Gas Turbines

Dr. Venkat Chintala

Associate Professor, Mech. Engg. Deptt.

Head, Institute of Alternate Energy Research (IAER), R&D
CoEs, UPES
 Contents
Working principle of GT
Gas cycles
Simple gas turbine cycle, cycles with heat
exchange, reheat and intercooled compression
Compressor and turbine efficiencies, pressure
losses, heat exchanger effectiveness, variation
of specific heats
Comparative performance of practical cycles.
Methods of accounting losses
Stagnation properties
 TURBINES: Machines to extract
fluid power from flowing fluids

Steam Water Wind Gas

Turbine Turbines Turbines Turbines

High Pressure, High Temperature gas

Generated inside the engine Aircraft Engines
Expands through a specially designed TURBINE Power Generation
 The most Unwanted Characteristic of
Rankine Group of Power Generation Systems

The amount of cooling required by any steam-cycle power

plant is determined by its thermal efficiency.
It has nothing essentially to do with whether it is fuelled
by coal, gas or uranium.
Where availability of cooling water is limited, cooling does
not need to be a constraint on new generating capacity.
Alternative cooling options are available at slightly higher
cost.
Nuclear power plants have greater flexibility in location
than coal-fired plants due to fuel logistics, giving them
more potential for their siting to be determined by cooling
considerations.
 Cooling Problems !!!!
The bigger the temperature difference
between the internal heat source and the
external environment where the surplus heat
is dumped, the more efficient is the process in
achieving mechanical work.
The desirability of having a high temperature
internally and a low temperature
environmentally.
In a coal-fired or conventionally gas-fired plant
it is possible to run the internal boilers at
higher temperatures than those with finely-
engineered nuclear fuel assemblies which
must avoid damage.
The external consideration gives rise to
 Steam Cycle Heat Transfer
For the heat transfer function the water is
circulated continuously in a closed loop steam
cycle and hardly any is lost.
The water needs to be clean and fairly pure.
This function is much the same whether the power
plant is nuclear, coal-fired, or conventionally gas-
fired.
Cooling to condense the steam and surplus
heat discharge.
The second function for water in such a power
plant is to cool the system so as to condense the
low-pressure steam and recycle it.
This is a major consideration in siting power
plants, and in the UK siting study in 2009 all
recommendations were for sites within 2 km of
 Water, Water & Water .!!!!!

A nuclear or coal plant running at 33% thermal

efficiency will need to dump about 14% more
heat than one at 36% efficiency.
Nuclear plants currently being built have about
34-36% thermal efficiency, depending on site
(especially water temperature).
Older ones are often only 32-33% efficient.
The relatively new Stanwell coal-fired plant in
Queensland runs at 36%, but some new coal-
fired plants approach 40% and one of the new
nuclear reactors claims 39%.
 GAS TURBINES
Invented in 1930 by Frank Whittle
Patented in 1934
First used for aircraft propulsion in 1942 on Me262 by
Germans during second world war
Currently most of the aircrafts and ships use GT engines
Used for power generation
Manufacturers: General Electric, Pratt &Whitney,
SNECMA, Rolls Royce, Honeywell, Siemens
Westinghouse, Alstom
Indian take: Kaveri Engine by GTRE (DRDO)
History of the gas turbine
150 BC Hero, Aeolipile
1232 - Chinese began to use rockets
as weapons (battle of Kai Keng)
1629 - Giovanni Branca developed a
stamping mill
History of the gas turbine
1687 - Sir Isaac Newton
announces the three laws of
motion
1. Every object in a state of uniform
motion tends to remain in that
state of motion unless an external
force is applied to it (Galileos concept
of inertia)
2. F = ma
3. For every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction.
 History of the gas turbine
1872 - Dr. F. Stolze designed the
first true gas turbine engine
multistage axial compressor and
turbine turbomachinery wideal c p T3 T4 c p T2 T1

No net power output. compressor power
turbine power output requiremen t
Brayton cycle is loss sensitive! wactual c p T3 T4 a c p T2 a T1
Specific work output = w [J/kg]
= difference between two large decreases in
real cycle
increases in
real cycle
numbers
1903 - Aegidius Elling of
Norway built the first
successful gas turbine
both rotary compressors and
turbines - the first gas turbine
with excess power.
History gas turbine
Sir Frank Whittle, England
patented a design for a gas
turbine for jet propulsion.
The specifications of the first jet
engine were: Airflow=25 lb/s, Fuel
Consumption = 200 gal/hr or 1300
lb/hr, Thrust = 1000 lb, Specific Fuel
consumption = 1.3 lb/hr/lb
Powered the Gloster E28/39
Britain on 15 May 1941.
 Advantages and Disadvantages
Great power-to- Expensive:
weight ratio compared high speeds and high operating
temperatures
to reciprocating designing and manufacturing
engines. gas turbines is a tough problem
from both the engineering and
Smaller than their materials standpoint
reciprocating Tend to use more fuel when
counterparts of the they are idling
same power. They prefer a constant rather
Lower emission than a fluctuating load.
levels

That makes gas turbines great for things like transcontinental jet
aircraft and power plants, but explains why we don't have one under
the hood of our car.
 Advantages
Very high power-to- weight ratio, compared to
reciprocating engines.

