EE 2033 – Power Systems I

Electricity Generation
Technologies - III

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Gas Turbine Driven Power Plants

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Special Features of Gas Power Plants

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 Lifetime of Energy Sources and Power Plants

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Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1229935/lifetime-power-plants-energy-sources-globally/
 Levelized Cost
The levelized cost of energy (LCOE), or levelized cost of electricity, is a measure
of the average net present cost of electricity generation for a generating plant
over its lifetime.

Source: GE Power, “Gas power systems offerings I 2019,” Powering Forward, General Electric Company, Report: GEA33791 (04/2019),5
2019.
 Cleaner Burning with Natural Gas

Source: GE Power, “Gas power systems offerings I 2019,” Powering Forward, General Electric Company, Report: GEA33791 (04/2019),
2019. 6
 Gas Turbine Driven Power Plants – Energy Conversion

Mechanical
Chemical Energy Thermal Energy Electrical Energy
Energy

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Gas Turbine

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Gas Turbine

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Gas Turbine

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Gas Turbine

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Layout of Simple Open-Cycle Gas Turbine

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 Brayton Cycle: Basis for Gas Turbines
• For ideal (Perfect) gas

• Also called as:

– Joule cycle
– Constant pressure cycle

• Used for
– Gas turbine power plants
– Air-craft engines

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 Fuels for Gas Turbines

• Basic requirement:
– Products of combustion should contain a minimum of
matter, which might get deposited on the turbine blades
or the heat exchanger

• Types of fuel
– Kerosene, diesel oil, residual oil (use is limited due to
higher costs)
– Natural gas (mostly used)

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 Turbine

• Reaction type non-condensing turbine is used.

• The products of combustion comprising of gases at high temperature and pressure
are passed through the gas turbine.
• These gases in passing over the turbine blades expand thus result in motion of
rotor and finally discharged.
• Part of the power developed by the gases in passing through the turbine is used to
run the compressor and auxiliaries.
• Rest is used to generate electrical energy driving the generator.
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 Generator

• Generator is coupled to the gas turbine and converts

mechanical energy to electrical energy

• 2-pole or 4-pole Cylindrical rotor synchronous

generators are used

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 Starting Motor

• Compressor need be started before starting the

turbine
• An electric motor is used for starting the compressor
• Starting motor is mounted on the same shaft as that
of turbine
• Once the unit starts, part of the mechanical power
output of the turbine is used to drive the compressor

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 Alternative Open Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plant
Configuration

• HP turbine drives the compressor and LP turbine drives the generator

• Has the advantage to keep the speed of the power turbine constant at
synchronous speed while the speed of the turbine driving the compressor
can be varied according to the required output 18
 Merits of Open Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plants

• Simple in design
• Small in size (lower volume space per kW output)
• Lower weight
• Do not need any warm-up time
• The combustion chamber can be designed to burn
any hydrocarbon fuels including solid fuels

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Demerits of Open Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plants

• Overall efficiency of the plant is low (below 20%)

– As a greater part of developed power is used in driving the
compressor
– As hot gases from the combustion chamber are cooled to
safe temperature before admitting it to the turbine
• Possibility of component efficiency reduction
– Due to erosion and corrosion
– Due to carbon and other dirt from combustion depositing
on turbine blades
• Turbine exhaust is discharged in to the atmosphere
resulting in rejection of heat of exhaust gases to the
atmosphere

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 Methods of Improving Thermal Efficiency of
Simple Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plants
• Thermal
efficiency
can be
improved
by
employing
regenerator
, intercooler
and
reheater

• Efficiency
can be
improved to
about 30%

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Methods of Improving Thermal Efficiency of Simple Cycle Gas
Turbine Power Plants

• Intercooler:
– A heat exchanger which cools the partly compressed air in order to reduce
the volume and increase density
– It comes between low pressure and high pressure compressors
– Intercooling results in
→Reduction of power requirement to drive the compressor
→Improvement of thermal efficiency
→Reduction in size of the turbine and compressor compared to those without the
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intercooler for the same output
Methods of Improving Thermal Efficiency of Simple Cycle Gas
Turbine Power Plants

• Regenerator:
– Utilizes the heat of exhaust gases to heat the compressed air before it is sent to the
combustion chamber
– Regeneration process helps
→ To reduce the fuel consumption of the plant
→ Improves the thermal efficiency
– For short term operation, such as peak loads, the cost of regenerator may not be
justifiable 23
Methods of Improving Thermal Efficiency of Simple Cycle Gas
Turbine Power Plants

• Reheating:
– Exhaust of the high pressure turbine is reheated in a reheater and then expanded in a
low pressure turbine
• Reheating process helps to Improve the output from the turbines due to
multiple heating
• However, additional cost is involved due to fuel requirement in the
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reheating process
 Special Feature
• Gas turbines can be started and stopped quickly enabling
them to be brought into service as required to meet the
demand

• Therefore, Gas turbines are used for electricity generation

in peak electricity demand

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Closed Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plant

• Self Study

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SteamTurbine Driven Power Plants

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Steam turbine based power plants

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Steam Turbine

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Steam Turbine

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Steam Turbine

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Rankine Cycle: Basis for Steam Turbines

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Rankine Cycle: Basis for Steam Turbines

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Combined Cycle Power Plants

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 Combined Cycle Power Plants
• The exhaust from the gas turbine is fed into a specially designed heat-
recovery steam generator that produces steam from the hot air.
• This steam is then used to drive a steam turbine generator that produces an
additional amount of electricity. Different configurations are used:
– a single steam turbine that is fed by steam generated from the exhausts of two or three gas
turbines.
– each gas turbine has its own steam turbine.
– integrated on a single shaft with the gas turbine at one end, the steam turbine at the other
end, and a generator in the middle driven by both.
→ In this case it will usually be possible to decouple one or both of the turbines from the generator.

• Improved efficiency (around 50% - 56%)

– due to tight integration of all the combined cycle plant components to reduce heat loss
– New technologies predicted to have efficiencies close to 65% due to an increase in the
turbine inlet temperature, which has permitted greater thermodynamic efficiency

• Combined Cycle Plants are mostly run as base load plants

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 Video Links

• https://youtu.be/BUn5-0VG3Hw
• https://youtu.be/dzVM1OROCaU
• https://youtu.be/7lcKOc9YQbg

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