The Brayton cycle is a thermodynamic cycle used in gas turbine engines and other turbine engines. It was developed by American engineer George Brayton in the 1870s and is used for electrical power generation and jet aircraft propulsion. The original engine consisted of a gas compressor, mixing chamber, and expander, while modern gas turbine engines consist of a gas compressor, burner, and expansion turbine. The cycle was the basis for the first continuous ignition two-stroke combustion engine and demonstrated the controlled introduction of fuel during the combustion cycle produces more energy per unit of fuel consumed.
The Brayton cycle is a type of thermodynamic cycle that is generally used to describe the way gas turbine engines, jet aircraft engines, and other turbine engines work. The Brayton cycle can be used in both internal combustion engines and external combustion engines. The original Brayton cycle engine consisted of three basic components: a gas compressor, a mixing chamber, and an expander. Today, the Brayton cycle is used almost exclusively in gas turbine engines, which usually consist of a gas compressor, burner, and expansion turbine. The two main uses for gas turbine engines are electrical power generation and jet aircraft propulsion.
American engineer George Brayton, who gave this cycle its name, developed a type of engine called a “Smart Engine” in the early 1870s. These engines were produced to perform such tasks as mill operation and water pumping. . These early Brayton cycle engines ran smoothly and were also relatively efficient.
The original Brayton engine produced power by drawing air into a piston compressor, where it was heated by compression before passing into a mixing chamber. Once it reached the mixing chamber, the hot compressed air was mixed with fuel and sent to an expansion cylinder where it was ignited. Ignition of the fuel-air mixture in the expansion cylinder would cause the compressed air to expand and produce enough power to turn a piston and crankshaft assembly. A portion of the energy produced by this process was also used to operate the piston of the compressor.
The Brayton cycle was the basis for the first continuous ignition two-stroke combustion engine. This continuous combustion process was later used in the development of the gas turbine engine used in modern jet aircraft. The Brayton cycle demonstrated that introducing fuel at a controlled rate during the combustion cycle would ultimately produce more energy per unit of fuel consumed. Brayton’s Smart Engine was considered by many to be the first practical and safe oil engine. A Brayton engine is preserved at the Smithsonian Institution’s United States History Museum in the US.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
