Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 1149±1159

www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Optimization of heat recovery steam generators for combined

cycle gas turbine power plants
Manuel Valdes a,*, Jose L. Rap
un b
a
Departamento de Ingenierõa Energ
etica y Fluidomecanica, Universidad Polit
ecnica de Madrid, E.T.S. Ingenieros
Industriales, Jos
e Guti
errez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
b
IBERDROLA Ingenierõa y Consultorõa, Avda de Burgos 8B, 28036 Madrid, Spain
Received 3 June 2000; accepted 12 November 2000

Abstract
The heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is one of the few components of combined cycle gas turbine
power plants tailored for each speci®c application. Any change in its design would directly a€ect all the
variables of the cycle and therefore the availability of tools for its optimization is of the greatest relevance.
This paper presents a method for the optimization of the HRSG based on the application of in¯uence
coecients. The in¯uence coecients are a useful mathematical tool in design optimization problems. They
are obtained after solving the equations of the system through the Newton±Raphson method. The main
advantage of the proposed method is that it permits a better understanding of the in¯uence of the design
parameters on the cycle performance. The study of the optimization of the distribution of the boiler area
between its di€erent components is presented as an example of the proposed technique. Ó 2001 Elsevier
Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Heat recovery steam generator; Boiler design optimization; In¯uence coecients

1. Introduction

The design of the combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant is inherently complex due to
the existence of two di€erent power cycles which are coupled through the heat recovery steam
generator (HRSG). The HRSG is the nexus between the gas cycle and the steam cycle, therefore
any change in its design directly a€ects the cycle eciency, its power generation, the global cost,
and many other variables in the cycle.

*
Corresponding author. Fax: +34-1-3363006.
E-mail addresses: mvaldes@etsii.upm.es (M. ValdeÂs), jrj@iberdrolaingenieria.es (J.L. RapuÂn).

1359-4311/01/$ - see front matter Ó 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 1 3 5 9 - 4 3 1 1 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 1 0 - 1
1150 M. Valdes, J.L. Rapun / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 1149±1159

Nomenclature

g eciency
A heat transfer area (m2 )
f system of n-equations with n-unknowns to be solved in the solution process
h enthalpy (kJ/kg)
ht convective heat transfer coecient (kW/m2 K)
QLHV lower heating value (kJ/kg)
m_ mass ¯ow (kg/s)
p pressure (bar)
Q_ heat recovered (kW)
t temperature (K)
U overall heat transfer coecient (kW/m2 K)
W_ power (kW)
Subscripts
1 HRSG gas entry
2 superheater gas exit
3 economizer gas entry
4 HRSG gas exit
a steam turbine entry
b superheater steam entry
cc combined cycle
cond condensate
d economizer feedwater exit
des design values
e HRSG feedwater entry
ec economizer
ev evaporator
g gas
su superheater
gt gas cycle
st steam cycle
s steam
tst turbine of steam cycle

In a CCGT power plant, the compressor, turbines, pumps, valves, etc., are mostly standardized
equipment commercially available in several sizes. The HRSG is one of the few components
tailored for each speci®c application, therefore its design oriented towards the whole cycle opti-
mization is of the greatest relevance. A HRSG design tool must combine the calculation of the
performance for a given geometry with an optimization method to achieve suitable objectives, like
eciency rises or cost reductions. Some of these methods are described in Refs. [1±3]. The whole
CCGT power plant optimization is described in Ref. [4].
 M. Valdes, J.L. Rapun / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 1149±1159 1151

This paper presents a new HRSG optimization method. It is supported by a global CCGT
simulation tool that has been previously developed [5]. The in¯uence of the percentage distri-
bution of the heat transfer area of the di€erent boiler constituents on the whole cycle eciency is
given as an example of the application of the method herein described.

