Table of Contents

1. What is FASTE? 1
2. How to Run FASTE 1
Product Selection 1
Engineering Units Selection 2
Choice Fuel Selection 4
Engine Conditions and Options 5
Output 6
Loading and Saving Input Files 7

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1. What is Web FASTE?

Web FASTE calculates engine performance and emissions predictions for most of the Solar Turbines
standard turbomachinery product line. It is used by several different groups with the company for a
variety of applications, including engine marketing, engine selection, compressor selection, emissions
permitting, engineering analysis, new product development, engine console display graphs, and
publication of manuals and other marketing materials.

FASTE was first installed in 1982 under its original name, PASTX. Over the years, growth in the
product line and new analysis methods brought numerous changes to the system. The code has
grown in size and complexity as new functionality was added. In 1992, the calculation and analysis
method was overhauled and re-written, simplifying the data required for each engine model and
improving the accuracy of the performance predictions. In 1993, the database was converted from
hard-coded FORTRAN block data statements to an Oracle database, making the engine models much
easier to maintain. In 2002, the interface was changed from Curses to the Web, allowing users to run
FASTE anywhere in the world with a web browser and internet connection.

2. How to Run FASTE

To start FASTE, type in the URL: http://solarweb.solar.cat.com/faste/htdocs/ into Microsoft’s Internet

Explorer (Netscape is not supported) version 4.0 or higher with a screen resolution set to 1024X768 or
higher. Users will be required to log into their CWS account before starting Web FASTE. Once the
application loads, the first page to appear is the Product Screen (Figure 1). The FASTE input session
is completed by responding to a number of prompts in a sequence of screens. Navigation between
screens is accomplished by clicking on the Back and Next buttons found near the top and the bottom of
the screen.

Product Selection

As the Product Screen loads, the selection boxes will automatically populate with the latest engine
information.

The Performance (Figure 1) selection deals with the output values of Power and Heat Rate. When
MINIMUM is selected the values of Power and Heat Rate shown on the output page will reflect Solar's
minimum guarantee levels. A NOMINAL run will apply some margin (typically 3%) to the minimum
values of Power and Heat Rate to reflect the expected performance of a particular turbine. Choosing
the COMBINED option will display both MINIMUM and NOMINAL values on the output page.

The Database (Figure 1) selection lets a user select the type of engine models to run. The
PRODUCTION database is where models for Solar's current product line are found.

The Product Line (Figure 1) selection lets the user choose between current Solar products for use by
Sales and Marketing (CURRENT PRODUCTION) and Overhaul and Sales Order Special products
(NON-PRODUCTION).

The hardware is specified by selecting values for the six hardware attributes Model, Rating, Package
Type, Match, and Fuel System.

When a user selects an item in a selection list, other selection lists may change their contents to
display relevant choices.

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Users can add personalized text to the output by filling in the appropriate text boxes labeled Customer,
Notes, and Job ID found near the top of the web page.

Figure 1 - Product Screen

Engineering Units Selection

Input and output engineering units are broken down into three main categories: English, Metric, and SI.
Default units selection for each category is shown in Table 1. To tweak default units settings, click the
Customize button on the Product Screen and the Engineering Units screen will load (Figure 2).
Engineering units can be individually tweaked for 16 different categories. Clicking the Back to Input
button will save Engineering unit changes and load the Product Screen. Clicking the Cancel button will
ignore changes made on the Engineering Units screen and the Product Screen will load. Clicking on
the Default button will set the units according to Table 1. Multiple emissions can be selected by using
the Ctrl and Shift keys.

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 Figure 2 – Engineering Units Screen

English CS/MD English GSC Metric SI

Category Units Units Units Units
Elevation feet feet metres metres
Barometric Pressure in Hg in Hg mm Hg kPa
Temperature deg F deg F deg C deg C
PCD Pressure psiG psiG barG kPaG
Duct Losses in H2O in H2O mm H2O mm H2O
Air Flow lbm/min lbm/min kg/min kg/min
Power HP kW kW kW
Fuel Flow mmBtu/hr mmBtu/hr kcal/sec IT GJ/hr
Heat Rate Btu/HP-hr Btu/kW-hr kcal.kW-hr kJ/kW-hr
LHV Volume Btu/Scf Btu/Scf kcal/Nm3 kJ/Std.m3
LHV Mass Btu/lbm Btu/lbm kcal/kg kJ/kg
Standard Exhaust Flow Scfm Scfm Nor.m3/hr Std.m3/hr
Actual Exhaust Flow Acfm Acfm m3/hr m3/hr
Absolute Temperature deg R deg R deg K deg K
Torque ft-lbf ft-lbf Nm Nm

