scholarly journals Comparison of six gas turbine power cycle, a key to improve power plants

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Ali Akbar Golneshan ◽  
Hossain Nemati

It is required to sake methods to improve the power plant performance. Most of the proposed methods can be commenced only in the design stapes. However, the main question of this study is “What can we do to improve the performance of a running power plant?” The first answer to this question is that monitoring the site and periodic overhaul can keep a power plant in its acceptable condition. However, this answer is very qualitatively and needs more precise information like which parameters shall be monitored or which equipment needs more care in the overhaul. In this study, important parameters and the method of their calculations are introduced that must be monitored and compared. Six similar gas turbine power cycles were selected to be compared deeply during a day in this study. In this way, many data were collected every five minutes. Unlike most of the previous studies, this one concerns with maintenance policy and repair strategy. Results of this comparison lead to answer to these questions that which equipment needs special care? Finally, it was shown that in each unit, which equipment needs more attention and which one can be considered as a standard for the others.

Author(s):  
S. Can Gülen ◽  
Indrajit Mazumder

Cost of electricity (COE) is the most widely used metric to quantify the cost-performance trade-off involved in comparative analysis of competing electric power generation technologies. Unfortunately, the currently accepted formulation of COE is only applicable to comparisons of power plant options with the same annual electric generation (kilowatt-hours) and the same technology as defined by reliability, availability, and operability. Such a formulation does not introduce a big error into the COE analysis when the objective is simply to compare two or more base-loaded power plants of the same technology (e.g., natural gas fired gas turbine simple or combined cycle, coal fired conventional boiler steam turbine, etc.) and the same (or nearly the same) capacity. However, comparing even the same technology class power plants, especially highly flexible advanced gas turbine combined cycle units with cyclic duties, comprising a high number of daily starts and stops in addition to emissions-compliant low-load operation to accommodate the intermittent and uncertain load regimes of renewable power generation (mainly wind and solar) requires a significant overhaul of the basic COE formula. This paper develops an expanded COE formulation by incorporating crucial power plant operability and maintainability characteristics such as reliability, unrecoverable degradation, and maintenance factors as well as emissions into the mix. The core impact of duty cycle on the plant performance is handled via effective output and efficiency utilizing basic performance correction curves. The impact of plant start and load ramps on the effective performance parameters is included. Differences in reliability and total annual energy generation are handled via energy and capacity replacement terms. The resulting expanded formula, while rigorous in development and content, is still simple enough for most feasibility study type of applications. Sample calculations clearly reveal that inclusion (or omission) of one or more of these factors in the COE evaluation, however, can dramatically swing the answer from one extreme to the other in some cases.


Author(s):  
Mohammed Mahdi ◽  
Roman Popov ◽  
Igor Pioro

The vast majority of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) are equipped with water- and heavy-water-cooled reactors. Such NPPs have lower thermal efficiencies (30–36%) compared to those achieved at NPPs equipped with Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs) (∼42%) and Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs) (∼40%), and, especially, compared to those of modern advanced thermal power plants, such as combined cycle with thermal efficiencies up to 62% and supercritical-pressure coal-fired power plants — up to 55%. Therefore, NPPs with water- and heavy-water-cooled reactors are not very competitive with other power plants. Therefore, this deficiency of current water-cooled NPPs should be addressed in the next generation or Generation-IV nuclear-power reactors / NPPs. Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) concept / NPP is currently considered as the most efficient NPP of the next generation. Being a thermal-spectrum reactor, VHTR will use helium as a reactor coolant, which will be heated up to 1000°C. The use of a direct Brayton helium-turbine cycle was considered originally. However, technical challenges associated with the direct helium cycle have resulted in a change of the reference concept to indirect power cycle, which can be also a combined cycle. Along with the VHTR, Gas-cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) concept / NPP is also regarded as one of the most thermally efficient concept for the upcoming generation of NPPs. This concept was also originally thought to be with the direct helium power cycle. However, technical challenges have changed the initial idea of power cycle to a number of options including indirect Brayton cycle with He-N2 mixture, application of SuperCritical (SC)-CO2 cycles or combined cycles. The objective of the current paper is to provide the latest information on new developments in power cycles proposed for these two helium-cooled Generation-IV reactor concepts, which include indirect nitrogen-helium Brayton gas-turbine cycle, supercritical-pressure carbon-dioxide Brayton gas-turbine cycle, and combined cycles. Also, a comparison of basic thermophysical properties of helium with those of other reactor coolants, and with those of nitrogen, nitrogen-helium mixture and SC-CO2 is provided.


