Exergy Analysis of a Hybrid Micro Gas Turbine Fuel Cell System Based on Existing Components

A hybrid system based on an existing recuperated microturbine and a pre-commercially available high temperature tubular solid oxide fuel cell is modeled in order to study its performance. Individual models are developed for the microturbine and fuel cell generator and merged into a single one in order to set up the hybrid system. The model utilizes performance maps for the compressor and turbine components for the part load operation. The full and partial load exergetic performance is studied and the amounts of exergy destruction and efficiency of each hybrid system component are presented, in order to evaluate the irreversibilities and thermodynamic inefficiencies. Moreover, the effects of various performance parameters such as fuel cell stack temperature and fuel utilization factor are investigated. Based on the available results, suggestions are given in order to reduce the overall system irreversibility. Finally, the environmental impact of the hybrid system operation is evaluated.

Design Criteria and Optimization of Heat Recovery Steam Cycles for High-Efficiency, Coal-Fired, Fischer-Tropsch Plants

In this work, the “HRSC Optimizer”, a recently developed optimization methodology for the design of Heat Recovery Steam Cycles (HRSCs), Steam Generators (HRSGs) and boilers, is applied to the design of steam cycles for three interesting coal fired, gasification based, plants with CO2 capture: a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis process with high recycle fraction of the unconverted FT gases (CTL-RC-CCS), a FT synthesis process with once-through reactor (CTL-OT-CCS), and an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC-CCS) based on the same technologies. The analysis reveals that designing efficient HRSCs for the IGCC and the once-through FT plant is relatively straightforward, while designing the HRSC for plant CTL-RC-CCS is very challenging because the recoverable thermal power is concentrated at low temperatures (i.e., below 260 °C) and only a small fraction can be used to superheat steam. As a consequence of the improved heat integration, the electric efficiency of the three plants is increased by about 2 percentage points with respect to the solutions previously published.

The Effective Positions to Inject Water Into the Cascade of Compressor

Generally, droplets are injected into air at inlet or interstage of a compressor. However, both cases did not consider how to utilize the kinetic energy of these moving droplets. Under the adverse pressure gradient of compressor, the lower energy fluids of blade surfaces and endwalls boundary layers would accumulate and separate. Kinetic droplets could accelerate the lower energy fluids and eliminate the separation. This paper mainly investigate the effective positions where to inject water and how to utilize the droplets’ kinetic energy. Four different injecting positions, which located on the suction surface and endwall, are chosen. The changes of vortexes in the compressor cascade are discussed carefully. In addition, the influences of water injection on temperature, total pressure losses and Mach number are analyzed. Numerical simulations are performed for a highly loaded compressor cascade with ANSYS CFX software.

Behavior of Secondary Flow in a Low Solidity Tandem Cascade Diffuser

Low solidity circular cascade diffuser abbreviated by LSD was proposed by Senoo et al. showing a high blade loading or a high lift coefficient without stall even under small flow rate conditions. These high performances were achieved by that the flow separation on the suction surface of the LSD blade was successfully suppressed by the secondary flow formed along the side walls. The higher performance of the LSD was achieved in both pressure recovery and operating range by adopting the tandem cascade because the front blade of the tandem cascade was designed suitably for small flow rates while the rear blade of the tandem cascade was designed suitably for large flow rates. In order to clarify the reason why the tandem cascade could achieve a high pressure recovery in a wide range of flow rate, the flow in the LSD with the tandem cascade is analyzed numerically in the present study by using the commercial CFD code of ANSYS-CFX 13.0. The behavior of the secondary flow is compared between the cases with the single cascade and the tandem one. It is found that the high blade loading of the front blade is achieved at the small flow rate by formation of the favorable secondary flow which suppresses the flow separation on suction surface of the front blade, and the flow separation on pressure surface of the front blade appeared at the design flow rate can be suppressed by the accelerated flow in the gap between the trailing edge of the front blade and the leading edge of the rear blade, resulting in the positive lift coefficient in spite of a large negative angle of attack.

