Analysis of parameters affecting the performance of gas turbines and combined cycle plants with vapor absorption inlet air cooling

The integration of an aqua‐ammonia inlet air‐cooling scheme to a cooled gas turbine‐based combined cycle has been analyzed. The heat energy of the exhaust gas prior to the exit of the heat recovery steam generator has been chosen to power the inlet air‐cooling system. Dual pressure reheat heat recovery steam generator is chosen as the combined cycle configuration. Air film cooling has been adopted as the cooling technique for gas turbine blades. A parametric study of the effect of compressor–pressure ratio, compressor inlet temperature, turbine inlet temperature, ambient relative humidity, and ambient temperature on performance parameters of plants has been carried out. It has been observed that vapor absorption inlet air cooling improves the efficiency of gas turbine by upto 7.48% and specific work by more than 18%, respectively. However, on the adoption of this scheme for combined cycles, the plant efficiency has been observed to be adversely affected, although the addition of absorption inlet air cooling results in an increase in plant output by more than 7%. The optimum value of compressor inlet temperature for maximum specific work output has been observed to be 25 °C for the chosen set of conditions. Further reduction of compressor inlet temperature below this optimum value has been observed to adversely affect plant efficiency. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of evaporative inlet and aftercooling on the recuperated gas turbine cycle

Inlet air cooling and cooling of the compressor discharge using water injection boost both efficiency and power of gas turbine cycles. Four different layouts of the recuperated gas turbine cycle are presented. Those layouts include the effect of evaporative inlet and aftercooling (evaporative cooling of the compressor discharge). A parametric study of the effect of turbine inlet temperature (TIT), ambient temperature, and relative humidity on the performance of all four layouts is investigated. The results indicate that as TIT increases the optimum pressure ratio increases by 0.45 per 100 K for the regular recuperated cycle and by 1.4 per 100 K for the recuperated cycle with evaporative aftercooling. The cycles with evaporative aftercooling have distinctive pattern of performance curves and higher values of optimum pressure ratios. The results also showed that evaporative cooling of the inlet air could boost the efficiency by up to 3.2% and that evaporative aftercooling could increase the power by up to about 110% and cycle efficiency by up to 16%.     

Modeling and optimization of a novel pressurized CHP system with water extraction and refrigeration

A novel cooling, heat, and power (CHP) system has been proposed that features a semi-closed Brayton cycle with pressurized recuperation, integrated with a vapor absorption refrigeration system (VARS). The semi-closed Brayton cycle is called the high-pressure regenerative turbine engine (HPRTE). The VARS interacts with the HPRTE power cycle through heat exchange in the generator and the evaporator. Waste heat from the recirculated combustion gas of the HPRTE is used to power the absorption refrigeration unit, which cools the high-pressure compressor inlet of the HPRTE to below ambient conditions and also produces excess refrigeration in an amount that depends on ambient conditions. Water produced as a product of combustion is intentionally condensed in the evaporator of the VARS, which is designed to provide sufficient cooling for the inlet air to the high-pressure compressor, water extraction, and for an external cooling load. The computer model of the combined HPRTE/VARS cycle predicts that with steam blade cooling and a medium-sized engine, the cycle will have a thermal efficiency of 49% for a turbine inlet temperature of 1400°C. This thermal efficiency, is in addition to the large external cooling load, generated in the combined cycle, which is 13% of the net work output. In addition, it also produces up to 1.4 kg of water for each kg of fuel consumed, depending upon the fuel type. When the combined HPRTE/VARS cycle is optimized for maximum thermal efficiency, the optimum occurs for a broad range of operating conditions. Details of the multivariate optimization procedure and results are presented in this paper. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel pressurized CHP system with water extraction and refrigeration

