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What Are Jet Engines

Jet engines provide thrust by expelling gases at high speeds according to Newton's Third Law of Motion. There are four main types of jet engines: turbojet, turboprop, turbofan, and ramjet. Turbojets were the first developed and work by compressing air, mixing it with fuel, and expelling the combustion gases. Turboprops are similar but also power a propeller, while turbofans combine efficiency with thrust through a fan enclosure. Ramjets lack compressors or turbines and require supersonic flight to function. Afterburners can also boost thrust temporarily by adding more fuel to the exhaust gases.

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55 views2 pages

What Are Jet Engines

Jet engines provide thrust by expelling gases at high speeds according to Newton's Third Law of Motion. There are four main types of jet engines: turbojet, turboprop, turbofan, and ramjet. Turbojets were the first developed and work by compressing air, mixing it with fuel, and expelling the combustion gases. Turboprops are similar but also power a propeller, while turbofans combine efficiency with thrust through a fan enclosure. Ramjets lack compressors or turbines and require supersonic flight to function. Afterburners can also boost thrust temporarily by adding more fuel to the exhaust gases.

Uploaded by

Ganesh Gaikwad
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What are Jet Engines?

Although lighter than reciprocating engines, these jet engines provide much more thrust.
The only downside to these engines is that they are not as efficient at lower speeds. There
are four types of jet engines, turbojet, turboprop, turbofan, and ramjet. However, the
ramjet is primarily used for unmanned craft, such as guided missiles.

Jet engines operate on the basis of Newton’s Third Law of Motion. The gases are
expelled from the nozzle at incredible speeds, so as a reactive force, the engine is pushed
forward with the same force - thrust. However, because jet engines accelerate a relatively
small amount of air to very high speeds, there is much energy in the form of heat that is
unused for thrust.

Different Types

The turbojet was the first jet to be developed. Like most of the other jet engines, this
engine intakes relatively low velocity air at the front and compresses it. Compression is
accomplished by a series of wheels with many blades attached to them. These turbines
are configured in such a way to squeeze the air closer together, making them more
combustible. This higher energy air flows into the combustion chamber where it is mixed
with fuel and burned. Since only a fraction of the air is burned, the rest is used to cool off
the engine since the burned mixture reached scorching temperatures and immense
pressure. This hot gas rushes through and turns the turbine at the end, which powers the
combustion chamber. Finally the gases reach the nozzle where they are accelerated out at
tremendous speeds.

Turboprop engines use the force of jet engines to spin a propeller. The internal structure
of a turboprop is much like that of the turbojet. The difference is that in a turboprop, there
is a second turbine behind the one that turns the combustion chamber. This second
turbine, known as the power turbine spins the propeller at the front of the engine by
means of shafts. The remaining high energy gas still left in the combustion chamber is
used for jet propulsion. A turboprop engine is quieter and smoother than conventional jet
engines, but these are limited only to subsonic flight.

The most common jet engine, the turbofan combines the efficiency of the propeller
without losing much of the raw thrust power of a turbojet. Like the turboprop, this engine
has two turbines at the end of the engine. The last turbine powers a large propeller-like
fan enclosed within the engine. This huge fan accelerates some of the air into the normal
jet propulsion sequence, but most of the air is forced back out of the engine at high
speeds to create further thrust. Since its exhaust velocity is slower than that of a turbojet,
the turbofan is a relatively quiet yet powerful engine. Four turboprops provide the thrust
for enormous planes like the Boeing 747.

The final most simple type of jet is the ramjet. This is the simplest type because it lacks a
compression chamber as well as a turbine. One downside to this type of engine is that it
does not function at subsonic speeds. A plane must first accelerate it to supersonic speeds
in order for this jet to have enough compression of the air entering the ducts. First the air
entering is slowed down by a diffuser. This air is automatically compressed by the action
of more air trying to squeeze in the ducts. Immediately the air is mixed and burned and
flies out the nozzle.

Afterburners

Afterburners are special devices fitted between the turbine and the nozzle of some
turbojets and turbofans let the thrust become especially strong for short bursts of time.
When the combusted mixture is about the enter the nozzle, a lot of the concentration is
still oxygen. Inside the afterburner, more fuel is mixed, increasing the fuel concentration.
When this new mixture is burned, much higher temperatures are reached and the thrust
becomes much stronger. Afterburners consume a lot of fuel, so an "afterburn" only lasts
for a short period of time.

Normal jet engine nozzles narrow as it get further away from the engine, but some
nozzles designed for planes that fly at supersonic speeds become narrow then widen out.
This shape of the nozzle helps accelerate the gases at speeds faster than the speed of
sound.

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