Smaller than most reciprocating engines of the

same power rating.

Fewer moving parts than reciprocating engines

Low operating pressures & High operation

speeds.

Low lubricating oil cost and consumption.

 Disadvantages
Higher Cost.

Less efficient than reciprocating engines at

idle.

Longer startup than reciprocating engines.

Less responsive to changes in power

demand compared to reciprocating engines.
 Gas turbine power plant
Advantages of gas turbine power plant :
Storage of fuel requires less area and handling is easy.
The cost of maintenance is less.
It is simple in construction. There is no need for boiler, condenser and other
accessories as in the case of steam power plants.
Cheaper fuel such as kerosene , paraffin, benzene and powdered coal can
be used which are cheaper than petrol and diesel.
Gas turbine plants can be used in water scarcity areas.
Less pollution and less water is required.

Disadvantages of gas turbine power plant :

66% of the power developed is used to drive the compressor. Therefore
the gas turbine unit has a low thermal efficiency.
The running speed of gas turbine is in the range of (40,000 to 100,000
rpm) and the operating temperature is as high as 1100 1260 0C. For this
reason special metals and alloys have to be used for the various parts of
the turbine.
High frequency noise from the compressor is objectionable.
4/27/17 16
 Applications
Applications
Turbojet engines

Marine field

Railway engines

Generation of electric
power

Industry
 Application in Aircraft

Nearly all the military aircrafts are powered by gas turbine.

These are used for the higher generation of power in plane.

Applications of gas turbine:
Gas turbines are used to drive pumps, compressors and high
speed cars.
Used in aircraft and ships for their propulsion. They are not
suitable for automobiles because of their very high speeds.
Power generation (used for peak load and as stand-by unit).

Note :
Gas turbines run at even higher temperatures than steam
turbines, the temperature may be as high as 1100 12600C.
The thermal efficiency of gas turbine made of metal
components do not exceed 36%.
Research is underway to use ceramic components at turbine
inlet temperature of 13500C or more, and reach thermal
efficiencies over 40% in a 300 kW unit.
4/27/17 19
 PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

Intake
Slow down incoming air
Remove distortions
Compressor
Dynamically Compress air
Combustor
Heat addition through chemical reaction
Turbine
Run the compressor
Nozzle/ Free Turbine
Generation of thrust power/shaft power
 1. To run the compressor
Engine power 2. To run the Propeller
(Air application) 3. To produce thrust in
propelling turbine

Engine power 1. To run the compressor

(Power application) 2. To run the alternator
How does Gas Turbine
works?
Gas turbine functions in the same way as
the Compressed Ignition Engine. It sucks in
air from the atmosphere, compresses it.

The fuel is injected and ignited. The gases

expand doing work and finally exhausts
outside.

The only difference is instead of the

reciprocating motion, gas turbine uses a
rotary motion throughout.
 Air is compressed to high pressure by a fan-
like device called the compressor.

Then fuel and compressed air are mixed in a

combustion chamber and ignited.

Hot gases are given off, which spin the

turbine wheels.

Most of the turbines power runs the

compressor. Part of it drives the
generator/machinery.

Gas turbines burn fuels such as oil, gaseous

fuel and pulverised (powdered) coal.

Instead of using the heat to produce steam, as

in steam turbines, gas turbines use the hot
gases directly to turn the turbine blades. 24
Main Components of the Gas Turbine

1. Compressor 2. Combuster 3.
 1. Compressor

The compressor sucks

the air from the
atmosphere and
compresses it and guides
it to the combustion
chamber.

