Air Lock -

In engineering, an air lock is a chamber that allows people or objects to pass between areas of different air pressures without significantly changing the pressure of either environment.

Related resources for this article ... Courtesy of Elgood-Mayo Corp., Lancaster, Pa. Courtesy of Elgood-Mayo Corp., Lancaster, Pa. Britannica Kids

: Pharmaceutical facilities use them to prevent contamination by maintaining a pressure cascade between rooms. 2. Fluid Blockage (Plumbing & Irrigation) air lock

: Historically used in underwater tunnels and bridge foundations (caissons) to transition workers from atmospheric pressure to high-pressure work zones.

: It can lead to sputtering faucets, no water flow in gravity-fed systems, or the failure of pumps that rely on liquid for lubrication. In engineering, an air lock is a chamber

: Air can enter a system during maintenance, pump restarts, or through dissolution in the liquid itself. air lock - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help

An air lock (or vapor lock) occurs when gas becomes trapped in a high point of a liquid-filled pipe system, partially or completely blocking the flow . Courtesy of Elgood-Mayo Corp

An is a device or physical phenomenon involving trapped air that regulates passage between different pressures or blocks the flow of liquids . Depending on the field—whether aerospace, plumbing, or medicine—an "air lock" serves very different purposes. 1. Pressure Regulation (Engineering & Aerospace)