Advances in Computer Aided Engineering for Gas Turbine Research and Development

Gas turbines represent energetic machines that operate following the Brayton thermodynamic cycle [6], [16] creating mechanical power and/or thrust. The majority of them use atmospheric air as working fluid but some are working in a closed loop with either air, carbon dioxide or other convenient gas. The main parameters defining the cycle are the combustion temperature and the overall pressure ratio [20]. In principle, the higher the combustion temperature is, the higher the efficiency of the entire gas turbine will be and, for a chosen value of the combustion temperature an optimum overall pressure ratio exists [29]. The main components of the gas turbine are: