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How does air move through a turbojet engine from the inlet to the exhaust nozzle?
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jet engine
Jet engine.
In a turbojet engine, air travels through the system in a continuous sequence designed to generate forward thrust. The process follows these stages:12
- Induction: Ambient air is drawn into the engine through the inlet.2
- Compression: The air enters a compressor, which consists of rotor and stator blades. Here, the air is compressed to approximately 10 to 15 times its original pressure.2
- Combustion: The compressed air is forced into a combustion chamber, where fuel is injected and ignited. This process significantly heats the air, creating high-temperature gases.12
- Turbine: The expanding hot gases pass through a multistage turbine. This turbine is connected to the compressor via a coaxial shaft, using the energy from the gas flow to keep the compressor running.23
- Exhaust: Finally, the gases are ejected at high velocity through a discharge nozzle at the rear of the engine.12
Forward thrust is generated as a reaction to the rearward momentum of this high-velocity exhaust stream, in accordance with Newton’s laws of motion.14