PERTEMUAN KE 12

Compression with Intercooling

The net work output of a gas turbine also can be increased by reducing the compressor work
input. This can be accomplished by means of multistage compression with intercooling. The
present discussion provides an introduction to this subject.
Let us first consider the work input to compressors at steady state, assuming that irreversibilities are absent and
changes in kinetic and potential energy from inlet to exit arenegligible. The p–v diagram of Fig. 9.17 shows two
possible compression paths from a specified state 1 to a specified final pressure p2. Path 1–2_ is for an adiabatic
compression.
Path 1–2 corresponds to a compression with heat transfer from the working fluid to the surroundings. The area
to the left of each curve equals the magnitude of the work per unit mass of the respective process (see Sec. 6.9).
The smaller area to the left of Process 1–2 indicates that the work of this process is less than for the adiabatic
compression from 1 to 2_.
This suggests that cooling a gas during compression is advantageous in terms of the workinput
requirement. Although cooling a gas as it is compressed would reduce the work, a heat transfer rate high enough
to effect a significant reduction in work is difficult to achieve in practice. A practical alternative is to separate
the work and heat interactions into separate processes by letting compression take place in stages with heat
exchangers, called intercoolers, cooling the gas between stages. Figure 9.18 illustrates a two-stage compressor
with an

intercooler. The accompanying p–v and T–s diagrams show the states for internally reversible processes:
_ Process 1– c is an isentropic compression from state 1 to state c where the pressure is pi.
_ Process c–d is constant-pressure cooling from temperature Tc to Td.
_ Process d–2 is an isentropic compression to state 2.
The work input per unit of mass flow is represented on the p–v diagram by shaded area 1–c–d–2–a–b–1.
Without intercooling the gas would be compressed isentropically in a singleb stage from state 1 to state 2_ and
the work would be represented by enclosed area 1–2_–a–b–1. The crosshatched area on the p–v diagram
represents the reduction in work that would be achieved with intercooling.
Some large compressors have several stages of compression with intercooling between stages. The
determination of the number of stages and the conditions at which to operate the various intercoolers is a
problem in optimization. The use of multistage compression with intercooling in a gas turbine power plant
increases the net work developed by reducing the compression work. By itself, though, compression with
intercooling would not necessarily increase the thermal efficiency of a gas turbine because the temperature of
the air entering the combustor would be reduced (compare temperatures at states 2_ and 2 on the T–s diagram of
Fig. 9.18). A lower temperature at the combustor inlet would require additional heat transfer to achieve the
desired turbine inlet temperature. The lower temperature at the compressor exit enhances the potential for
regeneration, however, so when intercooling is used in conjunction with regeneration, an appreciable increase in
thermal efficiency can result.
In the next example, we analyze a two-stage compressor with intercooling between the stages. Results are
compared with those for a single stage of compression.

E X A M P L E 9 . 9 Compression with Intercooling

Air is compressed from 100 kPa, 300 K to 1000 kPa in a two-stage compressor with intercooling between stages. The
intercooler pressure is 300 kPa. The air is cooled back to 300 K in the intercooler before entering the second compressor
stage. Each compressor stage is isentropic. For steady-state operation and negligible changes in kinetic and potential energy
from inlet to exit, determine (a) the temperature at the exit of the second compressor stage and (b) the total compressor work
input per unit of mass flow. (c) Repeat for a single stage of compression from the given inlet state to the final pressure.

SOLUTION
Known: Air is compressed at steady state in a two-stage compressor with intercooling between stages. Operating pressures
and temperatures are given.

Find: Determine the temperature at the exit of the second compressor stage and the total work input per unit of mass flow.
Repeat for a single stage of compression.

Schematic and Given Data:

Assumptions:
1. The compressor stages and intercooler are analyzed as control volumes at steady state. The control volumes are shown on
the accompanying sketch by dashed lines.
2. The compression processes are isentropic.
3. There is no pressure drop for flow through the intercooler.
4. Kinetic and potential energy effects are negligible.
5. The air is modeled as an ideal gas.

Analysis:
(a) The temperature at the exit of the second compressor stage, T2, can be found using the following relationship for
the isentropic process d–2
 The work input for a single stage of compression is then

This calculation confirms that a smaller work input is required with two-stage compression and intercooling than with a
single
stage of compression. With intercooling, however, a much lower gas temperature is achieved at the compressor exit.
Referring again to Fig. 9.18, the size of the crosshatched area on the p–v diagram representing the reduction in
work with intercooling depends on both the temperature Td at the exit of the intercooler and the intercooler
pressure pi. By properly selecting Td and pi, the total work input to the compressor can be minimized. For
example, if the pressure pi is specified, the work input would decrease (crosshatched area would increase) as the
temperature Td approaches T1, the temperature at the inlet to the compressor. For air entering the compressor
from the surroundings, T1 would be the limiting temperature that could be achieved at state d through heat
transfer with the surroundings only. Also, for a specified value of the temperature Td, the pressure pi can be
selected so that the total work input is a minimum (crosshatched area is a maximum).
Example 9.10 provides an illustration of the determination of the intercooler pressure for
minimum total work using a cold air-standard analysis.