The phrase "a principal function of" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe the main or most important role that something plays in a particular context.
Example: "A principal function of the education system is to prepare students for the workforce."
Alternatives: "a key role of" or "a primary purpose of".
"Acquisition of knowledge," he says early in the book, "is a principal function of the brain".
Past evidence suggests that a principal function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is selective attention and that this function involves the modulation of sensory signals within posterior cortices.
In particular, the authors have begun to interpret system behaviours and their underlying molecular mechanisms through the lens of information transmission, a principal function of signalling systems.
A principal function of a turbine in an APU is to extract mechanical energy from the flow stream through the exertion of a resistive force.
Participation in national government is a principal function of the regions: regional councils may initiate parliamentary legislation, propose referenda, and appoint three delegates to assist in presidential elections, except for the Valle d'Aosta region, which has only one delegate.
A principal function of the Kinect sensor is to compute the depth (i.e., the distance from a sensor) as a laser scanner does.
The idea that the principal function of a myth is to provide a justification for a ritual was adopted without any great attempt to make a case for it.
The principal function of a model is to improve your understanding of the system.
Two different experiments were done to demonstrate the principal function of a microbalance, based on GaPO4 thickness shear resonators.
By using the theory of the principal function of a hyponormal operator with rank-one self-commutator, one classifies some extremal points of the solutions of the truncatedL-problem of moments in two real variables.
The principal function of an energy dissipation system is to reduce the inelastic energy dissipation demand on the framing system of a structure (Constantinou and Symans 1993).
