My goal with this project is to repay the gas turbine industry for the rewarding profession it has provided for me over the course of more than three decades. At this point in my career, student education is a real passion for me and this book is one way I can archive and share experiences with students. I have written this text thinking back to what I would have liked as an undergraduate student nearly 40 years ago. Thus, this work has been tailored to be a very student friendly text.

This book is intended to serve primarily as an introductory text in air-breathing jet propulsion. It is directed at upper-level undergraduate students in mechanical and aerospace engineering. A basic understanding of fluid mechanics, gas dynamics, and thermodynamics is presumed; however, thermodynamics is reviewed, and an appendix on gas dynamics is included for reference. Although the work is entitled Jet Propulsion, it can well be used to understand the fundamentals of “aeroderivative” ground- or marine-based gas turbines such as those used for marine propulsion, ground transportation, or power generation. Although turbomachinery is not the primary target of the text, it is the book's secondary focus, and thus the fundamentals of, and some advanced topics in, compressors and turbines are also covered.

This text covers the basic operating principles of jet engines and gas turbines. Both the fundamental mathematics and hardware are addressed.