EASA Gas Turbine Engine Practice Test

The Brayton cycle describes the way a gas turbine engine converts fuel into work through a continuous flow process. Air is drawn in and compressed, which raises its pressure and temperature. Fuel is then burned in the combustor at nearly constant pressure, adding heat to the flow and raising its temperature significantly. The hot, high-energy gas expands through the turbine, producing shaft power while driving the compressor, and then is exhausted back to the environment. Because the flow is continuous and the combustion occurs while the pressure remains essentially constant, this is known as a continuous combustion cycle used in gas turbines. Real engines approximate this with isentropic compression and expansion, with heat addition and rejection occurring at near-constant pressure, though there are small pressure drops in the components.