Table 1 – Default Units Selection

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 Choice Fuel Selection

If the user specifies Choice Natural Gas or Choice Liquid fuel on the Product Screen, information
regarding the fuel composition must be provided. For choice natural gas, the 22 most common gas fuel
components are listed in 2 columns, and the user must enter the percent (by volume) composition of
each gas constituent. The total of all the numbers should be 100.0, but if it is not, the program will
normalize the percentages so that they do (if the user does not ask for the values to be normalized,
numbers will not change on the screen, but the fuel composition will still be normalized internally).

For choice liquid fuel, the information required is much simpler. The user must simply provide the
specific gravity at 60°F and the sulfur content of the fuel in percent by weight. The necessary heating
value and emissions properties of the liquid fuel are derived from this information.

Figure 3 - Choice Fuel Screen

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 Engine Conditions and Options

FASTE allows the user to run up to six points, all at different ambient temperature and relative humidity.
Also, for each point, the user can request partial load conditions by entering a non-zero value in the
Output Power field (called Gen Output for generator sets). Here, a desired horsepower or kilowatt
output value can be input. If the power is below the full-load case, the point will be run as requested.
However, if the power requires some limited parameter to exceed a limiting value, a message is printed
and the output for that point is zeroed. If the user enters 0.0 as the requested power, the program will
default to full-load conditions for that point. If the user enters a number between 0.0 and 1.0, the
program will interpret that as a request for a percentage of full load, and run the appropriate part load
condition (e.g. entering 0.5 will run the engine at 50% of the full-load power for that point). For CS/MD
engines only, the user may also specify a power turbine speed for each point. If the default value of 0
is not changed, the program will run the power turbine at optimum speed for each point.

Figure 4 - Multi-point Input screen

When entering losses, the user must not exceed pre-defined limits imposed on compressor bleed flow
and accessory horsepower. If a value entered is too high, the program will display an error message
and the user cannot proceed until the value is adjusted.

Heat recovery analysis is available for any engine and is turned on by selecting a parameter (Stack
Temperature or Acid Dew Point) from the drop down list labeled No Heat Recovery and entering a
value (Figure 4).

Water injection is turned on by selecting a parameter (Water/Fuel Ratio or a Target NOx Value) from
the drop down list labeled No Water Injection and entering a value. Water temperature and pressure

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can be adjusted as well. Water injection will only appear as an option if the engine supports it.

Exhaust gas analysis can be selected to print a breakdown of the exhaust gas composition, as well as
some flow analysis.

If emissions analysis is requested, the user can get the printout in Regular form or a friendlier
Customer/Proposal format. The Customer/Proposal format contains legal verbiage explaining Solar's
emissions guarantee policies. Optionally, an Inquiry Number can be input and will print out along with
the Emissions output.

Output

When the FASTE performance calculations begin, the program cycles through the separate points in
sequence, and runs any optional (exhaust, emissions, etc.) analyses for each point. If any warnings
were encountered for a point, the message is printed before the next point is calculated. The optional
analyses are printed separately for each point. After all the points are calculated and their
emissions/exhaust reports are printed, the performance summary page is displayed on the screen
(Figure 5).

Several different output options are available depending on how the user desires to view the data.
Clicking the Print Output button will print the output as it appears on the screen. Clicking the PDF Text
button converts the output in verbatim (not including the buttons) to a PDF file that can printed or
saved. Clicking on the PDF- Formal button produces a PDF file with only essential parameters printed
with marketing in mind. Clicking the CSV Output button creates a CSV file that can opened in a
program such as Excel where post-processing can be done. Clicking on Run Again will take the user
back to the Product Screen (Figure 1).

Figure 5 – Sample FASTE Output Screen

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 Loading and Saving Input Files

Input files can be saved on the server for use at later time. This is accomplished by clicking the Save
Input button on the Output Screen (Figure 5). A popup window will appear (Figure 6) and displays
current saved files and asks for a filename. The user must type in a filename and click on the Save
button to save an input file. The file must reside on the server and cannot be downloaded to a local
machine. Files can be deleted by highlighting a filename from the list and clicking on the Delete File
button.

Users can load a saved input file by clicking on the Load Saved File button (Figure 1) and selecting a
file from the list. Once a saved input file is loaded, all inputs will be filled with saved data. The user still
must go through each page of the program to get an output.

Figure 6 – Save File Popup Screen