Author(s):  
T. Korakianitis ◽  
J. Grantstrom ◽  
P. Wassingbo ◽  
A. F. Massardo

The design-point performance characteristics of a wide variety of combined-cogeneration power plants, with different amounts of supplementary firing (or no supplementary firing), different amounts of steam injection (or no steam injection), different amounts of exhaust gas condensation etc, without limiting these parameters to present-day limits are investigated. A representative power plant with appropriate components for these plant enhancements is developed. A computer program is used to evaluate the performance of various power plants using standard inputs for component efficiencies; and the design-point performance of these plants is computed. The results are presented as thermal efficiency, specific power, effectiveness, and specific rate of energy in district heating. The performance of the simple-cycle gas turbine dominates the overall plant performance; the plant efficiency and power are mainly determined by turbine inlet temperature and compressor pressure ratio; increasing amounts of steam injection in the gas turbine increases the efficiency and power; increasing amounts of supplementary firing decreases the efficiency but increases the power; with sufficient amounts of supplementary firing and steam injection the exhaust-gas condensate is sufficient to make up for water lost in steam injection; and the steam-turbine power is a fraction (0.1 to 0.5) of the gas-turbine power output. Regions of “optimum” parameters for the power plant based on design-point power, hot-water demand, and efficiency are shown. A method for fuel-cost allocation between electricity and hot water is recommended.


Author(s):  
W. Peter Sarnacki ◽  
Richard Kimball ◽  
Barbara Fleck

The integration of micro turbine engines into the engineering programs offered at Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) has created a dynamic, hands-on approach to learning the theoretical and operational characteristics of a turbojet engine. Maine Maritime Academy is a fully accredited college of Engineering, Science and International Business located on the coast of Maine and has over 850 undergraduate students. The majority of the students are enrolled in one of five majors offered at the college in the Engineering Department. MMA already utilizes gas turbines and steam plants as part of the core engineering training with fully operational turbines and steam plant laboratories. As background, this paper will overview the unique hands-on nature of the engineering programs offered at the institution with a focus of implementation of a micro gas turbine trainer into all engineering majors taught at the college. The training demonstrates the effectiveness of a working gas turbine to translate theory into practical applications and real world conditions found in the operation of a combustion turbine. This paper presents the efforts of developing a combined cycle power plant for training engineers in the operation and performance of such a plant. Combined cycle power plants are common in the power industry due to their high thermal efficiencies. As gas turbines/electric power plants become implemented into marine applications, it is expected that combined cycle plants will follow. Maine Maritime Academy has a focus on training engineers for the marine and stationary power industry. The trainer described in this paper is intended to prepare engineers in the design and operation of this type of plant, as well as serve as a research platform for operational and technical study in plant performance. This work describes efforts to combine these laboratory resources into an operating combined cycle plant. Specifically, we present efforts to integrate a commercially available, 65 kW gas turbine generator system with our existing steam plant. The paper reviews the design and analysis of the system to produce a 78 kW power plant that approaches 35% thermal efficiency. The functional operation of the plant as a trainer is presented as the plant is designed to operate with the same basic functionality and control as a larger commercial plant.


