Inlet Air Cooling Methods for Gas Turbine Based Power Plants

2005 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Kakaras ◽  
A. Doukelis ◽  
A. Prelipceanu ◽  
S. Karellas
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Absorption Chiller ◽  
Total Cost ◽  
Evaporative Cooler ◽  
Cooling Methods

Background: Power generation from gas turbines is penalized by a substantial power output loss with increased ambient temperature. By cooling down the gas turbine intake air, the power output penalty can be mitigated. Method of Approach: The purpose of this paper is to review the state of the art in applications for reducing the gas turbine intake air temperature and examine the merits from integration of the different air-cooling methods in gas-turbine-based power plants. Three different intake air-cooling, methods (evaporative cooling, refrigeration cooling, and evaporative cooling of precompressed air) have been applied in two combined cycle power plants and two gas turbine plants. The calculations were performed on a yearly basis of operation, taking into account the time-varying climatic conditions. The economics from integration of the different cooling systems were calculated and compared. Results: The results have demonstrated that the highest incremental electricity generation is realized by absorption intake air-cooling. In terms of the economic performance of the investment, the evaporative cooler has the lowest total cost of incremental electricity generation and the lowest payback period (PB). Concerning the cooling method of pre-compressed air, the results show a significant gain in capacity, but the total cost of incremental electricity generation in this case is the highest. Conclusions: Because of the much higher capacity gain by an absorption chiller system, the evaporative cooler and the absorption chiller system may both be selected for boosting the performance of gas-turbine-based power plants, depending on the prevailing requirements of the plant operator.

Inlet Air Cooling Methods for Gas Turbine Based Power Plants

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Kakaras ◽  
A. Doukelis ◽  
A. Prelipceanu ◽  
S. Karellas
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Cooling Systems ◽  
Cooling Methods

Power generation from gas turbines is penalised by a substantial power output loss with increased ambient temperature. By cooling down the gas turbine intake air, the power output penalty can be mitigated. The purpose of this paper is to review the state of the art in applications for reducing the gas turbine intake air temperature and examine the merits from integration of the different air-cooling methods in gas turbine based power plants. Three different intake air-cooling methods (evaporative cooling, refrigeration cooling and evaporative cooling of pre-compressed air) have been applied in two combined cycle power plants and two gas turbine plants. The calculations were performed on a yearly basis of operation, taking into account the time-varying climatic conditions. The economics from integration of the different cooling systems were calculated and compared.

Comparative Analysis of Different Inlet Air Cooling Technologies Including Solar Energy to Boost Gas Turbine Combined Cycles in Hot Regions

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abdel Rahman ◽  
Esmail M. A. Mokheimer
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Output Power ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Absorption Chiller ◽  
Absorption Chillers ◽  
Combined Cycles ◽  
Net Power Output

Cooling the air before entering the compressor of a gas turbine of combined cycle power plants is an effective method to boost the output power of the combined cycles in hot regions. This paper presents a comparative analysis for the effect of different air cooling technologies on increasing the output power of a combined cycle. It also presents a novel system of cooling the gas turbine inlet air using a solar-assisted absorption chiller. The effect of ambient air temperature and relative humidity on the output power is investigated and reported. The study revealed that at the design hour under the hot weather conditions, the total net power output of the plant drops from 268 MW to 226 MW at 48 °C (15.5% drop). The increase in the power output using fogging and evaporative cooling is less than that obtained with chillers since their ability to cool down the air is limited by the wet-bulb temperature. Integrating conventional and solar-assisted absorption chillers increased the net power output of the combined cycle by about 35 MW and 38 MW, respectively. Average and hourly performance during typical days have been conducted and presented. The plants without air inlet cooling system show higher carbon emissions (0.73 kg CO2/kWh) compared to the plant integrated with conventional and solar-assisted absorption chillers (0.509 kg CO2/kWh) and (0.508 kg CO2/kWh), respectively. Also, integrating a conventional absorption chiller shows the lowest capital cost and levelized electricity cost (LEC).

