external-combustion

[ ik-stur-nl-kuhm-buhs-chuhn ]

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to an engine, as a steam engine, in which fuel ignition takes place outside the cylinder, turbine, or the like, in which heat energy is transformed into mechanical force.

Example Sentences

At present oil is only employed in large warships for the purpose of producing steam by the external combustion of the oil.

From Project Gutenberg