The air compressor and turbine are mounted at either end on a

common horizontal axle (shaft), with the combustion chamber
between them.
Gas turbines are not self starting. A starting motor initially drives the
compressor till the first combustion of fuel takes place, later, part of
the turbines power runs the compressor.
The air compressor sucks in air and compresses it, thereby increasing
its pressure.
Stationary guide
vanes of 3. Turbine
turbine
direct the gases to
the next set of
blades. The kinetic
energy of the hot
gases impacting on
the blades rotates
the blades and the
shaft.
The burning gases expand rapidly and rush into the turbine, where
they cause the turbine wheels to rotate.
Hot gases move through a multistage gas turbine.
Like in steam turbine, the gas turbine also has fixed(stationary) and
moving(rotor) blades.
The stationary blades guide the moving gases to the rotor blades
and adjust its velocity.
The shaft of the turbine is coupled to a generator or machinery to
drive it.
 2. Combuster
This is an annular
chamber where the
fuel burns and is
similar to the
furnace in a boiler.

In the combustion chamber, the compressed air combines with fuel

and the resulting mixture is burnt.
The greater the pressure of air, the better the fuel air mixture burns.
Modern gas turbines usually use liquid fuel, but they may also use
gaseous fuel, natural gas or gas produced artificially by gasification of
a solid fuel.
Note :
The combination of air compressor and combustion chamber is
called as gas generator.
Actual view of gas turbine
As there is cut off the auxilliary engine gas turbine gets
started.

As the speed of the plane increases the compressor gets

rotated and compresses the air and that get combusted in
combustion chamber.

Then the exhaust gases are thrown out.

Three zones of combustion process :
1. Primary zone to provide the necessary high
temperature or rapid combustion
2. Secondary zone to complete the combustion
3. Tertiary or dilution zone the remaining air is mixed
with the products of combustion to cool then down
the temperature required at inlet to the turbine
 Gas Turbine Combustion

F/A 0.01
Combustion efficiency :
98%
 Emissions in Gas
Turbines

IGCC: Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle

GTCC: Gas Turbine Combined Cycle

er emission compared to all conventional methods (except nuc

ulations require further reduction in emission levels
 Open Cycle Gas turbine
Fresh air is drawn into the
compressor from
atmosphere.

Heat is added by
combustion of fuel.

Exhaust from turbine is

released in atmosphere.

Arrangement of
continuous replacement of
working medium is required.
Layout of a gas turbine power plant

4/27/17 54
 Layout of gas turbine power plant
Starting motor:
Gas turbines are not self starting.
They require a starting motor to
first bring the turbine to the
minimum speed called coming
in speed, for this purpose a
starting motor is required.

Low pressure compressor(LPC):

The purpose of the compressor is
to compress the air. Air from the
atmosphere is drawn into the LPC
and is compressed.
4/27/17
Intercooler:
The air after compression in the LPC
is hot. It is cooled by the intercooler.
The intercooler is circulated with
cooling water.
55
 Layout of gas turbine power plant
High pressure compressor(HPC):
The air from the intercooler enters
the HPC where it is further
compressed to a high pressure.
The compressed air passes
through a regenerator.

Regenerator(Heat exchanger):
The air entering the combustion
chamber(CC) for combustion
must be hot. The heat from the
exhaust gases is picked up by the
compressed air entering the
combustion chamber.
4/27/17
Combustion chamber:
The fuel(natural gas, pulverized coal,
kerosene or gasoline) is injected into the
combustion chamber.
The fuel gets ignited because of the
compressed air.
The fuel along with the compressed air
is ignited sometimes with a spark plug.
56
 Layout of gas turbine power plant
High pressure turbine (HPT):
In the beginning the starting
motor runs the compressor shaft.
The hot gases(products of
combustion) expands through the
high pressure turbine.
It is important to note that when
the HPT shaft rotates it infact
drives the compressor shaft which
is coupled to it. Now the HPT
runs the compressor and the
starting motor is stopped.
Only 34% of the power developed by
Note : the plant is used to generate electric
About 66% of the power power.
developed by the gas turbine
power plant is used to run the
compressor.
4/27/17 57
 Layout of gas turbine power plant
Low pressure turbine (LPT):
The purpose of the LPT is to
produce electric power.
The shaft of the LPT is directly
coupled with the generator for
producing electricity.
The hot gases(products of
combustion) after leaving the
HPT is again sent to a combustion
chamber where it further
undergoes combustion.
The exhaust gases after leaving The heat from the hot gases is used
the LPT passes through the to preheat the air entering the
regenerator before being combustion chamber. This preheating
exhausted through the chimney of the air improves the efficiency of the
into the atmosphere. combustion chamber.

4/27/17 58
 Closed Cycle Gas turbine
In this , cycle is closed
and exhaust is not open
to atmosphere.

In this there is
continuously supply of
same working gas.

Higher density gases

like hydrogen or carbon
dioxide is used.

So we get higher
efficiency than open
cycle GT.
BASIC CONSIDERATIONS IN THE
ANALYSIS Thermal efficiency of heat
engines
OF
Most GAS POWER
power-producing CYCLES
devices operate on
cycles.
Ideal cycle: A cycle that resembles the
actual cycle closely but is made up totally of
internally reversible processes.
Reversible cycles such as Carnot cycle
have the highest thermal efficiency of all
heat engines operating between the same
temperature levels. Unlike ideal cycles, they
are totally reversible, and unsuitable as a
realistic model.
Modeling is a
powerful
engineering tool
that provides The analysis of many
great insight and complex processes can
simplicity at the be reduced to a
expense of some manageable level by
loss in accuracy. utilizing some
60
idealizations.
On a T-s diagram, the ratio of the
area enclosed by the cyclic curve
to the area under the heat-
addition process curve
represents the thermal efficiency
of the cycle. Any modification
that increases the ratio of these
two areas will also increase the
thermal efficiency of the cycle.
The idealizations and simplifications in the
analysis of power cycles:
1. The cycle does not involve any friction.
Therefore, the working fluid does not
experience any pressure drop as it flows in
pipes or devices such as heat exchangers.
2. All expansion and compression processes
take place in a quasi-equilibrium manner.
3. The pipes connecting the various
components of a system are well
insulated, and heat transfer through them
is negligible.

On both P-v and T-s diagrams, the area

enclosed by the process curve represents the
net work of the cycle.
61
 THE CARNOT CYCLE AND
ITS VALUE IN
The Carnot cycle is composed of four totally
ENGINEERING
reversible processes: isothermal heat addition,
isentropic expansion, isothermal heat
rejection, and isentropic compression.
For both ideal and actual cycles: Thermal
efficiency increases with an increase in the
average temperature at which heat is
supplied to the system or with a decrease in
the average temperature at which heat is
rejected from the system.

P-v and T-s diagrams

A steady-flow Carnot engine. of a Carnot cycle.
62
AIR-STANDARD ASSUMPTIONS
Air-standard assumptions:
1. The working fluid is air, which
continuously circulates in a closed loop
and always behaves as an ideal gas.
2. All the processes that make up the
cycle are internally reversible.
3. The combustion process is replaced by
a heat-addition process from an
external source.
4. The exhaust process is replaced by a
heat-rejection process that restores the
working fluid to its initial state.
The combustion process is
replaced by a heat-addition
process in ideal cycles.
Cold-air-standard assumptions: When the working fluid is
considered to be air with constant specific heats at room
temperature (25C).
Air-standard cycle: A cycle for which the air-standard
assumptions are applicable.
63
 BRAYTON CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE FOR
GAS-TURBINE ENGINES
The combustion process is replaced by a constant-pressure heat-
addition process from an external source, and the exhaust process
is replaced by a constant-pressure heat-rejection process to the
ambient air.
1-2 Isentropic compression (in a compressor)
2-3 Constant-pressure heat addition
3-4 Isentropic expansion (in a turbine)
4-1 Constant-pressure heat rejection

An open-cycle gas-turbine engine. A closed-cycle gas-turbine engine.

64
 Pressure
ratio

Thermal
efficiency of
the ideal
Brayton cycle
T-s and P-v diagrams as a function
for the ideal Brayton of the
cycle. pressure 65
 The two major application areas of The highest temperature in the
gas-turbine engines are aircraft
propulsion and electric power
generation.
For fixed values of Tmin and
Tmax, the net work of the
Brayton cycle first increases
with the pressure ratio, then
reaches a maximum at rp =
cycle is limited by the maximum
temperature that the turbine blades
can withstand. This also limits the
pressure ratios that can be used in
the cycle.
The air in gas turbines supplies the
necessary oxidant for the
combustion of the fuel, and it serves
as a coolant to keep the
temperature of various components
within safe limits. An airfuel ratio of
50 or above is not uncommon.
The fraction of the turbine
work used to drive the
compressor is called the
back work ratio.
(W compressor/W
66
Deviation of Actual Gas-
Turbine Cycles from
Idealized Ones
Reasons: Irreversibilities in
turbine and compressors,
pressure drops, heat losses
Exergy Analysis Future
scope
Isentropic efficiencies of the
compressor and turbine

The deviation of an actual

gas-turbine cycle from the
ideal Brayton cycle as a
result of irreversibilities.
67
 THE BRAYTON CYCLE
WITH REGENERATION
In gas-turbine engines, the temperature of the
exhaust gas leaving the turbine is often
considerably higher than the temperature of the
air leaving the compressor.
Therefore, the high-pressure air leaving the
compressor can be heated by the hot exhaust
gases in a counter-flow heat exchanger (a
regenerator or a recuperator).
The thermal efficiency of the Brayton cycle T-s diagram of a
increases as a result of regeneration since less fuel Brayton cycle with
is used for the same work output. regeneration.

A gas-turbine engine with regenerator. 68

 Effectivenes
s of
regenerator
Effectiveness under
cold-air standard
assumptions Under cold-air
standard
assumptions
T-s diagram of a Brayton Can
cycle with regeneration. regeneration be
used at high
pressure ratios?
The thermal efficiency
depends on the ratio of Thermal
the minimum to efficiency of
maximum the ideal
temperatures as well Brayton
as the pressure ratio. cycle with
Regeneration is most and without
effective at lower regeneratio 69
pressure ratios and low
 For minimizing work
THE BRAYTON CYCLE input to compressor and
WITH INTERCOOLING, maximizing work output
from turbine:
REHEATING, AND
REGENERATION

A gas-turbine engine with two-stage compression with intercooling, two-

stage expansion with reheating, and regeneration and its T-s diagram.
70
Multistage compression with intercooling: The work required to
compress a gas between two specified pressures can be decreased by
carrying out the compression process in stages and cooling the gas in
between. This keeps the specific volume as low as possible.

Multistage expansion with reheating keeps the specific volume of

the working fluid as high as possible during an expansion process,
thus maximizing work output.
Intercooling and reheating always decreases the thermal efficiency
unless they are accompanied by regeneration. Why?

Comparison
of work
inputs to a
single-stage
compressor
(1AC) and a
two-stage
compressor As the number of compression and
with expansion stages increases, the gas-
intercooling turbine cycle with intercooling,
(1ABD). reheating, and regeneration approaches
the Ericsson cycle.
71
SECOND-LAW ANALYSIS OF GAS POWER
CYCLES
Exergy
destruction for
a closed system
For a steady-
flow system

Steady-flow, one-inlet, one-

exit
Exergy destruction of a
cycle
For a cycle with heat
transfer only with a source
and a sink
Closed system exergy

Stream exergy

A second-law analysis of these cycles reveals where

the largest irreversibilities occur and where to start
72
improvements.
r = p max/p
min

Gamma=1.4
for air
T9
=T8
IDEAL JET-PROPULSION CYCLES
Gas-turbine engines are widely used to power aircraft because they are
light and compact and have a high power-to-weight ratio.
Aircraft gas turbines operate on an open cycle called a jet-propulsion
cycle.
The ideal jet-propulsion cycle differs from the simple ideal Brayton cycle
in that the gases are not expanded to the ambient pressure in the
turbine. Instead, they are expanded to a pressure such that the power
produced by the turbine is just sufficient to drive the compressor and the
auxiliary equipment.
The net work output of a jet-propulsion cycle is zero. The gases that exit
the turbine at a relatively high pressure are subsequently accelerated in a
nozzle to provide the thrust to propel the aircraft.
Aircraft are propelled by accelerating a fluid in the opposite direction to
motion. This is accomplished by either slightly accelerating a large mass
of fluid (propeller-driven engine) or greatly accelerating a small mass
of fluid (jet or turbojet engine) or both (turboprop engine).

In jet engines, the high-

temperature and high-
pressure gases leaving
the turbine are
accelerated in a nozzle to
provide thrust. 108
 Thrust (propulsive force)
Propulsive
Propulsive efficiency
power

Propulsive power is
the thrust acting on
the aircraft through
a distance per unit
time.

Basic components of a turbojet engine and the T-s diagram for the ideal
turbojet cycle. 110
Modifications to Turbojet
Engines
The first airplanes built were all propeller-
driven, with propellers powered by
engines essentially identical to
automobile engines.
Both propeller-driven engines and jet-
propulsion-driven engines have their own
strengths and limitations, and several
attempts have been made to combine
the desirable characteristics of both in Energy supplied to an
one engine. aircraft (from the burning of
Two such modifications are the propjet a fuel) manifests itself in
engine and the turbofan engine.
various forms.
A turbofan The most widely
engine. used engine in
aircraft propulsion is
the turbofan (or
fanjet) engine
wherein a large fan
driven by the
turbine forces a
considerable
amount of air
through a duct
(cowl) surrounding111
 A modern jet engine
used to power
Boeing 777 aircraft.
This is a Pratt &
Whitney PW4084
turbofan capable of
producing 374 kN of
thrust. It is 4.87 m
long, has a 2.84 m
diameter fan, and it
weighs 6800 kg.

