Brayton cycle
The Brayton cycle is a thermodynamic cycle that describes the workings of a constant pressure heat engine. Gas turbine engines and airbreathing jet engines use the Brayton cycle. Although the Brayton 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.
The engine cycle is named after George Brayton (1830–1892), the American engineer who developed it, although it was originally proposed and patented by Englishman John Barber in 1791. It is also sometimes known as the Joule cycle. The Ericsson cycle is similar to the Brayton cycle but uses external heat and incorporates the use of a regenerator. There are two types of Brayton cycles, open to the atmosphere and using internal combustion chamber or closed and using a heat exchanger.
