Gas Turbine and

Combined Cycles
History:
A Gas turbine is a Turbo-machine and basically similar to steam turbine regarding its
working principle.
The first turbine to produce useful work was probably a wind mill, where no
compression and no combustion exist.
Nowadays gas turbine include a compression process and combustion process.
Joule and brayton independently proposed the cycle that is the ideal prototype.
What is a Gas Turbine
The Gas Turbine is the engine at the heart of the power plant that produces electric
current.
A gas turbine is a combustion engine that can convert natural gas or other liquid fuels to
mechanical energy. This energy then drives a generator that produces electrical energy.
It is electrical energy that moves along power lines to homes and businesses.
How the Gas Generator Produces
Electricity
To generate electricity, the gas turbine heats a mixture of air and fuel at very
high temperatures, causing the turbine blades to spin. The spinning turbine
drives a generator that converts the energy into electricity.
The gas turbine can be used in combination with a steam turbine—in a
combined-cycle power plant—to create power extremely efficiently.
1. Air-fuel mixture ignites.
◦ The gas turbine compresses air and mixes it with fuel that is then burned at extremely high
temperatures, creating a hot gas.
2. Hot gas spins turbine blades
◦ The hot air-and-fuel mixture moves through blades in the turbine, causing
them to spin quickly.
How the Gas Generator Produces
Electricity
3. Spinning blades turn the drive shaft.
◦ The fast-spinning turbine blades rotate the turbine drive shaft.
4. Turbine rotation powers the generator.
◦ The spinning turbine is connected to the rod in a generator that turns a large
magnet surrounded by coils of copper wire.
5. Generator magnet causes electrons to move and creates electricity.
◦ The fast-revolving generator magnet creates a powerful magnetic field that
lines up the electrons around the copper coils and causes them to move.
◦ The movement of these electrons through a wire is electricity.
Working Principle
Gas turbines work on Brayton Cycle
◦ Air is compressed (squeezed) to high pressure by a compressor
◦ Then fuel and compressed air are mixed in a combustion chamber and
ignited.
◦ Hot gases are given off, which spin the turbine wheels
Components of Gas Turbine
Gas turbine have three main parts:
◦ Air Compressor
◦ Combustion Chamber
◦ Turbine
Air Compressor
The air compressor and turbine are mounted at either end on a
common shaft, with the combustion chamber between them.
Gas turbines are not self starting. A starting motor is used.
The air compressor sucks in air and compresses it, thereby increasing
its pressure.
Combustion chamber
In the combustion chamber, the compressed air combines with fuel
and the resulting mixture is burnt.
The greater the pressure of air, the better the fuel air mixture burns.
Modern gas turbines usually use liquid fuel, but they may also use
gaseous fuel, natural gas or gas produced artificially by gasification of
a solid fuel.
Turbine
Hot gases move through a multistage gas turbine.
Like in steam turbine, the gas turbine also has stationary and moving
blades.
The station nary blades
◦ Guide the moving gases to the rotor blades
◦ Adjust its velocity
The shaft of the turbine is coupled to a generator.
Types of Gas Turbine
Open Cycle Gas Turbine – It consists of a compressor, combustion chamber and a turbine. The
compressor takes in ambient air and raises its pressure. Heat is added to the air in combustion
chamber by burning the fuel and raises its temperature.
The heated gases coming out of combustion chamber are then passed to the turbine where is
expands doing mechanical work.
Types of Gas Turbine
Close Cycle Gas Turbine – It uses air as working medium. In closed cycle
gas turbine plant, the working fluid (air or any other suitable gas) coming
out from compressor is heated in a heater by an external source at
constant pressure.
The high temperature and high pressure air coming out from the external
heater is passed through the gas turbine.
The fluid coming out from the turbine is cooled to its original temperature
in the cooler using external cooling source before passing to the
compressor.
The working fluid is continuously used in the system without its change of
phase and the required heat is given to the working fluid in the heat
exchanger.
Combined Gas-Vapor Power Cycle
The continued quest for higher thermal efficiencies has resulted in
rather innovative modifications to conventional power plants. The
binary vapor cycle discussed later is one such modification. A more
popular modification involves a gas power cycle topping a vapor
power cycle, which is called the combined gas–vapor cycle, or just
the combined cycle. The combined cycle of greatest interest is the
gas-turbine (Brayton) cycle topping a steamturbine (Rankine) cycle,
which has a higher thermal efficiency than either of the cycles
executed individually. Gas-turbine cycles typically operate at
considerably higher temperatures than steam cycles.
