Marine Gas Turbine

In an ideal gas turbine, gases undergo four

thermodynamic processes: an isentropic compression, an isobaric (constant pressure)
combustion, an isentropic expansion and heat rejection. All together, these make up the
Brayton cycle.

At hundreds of miles per hour, the compressor takes air into the engine, pressurizes it,
and feeds it to the combustion chamber. The combustion system, which is normally
composed of a ring of fuel injectors that deliver a steady stream of fuel into combustion
chambers where it mixes with the air. The combination is burned at temperatures exceeding
2000 degrees Fahrenheit. The combustion process generates a high-temperature, high-
pressure gas stream, which enters and expands through the turbine portion. The turbine, is a
complex arrangement of stationary and revolving aerofoil-section blades. The whirling blades
are spun as hot combustion gas expands through the turbine. The whirling blades have two
purposes: they drive the compressor, which draws more pressured air into the combustion
area, and they spin a generator, which generates energy.

 ISENTROPIC COMPRESSION – ambient air is drawn into the compressor, where

it is pressurized.
 ISOBARIC PROCESS – the compressed air then runs through a combustion
chamber, where fuel is burned, heating that air—a constant-pressure process, since the
chamber is open to flow in and out.
 ISENTROPIC EXPANSION – the heated, pressurized air then gives up its energy,
expanding through a turbine (or series of turbines). Some of the work extracted by the
turbine is used to drive the compressor.
 CONSTANT PRESSURE HEAT REJECTION– Heat is released into the
atmosphere once the energy has been consumed. The cycle repeats itself after this
stage, starting with the compression stage.