gas-turbine engine

Introduction
General characteristics
Gas-turbine engine cycles
- Idealized simple open-cycle gas-turbine engine
- Actual simple open-cycle performance
- Intercooling, reheating, and regeneration
Major components of gas-turbine engines
- Compressor
- Combustion chamber
- Turbine
- Control and start-up
- Other design considerations
Applications
- Electric power generation
- Industrial uses
- Marine propulsion
- Locomotive propulsion
- Automotive propulsion
Development of gas turbines
- Origins
- Developments of the early 20th century
- Recent trends

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Quizzes

Electric power lines against sunset (grid, power, wires, electrical, electricity)

Energy & Fossil Fuels

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Technology Engineering Mechanical Engineering

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External Websites

The Commercial Aviation Safety Team - Fundamentals of Gas Turbine Engines
U.S. Department of Energy - How Gas Turbine Power Plants Work
International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology - Enhancing Performance and Creep Life of a Gas Turbine Engine Operating in a Load-Following Mode (PDF)
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Investigation of Combustion of the Gas Turbine Engine from Kerosene and Biokerosene and Their Soot Characteristics in Diffusion Flames
IOPscience - Measurement Science and Technology - Investigation of operational settings, environmental conditions, and faults on the gas turbine performance
Edison Tech Center - Gas Turbines
Digital Commons at Kennesaw State University - Efficiency of Gas Turbine Engines
Texas A and M University Libraries - OAKTrust digital repository - Gas turbine performance-What makes the map?
ASME Digital Collection - Impact of Fuel Composition on Gas Turbine Engine Performance

Title Open-cycle constant-pressure gas-turbine engine.

gas-turbine engine

machine

Written by

Fred Landis

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Science, 1974–83.

Fred Landis

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....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 9, 2026 •History

gas-turbine engine, any internal-combustion engine employing a gas as the working fluid used to turn a turbine. The term also is conventionally used to describe a complete internal-combustion engine consisting of at least a compressor, a combustion chamber, and a turbine. Useful work or propulsive thrust can be obtained from a gas-turbine engine. It may drive a generator, pump, or propeller or, in the case of a pure jet aircraft engine, develop thrust by accelerating...

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