Gas Turbine Fundamentals

Basic Gas Turbine Cycle

A gas turbine operates by:
continuously drawing in fresh air
compressing the air to a higher pressure
adding and igniting fuel in the compressed air to increase its
energy
directing the high temperature, high pressure air into an
expansion turbine that converts the gas energy to the
mechanical energy of a rotating shaft
the resulting lower temperature, lower pressure gasses are
exhausted to atmosphere

Inlet
To ensure that the air supplied to the compressor is of
sufficient quality, gas turbines have a filter house prior
to the inlet bell mouth.
The filter house usually consists of several stages of
filters of increasing efficiency to remove any
particulate or debris that could damage the compressor
blades.

Inlet
The air at the inlet may also be heated or cooled,
depending upon the specific application and operating
conditions.

Compressor
The compressor of a 61B gas turbine is an 17 stage,
axial flow compressor.
Each stage consists of a set of rotor blades that increase
the velocity of the air, raising its kinetic energy.
This is followed by a set of stator blades that diffuse
the air to convert the kinetic energy into a pressure
increase.

Inlet Guide Vanes

The compressor is equipped with variable stator blades
at the inlet. These are referred to as variable inlet
guide vanes (VIGVs).
The angle of the VIGVs is controlled to provide for
smooth airflow through the compressor across the
entire speed range. This prevents compressor stall or
surge.

Inlet Guide Vanes

VIGVs are also positioned to control firing and
exhaust temperatures while the machine is carrying
load.

Combustion
The 61B combustion system consists of 10 chambers
arranged around the diameter of the compressor
discharge casing.
Here, the compressor discharge air is directed into the
chambers where it is mixed with fuel and ignited.
Transition pieces direct the hot gasses to the 1st stage
nozzles of the turbine.

Combustion
The DLN 2.6 combustion system consist of six nozzles
per combustion can, 5 located radially and 1 in the
center.
Each can also has quaternary fuel pegs located upstream
of the nozzles and arranged around circumference of the
can.
This is a fully premixed combustion system which is
capable of keeping NOx emissions in single digits.

Turbine
The 61B has a three stage turbine.
Each stage consists of a set of nozzles which increase
the velocity of the gasses and direct them toward the
rotating buckets. As the high energy gasses push
against the buckets, their kinetic energy is converted
into shaft power.

Exhaust
As the hot gasses leave the turbine, they are directed
into the exhaust system.
Exhaust systems contain duct work to transport the
gasses to a location desirable for release to the
atmosphere (i.e. not at face level) and may also contain
filters to reduce particulate emissions.
In combined cycle applications, the exhaust system will
contain the HRSG.

Turbine Performance
Gas turbine output is based on two parameters:
Compressor discharge pressure (CPD), and
Firing temperature (TF)

CPD
Compressor discharge pressure is determined by
compressor design and ambient conditions.
Pressure at the inlet and exhaust are approximately
equal to atmospheric pressure.
As CPD increases, the differential pressure across the
turbine stages will increase, therefore, more output
from the turbine.

Firing Temperature
Firing temperature is defined as the highest
temperature at which work is extracted.
In other words, it is the hot gas temperature at the
trailing edge of the 1st stage nozzle.
If this temperature increases, the energy of the hot gas
increases, resulting in more energy being transferred to
the turbine.

Gas Turbine Performance

Gas turbines are designed to produce a given output
based on assumed ambient conditions.
Since the gas turbine is an air breathing machine,
changes in ambient conditions will cause the output to
vary from its designed value.
Performance numbers are based on an ISO standard
conditions.

ISO Standard Day

59 Degrees F (15 Degrees C)
14.7 PSIA (1 ATM)
60% Relative Humidity

Fuel Type
Gas turbine output will vary with the type of fuel used
since some fuels have a higher heating value than
others.
Natural gas is the fuel that will supply the highest
output.

Evaporative Cooling
Since hotter air at the compressor inlet causes output
to drop, some plants use evaporative coolers which
lower inlet temperature by spraying a water fog at the
inlet.
This is of limited value, especially in more humid
locations, because the water fog will raise humidity
while lowering temperature.