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Gas Turbine Engines: History
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Contributor: Eng Editorial Office

A gas turbine engine is a rotary internal combustion engine in which energy is extracted from a continuous flow of gas that is compressed, combusted, and expanded through a turbine to produce shaft power or jet thrust [1]. Its core consists of an air compressor that raises the pressure of incoming air, a combustor that burns fuel in the compressed air to raise gas temperature, and a turbine that extracts work from the expanding hot gas to drive the compressor; the remaining energy is delivered either as rotational shaft output to a driven load or as exhaust jet momentum for propulsion [1]. The engine operates on a continuous open Brayton (Joule) cycle, with air continuously entering the compressor and combustion products continuously leaving the turbine, rather than on the intermittent reciprocating cycles of piston engines [2]. Gas turbines are configured as turbojet, turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft, or industrial gas turbine variants depending on how the extracted work is used, and are distinguished by their continuous-flow rotary operation and by the high ratio of turbine inlet temperature to compressor delivery pressure that governs their cycle efficiency [3].

  • gas‑turbine engine
  • Brayton cycle
  • rotary combustion engine
  • turbine‑compressor assembly

Turbomachinery Performance and Optimization •  Aerospace Engineering •  Engineering •  Physical Sciences

References

  1. Saravanamuttoo, H.I.H.; Rogers, G.F.C.; Cohen, H.; Straznicky, P.V. Gas Turbine Theory, 6th ed.; Pearson Prentice Hall: Harlow, UK, 2009.
  2. Arthur H. Lefebvre; Dilip R. Ballal. Gas Turbine Combustion; Taylor & Francis: London, United Kingdom, 2010. [CrossRef]
  3. Rolls-Royce plc. The Jet Engine, 5th ed.; Rolls-Royce plc: Derby, UK, 1996. ISBN: 0902121235.
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