Gas Turbine Performance Enhancement by Inlet Air Cooling and Coolant Pre-Cooling Using an Absorption Chiller

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Min Kwon ◽  
Jeong Ho Kim ◽  
Tong Seop Kim
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Absorption Chiller ◽  
Large Power ◽  
Cycle Simulation ◽  
Standard Design

The gas turbine combined cycle is the most mature and efficient power generation system. While enhancing design performance continuously, a parallel effort to make up for the shortcomings of the gas turbine should be pursued. The most critical drawback is the large power loss in hot season when electricity demand is usually the highest. Therefore, it is important to implement an effective power boosting measure in gas turbine based power plants, especially in areas where the annual average temperature is much higher than the standard design ambient temperature. The simplest method in general is to reduce the gas turbine inlet air temperature by any means. Several schemes are commercially available, such as mechanical chilling, evaporative cooling, inlet fogging and absorption chilling. All of them have merits and demerits, either thermodynamically and economically. In this study, we focused our interest on the absorption chilling method. Theoretically, absorption chilling provides as much cooling effect (air temperature reduction) as the mechanical chilling, while electric power consumption is negligibly small. A distinct feature of an absorption chiller in contrast to a mechanical chiller is that thermal energy (heat) is needed to drive the chilling system. In this research, we propose an innovative idea of making the independent heat supply unnecessary. The new method provides simultaneous cooling of the turbine coolant and the inlet air using an absorption chiller. The inlet cooling and coolant precooling boost the gas turbine power synergistically. We predicted the system performance using cycle simulation and compared it with that of the conventional mechanical cooling system.

Thermal-Economic Evaluation of Evaporative Inlet Cooling Methods for Ray Gas Turbine Power Plant

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sepehr Sanaye ◽  
Abbasali Farhad ◽  
Mohsen Ebrahimi
Keyword(s):  
Economic Evaluation ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Operational Conditions ◽  
Cooling Methods

The ambient conditions (temperature, pressure and humidity) affect the gas turbine power output and thermal efficiency [1–8]. Increasing one Celsius degree of ambient temperature decreases the power output for about 0.5 to 0.9 percent and the thermal efficiency for about 0.25 percent. Evaporating cooling is efficient and cost effective method for gas turbine inlet cooling to improve the power output and efficiency, specially in hot and dry regions. A systematic thermo-economic evaluation of the three evaporative inlet cooling methods applied to existing 25 MW Fiat gas turbine in Ray power plant, is presented in this paper. The three inlet cooling methods considered are: evaporative inlet fogging, media type evaporative cooling and inlet cooling through air washer. The investment and maintenance costs, the income from increasing the power output, the costs of increasing fuel consumption, and power loss due to pressure drops, were estimated and the payback periods for the mentioned evaporative inlet cooling methods were obtained and compared. The suitable evaporative cooling method for various operational conditions is proposed for 25 MW Fiat gas turbines.

Technical and Economical Feasibility of Gas Turbine Inlet Cooling Using Evaporative Fogging System in Two Different Locations in Oman

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousef H. Zurigat ◽  
Belal Dawoud ◽  
Jamal N. Al-Bortmany ◽  
Sameh T. Al-Shihabi
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman ◽  
Present Value ◽  
System Operation ◽  
Economical Feasibility

In this paper gas turbine power boost via inlet air evaporative fogging system is evaluated for power plants of 40 MW power output in two different locations in Sultanate of Oman. The cooling effect is quantified using evaporative cooling degree hour (ECDH) approach. The power output boost based on the month with the highest number of evaporative cooling degree hours reaches as high as 20% for both locations.. This is significant in view of the increased air conditioning load during summer months. It is found that the average net present value (NPV) of installing fogging system in Marmul is $4,622,018 and in Fahud is $6,182,496. It is also found that the purchase and installation costs are paid back within the first six months of system operation and for later years, annual revenue of over $500,000 is generated.

