Aero-thermodynamic Simulation of a Double-Shaft Industrial Evaporative Gas Turbine

A modeling study has been carried out in order to determine the behavior of evaporative industrial gas turbines power plants at part-load and for varying ambient temperature. On-design and off-design performance have been analyzed by means of a computational program developed for the analysis of advanced cycles. In order to verify the mathematical model and to evaluate the characteristics of up-to-date gas turbine technology, an industrial engine, presently available on the market, has been simulated. A double-shaft gas turbine for power generation has been considered. On-design performance and ratings vs. ambient temperature have been evaluated, with good accordance. It is assumed that, in order to realize a Recuperated Water Injected (RWI) cycle, the industrial gas turbine could be modified, maintaining substantially unchanged the compression system and modifying the turbine blades. The thermodynamic analysis of the cycle has been carried out in order to determine efficiency and power output as a function of the amount of water addition. The RWI cycle gas turbine has been designed and the characteristic maps of the two new turbines have been evaluated. The regulation is performed by means of the simultaneous manipulation of fuel flow rate, water rate, and position of the free turbine nozzle guide vanes (NGV). The regulation criteria, the interaction among the input variables, the safety of the operations (max. turbine inlet temperature, surge limits) and the optimization of the part-load efficiency, are examined and discussed. Ratings as a function of the ambient temperature are examined. The possibility to manipulate the water rate and the position of the NGV in order to provide high efficiency and power output, even on hot days, has been examined. The paper shows that maintaining constant the temperature at the power turbine exit, ratings decrease of 17% in power and 5% in efficiency.