CASE STUDY & GAINS REPORT

Gas Turbine Inlet Cooling Gains Options Preliminary Analyze –

Wet /Dry Inlet Chilling Coil, Fogging/Evaporative Cooling

Plant: CCGT Power Plant

Location: AAA PLANT (Brasil Lat -22.3079, Long-41.8769)
Climate data: 8760 hrs DB/RH/DP Report (see Excell attached)
Cycle: CCGT
Gas Turbine: GE LM6000 (1)
Total Output: 46 MW (ISO)
Exhaust flow: 133 kg/s (ISO)
Heat Rate: 8647 kJ/kWh (ISO)
Computing Soft: ASHRAE Numerical Psychometrics

Prepared by: Pawel Markiton MSc

Energy/IAC Consultant

Date: Jan 2020

GENERAL NOTES on COMBUSTION/GAS TURBINES INLET COOLING

3 Main Technologies of CT/GT Air Inlet Cooling are available and applied

• Evaporative Cooling & Fogging

• High Overspray Fogging & Wet Compression
• Chilled Water System

• Evaporative Cooling Advantages: low investment cost (Evaporative Coolers– the lowest)
& Fogging Disadvantages: low efficiency at high RH, high maintenance cost, demineralized water needs
(fogging), turbine damage risks in case of poluted water carry-over (evaporators).
Outage required for system installation

• High Overspray Advantages: relatively low investment cost, high efficiency (output/heat rate/exhaust)
Fogging & Disadvantages: Technology not fully recognized and supported. Risks of blade and casing
Wet Compression erossion/distortion and water carryoved between stages. Demineralized
water needs. Soft/logic problems. Shortened intervals between outages.

• Chiller Technology Advantages: high efficiency (output/heatrate/exhaust). Various options available to build
optimum system architecture including wet/dry cooling coil, variable flow/temp
systems. thermal storage application. Outage for installation needed or not.
Disadvantages: high investment but with cost flexibility for various system architectures.
relatively high parasitic load of system main components (chillers).

Unit location and related local Climate Data are ESSENTIAL for system selection.
Computed modeling for 8760 hrs is needed to optimize solution.
There is no one perfect IAC system, so care should be taken before any decision.
Gas Turbine Output and Efficiency Effect of Ambient Temperature

Inlet Cooling sharply improves gas turbine Output and Efficiency

at high ambient temperature/humidity environment
 Direct Evaporative and/or Fogging Gas Turbine Inlet Cooling
Efficiency Improvment

• Psychometrics of Evaporative Cooling / Fogging adiabatic process (85% efficiency)

• Temperature drops to be computed for each 8760 lines of yearly Climate Data
Chilled Water Inlet Cooling Coil Installation Options

Innovative Solution for Certain Applications

 CHILLED WATER SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE OPTIONS

Chiller – Load Chiller Constant Flow Chiller Constant Flow/Temp

Direct System Load Variable Flow Constant Temp Load Variable Flow/Temp
WET INLET COIL WET INLET COIL DRY and/or WET INLET COIL
CONTROL
SECONDARY SECONDARY
VALVE
PUMP PUMP

OR

LOAD Thermal
LOAD
(COIL) Storage LOAD LOAD
CHILLER CHILLER CHILLER
(COIL) Tank (COIL) (COIL)

PUMP PRIMARY PRIMARY

PUMP PUMP

Depending on access to Power Plant steam condenser cooling water

the water or air cooled chiller option can be selected.
Thermal Storage Tank can be optional for each circuit
 AAA PLANT - LM6000 Chilled Water Cooled Inlet Air Temp Report
(Chiller plant capacity 4750KW & Inlet targeted temperature 12C/54F)
 AAA PLANT - Sample Point Psychometrics - Inlet Targeted Temp 12ºC
Coolant Parameters 7ºC/14ºC (Cooling Capacity 4750kW)

Reduction of useful (air temperature drop related) cooling cpacity due to

accompanied humid condensation effect (latent heat) of 4478 kg/h.
Rised chilled water temperatures can improve chiller capacity utilization ratio.
AAA Plant - Wet Coil Chilled Water system architecture & flow rates
(coolant temp. 7ºC/14ºC)

227 l/s
7ºC

162 l/s
7ºC GT Inlet Cooling Coil

29,1ºC /83% 17,5ºC / 100%

65 l/s
Air IN 4768 kW Air OUT
7ºC
453357 m3/h

162 l/s
227 l/s 14ºC
12ºC

In such a system the chilled water leaving chiller is directly entering inlet
cooling coil causing potential high humid condensation cooling capacity loses.
AAA PLANT
AAA PLANT - Sample Point Psychometrics – Inlet Temp 20ºC
Coolant Parameters 17ºC/25ºC (Cooling Capacity 3646kW)

Humid condensation of 3372 kg/h

AAA Plant - Wet/Dry Coil Chilled Water system architecture & flow rates
(coolant temp. 17ºC/25º) - adjustable flows/temperatures

(Variable)

171 l/s 48 l/s

7ºC 7ºC

109 l/s
17ºC GT Inlet Cooling Coil

29,1ºC /83% 20ºC / 100%

123 l/s 558 61 l/s

Air IN 3646 kW Air OUT
7ºC 25 25ºC

109 l/s
171 l/s 48 l/s 25ºC
12ºC 25ºC

(Variable)

Coolant temperature entering inlet cooling coil is adjustable and

system can be even adjusted for pure Dry Coil Inlet Cooling effect
AAA PLANT - Gains Summary

Inlet Evaporative Cooling Gains (Evap Cooler or Fogging)

Inlet Chilling Gains Options in Relation to Chiller Plant Capacity

(Wet Cooling Coil – 12C/54F Inlet Targeted Temperature)

Inlet Chilling Gains of pure Dry Coil option

AAA PLANT - Inlet Air Cooling Technical &
Commercial Conclusions
•Due to local high temperature/humidity combination environment the Case Study AAA Plant
represents hughe GT efficiency improvement potential for Inlet Chilling (chiller) technology
and quite limited for Evaporative and Fogging Systems.

•High Gains/High Cost chiller option is to be matched to Very Low Gains/Low Cost evaporative
option.

• Wet Compression being practically turbine efficiency internal boosting solution can be added
independently as manufacturer retrofit considering certain risks questions

•8760 hrs Climate Profile modeling is required to create trustable picture of potential Output /
Heat Rate / Exhaust Energy GAINS (see previous Slide).

•For AAA PLANT achievable range of Chilling Option Gains depends on available installed
Chiller Plant kW ($$$) + optional Thermal Storage Tank ($$$) as well as on chiller plant
footprint (power station space limits) and cooling coil installation opportunities (outage
needed or not). Recommended chiller plant is of water cooled type.

•The balance of cooling coil operational modes (pure WET/DRY or adjustable

temperatures/flows) and related coolant parameters will lead to best Inlet Cooling System
selection of chiller option and highest technical/ commercial Gains

•Above AAA PLANT Recommendations are mostly based on plant location means related
climate data and NO DOUBT will be DIFFERENT for BBB PLANT of OTHER LOCATION