A novel Cooling, Heat, and Power (CHP) system has been proposed that features a semi-closed Brayton cycle with pressurized recuperation, integrated with a Vapor Absorption Refrigeration System (VARS). The semi-closed Brayton cycle is called the High Pressure Regenerative Turbine Engine (HPRTE). The VARS interacts with the HPRTE power cycle through heat exchange in the generator and the evaporator. Waste heat from the recirculated combustion gas of the HPRTE is used to power the absorption refrigeration unit, which cools the high-pressure compressor inlet of the HPRTE to below ambient conditions and also produces excess refrigeration in an amount which depends on ambient conditions. Water produced as a product of combustion is intentionally condensed in the evaporator of the VARS, which is designed to provide sufficient cooling for the inlet air to the high-pressure compressor, water extraction, and for an external cooling load. The computer model of the combined HPRTE/VARS cycle predicts that with steam blade cooling and a medium-sized engine, the cycle will have a thermal efficiency of 49% for a turbine inlet temperature of 1400 °C. This thermal efficiency is in addition to the large external cooling load generated in the combined cycle which is 13% of the net work output. In addition it also produces up to 1.4 kg of water for each kg of fuel consumed, depending upon the fuel type. When the combined HPRTE/VARS cycle is optimized for maximum thermal efficiency, the optimum occurs for a broad range of operating conditions. Details of the multivariate optimization procedure and results are presented in the paper.Previous studies have demonstrated the following attributes of the combined HPRTE/VARS cycle: attaining high part power efficiency in a compact package, threefold specific power increase over the state of the art, reduced IR signatures due to lower exhaust temperature, significant reduction of exhaust particulates and smoke, constant high-pressure compressor inlet temperature and order-of-magnitude reductions in emissions such as NO_x, CO and unburned hydrocarbons. The integrated nature of this system allows overall reduction in size and weight of approximately 50% relative to conventional equipment. The combination of positive attributes makes the HPRTE combined cycle engine attractive for future mobile power applications in terms of performance as well as life cycle cost.     

Analysis of gas turbine operating parameters with inlet fogging and wet compression processes

Inlet fogging has been widely noticed in recent years as a method of gas turbine air inlet cooling for increasing the power output in gas turbines and combined cycle power plants. The effects of evaporative cooling on gas turbine performance were studied in this paper. Evaporative cooling process occurs in both compressor inlet duct (inlet fogging) and inside the compressor (wet compression). By predicting the reduction in compressor discharge air temperature, the modeling results were compared with the corresponding results reported in literature and an acceptable difference percent point was found in this comparison. Then, the effects of both evaporative cooling in inlet duct, and wet compression in compressor, on the power output, turbine exhaust temperature, and cycle efficiency of 16 models of gas turbines categorized in four A–D classes of power output, were investigated. The results of this analysis for saturated inlet fogging as well as 1% and 2% overspray are reported and the prediction equations for the amount of actual increased net power output of various gas turbine nominal power output are proposed. Furthermore the change in values of physical parameters and moving the compressor operating point towards the surge line in compressor map was investigated in inlet fogging and wet compression processes.     

Comparative performance analysis of cogeneration gas turbine cycle for different blade cooling means

The paper compares the thermodynamic performance of MS9001 gas turbine based cogeneration cycle having a two-pressure heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) for different blade cooling means. The HRSG has a steam drum generating steam to meet coolant requirement, and a second steam drum generates steam for process heating. Gas turbine stage cooling uses open loop cooling or closed loop cooling schemes. Internal convection cooling, film cooling and transpiration cooling techniques employing steam or air as coolants are considered for the performance evaluation of the cycle. Cogeneration cycle performance is evaluated using coolant flow requirements, plant specific work, fuel utilisation efficiency, power-to-heat-ratio, which are function of compressor pressure ratio and turbine inlet temperature, and process steam drum pressure. The maximum and minimum values of power-to-heat ratio are found with steam internal convection cooling and air internal convection cooling respectively whereas maximum and minimum values of fuel utilisation efficiency are found with steam internal convection cooling and closed loop steam cooling. The analysis is useful for power plant designers to select the optimum compressor pressure ratio, turbine inlet temperature, fuel utilisation efficiency, power-to-heat ratio, and appropriate cooling means for a specified value of plant specific work and process heating requirement.     

AE94.3A型燃气轮机进气冷却的应用可行性研究

对AE94.3A型燃气轮机燃气-蒸汽联合循环热力系统平衡进行研究进而发现,与同类型、同等级不同型号机组相比,AE94.3A型联合循环机组余热锅炉的排烟温度较高,排烟余热仍有进一步利用的空间。通过设计优化,扩大省煤器受热面,回收烟气余热加热给水,驱动热水型溴化锂制冷机制冷,用于机组满负荷调峰时的压气机进气冷却或厂房及办公区域空调供冷,对改善燃气轮机联合循环的运行性能,实现能源梯级利用,提高能源利用率和机组经济性运行起到了很大作用。     

