PFD
Abbreviation with 3 meanings
| Stands for | Personal flotation device |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 3 |
| Categories | Transportation & Travel, Science & Engineering |
PFD has three meanings. The most common are Personal flotation device (maritime) and Process flow diagram (engineering); it can also stand for Primary flight display.
Meanings of PFD at a glance
| # | PFD stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Personal flotation device | Transportation & Travel › Maritime |
| 2 | Process flow diagram | Science & Engineering › Engineering |
| 3 | Primary flight display | Transportation & Travel › Aviation |
1. Personal flotation device
Transportation & Travel · Maritime Abbreviations
Life jacket or buoyancy aid designed to keep a person afloat. US law requires recreational boats to carry a properly sized, Coast Guard-approved PFD for each person aboard.
Example: Kids under 13 must wear a PFD whenever the boat is underway in federal waters.
Coast Guard figures consistently show that most drowning victims in recreational boating accidents were not wearing life jackets. Inflatable PFDs are popular with adults because they are less bulky. US labeling has moved away from the old Type I to V categories toward performance levels. In aviation, PFD means primary flight display.
2. Process flow diagram
Science & Engineering · Engineering Abbreviations
Simplified diagram of a chemical or industrial process showing the major equipment, main process streams and key operating conditions such as flow rates, temperatures and pressures, usually with a material and energy balance table. It comes before the more detailed P&ID in plant design.
Example: The PFD shows the feed passing through two heat exchangers before entering the reactor.
PFDs omit minor piping, valves and instrumentation, which appear on P&IDs. They are used in early design, operator training and process simulation software. Outside engineering, PFD more often means a personal flotation device, or life jacket.
3. Primary flight display
Transportation & Travel · Aviation Abbreviations
Main screen in a glass cockpit, combining the attitude indicator, airspeed and altitude tapes, vertical speed, heading and autopilot mode annunciations on one display. It replaced the traditional "six-pack" of round mechanical instruments.
Example: Garmin's G1000 puts the PFD in front of the pilot and a moving map on the MFD in the center.
PFDs also show flight director cues and, in many modern systems, synthetic-vision terrain images. Backup instruments remain required in case the display fails. On boats the same initials mean personal flotation device, a life jacket, so the setting makes the meaning obvious.
Related abbreviations
More maritime abbreviations
- NVOCC – Non-vessel operating common carrier
- OOW – Officer of the watch
- OS – Ordinary seaman
- P&I – Protection and indemnity
- RHIB – Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
- RMS – Royal Mail Ship
- Ro-Ro – Roll-on/roll-off
- RV – Research vessel
See all 61 maritime abbreviations →