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Afterburners are used on modern aircraft to burn additional fuel in the exhaust path, providing extra propulsion. They are primarily found on military aircraft and are used sparingly due to their inefficiency. Afterburners can also refer to a second level flame system used to remove particulates from off-gases.
An afterburner is equipment used on many modern aircraft that burns additional fuel in the exhaust path to provide additional propulsion. Afterburners are most commonly found on military aircraft, although they have been used on a handful of supersonic civilian aircraft.
Jet engines work by igniting fuel and spitting mass behind them to create forward momentum. Jet turbines draw air from the outside environment, compress it to a high density, add a fuel mix to the oxygen, and ignite it. This process is very efficient, but it is far from perfect.
When the mixture leaves the exhaust end of the jet engine, there is still a substantial amount of oxygen remaining. An afterburner is used to take advantage of the remaining oxygen, pouring in more fuel and igniting the mixture.
Afterburners are extremely inefficient and are used primarily because they are such a simple component to add to a jet engine. Instead of adding weight and complexity to the engine, one adds a relatively small injector and tube behind the engine itself. With this little gadget added, a jet engine can get up to a 50% boost on an already highly efficient engine.
Because afterburners are so inefficient, they are used sparingly on military aircraft. The primary use of an afterburner is during takeoff from very limited runway space (such as an aircraft carrier or jungle runway) and when an extra boost will give a clear combat advantage in an aerial skirmish.
The afterburners also produce a large Bunsen burner-like flame from the rear of the jet engine, giving them tremendous visual appeal. When most people think of a fighter jet taking off, the most vivid image that comes to mind is the huge torch powering the plane.
The term afterburner may also be used when discussing incinerators. In this context, an afterburner is a very hot flame added to the process to remove virtually all odor and remaining particulates (in the form of smoke) from the incineration output.
In a more general sense, an afterburner can be seen as any second level flame system, either used to use a little energy or to remove particulates from off-gases.
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