Gas-turbine power plant

The gas turbine power plant which has revolutioni2ed aviation derives basically from the steam turbine adapted to a different working fluid. The difference is cmcial with respect to fuel because steam can be generated by any heat source, whereas the gas turbine requires a fuel that efficiently produces a very hot gas stream and is also compatible with the turbine itself. The hot gas stream results from converting chemical energy in fuel directly and continuously by combustion in compressed air. It is expanded in a turbine to produce useful work in the form of jet thmst or shaft power. 

In this chapter, a detailed technique with all the major equations governing a Gas Turbine Power Plant are presented based on the various ASME Test Codes. The following five ASME Test Codes govern the test of a Gas Turbine Power Plant ... 

This section deals with the equations, and techniques used to compute and simulate the various performance and mechanical parameters for the gas turbine power plant. The goals have been to be able to operate the entire power plant at its maximum design efficiency, and at the maximum power that can be obtained by the turbine without degrading the hot section life. 

Fig. 1.2 shows a gas turbine power plant operating on a closed circuit. The dotted chain control surface (F) surrounds a cyclic gas turbine power plant (or cyclic heat engine) through which air or gas circulates, and the combustion chamber is located within the second open control surface (Z). Heat (2b is transferred from Z to Y, and heat (2a is rejected from Y. The two control volumes form a complete power plant. 

The Joule-Brayton (JB) constant pressure closed cycle is the basis of the cyclic gas turbine power plant, with steady flow of air (or gas) through a compressor, heater, turbine, cooler within a closed circuit (Fig. 1.4). The turbine drives the compressor and a generator delivering the electrical power, heat is supplied at a constant pressure and is also rejected at constant pressure. The temperature-entropy diagram for this cycle is also... 

The heat supply to the cyclic gas turbine power plant of Fig. 1.2 comes from the control surface Z. Within this second control surface, a steady-flow heating device is supplied with reactants (fuel and air) and it discharges the products of combustion. We may define a second efficiency for the heating device (or boiler) efficiency. 

The overall efficiency of the entire gas turbine plant, including the cyclic gas turbine power plant (within T) and the heating device (within Z), is given by... 

In his search for high efficiency, the designer of a gas turbine power plant will attempt to emulate these features of the Carnot cycle. 

The first equation may be applied to a control volume CV surrounding a gas turbine power plant, receiving reactants at state Rg = Ro and discharging products at state Py = P4. As for the combustion process, we may subtract the steady flow availability function for the equilibrium product state (Gpo) from each side of Eq. (2.47) to give... 

A third set of similar but simpler calculations were described by MacArthur [12] who applied aero-engine cooling technology to obtain improved performance of industrial type gas turbine power plants. 

Harvey, S.P., Knoche, K.E. and Richter, H.J. (1995), Reduction of combu.stion irreversibility in a gas turbine power plant through off-gas recycling, ASME J. Engng Gas Turbines Power 117(1), 24-30. 

Restructuring will promote the introduction of other advanced technologies and practices as well. For example, the use of combined-cycle, gas turbine power plants are expected to proliferate under restructuring. These plants are generally more efficient and more environmentally benign than many fossil fuel plants currently in use. 

Perhaps the first approach to the modern conception of the gas-turbine power plant was that described in... 

The JAEA selects the IS-process to be the basis for commercial development mainly because it is seen more suited to large-scale nuclear hydrogen production than HTE [9] and other alternatives. However, an available HTE-based plant can be connected to the reactor in the same manner as the IS process plant is connected. The HTE similarly requires a high-temperature process heat, and about 25% of its total energy input is heat and the balance electricity, which are fully and efficiently met in-house by the reactor heat and gas turbine power plant. 

A gas turbine power plant requires hot, high-pressure gases produced by burning oil or natural gas. The hot exhaust gases can be used to create steam in a boiler system. The efficiency can approach 90% if the system is properly designed. 

The most recent system is a 220 kilowatt fuel cell/gas turbine power plant operating at the University of California s National Fuel Cell Research Center located in Irvine, California. The first-of-a-kind hybrid power plant consists of a 200 kilowatt fuel cell generator pressurized at about 3.5 atmospheres in combination with a 20 kilowatt two-shaft gas turbine. The system was first run at the Pittsburgh facility and started operating at Irvine in June, 2000. Total run time until July, 2000 was 264 hours. Electric energy delivered was 42 megawatt-hours. Electric efficiency was 51% (LHV). An electric power feed-through mounted on the pressure vessel devel-... 

A regenerative gas-turbine power plant is to be designed according to the following specifications ... 

A combined split-shaft gas turbine power plant and gas refrigeration system to be used in an airplane, as illustrated in Fig. 6.41a, has been designed by a junior engineer. 

During the cruise condition, the split-shaft gas turbine power plant required to produce 240 kW and 10% of the compressed air, is used in the gas refrigeration system, which is required to remove 7kW from the cabin. 

During the take-off condition, the split-shaft gas turbine power plant is required to produce 300 kW. 

Figure 6.41a Combined gas turbine power plant and gas refrigeration system design. 

Ghezel-Ayagh, H., Lukas, M. and Junker, S. (2004) Dynamic modeling and simulation of a hybrid fuel cell/gas turbine power plant for control system development, in Proceedings of the Second... 

Hahn A. (2002) Modeling and control of solid oxide fuel cell, gas turbine power plant systems. Thesis, University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering. 

This feature of FBC is very attractive for development of coTT-fired gas turbine power plants where the presence of alkaline material in the turbine inlet gas produces unacceptable corrosion problems. 

Example 8.4 A gas-turbine power plant operates with a pressure ratio PB/PA of 6. The temperature of the air entering the compressor is 25°C, and the maximum permissible temperature in the turbine is 760°C. 

An elementary nuclear-powered gas-turbine power plant operates as shown in Fig. P16.22. entering at point 1 is compressed adiabatically to point 2, heated at constant pressure between ... 

The feasibility of the dispersion fuels concept for applica--tion to gas turbine power plants is evaluated from disper-sion fuels formulation studies, from the results of single droplet tests directed toward demonstration of the droplet shattering process, and from the results of initial burner tests of dispersion fuels. Results demonstrate the existence of the microexplosion phenomenon in single-droplet combustion experiments. Gas turbine combustor tests indicate that fuel emulsification may alter favorably the efficiency of a practical gas turbine combustor without adversely affecting the turbine inlet temperature profile or CO, and smoke emissions. 

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