external burning

external burning

[ik‚stərn·əl ′bərn·iŋ]

(aerospace engineering)

Combustion that can be established when a reactive fuel is injected onto the lateral surfaces of an airfoil or from the base of a projectile traveling at high speed, and, if properly controlled, can produce useful forces that can augment lift, provide attitude control, reduce or cancel drag, or produce thrust.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.