Gas turbine

A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous combustion, internal combustion
engine. There are three main components:

An upstream rotating gas compressor;

A downstream turbine on the same shaft;

A combustion chamber or area, called a combustor, in between 1. and 2. above.

A fourth component is often used to increase efficiency (turboprop, turbofan), to convert power into
mechanical or electric form (turboshaft, electric generator), or to achieve greater power to mass/volume
ratio (afterburner).

The basic operation of the gas turbine is a Brayton cycle with air as the working fluid. Fresh 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.

Gas turbines are comprised of a compressor, combustor, and turbine. These components work together
to produce power or thrust, depending on the application. To begin the cycle, the compressor rotates
and draws in ambient air. As it is taken in by the compressor, the air is pressurized, in some cases to 40
times atmospheric pressure [107]. The pressurized air then moves into the combustion chamber where a
fuel mixture is ignited, heating the pressurized air and causing it to expand into the turbine. As the
heated air expands through the turbine it pushes against the turbine blades which then rotate the
turbine shaft. The rotational energy is used to spin a generator and create electricity. Because they are
attached to the same shaft, the rotation of the turbine also rotates the compressor, keeping the system
operating. Of the power generated by the turbine, 55%-65% is used to drive the compressor and the
remainder is used to drive a generator [46]. This ratio of total turbine power to the power that was used
to operate the compressor is called the back work ratio.

Brayton cycle

The Brayton cycle is a thermodynamic cycle named after George Brayton that describes the workings of
a constant-pressure heat engine. The original Brayton engines used a piston compressor and piston
expander, but more modern gas turbine engines and airbreathing jet engines also follow the Brayton
cycle. Although the cycle is usually run as an open system (and indeed must be run as such if internal
combustion is used), it is conventionally assumed for the purposes of thermodynamic analysis that the
exhaust gases are reused in the intake, enabling analysis as a closed system

Ideal Brayton cycle:

isentropic process – ambient air is drawn into the compressor, where it is pressurized.

isobaric process – the compressed air then runs through a combustion chamber, where fuel is burned,
heating that air—a constant-pressure process, since the chamber is open to flow in and out.

isentropic process – the heated, pressurized air then gives up its energy, expanding through a turbine (or
series of turbines). Some of the work extracted by the turbine is used to drive the compressor.

isobaric process – heat rejection (in the atmosphere).