What is an afterburner used for in industry?

Answer 1

An afterburner is an additional component added to some jet engines, primarily those on military aircraft. It was originally developed for the Miles M.52 project (during the last years of World War II) where it was called a reheat jetpipe. Its purpose is to provide a temporary increase in thrust for situations such as take-off, or in military aircraft, combat or supersonic flight. This is achieved by injecting additional fuel into the jet pipe downstream of (i.e. after) the turbine. This fuel is ignited by the hot exhaust gasses and adds greatly to the thrust of the engine. Afterburning is extravagant on fuel and inefficient but this is acceptable for the short periods in which reheat is usually used. Jet engines are referred to as operating wet when reheat is being used, and dry when the engine is used without afterburner. Usage The only civilian passenger transport aircraft to use afterburners were Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic transport, which used them at takeoff and to minimise the time in the high drag transonic flight regime. Except for some NASA research aircraft and the White Knight of Scaled Composites, afterburners are in the regime of military fighter jets. Modern design supercruise engines have inherently high thrust and this has lessened the need for afterburner. A turbojet engine equipped with an afterburner is called an "afterburning turbojet," whereas a turbofan engine similarly equipped is called an "augmented turbofan."