Power and efficiency optimization for combined Brayton and inverse Brayton cycles

A thermodynamic model for open combined Brayton and inverse Brayton cycles is established considering the pressure drops of the working fluid along the flow processes and the size constraints of the real power plant using finite time thermodynamics in this paper. There are 11 flow resistances encountered by the gas stream for the combined Brayton and inverse Brayton cycles. Four of these, the friction through the blades and vanes of the compressors and the turbines, are related to the isentropic efficiencies. The remaining flow resistances are always present because of the changes in flow cross-section at the compressor inlet of the top cycle, combustion inlet and outlet, turbine outlet of the top cycle, turbine outlet of the bottom cycle, heat exchanger inlet, and compressor inlet of the bottom cycle. These resistances control the air flow rate and the net power output. The relative pressure drops associated with the flow through various cross-sectional areas are derived as functions of the compressor inlet relative pressure drop of the top cycle. The analytical formulae about the relations between power output, thermal conversion efficiency, and the compressor pressure ratio of the top cycle are derived with the 11 pressure drop losses in the intake, compression, combustion, expansion, and flow process in the piping, the heat transfer loss to the ambient, the irreversible compression and expansion losses in the compressors and the turbines, and the irreversible combustion loss in the combustion chamber. The performance of the model cycle is optimized by adjusting the compressor inlet pressure of the bottom cycle, the air mass flow rate and the distribution of pressure losses along the flow path. It is shown that the power output has a maximum with respect to the compressor inlet pressure of the bottom cycle, the air mass flow rate or any of the overall pressure drops, and the maximized power output has an additional maximum with respect to the compressor pressure ratio of the top cycle. When the optimization is performed with the constraints of a fixed fuel flow rate and the power plant size, the power output and efficiency can be maximized again by properly allocating the fixed overall flow area among the compressor inlet of the top cycle and the turbine outlet of the bottom cycle.     

Cooling performance and energy saving of a compression–absorption refrigeration system driven by a gas engine

The prototype of combined vapour compression–absorption refrigeration system was set up, where a gas engine drove directly an open screw compressor in a vapour compression refrigeration chiller and waste heat from the gas engine was used to operate absorption refrigeration cycle. The experimental procedure and results showed that the combined refrigeration system was feasible. The cooling capacity of the prototype reached about 589 kW at the Chinese rated conditions of air conditioning (the inlet and outlet temperatures of chilled water are 12 and 7°C, the inlet and outlet temperatures of cooling water are 30 and 35°C, respectively). Primary energy rate (PER) and comparative primary energy saving were used to evaluate energy utilization efficiency of the combined refrigeration system. The calculated results showed that the PER of the prototype was about 1.81 and the prototype saved more than 25% of primary energy compared to a conventional electrically driven vapour compression refrigeration unit. Error analysis showed that the total error of the combined cooling system measurement was about 4.2% in this work. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An open reversed Brayton cycle with regeneration using moist air for deep freeze cooled by circulating water

This paper presents an open reversed Brayton cycle with regeneration using moist air for deep freeze cooled by circulating water, and proves its feasibility through performance simulation. Pinch technology is used to analyze the cooling of the wet air after compressor and the water used for cooling wet air after compressor. Its refrigeration depends mainly on the sensible heat of air and the latent heat of water vapor, its performance is more efficient than a conventional air-cycle, and the utilization of turbo-machinery makes it possible. The adoption of this cycle will make deep freeze easily and reduce initial cost because very low temperature, about ?55 °C, air is obtained. The sensitivity analysis of coefficient of performance to the efficiency of compressor and the efficiency of compressor, and the results of the cycle are also given. The simulation results show that the COP of this system depends on the temperature before turbine, the efficiency of compressor and the efficiency of compressor, and varies with the wet bulb temperature of the outdoor air. Humid air is a perfect working fluid for deep freeze with no cost to the user.     

