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Gas turbine
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Examples of gas turbine configurations: (1) turbojet, (2) turboprop, (3) turboshaft (electric generator), (4)
high-bypass turbofan, (5) low-bypass afterburning turbofan

A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous combustion, internal
combustion engine. The main elements common to all gas turbine engines are:

1. An upstream rotating gas compressor;

2. A combustor;
3. A downstream turbine on the same shaft as the compressor.
 A fourth component is often used to increase efficiency (on turboprops and turbofans), to convert
power into mechanical or electric form (on turboshafts and electric generators), or to achieve
greater thrust-to-weight ratio (on afterburning engines).
The basic operation of the gas turbine is a Brayton cycle with air as the working fluid.
Atmospheric air flows through the compressor that brings it to higher pressure. Energy is then
added by spraying fuel into the air and igniting it so the combustion generates a high-
temperature flow. This high-temperature high-pressure gas enters a turbine, where it expands
down to the exhaust pressure, producing a shaft work output in the process. The turbine shaft
work is used to drive the compressor; the energy that is not used for compressing the working
fluid comes out in the exhaust gases that can be used to do external work, such as directly
producing thrust in a turbojet engine, or rotating a second, independent turbine (known as a
power turbine) which can be connected to a fan, propeller, or electrical generator. The purpose of
the gas turbine determines the design so that the most desirable split of energy between the
thrust and the shaft work is achieved. The fourth step of the Brayton cycle (cooling of the working
fluid) is omitted, as gas turbines are open systems that do not use the same air again.
Gas turbines are used to power aircraft, trains, ships, electrical generators, pumps, gas
compressors, and tanks.[1]

Contents

 1Timeline of development
 2Theory of operation
o 2.1Creep
 3Types
o 3.1Jet engines
o 3.2Turboprop engines
o 3.3Aeroderivative gas turbines
o 3.4Amateur gas turbines
o 3.5Auxiliary power units
o 3.6Industrial gas turbines for power generation
o 3.7Industrial gas turbines for mechanical drive
o 3.8Turboshaft engines
o 3.9Radial gas turbines
o 3.10Scale jet engines
o 3.11Microturbines
 4External combustion
 5In surface vehicles
o 5.1Passenger road vehicles (cars, bikes, and buses)
o 5.2Trains
o 5.3Tanks
o 5.4Marine applications
 6Advances in technology
 7Advantages and disadvantages
o 7.1Advantages
o 7.2Disadvantages
 8Testing
 9See also
 10References
 11Further reading
 12External links
Timeline of development[edit]

Sketch of John Barber's gas turbine, from his patent

 50: Earliest records of Hero's engine (aeolipile). It most likely served no practical purpose,
and was rather more of a curiosity; nonetheless, it demonstrated an important principle of
physics that all modern turbine engines rely on.
 1000: The "Trotting Horse Lamp" (Chinese: 走马灯, zŏumădēng) was used by the Chinese at
lantern fairs as early as the Northern Song dynasty. When the lamp is lit, the heated airflow
rises and drives an impeller with horse-riding figures attached on it, whose shadows are then
projected onto the outer screen of the lantern.[2]
 1500: The Chimney Jack was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci: Hot air from a fire rises through a
single-stage axial turbine rotor mounted in the exhaust duct of the fireplace and turning the
roasting spit by gear-chain connection.
 1629: Jets of steam rotated an impulse turbine that then drove a working stamping mill by
means of a bevel gear, developed by Giovanni Branca.
 1678: Ferdinand Verbiest built a model car