A water jacket is a water-filled casing surrounding a device, typically a metal sheath having intake and outlet vents to allow water to be pumped through and circulated. The flow of water to an external heating or cooling device allows precise

temperature control Temperature control is a process in which change of temperature of a space (and objects collectively there within), or of a substance, is measured or otherwise detected, and the passage of heat energy into or out of the space or substance is ad ...

of the device.

Applications

Water jackets are often used for

water cooling file:KKP Auslauf.jpg, Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water i ...

or heating. They are also used in

laboratory glassware Laboratory glassware is a variety of equipment used in science, scientific work, traditionally made of glass. Glass may be blown, bent, cut, molded, or formed into many sizes and shapes. It is commonly used in chemistry, biology, and analytical ...

Liebig Justus ''Freiherr'' von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 18 April 1873) was a Germans, German scientist who made major contributions to the theory, practice, and pedagogy of chemistry, as well as to agricultural and biology, biological chemistry; he is ...

, Graham, and Allihn condensers. Water jackets were used to cool the barrels of machine guns until several years after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but modern machine guns are air-cooled to conserve weight and hence increase portability. In a reciprocating piston

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

, the water jacket is a series of holes either cast or bored through the main

engine block In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure that contains the cylinders and other components. The engine block in an early automotive engine consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attach ...

and connected by inlet and outlet valves to a

radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

. Equipment such as

tissue culture Tissue culture is the growth of tissue (biology), tissues or cell (biology), cells in an artificial medium separate from the parent organism. This technique is also called micropropagation. This is typically facilitated via use of a liquid, semi-s ...

incubators may be enclosed in a water jacket kept at a constant temperature. A water jacket is used in an Orsat analyzer to prevent any change in temperature from affecting the density of the gas being analyzed. The concept gives its name to the water jacket furnace, a type of blast furnace, using a cold air blast, that was used for the smelting of non-ferrous metallic mineral ores. These furnaces are cooled by a water jacket arrangement. The terminology is also used for an indirect heating device used in the petroleum oil and gas industry, generally known as a water jacket heater or water bath heater.

References

Cooling technology {{tech-stub

Applications

See also

References