Thermodynamic assessment of advanced SOFC-blade cooled gas turbine hybrid cycle

This paper focuses on novel integration of high temperature solid oxide fuel cell coupled with recuperative gas turbine (with air-film cooling of blades) based hybrid power plant (SOFC-blade cooled GT). For realistic analysis of gas turbine cycle air-film blade cooling technique has been adopted. First law thermodynamic analysis investigating the combine effect of film cooling of blades, SOFC, applied to a recuperated gas turbine cycle has been reported. Thermodynamic modeling for the proposed cycle has been presented. Results highlight the influence of film cooling of blades and operating parameters of SOFC on various performance of SOFC-blade cooled GT based hybrid power plant. Moreover, parametric investigation has also been done to examine the effect of compressor pressure ratio, turbine inlet temperature, on hybrid plant efficiency and plant specific work. It has been found that on increasing turbine inlet temperature (TIT) beyond a certain limit, the efficiency of gas turbine starts declining after reaching an optimum value which is compensated by continuous increase in SOFC efficiency with increase in operating temperature. The net result is higher performance of hybrid cycle with increase in maximum cycle temperature. Furthermore, it has been observed that at TIT 1600 K and compression ratio 20, maximum efficiency of 73.46% can been achieved.     

Performance enhancement of conventional combined cycle power plant by inlet air cooling,inter-cooling and LNG cold energy utilization

This paper has proposed an integrated advanced thermal power system to improve the performance of the conventional combined cycle power plant. Both inlet air cooling and inter-cooling are utilized within the proposed system to limit the decrease of the air mass flow contained in the given volume flow as well as reduce the compression power required. The latent heat of spent steam from a steam turbine and the heat extracted from the air during the compression process are used to heat liquefied natural gas (LNG) and generate electrical energy. The conventional combined cycle and the proposed power system are simulated using the commercial process simulation package IPSEpro. A parametric analysis has been performed for the proposed power system to evaluate the effects of several key factors on the performance. The results show that the net electrical efficiency and the overall work output of the proposed combined cycle can be increased by 2.8% and 76.8 MW above those of the conventional combined cycle while delivering 75.8 kg s^?1 of natural gas and saving 0.9 MW of electrical power by removing the need for sea water pumps used hitherto. Compared with the conventional combined cycle, the proposed power system performance has little sensitivity to ambient temperature changes and shows good off-design performance.     

燃气轮机进气喷水减温技术经济分析及滴径计算

夏季环境温度比较高，燃气轮机的出力和热效率都会受到影响，对压气机喷水减温方法和喷水滴径进行了分析和计算，计算结果表明：温度越高，湿度越小，燃气轮机的输出功率和热效率提高得越多，燃油消耗率也降低得越多，喷水减温的效果越好，此外，高的压比和高的透平进气温度提高了喷水减温效果。     

开式燃气轮机中冷回热再热循环功率和效率优化

建立了开式燃气轮机中冷回热再热（ICRR）循环有限时间热力学模型,导出了循环功率和效率解析式,优化了气流沿通流部分的压降（或低压压气机进口空气质量流率）和中间压比,得到最大功率;并在给定燃油流率的情况下,优化了气流沿通流部分的压降和中间压比,得到最大热效率,进一步在给定低压压气机进口和动力涡轮出口总面积的情况下,优化两者面积分配比,得到双重最大热效率.     

Energetic and exergetic performance analyses of a combined heat and power plant with absorption inlet cooling and evaporative aftercooling

In this paper, exergy method is applied to analyze the gas turbine cycle cogeneration with inlet air cooling and evaporative aftercooling of the compressor discharge. The exergy destruction rate in each component of cogeneration is evaluated in detail. The effects of some main parameters on the exergy destruction and exergy efficiency of the cycle are investigated. The most significant exergy destruction rates in the cycle are in combustion chamber, heat recovery steam generator and regenerative heat exchanger. The overall pressure ratio and turbine inlet temperature have significant effect on exergy destruction in most of the components of cogeneration. The results obtained from the analysis show that inlet air cooling along with evaporative aftercooling has an obvious increase in the energy and exergy efficiency compared to the basic gas turbine cycle cogeneration. It is further shown that the first-law efficiency, power to heat ratio and exergy efficiency of the cogeneration cycle significantly vary with the change in overall pressure ratio and turbine inlet temperature but the change in process heat pressure shows small variation in these parameters.     

