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Inlet
The inlet functions to capture and decelerate air prior to entry into the compressor. While the
inlet is often optimized for cruising conditions, it must provide adequate massflow during all
other engine operating conditions including takeoff, landing, and maneuvering. Some inlets
incorporate blow-in doors to provide additional airflow during high thrust conditions at
takeoff. Inlet efficiency is generally characterized by stagnation pressure recovery - a
measure of the available energy in the air that actually makes it into the compressor.
At subsonic speeds, the ideal
inlet is a "pod" or "pitot"
installation, as seen on most
modern jetliners. This makes full
use of the "ram effect" and has
minimum size, weight, and effect
on the aircraft's aerodynamics.

For smaller single-engine aircraft,

a pod generally isn't feasible.
Instead, the usual practice is to
bury the engine in the fuselage
and have one or more intakes on
the top, bottom, or sides. Most
military jet trainers and many
front-line fighters like the F-16
use such an installation. The
problem is that if the aircraft
manuevers "away from the duct"
(due to yaw or angle of attack) the
airflow in the duct is much
decreased due to separation.

Neither of these types of inlets do well at higher supersonic speeds, due to shockwaves that
form on the lip of the inlet, reducing the efficiency of the inlet.
 At lower supersonic speeds, one
type of inlet to use is an
internal/external compression
intake, which produces a series of
mild shock waves to reduce flow
speed to subsonic without much
energy loss.

At higher supersonic speeds,

due to the nature of shock waves,
the best inlet must have a variable
geometry. These often produce
one or several oblique shocks, as
well as a normal shock, to reduce
the flow to subsonic speed. They
also have the ability to aid in
compresion, and in the case of a
ramjet do ALL the compression.
Examples of this kind of inlet can
be found on the F-15, the
Concorde, and many other
aircraft.

One other type of variable-

geometry supersonic nozzle
combines the internal/external
compression nozzle with a mobile
cone to achieve a similar effect.
Nozzles of this type can be found
on several older Soviet fighters
like the MIG-21, as well as on the
SR-71 Blackbird.

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Compressor
The compressor funcitons to increase the pressure of the air to provide conditions favorable
for combustion and expansion of the hot gases through the turbine. At first glance, one may
wonder why an engine needs a compressor at all. However, without a compressor, the engine
could never develop static thrust. Engines which don't employ compressors (or turbines) are
called ramjet engines; these devices must rely on compression of the air from the inlet alone
and cannot be started until they reach transonic speeds. For this reason, a compressor-driven
engine is useable over a much wider range of conditions. Compressor efficiency is measured
in terms of energy losses (due to friction and flow separations) which occur during the air
compression process.
A compressor ``stage'' is made up of a moving part (the impeller, or rotor) and a stationary
part (the diffuser, or stator). In most devices, pressure rises occur across both portions of the
stage.

Compressors fall into two broad

categories. The first type of
compressor is the centrifugal or
annular compressor. Its impeller
accelerates the flow by flinging it
outward. This also increases the
pressure. The pressure is increased
further, and the flow is slowed, when
the flow meets the diffusers that ring
the impeller.

Advantages of the centrifugal

compressor are that it is easier to
design and manufacture, and it can
often increase the pressure enough
for efficient combustion with only
one stage. However, the airflow for a
centrifugal compressor is much
lower than for an axial, and its
pressure ratio is generally lower,
meaning it is much less effective for
creating thrust and less fuel-
efficient. Hence, it is more often seen
in small engines, where the the
manufacturung advantages outweigh
the performance disadvantages; in
shaft engines, where thrust is less of
a concern; and in industrial
applications, where thrust is no
concern at all. (The turbocharger in
many sports cars is composed of a
centrifugal compressor and turbine.)
 The other type of compressor is the
axial flow compressor. While axial
compressors can accomodate more
airflow than a centrifugal design of
the same size, a rotor/stator stage
generally does not provide enough
compression for most applications.
For this reason, multistage devices
are generally employed. Modern
engines can use 10-15 compressor
stages.

