Analysis of Gas Turbine Performance with Inlet Air Cooling Techniques Applied to Brazilian Sites

Santos, Ana Paula; Andrade, Cláudia R.

doi:10.5028/jatm.2012.04032012

Abstract:

For geographic regions where significant power demand and highest electricity prices occur during the warm months, a gas turbine inlet air cooling technique is a useful option for increasing output. Inlet air cooling increases the power output by taking advantage of the gas turbine's feature of higher mass flow rate, due the compressor inlet temperature decays. Industrial gas turbines that opera te at constant speed are constant-volume-flow combustion machines. As the specific volume of air is directly proportional to the temperature, the increases of the air density results in a higher air mass flow rate, once the volumetric rate is constant. Consequently, the gas turbine power output enhances. Different methods are available for reducing compressor intake air temperature. There are I two basic systems currently available for inlet cooling. The first and most cost-effective system is the evaporative cooling. Evaporative coolers make use of the evaporation of water to reduce the gas turbine inlet air temperature. The second system employs two ways to cool the inlet air: mechanical compression and absorption. In this method, the cooling medium flows through a heat exchanger located in the inlet duct to remove heat from the inlet air. In the present study, a thermodynamic analysis of gas turbine performance is carried out to calculate heat rate, power output and thermal efficiency at different inlet air temperature and relative humidity conditions. The results obtained I with this model are compared with the values of the condition without cooling herein named of Base-Case. Then, the three cooling techniques are computationally implemented and solved for different inlet conditions (inlet temperature and relative humidity). In addition, the gas turbine was tested under different cooling methods for two Brazilian sites, and comparison between chiller systems (mechanical and absorption) showed that the absorption chiller provides the highest increment in annual energy generation with lower unit energy costs. On the other hand, evaporative cooler offered the lowest unit energy cost but associated with a limited cooling potential.

Keywords:
Gas turbine; Turbine inlet cooling; TIC; Evaporative cooling; Chiller absorption

Full text available only in PDF format.

REFERENCES

Alhazmy, M. M. and Najjar, Y. S. H., 2004, "Augmentation of gas turbine performance using air coolers", Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 24, No. 2-3, pp. 415-429.
Al-Ibrahim, A. M. and Vamham, A., 2010, "A review of inlet air-cooling technologies for enhancing the performance of combustion turbines in Saudi Arabia", Applied Thermal Engineering, 30(14-15), pp. 1879-1888, 2010.
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers, 2008, "ASHRAE Handbook - HVAC Systems and equipment (SI)", CD-Rom, Atlanta, GA.
Amell, A. A. and Cadavid, F. J., 2002, "Influence of the relative humidity on the air cooling thermal load in gas turbine Power Plant". Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 22, No. 13, pp. 1529-1533.
Brooks, F. J., 2000, "GE Gas turbine performance characteristics", GE Power Systems, GER-3567H.
De Lucia, M. et al, 1994, "Performance and economic enhancement of cogeneration gas turbines through compressor inlet air cooling", Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 116, No. 2 pp. 360-365.
De Lucia, M. et al,1996, "Benefits of compressor inlet air cooling for gas turbine cogeneration plants", Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 118, No. 3, p. 598-603.
Farzaneh-Gord, M. and Deymi-Dashtebayaz, M., 2011, "Effect of various inlet air cooling methods on gas turbine performance", Energy, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 1196-1205.
Gareta, R. et al 2004, "Methodology for the economic evaluation of gas turbine air-cooling systems in combined cycle applications", Energy, Vol. 29, No. 11, pp. 1805-1818.
Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET), 2011, "Monitoramento das estações automáticas", from http://www.inmet.gov.br/sonabra/maps/pg_automaticas.php
» http://www.inmet.gov.br/sonabra/maps/pg_automaticas.php
Jaber, Q. M. et al, 2007, "Assessment of power augmentation from gas turbine power plants using different inlet air cooling systems", Jordan Journal Of Mechanical And Industrial Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 7-15.
Jaber, Q. M. et al, 2007, "Assessment of power augmentation from gas turbine power plants using different inlet air cooling systems", Jordan Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 7-15.
Kakaras, E. et al, 2006, "Inlet air cooling methods for gas turbine based power plants", Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 128, No. 2, pp. 312-317.
Mohanty, B. and Paloso Jr., G., 1995, "Enhancing gas turbine performance by intake air cooling using an absorption chiller", Heat Recovery Systems and CHP, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 41-50.
Najjar, Y. S. H., 1996, "Enhancement of performance of gas turbine engines by inlet air cooling and cogeneration system", Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 163-173.
Nasser, A. E. M. and El-Kalay, M. A., 1991, "Aheat-recovery cooling system to conserve energy in gas-turbine power stations in the Arabian Gulf", Applied Energy, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 133-142.
Punwani, D., 2003, "An introduction to turbine inlet cooling", Energy-Tech Magazine, pp.20-23.
Sigler, J. et al, 2001, "Gas turbine inlet air cooling using absorption refrigeration: A comparison based on a combined cycle process", ASME Paper No. 2001-GT-0408.
Zuniga, M. O. V., 2005, "Intake systems for industrial gas turbine", Cranfield University, United Kingdom.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
Jul-Sep 2012

