Comparison of Different Gas Turbine Inlet Air Cooling Methods
Gas turbine air inlet cooling is a useful method for
increasing output for regions where significant power demand and
highest electricity prices occur during the warm months. Inlet air
cooling increases the power output by taking advantage of the gas
turbine-s feature of higher mass flow rate when the compressor inlet
temperature decreases. Different methods are available for reducing
gas turbine inlet temperature. There are two basic systems currently
available for inlet cooling. The first and most cost-effective system is
evaporative cooling. Evaporative coolers make use of the evaporation
of water to reduce the gas turbine-s inlet air temperature. The second
system employs various ways to chill the inlet air. In this method, the
cooling medium flows through a heat exchanger located in the inlet
duct to remove heat from the inlet air. However, the evaporative
cooling is limited by wet-bulb temperature while the chilling can cool
the inlet air to temperatures that are lower than the wet bulb
temperature. In the present work, a thermodynamic model of a gas
turbine is built to calculate heat rate, power output and thermal
efficiency at different inlet air temperature conditions. Computational
results are compared with ISO conditions herein called "base-case".
Therefore, the two cooling methods are implemented and solved for
different inlet conditions (inlet temperature and relative humidity).
Evaporative cooler and absorption chiller systems results show that
when the ambient temperature is extremely high with low relative
humidity (requiring a large temperature reduction) the chiller is the
more suitable cooling solution. The net increment in the power output
as a function of the temperature decrease for each cooling method is
also obtained.
[1] Farzaneh-Gord, M.; Deymi-Dashtebayaz, M. Effect of various inlet air
cooling methods on gas turbine performance. Energy, 36, 1196-1205,
2011.
[2] ASHRAE. ASHRAE Handbook - HVAC Systems and equipment (SI).
Atlanta, 2008.
[3] Al-Ibrahim A. M.; Varnham, A. A review of inlet air-cooling
technologies for enhancing the performance of combustion turbines in
Saudi Arabia. Applied Thermal Engineering, 30, 1879-1888, 2010.
[4] Amell, A. A.; Cadavid, F. J. Influence of the Relative Humidity on the
Air Cooling Thermal Load in Gas Turbine Power Plant. Applied
Thermal Engineering, 22, 1529-1533, 2002.
[5] Ibrahim, T. K.; Rahman M. M.; Abdalla A. N. Improvement of gas
turbine performance based on inlet air cooling systems: A technical
review. International Journal of Physical Sciences, 6 (4), 620-627, 2011.
[6] Jaber, Q. M. Jaber, J. O.; Khawaldah, M. A. Assessment of power
augmentation from gas turbine power plants using different inlet air
cooling systems. Jordan Journal of Mechanical and industrial
Engineering, 1(1), 7-15, 2007.
[7] Alhazmy, M. M.; Najjar, Y. S. H. Augmentation of gas turbine
performance using air coolers. Applied Thermal Engineering, 24,415-
429, 2004.
[8] Nasser, A. E. M.; El-Kalay, M. A. A heat-recovery cooling system to
conserve energy in gas-turbine power stations in the Arabian Gulf.
Applied Energy, 38 (2), 133-142, 1991.
[9] Dawoud, B.; Zurigat Y. H.; Bortmany, J. Thermodynamic assessment of
power requirements and impact of different gas-turbine inlet air cooling
techniques at two different locations in Oman. Applied Thermal
Engineering, 25, 1579-1598, 2005.
[10] Hosseini, R.; Beshkani, A.; Soltani, M. Performance improvement of gas
turbines of Fars (Iran) combined cycle power plant by intake air cooling
using a media evaporative cooler. Energy Conversion and Management,
48, 1055-1064, 2007.
[11] Brooks, F. J. GE Gas turbine performance characteristics. GE Power
Systems. Schenectady, NY. GER-3567H.
[1] Farzaneh-Gord, M.; Deymi-Dashtebayaz, M. Effect of various inlet air
cooling methods on gas turbine performance. Energy, 36, 1196-1205,
2011.
