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afterburner
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U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet with afterburner Diagram of a low-bypass turbofan jet engine with afterburner, showing labeled parts including inlet, low-pressure fan, high-pressure compressor, combustion chamber, core and fan turbines, mixer, afterburner, variable exhaust nozzle, and jet flow direction. Cross section of a turbofan engine and afterburner.
Quick Facts
Also called:
Reheat
Related Topics:
turbojet
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U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet with afterburner
U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet with afterburner A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet launches with afterburner from aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, 2007.

afterburner

mechanical engineering
Also known as: reheat
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

afterburner, second combustion chamber in a turbojet (q.v.) or turbofan engine, immediately in front of the engineā€™s exhaust nozzle. The injection and combustion of extra fuel in this chamber provide additional thrust for takeoff or supersonic flight. In most cases the afterburner can nearly double the thrust of a turbojet engine. Since the jet nozzle must be larger when using the afterburner, an automatic, adjustable nozzle is an essential component of the afterburner system. Because the afterburner sharply increases fuel consumption and is generally less effective at subsonic speeds, its use is for the most part restricted to supersonic military aircraft.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.