George Bailey Brayton (1830–1892) was an American mechanical engineer and inventor. He was noted for introducing the constant pressure engine that is the basis for the gas turbine, and which is now referred to as the Brayton cycle.
Brayton Gas engine 1872
The early Brayton engine (image taken from Gas and Oil Engines by Dugald Clerk in 1886, and used on the cover of some later editions)
Brayton double acting constant pressure engine cut away 1877
Selden Auto showing Brayton cycle engine
The Brayton cycle, also known as the Joule cycle, is a thermodynamic cycle that describes the operation of certain heat engines that have air or some other gas as their working fluid.
It is characterized by isentropic compression and expansion, and isobaric heat addition and rejection, though practical engines have adiabatic rather than isentropic steps.
George B Selden driving a Brayton-powered automobile in 1905
Brayton gas engine 1872
Brayton walking beam engine 1872
Brayton engine 1875