turbine

Introduction
Water turbines
- Impulse turbines
- Reaction turbines
  - Axial-flow machines
  - Mixed-flow turbines
- Other design considerations
  - Output and speed control
  - Cavitation
  - Turbine selection on the basis of specific speed
  - Turbine model testing
- Applications
  - Electric power generation
  - Pumped storage
  - Tidal plants
  - Cost of hydroelectric power
- History of water turbine technology
Steam turbines
- Classifications
  - Condensing and noncondensing turbines
  - Steam extraction
  - Reheat and nonreheat turbines
  - Multiflow and compound arrangements
- Principal components
- Design considerations
  - Blading design
  - Turbine staging
- Power development
- Control
- Overall performance characteristics
- History of steam turbine technology
  - Early precursors
  - Development of modern steam turbines
  - Recent developments and trends
Wind turbines
- Types of wind turbines
  - Horizontal axis machines
  - Vertical-axis machines
- Wind farms
- Limitations on wind power
- Development of wind turbines

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Rows of white wind turbines with spinning blades stand on a dry, grassy landscape at a wind farm near Tehachapi, California.

schematic of an impulse stage with velocity diagrams

idealized 50 percent reaction stage for a steam turbine

De Laval turbine

Vertical-axis wind turbine

Diagram comparing turbofan and turboprop air-breathing engines. The turbofan shows air split between the compressor and bypassing the engine, while the turboprop shows hot gases driving a turbine that powers both the compressor and a propeller. Key components such as air intake, compressor, combustion chamber, turbine, and exhaust are labeled, with arrows indicating airflow and hot gas movement.

Diagram of the German A-4 (V-2) rocket from World War II, showing an exterior view above and a labeled cutaway below that highlights internal components such as the warhead, alcohol fuel tank, liquid oxygen tank, turbine and pump, combustion chamber, guidance and control devices, and control vanes.

This diagram shows how a tidal power barrage generates electricity, with cross-sections of a structure containing sluice gates and a turbine placed between the ocean and a tidal basin. Water flows through the turbine as tides change, converting tidal energy into hydroelectric power. The upper image depicts high tide with water held in the tidal basin, while the lower image shows water flowing back through the turbine at low tide.

At a Glance

default image

turbine summary

Related Questions

Rows of white wind turbines with spinning blades stand on a dry, grassy landscape at a wind farm near Tehachapi, California. — wind turbines Wind turbines near Tehachapi, California.

turbine

mechanical engineering

Written by

Roland A. BudenholzerAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

turbine, any of various devices that convert the energy in a stream of fluid into mechanical energy. The conversion is generally accomplished by passing the fluid through a system of stationary passages or vanes that alternate with passages consisting of finlike blades attached to a rotor. By arranging the flow so that a tangential force, or torque, is exerted on the rotor blades, the rotor turns, and work is extracted. Turbines can be classified into...

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