Session: 06-11 Advanced Simulation and testing

Paper Number: 154023

Comprehensive Method for Predicting Gas Turbine Cycle Performances Considering the Impact of Various Fuels 

Gas turbines have made significant progress in recent years, particularly in compressor and turbine efficiency due to breakthroughs in aerodynamics, such as the implementation of numerical flow simulations. The introduction of extensive cooling systems and thermal barrier coatings has substantially increased turbine inlet temperatures, leading to a marked improvement in cycle thermal efficiency. Additionally, the new role of gas turbines in the modern energy market requires the use of alternative, environmentally acceptable fuels like hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, or fuel mixtures. The properties of these alternative fuels have a substantial impact on combustion gas composition, turbine inlet temperature and mass flow, blade cooling, and overall gas turbine performance.

Many existing tools for cycle performance prediction rely on 0D compressor and turbine maps, which relate efficiency and pressure ratio to mass flow. However, these tools have limitations in accurately simulating the latest advancements in gas turbine technology.

The method proposed here eliminates the use of maps and interpolation. Instead, it employs a 2D approach based on detailed flow calculations for both the compressor and turbine at every operating point. This method integrates the processes in the compressor and turbine by incorporating detailed calculations for combustion, as well as the secondary and cooling air systems. The turbine inlet temperature is determined through an iterative procedure, ensuring precise performance predictions across all operating points. This approach allows for accurate simulation of air bleeds in the compressor and cooling injections into the turbine blades. It also accounts for the effects of inlet guide and stator vane adjustments on compressor behaviour. Furthermore, by modelling the combustion process the method can calculate the accurate gas composition impact of various fuels on gas turbine behaviour.

This methodology has been demonstrated using an industrial gas turbine. The procedure is fast, and robust, and enables the optimization of various design solutions during the development phase.

Presenting Author: Milan Petrovic University of Belgrade - Facuty of Mechanical Engineering

Presenting Author Biography: Milan Petrovic received his Dipl. Ing. degree from the University of Belgrade and Ph.D. from the University of Hanover, Germany, in 1995. He is professor of Thermal Turbomachinery and head of the Laboratory of Thermal Turbomachinery at the University of Belgrade.

Authors:

Milan V. Petrovic University of Belgrade - Facuty of Mechanical Engineering
Djordje Petkovic University of Belgrade - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Srdjan Milic University of Belgrade - Faculty of Mechnaical Engineering
Alexander Wiedermann TU Kaiserslautern
Robert Krewinkel Graz University of Technology, Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and Machine Dynamics