Session: 08-08. Hydrogen Fuel: Considerations and Demos

Paper Number: 126838

126838 - Impact of Hydrogen Fuel Retrofits to Gas Turbine Performance and Hot Gas Path
Components 

Hydrogen is gaining prominence as a carbon reduction strategy for gas turbines by end users and equipment manufacturers within the power generation industry.  The cost of new gas turbine units is restrictive and many are already in service with remaining life. Therefore, there is a growing interest in retrofitting existing gas turbines that historically run on conventional fuels like natural gas and liquid oil.  Though many gas turbine combustors currently run on small amounts of hydrogen, such older units have not been specifically designed to use high quantities of hydrogen as a fuel. Among the many technical challenges of implementing hydrogen on existing units are the potential impact to performance and to hot gas path components durability. The effects on performance can vary depending on the existing combustion system configuration, as some combustors utilize water or steam injection, and some operate in a dry mode.  The current study provides insights into retrofitting dry combustors (i.e., without water or steam injection for emissions control), their influence on gas turbine performance, and potential implications to the hot section components.  Two analytical models are employed.  The first is a gas turbine performance code used to assess the effects of fuel composition changes on performance parameters such as output, heat rate, firing temperature, exhaust temperature, etc. The second is a thermal fatigue cycle model used to study the effects of the varied combustion products including high amount of H2O on the turbine components.  Discussion is also provided to aid readers with the effects of H2O on downstream components such as a heat recovery steam generator and steam cycle.

Presenting Author: Riddhi Kapoor Thomassen Energy BV

Presenting Author Biography: Riddhi Kapoor is a Systems Engineer at Thomassen Energy, a leading company that provides clean energy solutions to heavy-duty gas turbines worldwide. Currently, she focuses on developing hydrogen-ready retrofit systems, gas turbine performance calculations, and digital combustion systems at Thomassen Energy.
Riddhi graduated with a specialization in gas turbine technology from the Technical University of Delft.

Authors:

Riddhi Kapoor Thomassen Energy BV
Timothy Bullard Power Systems Mfg.
Amir Shoraka Power Systems Mfg.
Kuo-Ting Hsia Power Systems Mfg.