regenerative cooling

American  

noun

1. Physics.  a method of cooling a gas, utilizing the rapid expansion of a compressed portion of the gas, before it becomes liquid, to cool the remainder.

2. Rocketry.  the cooling of a reaction engine by circulating around it the liquid propellant prior to its use in the combustion chamber of the engine, the heat energy absorbed by the propellant contributing to the total thrust of the exhaust.

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regenerative cooling British  

noun

1. the process of cooling the walls of the combustion chamber of a rocket by circulating the propellant around the chamber before combustion

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Etymology

Origin of regenerative cooling

First recorded in 1945–50