Current testing requirements for high temperature alloys are defined in general industry specifications (ASTM, AMS), as well as in user specifications. Many of these requirements were established in the 1960's when production practices were yet to be refined.
cowling - protective covering consisting of a metal part that covers the engine; there are powerful engines under the hoods of new cars; the mechanic removed the cowling in order to repair the plane's engine.
An external combustion engine (EC engine) is a heat engine where a working fluid, contained internally, is heated by combustion in an external source, through the engine wall or a heat exchanger. The fluid then, by expanding and acting on the mechanism of the engine, produces motion and usable work.