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Aviation glossary

Turbine

Also: high-pressure turbine, low-pressure turbine

Engines

Set of bladed wheels that extracts energy from the hot combustion gases to drive the engine's compressor, fan or propeller.

What it is

Gases leaving the combustor expand through the turbine and turn its blades, much as the wind turns a windmill. That rotation is passed along shafts to the compressor and, in a turbofan, to the fan; in a turboprop it drives the propeller through a gearbox. In a turbofan the high-pressure turbine drives the high-pressure compressor, while the low-pressure turbine drives the fan.

The first high-pressure turbine blades work in the harshest environment anywhere on the aircraft, surrounded by gas hotter than their own melting point. They survive thanks to single-crystal nickel superalloys, ceramic thermal barrier coatings and fine holes that release cooling air over their surface; the newest engines also use ceramic matrix composite parts.

Turbine temperature is one of the limits the FADEC monitors, and the exhaust gas temperature (EGT) shown to the pilots is an indirect indication of it.

Related terms

CompressorSection of a turbine engine that raises the pressure of incoming air through successive rows of rotating blades and fixed vanes before it reaches the combustor. CombustorSection of a turbine engine where compressed air is mixed with fuel and burnt continuously, producing the hot gases that drive the turbine. Engine coreCentral part of a turbofan, essentially the high-pressure compressor, combustor and high-pressure turbine, through which the air that is burnt passes. FADECComputer system that controls every aspect of a turbine engine's operation, including fuel flow, starting and limits, based on the thrust lever position. TurbopropGas turbine engine that drives a propeller through a reduction gearbox, with the propeller rather than the exhaust producing almost all the thrust.
Whole glossary

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Turbine. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/turbine

MLA

“Turbine.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/turbine. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Turbine.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/turbine.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Turbine. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/turbine (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_turbine,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Turbine}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/turbine},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/turbine}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/turbine |title=Turbine |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

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