blowdown

American  

[bloh-doun] / ˈbloʊˌdaʊn /

noun

1. Automotive. a procedure for measuring the compression within an engine to identify certain mechanical defects, such as worn piston rings.

2. a tree or stand of timber that has been blown down by the wind.

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blowdown British  

/ ˈbləʊˌdaʊn /

noun

1. an accident in a nuclear reactor in which a cooling pipe bursts causing the loss of essential coolant

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Etymology

Origin of blowdown

1880–85 for earlier sense; noun use of verb phrase blow down

Example Sentences

The analysis also does not factor in so-called "blowdown" emissions of methane which occur every time the ship switches from LNG to running on MGO.

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2024

We started a climb and found blowdown — an area where wind knocked over large stands of fire-ravaged timber — that we crawled over and under.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 25, 2020

Tree blowdown on the South Fork Toutle River showing small stand of trees protected from the force of the blast but not from the heat.

From Scientific American • May 23, 2013

In 2005, a massive explosion rocked BP's Texas City refinery, after a blowdown drum overfilled with liquid hydrocarbons.

From Time • Jun. 10, 2010

The blast toppled trees in a 230.square-mile area north of the volcano called the blowdown zone and left vegetation standing but seared lifeless—the scorch zone—on the edges.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone