1.

0 LEARNING OUTCOME

When you complete this module you will be able to...

Discuss the function and working of Gas Turbine.

Learning Objectives

Here is what you will be able to do when you complete each objective.

1. Describe the Turbine principal.

2. Describe working of Gas Turbine.

3. Describe the different Types of Turbine.

4. Describe the various components of the Gas Turbine.

5. Describe various auxiliary systems provided for the Gas turbine.

6. Describe the various controls for Gas turbine plant.

2.0 DEFINITIONS/ABBREVIATIONS

BDV Blow down Valve

CNDG Centre Nationale de Distribution du

CPF Central Processing Facility

CR Control Room
CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics

DCS Distributed Control System

ESD Emergency Shutdown

ESDV Emergency Shutdown Valve

HMI Human Machine Interface

ISO International Standards Organisation

LHV Lower Heating Value

SDV Shutdown Valve

GTG Gas Turbine Generator

PCV Pressure Control Valve

UCP Unit Control Panel

3.0 INTRODUCTION

The gas turbine attempts to combine the simplicity of the steam turbine with the advantages of internal
combustion as achieved by the diesel engine. It should be noted that the gas turbine is still classified as
an external combustion engine; that is the fuel is not burnt in the actual turbine.
Simply, a gas turbine operates in the following way. A compressor raises the pressure of the inlet air and
feeds it into a combustor where fuel is added and ignited to raise the temperature of the compressed air.
Nozzles convert the high pressure gas to high velocity and a turbine rotor absorbs this energy, converting
it into rotary motion to provide power. The complete unit also contains auxiliary systems for lubricating oil,
fuel oil/Gas, starting speed control and engine monitoring. Figure 1, shows a simple gas turbine used to
drive an electric generator.

Figure 1: Simple Gas Turbine

Most commercial jets are powered by turbofan engines and turbofans are one example of a general class
of engines called gas turbine engines.

In a gas turbine, a pressurized gas spins the turbine. In all modern gas turbine engines, the engine
produces its own pressurized gas and it is achieved by burning something like propane, natural gas and
kerosene or jet fuel. The heat that comes from the burning of the fuel expands the air and the high-speed
rush of this hot air spins the turbine.

A gas turbine, also called as a combustion turbine, is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a flow of
combustion gas. It has an upstream compressor coupled to a downstream turbine and a combustion
chamber in-between. Energy is added to the gas stream in the combustor where air is mixed with fuel and
ignited. Combustion increases the temperature, velocity and volume of the gas flow. This is directed
through nozzles over the turbine's blades, spinning the turbine and powering the compressor. Energy is
extracted in the form of shaft power, compressed air and thrust in any combination and used to power
aircraft, compressor or generators.

Gas turbines are described thermodynamically by the Brayton cycle, in which air is compressed
isentropically, combustion occurs at a constant pressure and expansion over the turbine occurs
isentropically back to the starting pressure.

As with all cyclic heat engines, higher combustion temperature means greater efficiency. The limiting
factor is the ability of the steel, nickel, ceramic or other materials that make up the engine to withstand
heat and pressure. Considerable engineering goes into keeping the turbine parts cool. Most turbines also
try to recover exhaust heat which otherwise is wasted energy. Recuperators are heat exchangers that
pass exhaust heat to the compressed air prior to combustion. Combined cycle designs pass waste heat
to steam turbine systems and combined heat and power (co-generation) uses waste heat for hot water
production.
Mechanically gas turbines can be considerably less complex than internal combustion piston engines.
Simple turbines might have one moving part: the shaft/compressor/turbine/alternative-rotor assembly not
counting the fuel system.

Advances in technology

Gas turbine technology has steadily advanced since its inception and continues to evolve. Research is
active in producing ever smaller gas turbines. Computer design specifically Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis, along with material advances has allowed higher
compression ratios, temperatures, more efficient combustion, better cooling of engine parts and reduced
emissions. On the emissions side, the challenge in technology is actually getting a catalytic combustor
running properly in order to achieve single digit NOx emissions to cope with the latest regulations.

Advantages and disadvantages of gas turbine engines

Advantages

• Very high power-to-weight ratio compared to reciprocating engines.

• Smaller than most reciprocating engines of the same power rating.

• Moves in one direction only with far less vibration than a reciprocating engine.

• Fewer moving parts than reciprocating engines.

• Low operating pressures.

• High operation speeds.

• Low lubricating oil cost and consumption.

Disadvantages

• Cost is much greater than for a similar-sized reciprocating engine since the materials must be
stronger and more heat resistant. Machining operations are also more complex.

• Usually less efficient than reciprocating engines, especially at idle.

• Delayed response to changes in power settings.

4.0 GAS TURBINE CONSTRUCTION

The Gas Turbine parts

Gas turbine engines are, theoretically, extremely simple. They have three parts:

Compressor - Compresses the incoming air to high pressure

Combustion area - Burns the fuel and produces high-pressure, high-velocity gas
Turbine - Extracts the energy from the high-pressure, high-velocity gas flowing from the combustion
chamber

The first part of the gas turbine is the air compressor. Since air is the operating medium for the turbine, a
great deal depends on the efficient operation of the air compressor. The compressor pressurizes the air
to provide mass flow and pressure energy for expansion that occurs after combustion. The compressors
found on the gas turbine are of either radial (centrifugal) design or axial design.