History

Received
28 Mar 2012
Accepted
28 June 2012

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

[1] Alhazmy, M. M. and Najjar, Y. S. H., 2004, "Augmentation of gas turbine performance using air coolers", Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 24, No. 2-3, pp. 415-429.

[2] Al-Ibrahim, A. M. and Vamham, A., 2010, "A review of inlet air-cooling technologies for enhancing the performance of combustion turbines in Saudi Arabia", Applied Thermal Engineering, 30(14-15), pp. 1879-1888, 2010.

[3] American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers, 2008, "ASHRAE Handbook - HVAC Systems and equipment (SI)", CD-Rom, Atlanta, GA.

[4] Amell, A. A. and Cadavid, F. J., 2002, "Influence of the relative humidity on the air cooling thermal load in gas turbine Power Plant". Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 22, No. 13, pp. 1529-1533.

[5] Brooks, F. J., 2000, "GE Gas turbine performance characteristics", GE Power Systems, GER-3567H.

[6] De Lucia, M. et al, 1994, "Performance and economic enhancement of cogeneration gas turbines through compressor inlet air cooling", Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 116, No. 2 pp. 360-365.

[7] De Lucia, M. et al,1996, "Benefits of compressor inlet air cooling for gas turbine cogeneration plants", Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 118, No. 3, p. 598-603.

[8] Farzaneh-Gord, M. and Deymi-Dashtebayaz, M., 2011, "Effect of various inlet air cooling methods on gas turbine performance", Energy, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 1196-1205.

[9] Gareta, R. et al 2004, "Methodology for the economic evaluation of gas turbine air-cooling systems in combined cycle applications", Energy, Vol. 29, No. 11, pp. 1805-1818.

[10] Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET), 2011, "Monitoramento das estações automáticas", from http://www.inmet.gov.br/sonabra/maps/pg_automaticas.php
» http://www.inmet.gov.br/sonabra/maps/pg_automaticas.php

[11] Jaber, Q. M. et al, 2007, "Assessment of power augmentation from gas turbine power plants using different inlet air cooling systems", Jordan Journal Of Mechanical And Industrial Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 7-15.

[12] Jaber, Q. M. et al, 2007, "Assessment of power augmentation from gas turbine power plants using different inlet air cooling systems", Jordan Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 7-15.

[13] Kakaras, E. et al, 2006, "Inlet air cooling methods for gas turbine based power plants", Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 128, No. 2, pp. 312-317.

[14] Mohanty, B. and Paloso Jr., G., 1995, "Enhancing gas turbine performance by intake air cooling using an absorption chiller", Heat Recovery Systems and CHP, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 41-50.

[15] Najjar, Y. S. H., 1996, "Enhancement of performance of gas turbine engines by inlet air cooling and cogeneration system", Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 163-173.

[16] Nasser, A. E. M. and El-Kalay, M. A., 1991, "Aheat-recovery cooling system to conserve energy in gas-turbine power stations in the Arabian Gulf", Applied Energy, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 133-142.

[17] Punwani, D., 2003, "An introduction to turbine inlet cooling", Energy-Tech Magazine, pp.20-23.

[18] Sigler, J. et al, 2001, "Gas turbine inlet air cooling using absorption refrigeration: A comparison based on a combined cycle process", ASME Paper No. 2001-GT-0408.

[19] Zuniga, M. O. V., 2005, "Intake systems for industrial gas turbine", Cranfield University, United Kingdom.

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