scholarly journals A gas turbine cooled-stage expansion model for the simulation of blade cooling effects on cycle performance

Author(s):  
Roberta Masci ◽  
Enrico Sciubba

Modern gas turbines firing temperatures (1500-2000K) are well beyond the maximum allowable blade material temperatures. Continuous safe operation is made possible by cooling the HP turbine first stages -nozzle vanes and rotor blades- with a portion of the compressor discharge air, a practice that induces a penalty on the cycle thermal efficiency. Therefore, a current issue is to investigate the real advantage, technical and economical, of raising maximum temperatures much further beyond current values. In this paper, process simulations of a gas turbine are performed to assess HP turbine first-stage cooling effects on cycle performance. A new simplified and properly streamlined model is proposed for the non-adiabatic expansion of the hot gas mixed with the cooling air within the blade passage, which allows for a comparison of several cycle configurations at different TIT (turbine inlet temperature) and max (total turbine expansion ratio) with a realistically acceptable degree of approximation.. The calculations suggest that, at a given max, the TIT can be increased in order to reach higher cycle efficiency up to a limit imposed by the required amount and temperature of the cooling air. Beyond this limit, no significant gains in thermal efficiency are obtained by adopting higher max and/or increasing the TIT, so that it is convenient in terms of cycle performance to design at lower rather than higher max. The small penalty on cycle efficiency is compensated by lower plant cost. The results of our model agree with those of some previous much more complex and computationally expensive studies, so that the novelty of this paper lies in the original method adopted on which the proposed model is based, and in the fast, accurate and low resource intensity of the corresponding numerical procedure: all advantages that can be crucial for industry needs. The presented analysis is purely thermodynamic, with no investigation on the effects of the different configurations on plant costs, so that future work addressing a thermo-economic analysis of the air-cooled gas turbine power plant is the next logical step.

Author(s):  
Masci ◽  
Sciubba

Modern gas turbine firing temperatures (1500–2000 K) are well beyond the maximum allowable blade material temperatures. Continuous safe operation is made possible by cooling the HP turbine first stages, nozzle vanes and rotor blades, with a portion of the compressor discharge air, a practice that induces a penalty on the thermal efficiency cycle. Therefore, a current issue is to investigate the real advantage, technical and economical, of raising maximum temperatures much further beyond current values. In this paper, process simulations of a gas turbine are performed to assess HP turbine first-stage cooling effects on cycle performance. A new simplified and properly streamlined model is proposed for the non-adiabatic expansion of the hot gas mixed with the cooling air within the blade passage, which allows for a comparison of several cycle configurations at different turbine inlet temperatures (TIT) and total turbine expansion ratio (PR) with a realistically acceptable degree of approximation. The calculations suggest that, at a given PR, the TIT can be increased in order to reach a higher cycle efficiency up to a limit imposed by the required amount and temperature of the cooling air. Beyond this limit, no significant gains in thermal efficiency are obtained by adopting higher PR and/or increasing the TIT, so that it is convenient in terms of cycle performance to design at a lower rather than higher PR. The small penalty on cycle efficiency is compensated by the lower plant cost. The results of our model agree with those of some previous and much more complex and computationally expensive studies, so that the novelty of this paper lies in the original method adopted on which the proposed model is based, and in the fast, accurate, and low resource intensity of the corresponding numerical procedure, all advantages that can be crucial for industry needs. The presented analysis is purely thermodynamic and it includes no investigation on the effects of the different configurations on plant costs. Therefore, performing a thermo-economic analysis of the air-cooled gas turbine power plant is the next logical step.


Author(s):  
Nicolai Neumann ◽  
Dieter Peitsch ◽  
Arne Berthold ◽  
Frank Haucke ◽  
Panagiotis Stathopoulos

Abstract Performance improvements of conventional gas turbines are becoming increasingly difficult and costly to achieve. Pressure Gain Combustion (PGC) has emerged as a promising technology in this respect, due to the higher thermal efficiency of the respective ideal gas turbine cycle. Previous cycle analyses considering turbine cooling methods have shown that the application of pressure gain combustion may require more turbine cooling air. This has a direct impact on the cycle efficiency and reduces the possible efficiency gain that can potentially be harvested from the new combustion technology. Novel cooling techniques could unlock an existing potential for a further increase in efficiency. Such a novel turbine cooling approach is the application of pulsed impingement jets inside the turbine blades. In the first part of this paper, results of pulsed impingement cooling experiments on a curved plate are presented. The potential of this novel cooling approach to increase the convective heat transfer in the inner side of turbine blades is quantified. The second part of this paper presents a gas turbine cycle analysis where the improved cooling approach is incorporated in the cooling air calculation. The effect of pulsed impingement cooling on the overall cycle efficiency is shown for both Joule and PGC cycles. In contrast to the authors’ anticipation, the results suggest that for relevant thermodynamic cycles pulsed impingement cooling increases the thermal efficiency of Joule cycles more significantly than it does in the case of PGC cycles. Thermal efficiency improvements of 1.0 p.p. for pure convective cooling and 0.5 p.p. for combined convective and film with TBC are observed for Joule cycles. But just up to 0.5 p.p. for pure convective cooling and 0.3 p.p. for combined convective and film cooling with TBC are recorded for PGC cycles.


