Glossary

What are transonic airfoils, and what is the active clearance control? Check out our technical dictionary and find out more about engine technology terms – from active clearance control to velocity triangle.

Thermal barrier coatings Thermal efficiency Thermal spraying Thrust class Thrust-to-weight ratio Total stage efficiency Transonic airfoils Turbine Turbine engine Turbofan engine Turbojet engine Turboprop engine Turboshaft engine

Turbine engine

Jet propulsion is a practical application of Isaac Newton's third law of motion which states that "for every force acting on a body there is an opposite and equal reaction", i.e. the aircraft is propelled by the expulsion of a large weight of air backwards. The air needed for combustion is ingested by the fan, compressed in the compressor and then supplied to the combustion chamber where it is mixed with fuel and burned. Heating expands the gas to a multiple of its original volume so that a high-energy gas jet leaves the combustion chamber. The gas enters the turbine and causes it to rotate so that it can drive the compressor fitted on the same shaft. When it leaves the jet pipe nozzle the energy of the gas is still sufficient to produce a forward thrust in the same amount.