A review of gas turbine engine with inter-stage turbine burner

Society is going through transformations at a rate that is unprecedented in human history. One such transformation is the energy transition, which will affect almost every facet of our society. Gas turbine engines are state of the art machines, a backbone of modern society, and used in various applications, right from power generation to propelling aircraft and ships. This paper reviews the possibilities offered by the Inter-stage Turbine Burner (ITB) configuration for both aviation and power generation with a view on sustainability and fuel flexibility. First, the thermodynamic characteristics of a Brayton-Joule cycle with ITB is elaborated, followed by discussions on the design and the off-design performance characteristics of such a gas turbine architectural variation. Finally, the viability of ITB architecture in reducing emissions and enabling “Energy Mix” in aviation is elaborated. The paper concludes with an outlook on the technological readiness ladder that the engineering community will have to address in the future.