2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolai Neumann ◽  
Arne Berthold ◽  
Frank Haucke ◽  
Dieter Peitsch ◽  
Panagiotis Stathopoulos

Abstract Performance improvements of conventional gas turbines are becoming increasingly difficult and costly to achieve. Pressure gain combustion (PGC) has emerged as a promising technology in this respect, due to the higher thermal efficiency of the respective ideal gas turbine cycle. Previous cycle analyses considering turbine cooling methods have shown that the application of pressure gain combustion may require more turbine cooling air. This has a direct impact on the cycle efficiency and reduces the possible efficiency gain that can potentially be harvested from the new combustion technology. Novel cooling techniques could unlock an existing potential for a further increase in efficiency. Such a novel turbine cooling approach is the application of pulsed impingement jets inside the turbine blades. In the first part of this paper, results of pulsed impingement cooling experiments on a curved plate are presented. The potential of this novel cooling approach to increase the convective heat transfer in the inner side of turbine blades is quantified. The second part of this paper presents a gas turbine cycle analysis where the improved cooling approach is incorporated in the cooling air calculation. The effect of pulsed impingement cooling on the overall cycle efficiency is shown for both Joule and PGC cycles. In contrast to the authors’ anticipation, the results suggest that for relevant thermodynamic cycles pulsed impingement cooling increases the thermal efficiency of Joule cycles more significantly than it does in the case of PGC cycles. Thermal efficiency improvements of 1.0 p.p. for pure convective cooling and 0.5 p.p. for combined convective and film with TBC are observed for Joule cycles. But just up to 0.5 p.p. for pure convective cooling and 0.3 p.p. for combined convective and film cooling with TBC are recorded for PGC cycles.


Author(s):  
A. W. Reichert ◽  
M. Janssen

Siemens heavy duty Gas Turbines have been well known for their high power output combined with high efficiency and reliability for more than 3 decades. Offering state of the art technology at all times, the requirements concerning the cooling and sealing air system have increased with technological development over the years. In particular the increase of the turbine inlet temperature and reduced NOx requirements demand a highly efficient cooling and sealing air system. The new Vx4.3A family of Siemens gas turbines with ISO turbine inlet temperatures of 1190°C in the power range of 70 to 240 MW uses an effective film cooling technique for the turbine stages 1 and 2 to ensure the minimum cooling air requirement possible. In addition, the application of film cooling enables the cooling system to be simplified. For example, in the new gas turbine family no intercooler and no cooling air booster for the first turbine vane are needed. This paper deals with the internal air system of Siemens gas turbines which supplies cooling and sealing air. A general overview is given and some problems and their technical solutions are discussed. Furthermore a state of the art calculation system for the prediction of the thermodynamic states of the cooling and sealing air is introduced. The calculation system is based on the flow calculation package Flowmaster (Flowmaster International Ltd.), which has been modified for the requirements of the internal air system. The comparison of computational results with measurements give a good impression of the high accuracy of the calculation method used.


Author(s):  
Tadashi Tsuji

Air cooling blades are usually applied to gas turbines as a basic specification. This blade cooling air is almost 20% of compressor suction air and it means that a great deal of compression load is not converted effectively to turbine power generation. This paper proposes the CCM (Cascade Cooling Module) system of turbine blade air line and the consequent improvement of power generation, which is achieved by the reduction of cooling air consumption with effective use of recovered heat. With this technology, current gas turbines (TIT: turbine inlet temperature: 1350°C) can be up-rated to have a relative high efficiency increase. The increase ratio has a potential to be equivalent to that of 1500°C Class GT/CC against 1350°C Class. The CCM system is designed to enable the reduction of blade cooling air consumption by the low air temperature of 15°C instead of the usual 200–400°C. It causes the turbine operating air to increase at the constant suction air condition, which results in the enhancement of power and thermal efficiency. The CCM is installed in the cooling air line and is composed of three stage coolers: steam generator/fuel preheater stage, heat exchanger stage for hot water supplying and cooler stage with chilled water. The coolant (chilled water) for downstream cooler is produced by an absorption refrigerator operated by the hot water of the upstream heat exchanger. The proposed CCM system requires the modification of cooling air flow network in the gas turbine but produces the direct effect on performance enhancement. When the CCM system is applied to a 700MW Class CC (Combined Cycle) plant (GT TIT: 135°C Class), it is expected that there will be a 40–80MW increase in power and +2–5% relative increase in thermal efficiency.


Author(s):  
T. Sugimoto ◽  
K. Ikesawa ◽  
S. Kajita ◽  
W. Karasawa ◽  
T. Kojima ◽  
...  

The M7A-01 gas turbine is a newly developed 6 MW class single-shaft machine. With its high simple-cycle efficiency and high exhaust gas temperature. it is particularly suited for use in electric power generation and co-generation applications. An advanced high efficiency axial-flow compressor, six can-type combustors, and a high inlet temperature turbine has been adopted. This results in a high thermal efficiency of 31.5% at the gas turbine output shaft and a high overall thermal efficiency of co-generation system. In addition, low NOx emissions from the combustors and a long service life permit long-term continuous operation under various environmental limitations. The results of the full load shop test, accelerated cyclic endurance test and extra severity tests verified that the performance, the mechanical characteristics and the emission have satisfied the initial design goals.


