Definition
In a turbine engine, the individual curved blades attached to the rim of a turbine wheel that are struck by hot, high-velocity exhaust gases, causing the wheel to spin. The shape of each bucket is designed to extract energy from the gas stream and convert it into rotational force on the turbine shaft.
Plain English
Buckets are the small, curved blades around the edge of a turbine wheel. Hot gases hit them and push them around, which spins the wheel.
Context Anchor
Seen in turbine-engine maintenance when inspecting the wheel and blades that sit in the hot gas stream.
Derivation
The word comes from the everyday meaning of a bucket — a scoop-shaped container that catches something. Early engineers chose the term because each blade has a curved, scoop-like shape that 'catches' the flowing gas and is pushed by it, much like a waterwheel paddle catches flowing water.
Why Pilots Care
Damaged buckets can reduce engine power and may lead to serious turbine-engine failure.
Analogy
Think of a waterwheel: the curved paddles around the rim catch flowing water and turn the wheel. Turbine buckets do the same job, but with hot gas instead of water.
Intuition Check
Buckets are not containers for carrying liquid here. In this context, buckets are turbine-wheel blades shaped to be pushed by moving gas.
Example Sentence 1
During inspection, the technician checked each turbine bucket for cracks, erosion, and signs of heat damage.
Example Sentence 2
A missing bucket on the first-stage turbine wheel will cause severe vibration and require engine removal.