[2] ASHRAE. ASHRAE Handbook - HVAC Systems and equipment (SI).
Atlanta, 2008.
[3] Al-Ibrahim A. M.; Varnham, A. A review of inlet air-cooling
technologies for enhancing the performance of combustion turbines in
Saudi Arabia. Applied Thermal Engineering, 30, 1879-1888, 2010.
[4] Amell, A. A.; Cadavid, F. J. Influence of the Relative Humidity on the
Air Cooling Thermal Load in Gas Turbine Power Plant. Applied
Thermal Engineering, 22, 1529-1533, 2002.
[5] Ibrahim, T. K.; Rahman M. M.; Abdalla A. N. Improvement of gas
turbine performance based on inlet air cooling systems: A technical
review. International Journal of Physical Sciences, 6 (4), 620-627, 2011.
[6] Jaber, Q. M. Jaber, J. O.; Khawaldah, M. A. Assessment of power
augmentation from gas turbine power plants using different inlet air
cooling systems. Jordan Journal of Mechanical and industrial
Engineering, 1(1), 7-15, 2007.
[7] Alhazmy, M. M.; Najjar, Y. S. H. Augmentation of gas turbine
performance using air coolers. Applied Thermal Engineering, 24,415-
429, 2004.
[8] Nasser, A. E. M.; El-Kalay, M. A. A heat-recovery cooling system to
conserve energy in gas-turbine power stations in the Arabian Gulf.
Applied Energy, 38 (2), 133-142, 1991.
[9] Dawoud, B.; Zurigat Y. H.; Bortmany, J. Thermodynamic assessment of
power requirements and impact of different gas-turbine inlet air cooling
techniques at two different locations in Oman. Applied Thermal
Engineering, 25, 1579-1598, 2005.
[10] Hosseini, R.; Beshkani, A.; Soltani, M. Performance improvement of gas
turbines of Fars (Iran) combined cycle power plant by intake air cooling
using a media evaporative cooler. Energy Conversion and Management,
48, 1055-1064, 2007.
[11] Brooks, F. J. GE Gas turbine performance characteristics. GE Power
Systems. Schenectady, NY. GER-3567H.
@article{"International Journal of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Sciences:51816", author = "Ana Paula P. dos Santos and Claudia R. Andrade and Edson L. Zaparoli", title = "Comparison of Different Gas Turbine Inlet Air Cooling Methods", abstract = "Gas turbine air inlet cooling is a useful method for
increasing output for regions where significant power demand and
highest electricity prices occur during the warm months. Inlet air
cooling increases the power output by taking advantage of the gas
turbine-s feature of higher mass flow rate when the compressor inlet
temperature decreases. Different methods are available for reducing
gas turbine inlet temperature. There are two basic systems currently
available for inlet cooling. The first and most cost-effective system is
evaporative cooling. Evaporative coolers make use of the evaporation
of water to reduce the gas turbine-s inlet air temperature. The second
system employs various ways to chill the inlet air. In this method, the
cooling medium flows through a heat exchanger located in the inlet
duct to remove heat from the inlet air. However, the evaporative
cooling is limited by wet-bulb temperature while the chilling can cool
the inlet air to temperatures that are lower than the wet bulb
temperature. In the present work, a thermodynamic model of a gas
turbine is built to calculate heat rate, power output and thermal
efficiency at different inlet air temperature conditions. Computational
results are compared with ISO conditions herein called "base-case".
Therefore, the two cooling methods are implemented and solved for
different inlet conditions (inlet temperature and relative humidity).
Evaporative cooler and absorption chiller systems results show that
when the ambient temperature is extremely high with low relative
humidity (requiring a large temperature reduction) the chiller is the
more suitable cooling solution. The net increment in the power output
as a function of the temperature decrease for each cooling method is
also obtained.", keywords = "Absorption chiller, evaporative cooling, gas turbine,
turbine inlet cooling.", volume = "6", number = "1", pages = "44-6", }