Various engine types:

Turbofan, Propjet, Ramjet, Sacramjet,
Rocket

A turboprop A ramjet
112
engine. engine.
Variation of Jet Technologies
4 MW GT for Power Generation
 Steam Turbine Vs Gas Turbine : Power
Generation
Experience gained from a large number of exhaust-gas
turbines for diesel engines, a temp. of 538C was considered
absolutely safe for uncooled heat resisting steel turbine
blades.
This would result in obtainable outputs of 2000-8000 KW with
compressor turbine efficiencies of 73-75%, and an overall
cycle efficiency of 17-18%.
First Gas turbine electro locomotive 2500 HP ordered from BBC
by Swiss Federal Railways
The advent of high pressure and temperature steam turbine
with regenerative heating of the condensate and air pre-
heating, resulted in coupling efficiencies of approx. 25%.
The gas turbine having been considered competitive with
steam turbine plant of 18% which was considered not quite
satisfactory.
The Gas turbine was unable to compete with modern base
load steam turbines of 25% efficiency.
There was a continuous development in steam power plant
which led to increase of Power Generation Efficiencies of 35% +
This hard reality required consideration of a different
application for the gas turbine.
Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT)
A combined cycle gas turbine power
plant, frequently identified by CCGT
shortcut, is essentially an electrical
power plant in which a gas turbine
and a steam turbine are used in
combination to achieve greater
efficiency than would be possible
independently. The gas
turbine drives an electrical
generator. The gas turbine exhaust
is then used to produce steam in a
heat exchanger (steam generator)
to supply a steam turbine whose
output provides the means to
generate more electricity. However
the Steam Turbine is not
necessarily, in that case the plant
produce electricity and industrial
steam which can be used for
 Basic Gas Turbine Information
Main Gas Turbine Manufactures:
General Electrics, Simens
Westinghouse & Alstom

Efficiency approx 40% for gas turbine

however in the CCGT plant the
efficiency is 50-60% (even higher for
cogenerated plant)

Low Green Gas Emission C02, NOx &

Sox

Cheaper comparing to other

technology e.g. CCS

Lifetime 30-40 years

How it works?
 Needs for Future Gas
Turbines
Power Generation
Fuel Economy
Low Emissions
Alternative fuels
Military Aircrafts
High Thrust
Low Weight Half the size and twice the
Commercial Aircrafts
thrust
Low emissions
High Thrust
Low Weight Double the size of the
Fuel Economy Aircraft and double the
distance traveled with 50%
NOx
 Ongoing Research at IIT,
Kanpur

Effect of inlet disturbances

Combustion in recirculating flows
Spray Combustion
 Effect of Inlet
Disturbance

At IIT, Kanpur
Tunable inlet to create weak disturbance
of varying frequency
Bluff body stabilized flame
Unsteady pressure and heat release
measurement
Pressure Amplitude variation

= 0.2211 L = 20
cm

Pressure oscillations
increases with decreasing
length
Dominant frequency 27 Hz
Acoustic frequency 827 Hz
Pressure and Heat
Release
Low Frequency Variation with
Inlet Length

,=
ma 3.0 g / s
0.3455
 Flow Dynamics

Primary zone
Fuel air mixing
Intense combustion
Short combustion length
High turbulence
Fuel rich combustion
 Image Processing

Filtered out image from the Grayscale image

noises

Simulation results
Intensity

image
 Spray Combustion: Issues
Non-symmetrical spray flames and hot
streaks
Serious damage to combustor liner
Combustor exit temperature
Flame location, shape and pattern
Emission Levels
Need for controlled atomization
Big Drops => Longer Evaporation Time => Incomplete
Combustion => Unburned Hydrocarbons & Soot,
Reduced Efficiency

Small Drops => Faster Evaporation and Mixing =>

Elongated Combustion Zone => More NOx

Uniform size distribution for favorable pattern factor

Reduced thermal loading on liner and turbine
 Internally Mixed Swirl Atomizer

Good atomization with small

pressure drop
Both hollow-cone and solid cone
spray from same atomizer
(wide range of applications)
Possible to atomize very viscous
liquid
Self cleaning
Finer atomization at low flow rates Atomization of engine oil
Less sensitive to manufacturing
defects
The liquid flow rate and atomization
quality can be controlled
Performance
Multi-head internally mixed atomizer
Build to provide a throughput rate in excess to 0.5 LPM with a
droplet size in the range of 20-30 m

Flow rate independent of

pressure difference
Reduced feedline coupling
 Emissions in spray
flames
160 100 4500
Distance from Flame Holder
z=5mm z=10mm 90 4000
140
z=20mm z=35mm 80 Exp 3500
NOX (Theory)
Sauter Mean Diameter (m)