Author(s):  
Toru Takahashi ◽  
Yutaka Watanabe ◽  
Hidefumi Araki ◽  
Takashi Eta

Humid air gas turbine systems that are regenerative cycle using humidified air can achieve higher thermal efficiency than gas turbine combined cycle power plant (GTCC) even though they do not require a steam turbine, a high combustion temperature, or a high pressure ratio. In particular, the advanced humid air gas turbine (AHAT) system appears to be highly suitable for practical use because its composition is simpler than that of other systems. Moreover, the difference in thermal efficiency between AHAT and GTCC is greater for small and medium-size gas turbines. To verify the system concept and the cycle performance of the AHAT system, a 3MW-class pilot plant was constructed that consists of a gas turbine with a two-stage centrifugal compressor, a two-stage axial turbine, a reverse-flow-type single-can combustor, a recuperator, a humidification tower, a water recovery tower, and other components. As a result of an operation test, the planned power output of 3.6MW was achieved, so that it has been confirmed the feasibility of the AHAT as a power-generating system. In this study, running tests on the AHAT pilot plant is carried out over one year, and various characteristics such as the effect of changes in ambient temperature, part-load characteristics, and start-up characteristics were clarified by analyzing the data obtained from the running tests.


1983 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. I. Rowen ◽  
R. L. Van Housen

Gas turbines furnished with heat recovery equipment generally have maximum cycle efficiency when the gas turbine is operated at its ambient capability. At reduced gas turbine output the cycle performance can fall off rapidly as gas turbine exhaust temperature drops, which reduces the heat recovery equipment performance. This paper reviews the economic gains which can be realized through use of several control modes which are currently available to optimize the cycle efficiency at part load operation. These include variable inlet guide vane (VIGV) control for single-shaft units, and combined VIGV and variable high-pressure set (compressor) speed control for two-shaft units. In addition to the normal control optimization mode to maintain the maximum exhaust temperature, a new control mode is discussed which allows airflow to be modulated in response to a process signal while at constant part load. This control feature is desirable for gas turbines which supply preheated combustion air to fired process heaters.


Author(s):  
Lieke Wang ◽  
Mehdi Bahador ◽  
Simon Bruneflod ◽  
Mats Annerfeldt ◽  
Mats Björkman ◽  
...  

Siemens Oil & Gas introduced an enhanced SGT-800 gas turbine during 2010. The new power rating is 50.5 MW with a 38.3 % electrical efficiency (ISO) in simple cycle and the best in class combined-cycle performance of more than 55 %. The increased power and improved efficiency from the existing 47 MW rating are mainly obtained by improved compressor airfoil profiles and improved turbine aerodynamics and cooling air layout. The upgrade components in the gas turbine are interchangeable from the existing rating. The current paper is focused on the design modifications of the turbine parts and their validation and operation experience. For the turbine section, the main design modifications include the redesigned stage 1 with better aerodynamic and cooling performance, modified stage 3 for increased outlet area, etc. However, the turbine inlet temperature is not increased compared to the existing 47 MW rating. Comprehensive validation measures have been taken to make sure that the modifications meet the design targets, at both the component level and the system level. The results from the validation tests have confirmed the turbine performance in terms of aerodynamics, cooling, life time, etc. In addition, these results have given a strong basis for future upgrade, e.g., potential cooling air saving has been identified on several areas. The first SGT-800 with 50.5 MW rating was successfully operated and tested during the spring 2010 and the expected performance figures were confirmed. Up to January 2013, the fleet of this new rating has accumulated >40 000 Equivalent Operation hours (EOH), while the fleet leader has accumulated >16 000 EOH. A planned follow up inspection was made after 10 000 EOH by using borescope for the hot section, and it showed that all the turbine parts were in good condition.


Author(s):  
Norihiko Iki ◽  
Hirohide Furutani ◽  
Sanyo Takahashi

The mirror gas turbine proposed by Tsujikawa and Fujii extends the applications of turbo machinery. The characteristic component of a mirror gas turbine is a thermal generator, which is a kind of “inverted Brayton cycle”. The operating sequence of the thermal generator is reverse that of an ordinary gas turbine, namely, the hot working fluid is first expanded, and then cooled, compressed, and finally exhausted. In this work, we investigated the theoretical feasibility of inserting a thermal generator to a small reheat gas turbine of 30–100kW classes. Using process simulator software, we calculated and compared the thermal efficiency of this reheat gas turbine to that of a micro gas turbine under several conditions, turbine inlet temperature. This comparison showed that the performances of the both gas turbines are significantly influenced by the performance of the heat exchanger used for the recuperator. The efficiency of the micro gas turbine is also improved by using water injection into the compressor to cool the inlet gas. The resulting thermal efficiency of this reheat gas turbine is about 7% higher than that of a micro gas turbine with the same power unit.


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