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Jet engines have a compressor that compresses incoming airflow for combustion. There are two types: turbojets and turbofans. Modern high-bypass turbofan engines have a bypass fan and two stages of compressors. Compressed air is mixed with fuel and ignited in the combustion chambers, and the resulting gas stream spins turbines to drive the compressors. Jet compressors consist of alternating sets of static and rotating blades, and compressor disk failure during operation can be catastrophic.
A jet compressor is the central mechanism of a jet engine that compresses the incoming airflow for the combustion phase of the engine’s operation. Jet engines typically consist of compressor and turbine elements and, in the case of turbofan engines, an additional first stage fan element. The compressor supplies high pressure air to the combustion chambers where air and fuel are burned. The resulting high-energy gas stream spins the turbine which supplies the power to drive the compressor, thus sustaining the operating cycle. The jet compressor normally consists of alternating sets of static and rotating radial vanes that assist in compressing the aspirated air.
There are two basic types of jet engines: turbojets and turbofans. While they differ in several key ways, their principles of operation remain the same, and both use internal elements of the jet compressor. In modern high-bypass turbofan engines, the supercharger is the second stage of the engine and is preceded by a large bypass fan. The air entering the engine is accelerated by the bypass fan and driven into the compressor which typically consists of two parts: a low pressure stage and a high pressure stage. As the air passes through these two stages, it is progressively compressed to extremely high pressures and forced into the engines’ combustion chambers.
In the combustion chambers, compressed air is mixed with jet fuel and ignited. The resulting explosion of high-energy gas is directed through a series of turbines, again a low- and high-pressure stage, which spin and provide the rotational energy needed to spin the compressors. This cycle is maintained as long as fuel is supplied to the engine. In older turbojet engines, there is no bypass fan; the jet compressor represents the first stage of the engine. The rest of the process remains the same though. High bypass motors are, however, much more efficient and quieter.
The jet compressor is little more than a series of fans that progressively increase the pressure of the air passing through them. These fans typically consist of alternating sets of static and rotating blades. This arrangement provides momentum for the air and an alternating series of obstacles which compresses the air. The rotational speeds involved in most jet compressor elements are extremely high and the impeller discs are designed to be finely balanced and very strong to withstand the stresses involved. A compressor disk failure during operation is usually a catastrophic event with fractured disks often exiting the engine and even completely penetrating the aircraft fuselage.
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