70
120 3000

NOx Theory (ppm)

60
2500

Nox (ppm)
100 50
2000
40
80 1500
30
1000
20
60
10 500

40 0 0
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3
Radial Distance from Center Line (cm)

Measured values quite less compared to the theoretical

predictions

Inherent fuel staging reduces the NOx

Longer flame => less NOx

Conclusions on research work at
IITK
Disturbances can lead to combustion
oscillations
Recirculating flow helps in reducing
disturbances
Controlled Atomization can be
achieved through air-assisting
Spray combustion reduces NOx
emissions through fuel staging
 Other aspects for
research

Design Considerations
Material Considerations
Manufacturing Processes
 Design Considerations
Geometry
Cooling Vanes
Attachment Interface
Safety Factors
 Geometry
Strength / Fatigue Life
Each row will be different
Air Flow (CFD Package)
Machineability

General Turbine Blade Shape

 Cooling Vanes

Blades must be kept cool

Often operate near the metal
melting point
An increase of only 17 C can
decrease the engine life by half
Cool (300 C ) air is run out of
the blades through small holes
(vanes), keeping the blades from
melting.
 Attachment
Keep Stress Concentrations Low
Fir Tree Attachment
Reduced stress
concentrations
Easy replacement
Also known as the
Christmas Tree
 Safety Factors
Higher S.F. is usually the best.
But what if the engine runs out of control
at speeds higher than intended?
The energy of the rotating blades goes up
with 2
What happens if the blades brake at 10%
overload? 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% ?
Too much energy and the blades might
break through the engine shroud and into
the fuselage.
 Material Considerations
Environment
Creep
Current Materials Used
Materials in Research
 Environment
Air Temperature: Between 850 and
1600C
Melting Temperature:
Steel:1400C
Nickel Alloy: 1200C
Titanium:1650C
Turbine RPM: Appx. 20,000 rpm
 Creep

Turbine blades elongate during their

life
Tip clearance
Result of environment and grain
structure
Soft abradable lining
Directional solidification (cooling)
Single crystal structure
 Current Materials Used
Initially Steel
Nickel Alloys
Most common material is Titanium
Laser peening
Ceramic Coatings
 Material In Research
Ceramic blades

Carbon composite blades

Noise reduction
Light weight
Manufacturing Processes
Machining (not too common)
Investment Casting
Secondary machining
Electro-Chemical Machining
Single operation
 Design Sites
1. www.pccsmp.com (manufacturing)
2. www.turboblades.com (manufacturing)
3. www.giverin.demon.co.uk/NewFiles/
HTWTurbines.html (information)
4. www.gas-turbines.com/begin
(information)

5. www.pratt-whitney.com (engine
manufacturer)
 Developments in Gas Turbine Cycles

1. The wet compression (WC) cycle

2. The steam injected gas turbine (STIG) cycle
3. The integrated WC & STIG (SWC) cycle
4. Themo-chemical Recuperation cycles
 Wet compression

One of the most effective ways to increase the

gas turbine power output is to reduce the
amount of work required for its compressor.
A gas turbine compressor consumes about 30
to 50% of work produced by the turbine.
The wet compression (WC) cycle
Fuel

Combustor

Compressor Water Injection Turbine

Inlet Duct
Intake Air
Representing wet compression process on P-V diagram
W isothermal = f-1-2T-g-f (isothermal)
Wwet compression = f-1-2K-g-f (wet compression)
W isentropic = f-1-2S-g-f (isentropic)
W polytropic = f-1-2n-g-f (polytropic)

g P2 2T 2k 2s 2n

f P1 1

0 V
 The wet compression (WC) cycle

The wet compression cycle has the following

benefits over the simple cycle.
1. Lower compressor work
2. Higher turbine work
3. Higher cycle efficiency
 ISENTROPIC INDEX OF WET COMPRESSION
PROCESS

Isentropic index of wet compression can be

obtained from the equation

L dw k

1 R dT k 1
Where
k=Isentropic index of wet compression,
dw/dT = Evaporative rate kg/k,
L= Latent heat kJ/kg,
R=Gas constant of humid air kJ/kg k.
 ACTUAL WET COMPRESSION
INDEX

Actual wet compression index can be obtained from the

equation
m L dw 1 n

m 1 1 R dT 1 n 1

Where
m=polytropic index of actual wet compression process,
n=polytropic index of actual dry air compression
 Compressor work with wet
compression