Author(s):  
Nina Hepperle ◽  
Dirk Therkorn ◽  
Ernst Schneider ◽  
Stephan Staudacher

Recoverable and non-recoverable performance degradation has a significant impact on power plant revenues. A more in depth understanding and quantification of recoverable degradation enables operators to optimize plant operation. OEM degradation curves represent usually non-recoverable degradation, but actual power output and heat rate is affected by both, recoverable and non-recoverable degradation. This paper presents an empirical method to correct longterm performance data of gas turbine and combined cycle power plants for recoverable degradation. Performance degradation can be assessed with standard plant instrumentation data, which has to be systematically stored, reduced, corrected and analyzed. Recoverable degradation includes mainly compressor and air inlet filter fouling, but also instrumentation degradation such as condensate in pressure sensing lines, condenser or bypass valve leakages. The presented correction method includes corrections of these effects for gas turbine and water steam cycle components. Applying the corrections on longterm operating data enables staff to assess the non-recoverable performance degradation any time. It can also be used to predict recovery potential of maintenance activities like compressor washings, instrumentation calibration or leakage repair. The presented correction methods are validated with long-term performance data of several power plants. It is shown that the degradation rate is site-specific and influenced by boundary conditions, which have to be considered for degradation assessments.


Author(s):  
Rodney R. Gay

Traditionally optimization has been thought of as a technology to set power plant controllable parameters (i.e. gas turbine power levels, duct burner fuel flows, auxiliary boiler fuel flows or bypass/letdown flows) so as to maximize plant operations. However, there are additional applications of optimizer technology that may be even more beneficial than simply finding the best control settings for current operation. Most smaller, simpler power plants (such as a single gas turbine in combined cycle operation) perceive little need for on-line optimization, but in fact could benefit significantly from the application of optimizer technology. An optimizer must contain a mathematical model of the power plant performance and of the economic revenue and cost streams associated with the plant. This model can be exercised in the “what-if” mode to supply valuable on-line information to the plant operators. The following quantities can be calculated: Target Heat Rate Correction of Current Plant Operation to Guarantee Conditions Current Power Generation Capacity (Availability) Average Cost of a Megawatt Produced Cost of Last Megawatt Cost of Process Steam Produced Cost of Last Pound of Process Steam Heat Rate Increment Due to Load Change Prediction of Future Power Generation Capability (24 Hour Prediction) Prediction of Future Fuel Consumption (24 Hour Prediction) Impact of Equipment Operational Constraints Impact of Maintenance Actions Plant Budget Analysis Comparison of Various Operational Strategies Over Time Evaluation of Plant Upgrades The paper describes examples of optimizer applications other than the on-line computation of control setting that have provided benefit to plant operators. Actual plant data will be used to illustrate the examples.


Author(s):  
S. Can Gülen ◽  
Indrajit Mazumder

Cost of electricity (COE) is the most widely used metric to quantify the cost-performance trade-off involved in comparative analysis of competing electric power generation technologies. Unfortunately, the currently accepted formulation of COE is only applicable to comparisons of power plant options with the same annual electric generation (kilowatt-hours) and same technology as defined by reliability, availability and operability. Such a formulation does not introduce a big error into the COE analysis when the objective is simply to compare two or more baseloaded power plants of the same technology (e.g., natural gas fired gas turbine simple or combined cycle, coal fired conventional boiler steam turbine, etc.) and the same (or nearly the same) capacity. However, comparing even the same technology class power plants, especially highly flexible advanced gas turbine combined cycle units with cyclic duties, comprising a high number of daily starts and stops in addition to emissions-compliant low-load operation to accommodate the intermittent and uncertain load regimes of renewable power generation (mainly wind and solar) requires a significant overhaul of the basic COE formula. This paper develops an expanded COE formulation by incorporating crucial power plant operability and maintainability characteristics such as reliability, unrecoverable degradation, and maintenance factors as well as emissions into the mix. The core impact of duty cycle on the plant performance is handled via effective output and efficiency utilizing basic performance correction curves. The impact of plant start and load ramps on the effective performance parameters is included. Differences in reliability and total annual energy generation are handled via energy and capacity replacement terms. The resulting expanded formula, while rigorous in development and content, is still simple enough for most feasibility study type of applications. Sample calculations clearly reveal that inclusion (or omission) of one or more of these factors in the COE evaluation, however, can dramatically swing the answer from one extreme to the other in some cases.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Korakianitis ◽  
J. Grantstrom ◽  
P. Wassingbo ◽  
Aristide F. Massardo

