vapour lock
Noun: A stoppage or interruption in the flow of a liquid (especially fuel) through a pipe or line, caused by the formation of vapor or gas bubbles. This typically occurs when the liquid boils or vaporizes due to heat, creating a pocket of vapor that blocks the normal liquid flow. The term is most commonly associated with internal combustion engines in vehicles, where fuel vaporizes in the fuel line, preventing gasoline from reaching the carburetor.
This term is used specifically in mechanical and automotive contexts to describe a malfunction. - The old car suffered from vapour lock on extremely hot days, causing the engine to stall. - To prevent vapour lock, mechanics often insulate the fuel lines.
- Technical Cause: Vapour lock is primarily a concern with volatile fuels and can be exacerbated by high ambient temperatures, low pressure in the fuel system, or excessive heat from the engine.
- Modern Relevance: While less common in modern fuel-injected vehicles with pressurized fuel systems, it remains a known issue in classic cars, small engines, and certain aircraft systems.
- Vapor lock: The standard American English spelling.
- Fuel vaporization: The general process that leads to vapour lock.
- Fuel starvation: A broader condition where the engine is deprived of fuel, which can be caused by vapour lock.
- Fuel line vaporization
- Vapor blockage
- Fuel flow interruption (specific to this cause)
There are no common idioms using "vapour lock." It is a technical term.
- a stoppage in a pipeline caused by gas bubbles (especially a stoppage that develops in hot weather in an internal-combustion engine when fuel in the gas line boils and forms bubbles that block the flow of gasoline to the carburetor)