A turbine engine converts energy into mechanical motion by directing high-pressure gases over turbine blades attached to a central shaft. It has fewer moving parts than a piston engine and can run at higher speeds. It is used to power various vehicles and has several advantages over piston engines.
The widely accepted definition of a motor is a machine that converts energy into mechanical motion for the purpose of doing useful work. A turbine engine accomplishes this by converting stored or potential energy into a flow of combustion gas in mechanical motion. This mechanical movement is achieved by directing high-pressure gases from the combustion of a fuel-air mixture over a set of turbine blades. These turbine blades are attached to a shaft that rotates a set of compressor blades on the opposite or intake side of the engine to supply compressed air for the combustion cycle. Within their scope, turbine engines have several notable benefits over conventional piston engines, although there are some disadvantages.
The turbine engine, although strictly an internal combustion engine, is much simpler than its piston-operated counterpart, basically having only one main moving part in its power conversion section. An internal combustion piston engine has dozens of moving parts, while a turbine engine has just a central shaft with a turbine at the exhaust end and a compressor fan at the intake end. A basic turbine engine works by igniting a fuel/air mixture in a combustion chamber located towards the rear of the engine and directing the resulting high-pressure combustion gas over a set of turbine blades. These blades are attached to a central shaft that runs the entire length of the engine frame. This shaft is equipped with a large set of compressor blades at the intake end that draw and compress air in the combustion chamber to maintain the duty cycle.
As long as the combustion process continues, the turbine section of the engine will rotate the compressor, which will continue to maintain the combustion cycle, etc. Turbine engine generally runs at higher speeds than piston engines with a typical aircraft jet engine operating at about 10,000 revolutions per minute (RPM) and smaller micro turbines in the region of 100,000 RPM. The work done by a turbine engine can be derived from a direct connection to the central shaft or from the thrust developed by the exhaust gases. Turbine engines have many different applications, including powering aircraft, ships, helicopters, military tanks, and road vehicles.
The turbine engine has several distinct advantages over a piston or reciprocating engine.
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