Turbine

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Turbine \Tur"bine\ (t[^u]r"b[i^]n), n. [L. turbo, -inis, that
     which spins or whirls round, whirl.]
     1. A water wheel, commonly horizontal, variously constructed,
        but usually having a series of curved floats or buckets,
        against which the water acts by its impulse or reaction in
        flowing either outward from a central chamber, inward from


        an external casing, or from above downward, etc.; -- also
        called {turbine wheel}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: In some turbines, the water is supplied to the wheel
           from below, instead of above. Turbines in which the
           water flows in a direction parallel to the axis are
           called parallel-flow turbines.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A type of rotary engine with a set of rotating vanes,
        diagonally inclined and often curved, attached to a
        central spindle, and obtaining its motive force from the
        passage of a fluid, as water, steam, combusted gases, or
        air, over the vanes. Water turbines are frequently used
        for generating power at hydroelectric power stations, and
        steam turbines are used for generating power from coal- or
        oil-fired electric power stations. Turbines are also found
        in jet engines, and in some automobile engines.
  
     Note: In the 1913 dictionary, the turbine was further
           decribed thus: "There are practically only two distinct
           kinds, and they are typified in the de Laval and the
           Parsons and Curtis turbines. The
  
     {de Laval turbine} is an impulse turbine, in which steam
        impinges upon revolving blades from a flared nozzle. The
        flare of the nozzle causes expansion of the steam, and
        hence changes its pressure energy into kinetic energy. An
        enormous velocity (30,000 revolutions per minute in the 5
        H. P. size) is requisite for high efficiency, and the
        machine has therefore to be geared down to be of practical
        use. Some recent development of this type include turbines
        formed of several de Laval elements compounded as in the
        ordinary expansion engine. The Parsons turbine is an
        impulse-and-reaction turbine, usually of the axial type.
        The steam is constrained to pass successively through
        alternate rows of fixed and moving blades, being expanded
        down to a condenser pressure of about 1 lb. per square
        inch absolute. The Curtis turbine is somewhat simpler than
        the Parsons, and consists of elements each of which has at
        least two rows of moving blades and one row of stationary.
        The bucket velocity is lowered by fractional velocity
        reduction. Both the Parsons and Curtis turbines are
        suitable for driving dynamos and steamships directly. In
        efficiency, lightness, and bulk for a given power, they
        compare favorably with reciprocating engines."
        [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  turbine
       n : rotary engine in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid
           is converted into mechanical energy by causing a bladed
           rotor to rotate