Effect of Inlet Air Cooling by Absorption Chiller on Gas Turbine and Combined Cycle Performance

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiwa Khaledi ◽  
Roozbeh Zomorodian ◽  
Mohammad Bagher Ghofrani
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Cycle Performance ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Internal Source ◽  
Absorption Chiller

Gas turbine performances are directly related to site conditions. The use of gas turbines in combined gas-steam power plants, also applied to cogeneration, increases such dependence. In recent years, inlet air cooling systems have been introduced to control air temperature at compressor inlet, resulting in an increase in plant power and efficiency. In this paper, the dependence of outside conditions for a simple gas turbine and a combined cycle plant is studied, using absorption chiller as inlet air cooling system. We used, as case study, a simple plant equipped with one frame E gas turbine and a combined cycle with a two pressure level heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). It was found that inlet air cooling with absorption chiller has great positive influence on power and less on efficiency of the gas turbine plant. Two steam sources (External and Internal) have been considered for chiller. External source has large positive influence on power but keep the efficiency of the combined cycle unchanged, while internal source causes a reduction in steam turbine mass flow. Consequently power production and efficiency of the combined cycle decrease. This reduction is lower in mid temperature (25 to 35°C) but higher in high temperature (35 to 45°C). Inlet cooling would result in lowering turbine exhaust temperature, thus decreasing the efficiency of HRSG.

scholarly journals Two-Stage Evaporative Inlet Air Gas Turbine Cooling

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1382
Author(s):  
Obida Zeitoun
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Vapor Compression ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Turbine Cooling ◽  
Riyadh City ◽  
Vapor Compression Refrigeration ◽  
Gas Turbine Cooling

Gas turbine inlet air-cooling (TIAC) is an established technology for augmenting gas turbine output and efficiency, especially in hot regions. TIAC using evaporative cooling is suitable for hot, dry regions; however, the cooling is limited by the ambient wet-bulb temperature. This study investigates two-stage evaporative TIAC under the harsh weather of Riyadh city. The two-stage evaporative TIAC system consists of indirect and direct evaporative stages. In the indirect stage, air is precooled using water cooled in a cooling tower. In the direct stage, adiabatic saturation cools the air. This investigation was conducted for the GE 7001EA gas turbine model. Thermoflex software was used to simulate the GE 7001EA gas turbine using different TIAC systems including evaporative, two-stage evaporative, hybrid absorption refrigeration evaporative and hybrid vapor-compression refrigeration evaporative cooling systems. Comparisons of different performance parameters of gas turbines were conducted. The added annual profit and payback period were estimated for different TIAC systems.

Inlet Air Cooling Applied to Combined Cycle Power Plants: Influence of Site Climate and Thermal Storage Systems

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Palestra ◽  
Giovanna Barigozzi ◽  
Antonio Perdichizzi
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Parametric Analysis ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Thermal Storage ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Cooling Systems

The paper presents the results of an investigation on inlet air cooling systems based on cool thermal storage, applied to combined cycle power plants. Such systems provide a significant increase of electric energy production in the peak hours; the charge of the cool thermal storage is performed instead during the night time. The inlet air cooling system also allows the plant to reduce power output dependence on ambient conditions. A 127MW combined cycle power plant operating in the Italian scenario is the object of this investigation. Two different technologies for cool thermal storage have been considered: ice harvester and stratified chilled water. To evaluate the performance of the combined cycle under different operating conditions, inlet cooling systems have been simulated with an in-house developed computational code. An economical analysis has been then performed. Different plant location sites have been considered, with the purpose to weigh up the influence of climatic conditions. Finally, a parametric analysis has been carried out in order to investigate how a variation of the thermal storage size affects the combined cycle performances and the investment profitability. It was found that both cool thermal storage technologies considered perform similarly in terms of gross extra production of energy. Despite this, the ice harvester shows higher parasitic load due to chillers consumptions. Warmer climates of the plant site resulted in a greater increase in the amount of operational hours than power output augmentation; investment profitability is different as well. Results of parametric analysis showed how important the size of inlet cooling storage may be for economical results.

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