Smart Polygeneration Grid: Control and Optimization System

This study aims at the development of a software tool for supply and demand matching of electrical and thermal energy in an urban district. In particular, the tool has been developed for E-NERDD, the experimental district that TPG-DIMSET is going to build in Savona, Italy. E-NERDD is an acronym for Energy and Efficiency Research Demonstration District. It is one of the districts that will be used within the project to demonstrate how different software tools and algorithms perform in thermodynamic, economic and environmental terms. The software tool originally developed for and implemented in this work, called E-NERDD Control System, is targeted on enabling the operation of the hardware, when connected in a district mode. Supply and demand are matched to reach a thermoeconomic optimum. An optimization algorithm is organized into two different levels of optimization: a first level that resolves a constrained minimization problem in planning power supply for each generator on the basis of day-before forecasting; and a second level that distributes among the different machines the gap between planned and real-time demand. The algorithm developed is demonstrated in four test cases in order to test it in different working conditions.

Evolution and Future Trend of Large Frame Gas Turbines: A New 1600 Degree C, J Class Gas Turbine

MHI recently developed a 1600°C class J-type gas turbine, utilizing some of the technologies developed in the National Project to promote the development of component technology for the next generation 1700°C class gas turbine. This new frame is expected to achieve higher combined cycle efficiency and will contribute to reduce CO2 emissions. The target combined cycle efficiency of the J type gas turbine will be above 61.5% (gross, ISO standard condition, LHV) and the 1on1 combined cycle output will reach 460MW for 60Hz engine and 670MW for 50Hz engine. This new engine incorporates: 1) A high pressure ratio compressor based on the advanced M501H compressor, which was verified during the M501H development in 1999 and 2001. 2) Steam cooled combustor, which has accumulated extensive experience in the MHI G engine (> 1,356,000 actual operating hours). 3) State-of-art turbine designs developed through the 1700°C gas turbine component technology development program in Japanese National Project for high temperature components. This paper discusses the technical features and the updated status of the J-type gas turbine, especially the operating condition of the J-type gas turbine in the MHI demonstration plant, T-Point. The trial operation of the first M501J gas turbine was started at T-point in February 2011 on schedule, and major milestones of the trial operation have been met. After the trial operation, the first commercial operation has taken place as scheduled under a predominantly Daily-Start-and-Stop (DSS) mode. Afterward, MHI performed the major inspection in October 2011 in order to check the mechanical condition, and confirmed that the hot parts and other parts were in sound condition.

Wind Energy Resource Assessment and Power Production Estimates as an Undergraduate Project

It is common practice to install wind-monitoring stations in geographical locations having high winds to estimate power production prior to installing large-scale wind farms. For the current study, a wind-monitoring program was developed as an educational tool for undergraduate engineering students at West Virginia University. The focus of this paper is not on the results of the assessment, but rather on how this program was used as a hands-on approach for educating students about wind energy and availability. The objective of the student/industry collaborative project was to determine the feasibility of constructing a wind farm to power a federal prison facility located in an area with an abundant wind resource in North Central West Virginia, while educating students on wind energy. This paper presents a description and assessment of this program as an undergraduate senior design project. As part of the program, students played a key role from the developmental stages of the project, to the assessment of the results. During the first semester of the senior design project, students procured a wind monitoring station based on down-select criteria, selected the site for construction, installed the wind monitoring station, commissioned the sensor suite, and performed quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) of and evaluated the initial data sets. Students logged data through the second semester of the program, performed data quality monitoring, processed average wind speed and direction data into frequency distributions and wind roses, analyzed monthly and diurnal averages in wind resources and performed power production calculations. Several different methodologies were employed, including application of fluid control volume energy analysis to derive Betz’ limit, turbine efficiency curves with operational limits and Weibull statistics to employ online power production estimators. The program successfully introduced students to the applicability of their engineering education to the area of renewable energy.

