Gas Turbine Cycle

WEEK 11
 Idealized simple open-cycle gas-turbine
engine
• Most gas turbines operate on an open cycle in which air is taken from the
atmosphere, compressed in a centrifugal or axial-flow compressor, and
then fed into a combustion chamber. Here, fuel is added and burned at an
essentially constant pressure with a portion of the air. Additional
compressed air, which is bypassed around the burning section and then
mixed with the very hot combustion gases, is required to keep the
combustion chamber exit (in effect, the turbine inlet) temperature low
enough to allow the turbine to operate continuously.
 Idealized simple open-cycle gas-turbine
engine
If the unit is to produce shaft power, the combustion products (mostly air)
are expanded in the turbine to atmospheric pressure. Most of the turbine
output is required to operate the compressor; only the remainder is available
to supply shaft work to a generator, pump, or other device. In a jet engine the
turbine is designed to provide just enough output to drive the compressor
and auxiliary devices. The stream of gas then leaves the turbine at an
intermediate pressure (above local atmospheric pressure) and is fed through
a nozzle to produce thrust.
 Idealized simple open-cycle gas-turbine
engine
An idealized gas-turbine engine operating without any losses on this simple
Brayton cycle is considered first. If, for example, air enters the compressor
at 15° C and atmospheric pressure and is compressed to one megapascal, it
then absorbs heat from the fuel at a constant pressure until the temperature
reaches 1,100° C prior to expansion through the turbine back to atmospheric
pressure. This idealized unit would require a turbine output of 1.68 kilowatts
for each kilowatt of useful power with 0.68 kilowatt absorbed to drive the
compressor. The thermal efficiency of the unit (net work produced divided
by energy added through the fuel) would be 48 percent.
 Actual simple open-cycle performance
If for a unit operating between the same pressure and temperature limits the
compressor and the turbine are only 80 percent efficient (i.e., the work of an
ideal compressor equals 0.8 times the actual work, while the actual turbine
output is 0.8 times the ideal output), the situation changes drastically even if
all other components remain ideal. For every kilowatt of net power
produced, the turbine must now produce 2.71 kilowatts while the
compressor work becomes 1.71 kilowatts.
 Actual simple open-cycle performance
The thermal efficiency drops to 25.9 percent. This illustrates the importance
of highly efficient compressors and turbines. Historically it was the
difficulty of designing efficient compressors, even more than efficient
turbines, that delayed the development of the gas-turbine engine. Modern
units can have compressor efficiencies of 86–88 percent and turbine
efficiencies of 88–90 percent at design conditions.
 The Intercooling, Reheat, Regenerative Gas-turbine
Cycle

Intercooling additionally includes the utilization of a heat exchanger. The intercooler

