How gas turbine engine works - Essay Example

All modern gas engines are produced in the way that they produce pressurized gases themselves, burning something like propane, natural gas, and kerosene or jet fuel. The energy from burning the fuel pushes and heats air, and the high-speed flow of this hot air spins the turbine. The process of air compression guaranteed by the compressor is very important as this helps to achieve higher burning temperature on the next stage of the process. After compression the high-pressure air flows to the combustion area, where a system of fuel injectors provides a steady stream of fuel for burning.

As usual the fuel for a gas turbine engine is kerosene, jet fuel, propane or natural gas. All of us experienced in life blowing candles out, celebrating birthday or whatever, and then you can understand the problem for developers of engines in the combustion area - after compressor highly-pressured air inflates combustion area at speed of hundreds of miles per hour. And it's not easy to keep fire burning in such "non-friendly" situation. Though the solution was found using the part called "flame holder," or as it is called among professionals "can.

" The can is a hollow, perforated piece of heavy metal. This can protects process of burning in the combustion area. Fuel injectors are placed near the enter of hot air to the can. Under enormous pressure hot air enters can through perforations. The products of burning - exhaust gases - leave can through perforations and are driven back through special tube. (Jan P. Norbye, 34-42)It doesn't matter of the turbine used in a tank or a power plant, there really is nothing to do with the exhaust gases but vent them through an exhaust pipe.

Sometimes the flow of exhaust gases may be directed through some sort of heat exchanger either to extract the heat for some other purpose, like warming energy or to preheat air before it enters the combustion area of the gas turbine engine.And at last the core part of gas turbine engine - turbine stage; it can be described as a single set of vanes. It drives the output shaft. This final stage of a turbine engine along with the output shaft is a completely independent, freewheeling unit of the system.

Their motion is free; it means that they are not interdependent with other parts of the engine. (Jack L. Kerrebrock, 12) And this is the most productive part of the gas turbine engine - the hot gases from combustion area accumulate enough energy to generate comparatively high level of energy, for example in case of gas turbine engine for M-1 tank the capacity of its engine is 1,500 horsepower. As we can see a gas turbine engine is pretty simple in construction and operation. This description of a gas turbine engine is a simplified one and we do not discuss general systems for all engines such as the areas of bearings, oiling systems, internal support structures of the engine, stator vanes etc.

The above-mentioned systems are problems in designing a gas turbine eng