the material the 'sas' is made of. I think it makes more sense to interpret it as kind of equipment. The air quality inside the 'sas' must be checked and the title will refer to this volume accordingly.
'matériel' and 'material' can often prove to be something of a faux ami — in your EN term, the implication of 'material' is very likely to be the equivalent of the FR 'matériaux', and NOT the sense of 'hardware', which is what I suspect is intended here — although as this is a hypothetical situation, it may not actually matter very much either way. Note that if the FR really meant 'materials' in this sense, it would likely have been 'sas matériaux'.
The purpose of the sas seems to be to pass equipment through, as it has a door which leads into it and two doors leading out of it, into the 2 larger rooms.
Right, thanks — in that case, as I suspected, you need to stick with something non-specific.
In view of the fact that your document is about air quality, I do'nt see any harm is using a solution involving 'airlock', which is more apposite perhaps than it would be in, say, a purely security-oriented application.
But I would ask the client what the "sas" purpose is. Is it to protect the "matériel" ? In which case, it is probably more like the "sas" in banks, i.e. a place with double doors, one one of which opens at a time. Doubtless to prevent too brutal changes of temperature or the like - something with "chamber" perhaps ?
The document is a hypothetical report for a customer by a company which undertakes air quality testing . There is no mention of what type of building it is for but the company's website mentions that they work in various environments including hospitals and laboratories.
Could you give us some more hints about what your overall document is about, please? In particular, it isn't clear whether this is a treatise on air quality testing, and this 'theoretical' 'sas' is just being used by way of an example; or if you do actually have an actual building — in which case, even if you don't know what sort of equipment is passing through this sas, do you at least have an idea what the building is for — factory, restaurant, hospital, etc.?
In the absence of more specific details, I think you'll probably have no choice but to fall back on a non-committal fit-all solution — one that can't be wrong, even if it isn't necessarily the best solution in all instances.
"What stands "sas" for?" [sic] It's obvious here, both from the way it is written and from the context, that it has to be the normal word 'sas' — Asker is clearly satisified with that interpretation, and the only residual doubt lies in the best choice of the target term, given that there are quite a few options to choose from.
It's in a theoretical list of 3 rooms to be tested in a document entitled 'Qualification de l'air des salles classées'. According to the diagram provided, the 'sas matériel' gives onto the 2 other rooms, which have surface areas of 60 sq. m. and 22,6 sq. m. respectively. No mention of what kind of material would transit through this space.
I'm with Tony - I'd imagine it would be an equipment hatch of some kind, possibly an equipment airlock, but that's quite specific so depends what kind of facility you're talking about
Just a thought: given the size, it seems like this is probably some kind of walk-in space; if so, I rather feel that any use of 'pass-through' is probably not suitable, since it suggests to me at least something rather more like a serving-hatch type of arrangement.
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Answers
3 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): -2
equipment lobby
Explanation: As it is a building and it seems people go through it, I'd use the word "lobby", which is generally a small circulation space between two or more rooms or between the outside environment and indoor space (e.g. a draught lobby).
The term even has some ghits (though beware of numbers as some or these are lobbying groups for items of equipment):
www.lqjrs.com/fumc/nbdec.html Above the service window and doors is insulated air conditioning duct, framed with steel which ... View from an upstairs south window onto the equipment lobby.
eyeredi.bl.ee/casino-party-rentals-equipment/ Enjoy free newspapers in the equipment lobby, where you will also find a safe at reception for your valuables. . Offers online casino games for free or real money ...
B D Finch France Local time: 11:47 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 121
peer agreement (net): -2