Risk-Based Assessment of Unplanned Outage Events and Costs for Combined-Cycle-Plants

Unexpected outages and maintenance costs reduce plant availability and can consume significant resources to restore the unit to service. Although companies may have the means to estimate cash flow requirements for scheduled maintenance and on-going operations, estimates for unplanned maintenance and its impact on revenue are more difficult to quantify, and a large fleet is needed for accurate assessment of its variability. This paper describes a study that surveyed 388 combined-cycle plants based on 164 D/E-class and 224 F-class gas turbines, for the time period of 1995 to 2009. Strategic Power Systems, Inc. (SPS®), manager of the Operational Reliability Analysis Program (ORAP®), identified the causes and durations of forced outages and unscheduled maintenance and established overall reliability and availability profiles for each class of plant in 3 five-year time periods. This study of over 3,000 unit-years of data from 50 Hz and 60 Hz combined-cycle plants provides insight into the types of events having the largest impact on unplanned outage time and cost, as well as the risks of lost revenue and unplanned maintenance costs which affect plant profitability. Outage events were assigned to one of three subsystems: the gas turbine equipment, heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) equipment, or steam turbine equipment, according to the Electric Power Research Institute’s Equipment Breakdown Structure (EBS). Costs to restore the unit to service for each main outage cause were estimated, as were net revenues lost due to unplanned outages. A statistical approach to estimated costs and lost revenues provides a risk-based means to quantify the impact of unplanned events on plant cash flow as a function of class of gas turbine, plant subsystem, and historical timeframe. This statistical estimate of the costs of unplanned outage events provides the risk-based assessment needed to define the range of probable costs of unplanned events. Results presented in this paper demonstrate that non-fuel operation and maintenance costs are increased by roughly 8% in a typical combined-cycle power plant due to unplanned maintenance events, but that a wide range of costs can occur in any single year.

Electrical Static Discharge in Turbo Machinery

An industrial gas turbine had a reoccurring failure with its accessory gearbox. The gearbox would run for a few days and then begin to show increased vibrations. The vibration level would gradually increase until the turbine alarm and trip signals operated. Studies at the time suggested alignment and accessory coupling issues were the cause. After many realignments and gears being changed the problem persisted. Eventually the gearbox replaced as it was suspected the original had internal alignment issues. This proved to be unsuccessful and the problem continued. At the time of the unit’s last overhaul it was discovered the generator’s non-drive-end bearings insulation had failed and could not be rectified in time for its return to operation. It was then decided to install a second rotor earthing brush to the non-drive-end of the generator. The writer reviewed all the historical and current date including a site inspection of the plant. Initial inspection of the gear damage indicated excessive misalignment and gear tooth overload. Finally, examination of the shell bearing liners had indications consistent with Electrical Static Discharge [ESD]. This had been overlooked; interpretation of the marking was due to unusual misalignment and the gear shaft.

Aeroacoustic Optimization for Axial Fans With the Lattice-Boltzmann Method

A set of aeroacoustic optimization strategies for axial fans is presented. Their efficiency is demonstrated for small axial fans. Thereby, the generated noise could be reduced significantly while retaining or even improving the aerodynamic performance. In particular, we discuss the following two optimization strategies in detail: Firstly, we consider the design of winglets using a parametric model for genetic optimization. The resulting winglet geometry helps to control the tip vortex over a large range of operating points, thereby reducing the generated noise. In addition, the power consumption of the fan could be reduced. Various choices of geometrical parameter sets for optimization are evaluated. Secondly, we discuss the reduction of fan noise via contour optimized turbulators. For axial fans it is desirable to reduce sound emission across a broad operating range, not just for the design point. However, operation in off-design points may be accompanied by flow separation phenomena, which contribute predominantly to noise generation and reduce the aerodynamic performance of the fan. Turbulators can help to minimize these adverse effects. The advantages of various contoured turbulator geometries are discussed for off-design operating points. The optimization of the above mentioned strategies was driven by aeroacoustic measurements via physical tests as well as numerical analysis based on the Lattice-Boltzmann method. The merits of either method are discussed with respect to the two optimization strategies.