is a type of heat exchanger where it is used to cool the compressor gas amid the
compression process.
Reheating in thermodynamic process refers to an approach to build turbine work
without variation in the compressor work from which the turbine is developed.
Regeneration in thermodynamics process refers to a method where the certain
quantity of heat abstracted from the steam is utilized to heat the water. The
regeneration process occurs between the stages of turbine and pump respectively.
Using regeneration, the efficiencies of thermodynamic cycles can be improved.
 Gas turbine power plant startup
During startup, the gas turbine (GT) undergoes a sequence of increasing compressor
spin to reach firing speed, ignition, turbine acceleration to self-sustaining speed,
synchronization, and loading. There are numerous thermo-mechanical constraints
during startup of the GT, including limits on airflow velocity through the compressor
blades to prevent stall, vibrational limits, and combustion temperature limits to
prevent turbine blade fatigue, with the significant parameter being the turbine inlet
temperature. Aeroderivative gas turbine technology is better suited for frequent start
ups and for power on-demand -operation. Modern aeroderivative gas turbines are
capable of fast start-up time of less than 10 minutes. However, frequent fast start ups
may incur a maintenance penalty.
 Gas turbine power plant startup
In combined cycle operation, the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) imposes additional
thermal limitations on the gas turbine power plant, as the high temperature environment
subjects HRSG components to thermal stress. The HRSG is directly coupled to the gas turbine,
so changes in turbine exhaust gases induce flow, temperature, and pressure gradients within the
HRSG. These gradients must be carefully controlled to prevent adverse impacts such as
material fatigue, creep (damage caused by high temperatures) and corrosion. In order to avoid
impacts, it takes longer to start the HRSG from cold conditions than from hot conditions. The
definition of “hot” conditions varies by manufacturer, but is generally defined as within eight
(8) to 16 hours of HRSG shutdown. As a result, the amount of time elapsed since last shutdown
greatly influences startup time. Once-through HRSGs are used by some manufacturers to
overcome the startup thermal and pressure limitations that exist with steam drums.
 Gas turbine power plant startup
CCGTs are also subject to purge requirements to prevent auto-ignition from
possible accumulation of combustible gases in the gas turbine, HRSG and
exhaust systems. The purge is required before the unit is restarted. Purge
times depend on the boiler volume and air flow through the HRSG, and are
typically set to about 15 minutes. This purge time adds to the overall start
time. In addition, the steam turbine can restrict the GT loading rate if the
steam temperature leaving the HRSG exceeds steam turbine limits. To avoid
this, temperature matching using GT holds as the load is increased may be
necessary.
 Gas turbine power plant startup
In order to enable faster startup, CCGT manufacturers have attempted to decouple the gas turbine
startup from the HRSG and steam turbine warm-up. Process- and equipment-enhanced start options
have been developed that can be used under hot start conditions. A “purge credit” allows the system
purge to be completed at shutdown, eliminating the requirement for a redundant purge at next startup.
The purge credit can only be used in some HRSGs that have no duct burners and where the GT is fired
on natural gas only. Bypass dampers can be used to restrict the exhaust gas flow to the HRSG.
However, pollution control equipment for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) are
typically integrated within the HRSG and environmental regulations for these emissions may prohibit
the startup of the GT without the HRSG. Another method for decoupling the HRSG and steam turbine
from the GT exhaust gas uses spray water attemperators or air attemperators to control the steam
temperature so that gas turbine loading is not limited for temperature matching. This enables parallel
loading of the gas turbine and steam turbine.
 Gas turbine power plant startup
Although hot start conditions for CCGTs vary somewhat by manufacturer,
maintaining energized electrical systems, purge credit, and steam
temperature control enable CCGT startup times of about 30 to 35 minutes
from initiation of the start sequence. This is about half the time for
conventional hot start that would require purge and gas turbine holds. In
simple cycle, published start times for gas turbines are about 10 to 15
minutes.
 Air inlet cooling principles
Fogging
• Inlet air fogging consists of spraying finely atomized water (fog) into the inlet airflow of a gas turbine
engine. The water droplets evaporate quickly, which cools the air and increases the power output of the
turbine.
• Demineralized water is typically pressurized to 2000 psi (138 bar) then injected into the inlet air duct
through an array of stainless steel fog nozzles. Demineralized water is used in order to prevent fouling of the
compressor blades that would occur if water with mineral content were evaporated in the airflow. Fog
systems typically produce a water spray, with about 90% of the water flow being in droplets that are 20
microns in diameter or smaller.
• Fog nozzle manifolds are typically located in the inlet air duct just downstream of the final air filters but
other locations can be desirable depending on the design of the inlet duct and the intended use of the fog
system.[
 Wet compression

• Fog systems can be used to produce more power than can be obtained by
evaporative cooling alone. This is accomplished by spraying more fog than
is required to fully saturate the inlet air. The excess fog droplets are carried
into the gas turbine compressor where they evaporate and produce an
intercooling effect, which results in a further power boost. This technique
was first employed on an experimental gas turbine in Norway in 1903. There
are many successful systems in operation today.
• Several gas turbine manufactures offer both fogging and wet compression
systems. Systems are also available from third-party manufacturers.
 Evaporative cooling

• The evaporative cooler is a wetted rigid media where water is distributed

throughout the header and where air passes through the wet porous
surface. Part of the water is evaporated, absorbing the sensible heat from
the air and increasing its relative humidity. The air dry-bulb temperature is
decreased but the wet-bulb temperature is not affected. Similar to the
fogging system, the theoretical limit is the wet bulb temperature, but
performance of the evaporative cooler is usually around 80%. Water
consumption is less than that of fogging cooling.
 Vapour compression chiller

• In a mechanical compression chiller technology, the coolant is circulated through a

chilling coil heat exchanger that is inserted in the filter house, downstream from the
filtering stage. Downstream from the coil, a droplet catcher is installed to collect
moisture and water drops. The mechanical chiller can increase the turbine output and
performance better than wetted technologies due to the fact that inlet air can be chilled
below the wet bulb temperature, indifferent to the weather conditions. Compression
chiller equipment has higher electricity consumption than evaporative systems. Initial
capital cost is also higher, however turbine power augmentation and efficiency is
maximized, and the extra-cost is amortized due to increased output power.
 Vapour-absorption chiller

• In vapor-absorption chillers technology, thermal energy is used to produce

cooling instead of mechanical energy. The heat source is usually leftover
steam coming from combined cycle, and it is bypassed to drive the
cooling system. Compared to mechanical chillers, absorption chillers have
a low coefficient of performance, however, it should be taken into
consideration that this chiller usually uses waste heat, which decreases the
operational cost.
 Combination with thermal energy storage

• A thermal energy storage tank is a naturally stratified thermal accumulator that

allows the storage of chilled water produced during off-peak time, to use this
energy later during on-peak time to chill the turbine inlet air and increment its
power output. A thermal energy storage tank reduces operational cost and
refrigerant plant capacity. One advantage is the production of chilled water when
demand is low, using the excess of power generation, which usually coincides with
the night, when ambient temperature is low and chillers have better performance.
Another advantage is the reduction of the chilling plant capacity and operational
cost in comparison with an on-line chilling system, which produce delays during
periods of low demand.