Advantages of the axial compressor

are its higher flow rate and greater
pressure ratio, which results in
higher thrust and fuel efficiency.
This makes it better suited to
applications where the thrust of the
engine itself is the motive force for
the aircraft.

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Compressor
The compressor funcitons to increase the pressure of the air to provide conditions favorable
for combustion and expansion of the hot gases through the turbine. At first glance, one may
wonder why an engine needs a compressor at all. However, without a compressor, the engine
could never develop static thrust. Engines which don't employ compressors (or turbines) are
called ramjet engines; these devices must rely on compression of the air from the inlet alone
and cannot be started until they reach transonic speeds. For this reason, a compressor-driven
engine is useable over a much wider range of conditions. Compressor efficiency is measured
in terms of energy losses (due to friction and flow separations) which occur during the air
compression process.
A compressor ``stage'' is made up of a moving part (the impeller, or rotor) and a stationary
part (the diffuser, or stator). In most devices, pressure rises occur across both portions of the
stage.
Compressors fall into two broad
categories. The first type of
compressor is the centrifugal or
annular compressor. Its impeller
accelerates the flow by flinging it
outward. This also increases the
pressure. The pressure is increased
further, and the flow is slowed, when
the flow meets the diffusers that ring
the impeller.

Advantages of the centrifugal

compressor are that it is easier to
design and manufacture, and it can
often increase the pressure enough
for efficient combustion with only
one stage. However, the airflow for a
centrifugal compressor is much
lower than for an axial, and its
pressure ratio is generally lower,
meaning it is much less effective for
creating thrust and less fuel-
efficient. Hence, it is more often seen
in small engines, where the the
manufacturung advantages outweigh
the performance disadvantages; in
shaft engines, where thrust is less of
a concern; and in industrial
applications, where thrust is no
concern at all. (The turbocharger in
many sports cars is composed of a
centrifugal compressor and turbine.)

The other type of compressor is the

axial flow compressor. While axial
compressors can accomodate more
airflow than a centrifugal design of
the same size, a rotor/stator stage
generally does not provide enough
compression for most applications.
For this reason, multistage devices
are generally employed. Modern
engines can use 10-15 compressor
stages.

Advantages of the axial compressor

are its higher flow rate and greater
pressure ratio, which results in
higher thrust and fuel efficiency.
 This makes it better suited to
applications where the thrust of the
engine itself is the motive force for
the aircraft.

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Burner (Combustor)
The burner recieves flow from the compressor, seapartes some of the flow, mixes it with fuel
and ignites it, remixes the flow, and delivers it to the turbine.

The burner's life is not an easy one. In order to assure ignition, the mixture of fuel and air
should be stoichiometric, and not moving very fast. However, far more air passes through the
engine than is required for complete combustion of the fuel. Hence, the burner starts by
separating out a small portion of the air and decelerates it for combustion in the ``primary
zone''. The gases leaving this region are far too hot to be tolerated by current technology
turbines. For this reason, the remaining air (sometimes called dilution air) is then mixed with
the hot gases from the primary zone to produce a nearly uniform temperature stream entering
the turbine.

There are several varieties of burner.

The earliest was the multiple can
burner. This operated by totally
separating the flow into eight or so
cans, each of which contained a flame
tube and also dealt with the flow
around it.
 The first major Improvement on this
design led to the can-annular burner,
which retained the multiple flame
tubes of the previous type, but
allowed the outer air to flow free
around all the flame tubes. Can-
annular designs have less efficient
combustion, but because of their
modular design they are easier to
repair or replace.

Modern combustion chambers are

totally annular. The flame tube makes
a ring around the entire engine. This
results in much higher combustion
efficiency- nearly all of the fuel is
burned completely. This reduces
noxious emissions. Such burners are,
however, more difficult to service.

The next step in burners may be a double-annular chamber, in which there are two concentric
flame tubes. Dual annular designs are being pursued in order to lower emissions. By using
two rows of burners, the dual-annular combustor can use just a single row during low power
(idle, descent) conditions, while both sets are lit under high power (takeoff, climbout)
conditions.