Compressor work with wet compression is a

function of
1. Pressure ratio ,
2. Evaporative rate dw/dT and
3. Geometry of the compressor.
. Wet compression work is much lower than that
of dry air compression work.
. The higher is the pressure ratio, more the
saving in compressor work.
Variation of wet compression work with pressure
ratio

(Evaporative rate dw/dT=7.5e-4 kg/k)

VARIATION OF WET COMPRESSION WORK WITH
THE EVAPORATIVE RATE FOR A GIVEN
PRESSURE RATIO

Pressure ratio = 7
 REAL WET COMPRESSION WORK
CONSIDERING OFF DESIGN BEHAVIOUR

For calculation purposes, if the design (dry) value of

the polytropic efficiency is assumed to be
maintained throughout the compression process, it
is tantamount to the operation of the compressor at
increased operating pressure ratio.
 Comparison of Work Input For Wet and Dry
Compression Considering Off-Design Behaviour

Sl Evaporati Operatin Real wet Dry work

no ve rate, g work KJ/kg
kg/k Pr. ratio kJ/kg
1 0 10.2 343.269 343.269

2 0.00015 11.5597 316.649 370.415

3 0.00035 11.5737 284.812 370.683

4 0.00075 11.6017 255.000 371.218

 ACTUAL WET COMPRESSION WORK
CONSIDERING OFF DESIGN BEHAVIOUR
Losses in compressor and
turbine
Pressure Losses
Mechanical Losses
Variation of specific heat
GAS TURBINE
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
Operating Factors Affecting Maintenance
Type and quality of fuel
Condensate, contaminants, etc
Starting Frequency
Thermal cycles
Load cycles
Thermal cycles
Environment
Abrasive and corrosive condition
 Inspection Interval
Following table shows the operating hours at
which inspection should be performed for
operation on gas fuel and continuous duty
Recommended Inspection Interval

Note: (1) Hours mean quivalent Operating Hoursreflecting the operation conditions of Gas
Turbines
Roll-in and Roll-out Procedure
One (1) complete set of hot parts shall be ready for
Rolling-in. The parts taken out (Roll-out) shall be
reused/repaired/rejuvenated prior to the next inspection
 Summary of GT Inspection
Inspection Procedure Inspection Items
Combustor Inspection Dismantling combustor Visual inspection & NDT (1) of fuel nozzles,
basket combustor baskets and transition pieces
Visual inspection of turbine blade row 4
and vane row 1 and 4
Visual inspection of compressor IGV, blade
row 1 and vane row 1

Turbine Inspection Lifting the upper housing Visual inspection and NDT (1) of turbine
of the turbine blades, vanes and seals
Combustor inspection is carried out at the
same time

Major Overhaul Lifting the upper housing Visual inspection & NDT (2) of all
Inspection of the turbine and components from expansion joint of the inlet
compressor air to the first expansion joint of the exhaust
Lifting the rotor gas
Inspection of auxiliaries, control systems
and instruments
NDT (1) : Non Destructive Test (Penetrant Test)
NDT (2) : Non Destructive Test (Penetrant Test, Magnetic Particle test and Ultrasonic test
 Combustor Inspection
No 1. Compressor inlet (1)
No 2. Turbine blade row 4 (1)
No 3. Flame detector and igniter (2)

No 4. Fuel nozzle (2)

No 5. Combustor basket (2)
No 6. Transition piece (2) (1): Visual Inspection
(2): Roll-in & Roll-out Parts
Combustion Inspection Schedule
(for one (1) Gas Turbine)
 Turbine Inspection

No 1. Compressor inlet (1) No 6. Turbine blade (2)

No 2. Flame detector and
igniter (2)
No 3. Fuel nozzle (2)
No 4. Combustor basket (2)
No 5. Transition piece (2)
No 7. Turbine vane (2)
No 8. Compressor last row
and OGVs blade and
diaphragm (1)
(1): Visual Inspection
(2): Roll-in & Roll-out Parts
Turbine Inspection Schedule
(for one (1) Gas Turbine)
 Major Overhaul Inspection

No 1. Flame detector and igniter No 8. Exhaust turbine and

(1) compressor casing
No 2. Fuel nozzle (1) No 9. Compressor blade ring
No 3. Combustor basket (1) No 10. Turbine blade ring #1,
No 4. Transition piece (1) #2, #3 and #4
No 5. Turbine blade (1) Turbine journal brg and thrust
No 6. Turbine vane (1) brg
No 7. Compressor blade and Rotor (2)
diaphragm

(1): Visual Inspection

(2): Roll-in & Roll-out Parts
Major Overhaul Inspection Schedule
(for one (1) Gas Turbine)
Routine Maintenance
Thank u