The design-point performance characteristics of a wide variety of combined-cogeneration power plants, with different amounts of supplementary firing (or no supplementary firing), different amounts of steam injection (or no steam injection), different amounts of exhaust gas condensation, etc., without limiting these parameters to present-day limits are investigated. A representative power plant with appropriate components for these plant enhancements is developed. A computer program is used to evaluate the performance of various power plants using standard inputs for component efficiencies, and the design-point performance of these plants is computed. The results are presented as thermal efficiency, specific power, effectiveness, and specific rate of energy in district heating. The performance of the simple-cycle gas turbine dominates the overall plant performance; the plant efficiency and power are mainly determined by turbine inlet temperature and compressor pressure ratio; increasing amounts of steam injection in the gas turbine increases the efficiency and power; increasing amounts of supplementary firing decreases the efficiency but increases the power; with sufficient amounts of supplementary firing and steam injection the exhaust-gas condensate is sufficient to make up for water lost in steam injection; and the steam-turbine power is a fraction (0.1 to 0.5) of the gas-turbine power output. Regions of “optimum” parameters for the power plant based on design-point power, hot-water demand, and efficiency are shown. A method for fuel-cost allocation between electricity and hot water is recommended.


Author(s):  
Alcides Codeceira Neto ◽  
Pericles Pilidis ◽  
Anestis I. Kalfas

The Performance assessment of power plants involves a large number of equations with many variables taking part in the whole calculation. The assessment method described here takes into account a process for optimising a conventional gas turbine combined cycle power plant from the point of view of power plant performance calculations and economic analysis. The process requires optimisation of the whole thermal power plant based on cost considerations. The performance assessment of power plants uses the exergy method and considers the overall plant exergetic efficiency and the exergy destruction in the various components of the plant. The exergy method highlights irreversibility within plant components, and it is of particular interest in this investigation. Generally, the optimisation procedure to determine an optimal solution for a problem considers constraints imposed to some variables and requires the use of an optimisation technique. This paper is precisely concerned with the use of Genetic Algorithms (GAs) as a recommended tool for applying the optimisation process of the whole power plant based on minimising costs of products. Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are adaptive methods which may be used to solve search and optimisation problems. They are based on the genetic processes of biological organisms and do not require complicated mathematical calculations like the evaluation of derivatives necessary to be considered in conventional optimisation techniques.


Author(s):  
Toru Takahashi ◽  
Eiichi Koda ◽  
Yoshinobu Nakao

Recently, it is more necessary to maintain or improve the thermal efficiency of actual thermal power plants to reduce CO2 emission and energy consumption in the world, and it is also important to reduce the maintenance cost of commercial thermal power plants. Thus, it is crucial to investigate power plant performance deterioration factors and solve problems related to these factors promptly when the thermal efficiency decreases. However, it is difficult to understand the internal state of power plants sufficiently and to determine power plant performance deterioration factors only from operation data because actual thermal plants are composed of many components and are very complex systems. In particular, it is more difficult to understand performance deterioration in gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power plants than in steam power plants because the performance changes markedly in GTCC power plants depending on atmospheric conditions (temperature, pressure, humidity). In other words, when thermal efficiency changes, it is difficult to determine whether the cause is the change in external factors or that in the performance of the component. Therefore, we develop a method based on heat balance analysis to calculate the immeasurable quantity of state and the efficiency of each component in GTCC power plants, and to correct the performance of each component in a plant to a standard state using the performance function obtained from long-term operation data. Through the method, the analysis of the effects of deterioration factors on thermal efficiency becomes possible, and the performance of a plant can be simulated when the operation conditions are changed. Thus, we can determine the main factor that affects thermal efficiency using our method.


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