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Brayton cycle systems, which incorporate a turbine, also use a gas as the working medium. There are open-cycle and closed-cycle Brayton systems. The gas turbine is a common example of an open-cycle Brayton system. Air is drawn into a compressor, heated and expanded through a turbine, and exhausted into the atmosphere. The closed-cycle Brayton system may use air, or a more efficient gas, such as hydrogen or helium. The gas in the closed-cycle system, however, gives up some of its heat in a heat exchanger after it leaves the turbine. It then returns to the compressor to start the cycle again.
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| The Brayton Power Cycle is used not only in the turbofan engines of airplanes, but also in the gas turbines used to generate electricity. The gas turbine pictured on the left has the shell that normally covers the turbine and compressor blades removed for maintenance. The shaft work produced by this gas turbine is used to generate electricity |
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