小型燃气轮机CCHP系统变工况性能入口加热调控研究

提出了一种利用冷热电联产系统(CCHP)低温烟气与环境空气混和加热控制压气机入口温度,提升燃气轮机冷热电系统变工况性能的方法,并以1.9 MW小型燃气轮机OPRA16为例,建立了CCHP系统模型,分析了调控方法的效果、机理。结果表明,入口混和加热可以有效改善冷热电联产系统变工况下系统性能,并扩展系统节能运行范围。与传统燃料流量调控方法相比,新型调控手段下夏季制冷与冬季供热模式下系统节能率分别提升5.7%和21.6%。     

Comparison of evaporative inlet air cooling systems to enhance the gas turbine generated power

The gas turbine performance is highly sensitive to the compressor inlet temperature. The output of gas turbine falls to a value that is less than the rated output under high temperature conditions. In fact increase in inlet air temperature by 1°C will decrease the output power by 0.7% approximately. The solution of this problem is very important because the peak demand season also happens in the summer. One of the convenient methods of inlet air cooling is evaporating cooling which is appropriate for warm and dry weather. As most of the gas turbines in Iran are installed in such ambient conditions regions, therefore this method can be used to enhance the performance of the gas turbines. In this paper, an overview of technical and economic comparison of media system and fog system is given. The performance test results show that the mean output power of Frame‐9 gas turbines is increased by 11 MW (14.5%) by the application of media cooling system in Fars power plant and 8.1 MW (8.9%) and 9.5 MW (11%) by the application of fog cooling system in Ghom and Shahid Rajaie power plants, respectively. The total enhanced power generation in the summer of 2004 was 2970, 1701 and 1340 MWh for the Fars, Ghom and Shahid Rajaie power plants, respectively. The economical studies show that the payback periods are estimated to be around 2 and 3 years for fog and media systems, respectively. This study has shown that both methods are suitable for the dry and hot areas for gas turbine power augmentation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermodynamic performance assessment of an indirect intercooled reheat regenerative gas turbine cycle with inlet air cooling and evaporative aftercooling of the compressor discharge

This study provides a computational analysis to investigate the effects of cycle pressure ratio, turbine inlet temperature (TIT), and ambient relative humidity (φ) on the thermodynamic performance of an indirect intercooled reheat regenerative gas turbine cycle with indirect evaporative cooling of the inlet air and evaporative aftercooling of the compressor discharge. Combined first and second‐law analysis indicates that the exergy destruction in various components of gas turbine cycles is significantly affected by compressor pressure ratio and turbine inlet temperature, and is not at all affected by ambient relative humidity. It also indicates that the maximum exergy is destroyed in the combustion chamber; which represents over 60% of the total exergy destruction in the overall system. The net work output, first‐law efficiency, and the second‐law efficiency of the cycle significantly varies with the change in the pressure ratio, turbine inlet temperature and ambient relative humidity. Results clearly shows that performance evaluation based on first‐law analysis alone is not adequate, and hence more meaningful evaluation must include second‐law analysis. Decision makers should find the methodology contained in this paper useful in the comparison and selection of gas turbine systems. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

超声波管道防垢器在空气压缩机级间冷却器中的应用

介绍了TA6000离心式空气压缩机的工况。经分析,该空气压缩机出现二、三级气体入口温度升高而导致联锁停车的原因是循环冷却水水质较硬,致使冷却管壁结垢,降低了级间冷却器的冷却效果。针对这种情况,在压缩机循环冷却水入口处安装TC-2-20型高温高声强超声波管道防垢器,进行在线防垢除垢,达到了较好的防垢除垢效果,安装前,压缩机级间冷却器1a清洗2～3次,安装后h只需清洗1次;同时还起到了一定的强化换热作用,安装后,压缩机二、三级气体入口温度平均下降了2～3℃。     

Sensitivity analysis of steam power plant-binary cycle

This paper analyses a steam power – two-stage binary cycle plant (SPP–2BCP), in which low temperature waste heat from a conventional steam power plant can be efficiently utilized to generate electricity by installing a bottoming binary cycle. The result from a previous calculation on the installation of binary cycle technology on a Steam Power Plant (SPP) with n-Pentane working fluid indicates an increase in plant efficiency of about 9%. The purpose of this study is to analyze the sensitivity of performance of the binary cycle system against variations in the SPP operational load and the condenser’s cooling water temperature. The calculation is conducted on SPP load variations of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, inlet turbine pressure variations of 5 bar–30 bar, and inlet turbine temperature variations of 125 °C up to 235 °C. Each of these is also analyzed with ambient cooling water temperatures of 30 °C–37 °C. The results of the analysis indicate that the performance of this binary cycle SPP degrades slightly with SPP load, turbine inlet temperature, and turbine inlet pressure variations and with cooling water variations.