How Gas Turbine Engines Work
How Gas Turbine Engines Work
Inside this Article 1. Introduction to How Gas Turbine Engines Work 2. Types of Turbines 3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Jet Engines 4. The Gas Turbine Process 5. Combustion Area 6. The Turbine 7. Gas Turbine Variations 8. Thrust Basics 9. Jet Engine Thrust 10. Lots More Information 11. See all Modern articles
1. Introduction to How Gas Turbine Engines Work
When you go to an airport and see the commercial jets there, you can't help but notice the huge engines that power them. Most commercial jets are powered by turbofan engines, and turbofans are one example of a general class of engines called gas turbine engines.
You may have never heard of gas turbine engines, but they are used in all kinds of unexpected places. For example, many of the helicopters you see, a lot of smaller power plants and even the M-1 Tank use gas turbines. In this article, we will look at gas turbine engines to see what makes them tick!
2. Types of Turbines
There are many different kinds of turbines:
You have probably heard of a steam turbine. Most power plants use coal, natural gas, oil or a nuclear reactor to create steam. The steam runs through a huge and very carefully designed multi-stage turbine to spin an output shaft that drives the plant's generator.
Hydroelectric dams use water turbines in the same way to generate power. The turbines used in a hydroelectric plant look completely different from a steam turbine because water is so much denser (and slower moving) than steam, but it is the same principle.
Wind turbines, also known as wind mills, use the wind as their motive force. A wind turbine looks nothing like a steam turbine or a water turbine because wind is slow moving and very light, but again, the principle is the same.
A gas turbine is an extension of the same concept. In a gas turbine, a pressurized gas spins the turbine. In all modern gas turbine engines, the engine produces its own
Inside this Article 1. Introduction to How Gas Turbine Engines Work 2. Types of Turbines 3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Jet Engines 4. The Gas Turbine Process 5. Combustion Area 6. The Turbine 7. Gas Turbine Variations 8. Thrust Basics 9. Jet Engine Thrust 10. Lots More Information 11. See all Modern articles
1. Introduction to How Gas Turbine Engines Work
When you go to an airport and see the commercial jets there, you can't help but notice the huge engines that power them. Most commercial jets are powered by turbofan engines, and turbofans are one example of a general class of engines called gas turbine engines.
You may have never heard of gas turbine engines, but they are used in all kinds of unexpected places. For example, many of the helicopters you see, a lot of smaller power plants and even the M-1 Tank use gas turbines. In this article, we will look at gas turbine engines to see what makes them tick!
2. Types of Turbines
There are many different kinds of turbines:
You have probably heard of a steam turbine. Most power plants use coal, natural gas, oil or a nuclear reactor to create steam. The steam runs through a huge and very carefully designed multi-stage turbine to spin an output shaft that drives the plant's generator.
Hydroelectric dams use water turbines in the same way to generate power. The turbines used in a hydroelectric plant look completely different from a steam turbine because water is so much denser (and slower moving) than steam, but it is the same principle.
Wind turbines, also known as wind mills, use the wind as their motive force. A wind turbine looks nothing like a steam turbine or a water turbine because wind is slow moving and very light, but again, the principle is the same.
A gas turbine is an extension of the same concept. In a gas turbine, a pressurized gas spins the turbine. In all modern gas turbine engines, the engine produces its own