Radial (Centrifugal) Compressors

These compressors take air in at the center or "eye" of the rotor. Due to the high rotational speeds of the
rotor the air is accelerated by the blades and forced radially to the edge of the rotor at high velocity. Here
the air is received by the diffuser which in turn converts the high velocity to pressure energy. Advantages
of the radial or centrifugal compressor are simplicity, strength and short length. A compressor rotor is
shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Centrifugal Compressor Rotor

Axial Compressors

Axial means a flow parallel to the shaft. The axial compressor looks much like a turbine rotor with fixed
and moving blades, taking in atmospheric air at the inlet and delivering pressurized air at the exit. Axial
compressors are generally more efficient than radial compressors. They are usually much smaller in size
and run at higher speeds. An axial compressor rotor is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Axial Compressor

Compressor Materials

Casings for industrial gas turbines are usually made of cast iron or an aluminum alloy. Rotors are made
from good quality ferrite steel and compressor blades are made of a stainless steel or some high quality
alloy containing vanadium or titanium.

Two-Stage Compression

As in any air compression system, if heat is removed from the air during compression then less work will
be required for compression. Since the compressor is driven by the turbine rotor, this will allow more
output at the turbine shaft. For this reason two-stage air compression often is used with an intercooler
between the stages. Figure 4 is a flow diagram of a two-stage compressor.

Figure 4: Two-Stage Compressor

Combustors

The gas turbine operates on a constant pressure thermodynamic cycle during which air is compressed,
heated and expanded. As more work can be obtained from air at a high temperature than air at a lower
temperature, more work can be extracted during the expansion stage than is used in the compression
stage and it is this difference that supplies the useful work. Combustors use about 30% of the air supplied
by the compressor for the actual combustion process with the fuel gas. The remainder of the air is used
for mass flow through the turbine, cooling the combustor material and maintaining the correct temperature
of the gases at the turbine inlet. A number of combustor types are in use today but they are usually
classified as either single or multiple. Single combustors have just one burner and igniter while the
multiple types may have many burners with igniters, flame detectors and crossfire tubes. A typical
combustor is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Typical Combustor

Combustor Operation

In a multiple flame tube combustor there is a fuel supply to each flame tube but there are only a few
igniters for all the tubes. As ignition takes place in the flame tubes with the igniter the crossfire tubes will
take hot gases from the hot flame tube to ignite the remainder. All this takes place in a fraction of a
second. Once stable ignition is confirmed by the flame detectors the igniter shuts down. Gas turbine
manufacturers claim that practically any liquid fuel may be burned in the combustor with the necessary
changes to the fuel system. The combustor is designed to bum the fuel at a very high temperature in the
combustion zone so that combustion is complete and the exhaust is virtually emission free. The high
temperature however does produce oxides of Nitrogen which can be minimized through combustor
design.

Turbines

Gas turbines employ both reaction and impulse principles and the blading is similar to that used in a
steam turbine. However as the total pressure drop from inlet to exhaust in the gas turbine is much smaller
than in a steam turbine the number of stages used in a gas turbine are also fewer. Also because of the
lower pressures in the gas turbine the volume of gas is higher and larger passages and longer blades are
used.

Turbine rotors are usually of the built up type consisting of discs or wheels securely fastened together.
The blades are then fitted to the peripheries of the wheels by means of a dovetail root arrangement. In
some cases the turbine wheel and blades are integral, being made from a one-piece precision casting.

Cycle improvements

One of the disadvantages of the gas turbine is its low thermal efficiency. In order to improve this thermal
efficiency, certain additions to or alterations of the basic cycle are required.

Regeneration

Gases exhausted from the turbine are at a high temperature (450ºC). If some of the heat of the exhaust
gases is transferred to the compressed air before the air enters the combustor, then the thermal efficiency
can be improved and less fuel have to be burned. In order to accomplish this task, a heat exchanger
called a regenerator is added to the basic cycle. Figure 6 shows a sketch of the arrangement of a gas
turbine using a regenerator.

Figure 6: Gas Turbine with Regenerator

The regenerator is often constructed of the shell and tube type which may be arranged with the turbine
exhaust gases flowing through tubes and the air flow across the outside of the tubes, as shown in Figure
6. The opposite arrangement is also used with the air flowing through the tubes and the exhaust gas flow
across the outside of the tubes.

Referring to Figure 6, the exhaust gases temperature is reduced from 450ºC to 260ºC by transferring their
heat to the air in the regenerator. The air entering the regenerator at 200ºC leaves with a temperature of
about 370 degrees due to the heat recovered from the exhaust gases. The regenerator may recover up to
75% of the exhaust heat and in this way increases the thermal efficiency of the plant. There are, however,
some drawbacks to the use of a regenerator.

1. The surfaces exposed to the exhaust gases may become coated with carbon or other combustion
deposits and have to be cleaned from time to time.

2. In order to provide a sufficient heating surface for the heat transfer and because of the large
volume of exhaust gases, the regenerator can be quite large.

3. Due to the friction there is a drop in the pressure of both the exhaust gas and the air as they pass
through the regenerator. This means there is a decrease in the inlet pressure to the turbine and an
increase in the exhaust or back pressure at the turbine outlet. This results in reduced expansion of the
gas through the turbine and therefore reduced work output.

Dual Shaft Arrangement

In the single shaft gas turbine, the turbine and the compressor are coupled directly together. In a dual
shaft arrangement, as shown in Figure 7, the compressor is driven by a high-pressure turbine while the
load is driven by a low-pressure turbine with no mechanical linkage between the low-pressure and the
high- pressure turbines.

Figure 7: Dual Shaft Arrangement

The advantage of this arrangement is a greater flexibility in the operation of the turbine system. The load
may be operated at varying speeds while the compressor speed remains constant. Conversely, the load
speed may be constant as in the case of a generator while the compressor speed may be varied. Also the
low-pressure turbine may be coupled directly to the load (that is, a generator or sales gas compressor)
without gear reduction. Another advantage of the dual shaft design is that a smaller starting motor may be
used, as during start-up it is only necessary to turn the compressor and the high-pressure turbine.