Combined Gas-Vapor Power Cycle
The maximum fluid temperature at the turbine inlet is about 620°C
(1150°F) for modern steam power plants, but over 1425°C (2600°F)
for gas-turbine power plants. It is over 1500°C at the burner exit of
turbojet engines. The use of higher temperatures in gas turbines is
made possible by recent developments in cooling the turbine blades
and coating the blades with high-temperature-resistant materials
such as ceramics. Because of the higher average temperature at
which heat is supplied, gas-turbine cycles have a greater potential for
higher thermal efficiencies.
Combined Gas-Vapor Power Cycle
However, the gas-turbine cycles have one inherent disadvantage:
The gas leaves the gas turbine at very high temperatures (usually
above 500°C), which erases any potential gains in the thermal
efficiency. The situation can be improved somewhat by using
regeneration, but the improvement is limited. It makes engineering
sense to take advantage of the very desirable characteristics of the
gas-turbine cycle at high temperatures and to use the high
temperature exhaust gases as the energy source for the bottoming
cycle such as a steam power cycle.
Combined Gas-Vapor Power Cycle
Combined Gas-Vapor Power Cycle
In this cycle, energy is recovered from the exhaust gases by transferring it
to the steam in a heat exchanger that serves as the boiler. In general,
more than one gas turbine is needed to supply sufficient heat to the
steam. Also, the steam cycle may involve regeneration as well as
reheating. Energy for the reheating process can be supplied by burning
some additional fuel in the oxygen-rich exhaust gases. Recent
developments in gas-turbine technology have made the combined gas–
steam cycle economically very attractive. The combined cycle increases
the efficiency without increasing the initial cost greatly. Consequently,
many new power plants operate on combined cycles, and many more
existing steam- or gas-turbine plants are being converted to combined-
cycle power plants. Thermal efficiencies well over 40 percent are reported
as a result of conversion.
Auxiliary Systems
The three main sections of a Gas Turbine are the Compressor,
Combustor and Turbine. The gas turbine power plant has to work
continuously for long period of time without output and
performance decline. Apart from the main sections there are other
important Auxiliaries systems which are required for operating a Gas
Turbine Power Plant on a long term basis.
Air Intake System
provides clean air into the compressor. During continuous operation the
impurities and dust in the air deposits on the compressor blades. This reduces
the efficiency and output of the plant . The Air Filter in the Air Intake system
prevents this.
A blade cleaning system comprising of a high pressure pump provides on line
cleaning facility for the compressor blades.
The flow of the large amount of air into the compressor creates high noise
levels. A Silencer in the intake duct reduces the noise to acceptable levels.
Exhaust System
Exhaust system discharges the hot gases to a level which is safe for
the people and the environment. The exhaust gas that leaves the
turbine is around 550 °C. This includes an outlet stack high enough
for the safe discharge of the gases.
Silencer in the outlet stack reduces the noise to acceptable levels.
In Combined Cycle power plants the exhaust system has a ‘diverter
damper’ to change the flow of gases to the Heat Recovery Boilers
instead of the outlet stack.
Starting System
Starting system provides the initial momentum for the Gas Turbine to
reach the operating speed. This is similar to the starter motor of your car.
The gas turbine in a power plant runs at 3000 RPM (for the 50 Hz grid –
3600 RPM for the 60 Hz grid). During starting the speed has to reach at
least 60 % for the turbine to work on its on inertia. The simple method is
to have a starter motor with a torque converter to bring the heavy mass
of the turbine to the required speed. For large turbines this means a big
capacity motor. The latest trend is to use the generator itself as the starter
motor with suitable electrics. In situations where there is no other start
up power available, like a ship or an off-shore platform or a remote
location, a small diesel or gas engine is used.
Fuel System
The Fuel system prepares a clean fuel for burning in the combustor. Gas
Turbines normally burn Natural gas but can also fire diesel or distillate
fuels. Many Gas Turbines have dual firing capabilities.
A burner system and ignition system with the necessary safety interlocks
are the most important items. A control valve regulates the amount of
fuel burned . A filter prevents entry of any particles that may clog the
burners. Natural gas directly from the wells is scrubbed and cleaned prior
to admission into the turbine. External heaters heat the gas for better
combustion.
For liquid fuels high pressure pumps pump fuel to the pressure required
for fine atomisation of the fuel for burning.
These are the main Aiuxiliary systems in a Gas Turbine Power Plant.
Many other systems and subsystems also form part of the complex
system required for the operation of the Gas Turbine Power Plant.