Here is a large schematic of a combustion chamber

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Turbine
The turbine provides the torque necessary to drive the compressor and any other auxilliary
equipment (hydraulics, cabin controls, electrical) required for engine and aircraft operation.
Turbines can also be used to drive fans, rotors, or propellers in other airbreathing engine
configurations. Because of the extreme environment, the turbine blades are made of some of
the most advanced materials available. Even using these materials, the turbine inlet
temperature is limited by the strength of the blade materials. Since the turbine inlet
temperature drives engine performance, there is a great desire to operate at temperatures near
the limits of the material. Advanced blade cooling schemes have been developed toward this
goal.
A turbine works like a compressor in reverse. Static nozzles convert pressure to velocity, and
a moving section converts that velocity to
rotational motion. Again, there are two
types, both centrifugal and axial, but
axial turbines are far more common.

Considerations in the design of the blades

is different, however. Because the turbine
is removing pressure instead of adding it,
there is a favorable pressure gradient.
Thus, much more extreme angles are
possible without flow separation, and
therfore a turbine generally has far fewer
stag
es
than
a
com
pres
sor. However, stress on the blades is much higher, due
to the more extreme angles and due to the heat of the
flow. The buckets must also be able, at these conditions,
to withstand the forces of rotation. Indeed, turbine blade
design is currently one of the limiting factors on engine
design. Buckets must be periodically replaced because they stretch under centrifugal force, a
phenomenon known as "creep". Newer methods of casting, including dirctionally solidified
and single crystal castings, are used to lessen these problems.

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Nozzle
The nozzle serves to convert any energy remaining in the flow (after the turbine) to kinetic
energy by
decreasing pressure and accelerating the flow. This results in thrust.

The nozzle design is very important becuase it determines the turbine entry temperature (and
hence the work done by the turbine) as well as the mass flow of the engine and the exit
velocity and pressure (all four of which determine thrust).
 The most basic nozzle consists simply of a duct. The air exiting the turbine is often
traveling greater than Mach 1, but this creates high friction losses, so the flow is
immediately slowed by diffusion. The whirl of the turbine exit flow is reduced by the turbine
rear support struts, which turn the flow straight. This straight, high-pressure flow is fed to a
converging section, which changes the pressure back to velocity. This flow is often choked;
i.e. the exit velocity cannot be increased. However, the exit pressure can be increased,
resulting in pressure thrust.

For some flight plans, it is possible to use a convergent/divergent duct, which takes the
flow past its choke point and increases the exit velocity further. This is a more efficient
use of the flow's energy than pressure thrust. This is sometimes seen on engines with a very
high pressure ratio.

Due to the wide range of operating conditions some engines must endure, sometimes it is
advantageous to have an adjustable nozzle. Most often this is seen on engines with
afterburners as they must face a very wide range of conditions.

The nozzle must withstand high heat and pressure. It must be insulated from the rest of the
aircraft, either with a short section of insulation, or by isolating the jet pipe from the aircraft.
The nozzle is oten cooled by flow around the outside, using a variety of methods. The nozzle
as a whole must be able to expand and contract with temperature, without damage or
distortion.

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Turbofan Engines
Turbofan engines use the traditional jet scheme for some of their thrust, but much of it comes
from a fan mounted on the shaft in front of the compressor. This fan is driven by the turbine.
The fan duct surrounds the core engine.

Turboprop and Turboshaft Engines

A turboprop engine bears a functional similarity to a turbofan, in that the shaft of the engine
is used to drive another system. The other system is in this case a gearbox and a propeller,
rather than a ducted fan. The core engine is designed much more in focus on creating torque,
rather than providing thrust. The core should account for less than 10% of the engine's total
thrust.

A turboshaft engine is similar in concept, but instead of the propeller, the gearbox exits to
some other device. The most common use is to power a helicopter rotor.