| The Turbojet Engine |
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| A turbojet engine. | |||
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The turbojet is the basic engine of the jet age. Air is drawn into the
engine through the front intake. The compressor squeezes the air to many
times normal atmospheric pressure and forces it into the combustor. Here,
fuel is sprayed into the compressed air, is ignited and burned continuously
like a blowtorch. The burning gases expand rapidly rearward and pass through
the turbine. The turbine extracts energy from the expanding gases to drive
the compressor, which intakes more air. After leaving the turbine, the hot
gases exit at the rear of the engine, giving the aircraft its forward
push ... action, reaction !
For additional thrust or power, an afterburner or augmentor can be added. Additional fuel is introduced into the hot exhaust and burned with a resultant increase of up to 50 percent in engine thrust by way of even higher velocity and more push. | |||
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All rights reserved.
Created November 27, 2001. Updated October 12, 2013.