2. Optimization of thermal systems using in¯uence coecients

Modelling a thermal system consists mainly in the calculation of its operational variables, in
principle for a given stationary state. The variables are the di€erent pressures and temperatures,
and the heat and mass ¯ows.
The simulation needs the knowledge of the equations that govern the performance of the
di€erent components of the whole system. These are usually a set of non-linear di€erential
equations. Among all the di€erent applicable methods for its resolution, the Newton±Raphson
technique [6] has been selected in this work because it is specially suitable for its further imple-
mentation to optimization procedures. The Newton±Raphson method is brie¯y outlined in Ap-
pendix A. It does not need the equations to be sorted in any special way; nevertheless, while it is a
powerful iteration technique, it should be used carefully because if the ®rst iteration is too far
away from the solution, the iterative process may not converge. Likewise, if any of the iterations
ends up in a solution far o€ the real one, the method might not continue or even ®nish in a non-
physical solution of the system of equations. Some insight into the nature of the system being
solved may be therefore helpful.
Nevertheless, solving the simulation equations of the system does not permit the engineer to
answer directly the type of questions that are often raised during an optimization process. For
example, what will happen to the capacity of a system if the area of a heat exchanger is increased?
How will it change the net power generated by a CCGT if the condenser vacuum is modi®ed?
These questions arise when trying to quantify the e€ect of the changes in the design parameters on
the whole cycle eciency or on the individual components performance. A rough approach to
answer them is to carry out parametric studies, running repeatedly simulation codes while in-
troducing suitable changes in a given parameter of the involved equations. The new value of the
variable of interest is then compared to the value that it had in the base case.
The in¯uence coecients are a more powerful approach to assess in a direct way the e€ect of
design modi®cations. They constitute a bridge between simulation and optimization, and their
study makes the choice of optimization strategies easier. They are also employed to ®nd out which
are the most important design factors (so validating the engineer intuition), or to detect any of
these factors that could be hidden. The in¯uence coecients calculation procedure allows ob-
serving the e€ect of several parameters at the same time while taking into account the existing
interactions between them.
The in¯uence coecients are mathematically obtained from partial derivatives in the simulation
equations. Following the procedure used in Appendix A, an expression for the in¯uence coe-
cient …oxj =oci † of the parameter ci on the variable xj can be obtained (Eq. (A.9)):

oxj ofi Jij

ˆ …1†
oci oci det J
1152 M. Valdes, J.L. Rapun / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 1149±1159

where J is the matrix of partial derivatives of the equations system f that describes the thermal
system performance.

3. Application of the Newton±Raphson method to HRSGs calculation

3.1. De®nition of the simulation equations

The basic equations for HRSG simulation of a CCGT single pressure cycle can be expressed in
terms of mass and energy balances, thermodynamic properties correlations, heat transfer coe-
cients estimates, and overall eciency calculations. In a simpli®ed form the following equations
for HRSG simulation of a CCGT single pressure cycle can be written:

· Energy balances in superheater, evaporator and economizer

The energy balances are applied to all the HRSG components, including the log-mean tem-
perature di€erence calculation. The thermodynamic properties can be obtained or derived from
correlations given in the standard literature.
t1 ta …t2 tb †
Q_ su ˆ Usu Asu ˆ m_ g …h1 h2 † ˆ m_ s …ha hb † …2†
ln tt21 ttba

…t2 t3 †
Q_ ev ˆ Uev Aev ˆ m_ g …h2 h3 † ˆ m_ s …hb hd † …3†
ln tt23 ttbb

t3 td …t4 te †
Q_ ec ˆ Uec Aec ˆ m_ g …h3 h4 † ˆ m_ s …hd he † …4†
ln tt34 ttde
· Saturation relationship
Tb ˆ Temperature of steam at saturation pressure …5†
· Stodola-like choking relation at the steam turbine inlet
Assuming that the steam ¯ow is choked at the turbine inlet:
p
m_ s Ta
ˆ KAturbine entry …6†
pa
· Simpli®ed calculation of the heat transfer coecients
The overall heat transfer coecients depend on the geometry of the heat transfer surfaces
(including ®ns or extended surfaces), on their thermal properties and on the thermodynamic
conditions of the ¯ow at each iteration, acting therefore as variables as the solution converges.
Considering that the thermal resistances of the gas and steam sides are bigger than the conductive
resistance of the tubes, the overall heat transfer coecient can be directly obtained from the
convective coecients:
1 1 1
 ‡ …7†
U hts htg
 M. Valdes, J.L. Rapun / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 1149±1159 1153

U is calculated for each section of the boiler. In the economizer and the evaporator, 1=hts can be
neglected in Eq. (7). In the superheater the thermal resistance of the steam±metal side is also
important, and the calculation of hts must be retained.
For optimization purposes, and in order to reduce the calculation requirements, the o€-design
determination of the convective coecients can be simpli®ed with the following expression [7]:
!a  b
m_ T
ht ˆ htdes …8†
m_ des T des

· Combined cycle eciency

The overall cycle eciency can be obtained from the steam and gas turbine power, which are
not only dependent upon the HRSG area, but also upon many other variables such as condenser
vacuum, ambient temperature and pressure, etc.:

:
W_ st …ha ; ms ; hcond ; gtst † ‡ W_ gt
gcc ˆ …9†
m_ fuel QLHV

Once the system of equations is settled, it has to be combined and rearranged in the format
fi …x1 ; . . . ; xn † ˆ 0 (Eq. (A.1)) to be solved with the Newton±Raphson method. Each of the relevant
parameters that will be added to the in¯uence coecients analysis must be expressed isolated only
in one dedicated equation. This way it is possible to use the Eq. (1), in which only one fi partial
derivative function appears related to the calculation of the set of in¯uence coecients of a given
parameter ci .
A possible arrangement of the equations, which is given in Ref. [5], consists of equaling two by
two each of the tube banks set of equations, taking exponentials in both terms of those equations
in which logarithms appear:
p p
m_ s Ta m_ sdes Tades
f1 ˆ Aturbine entry …10†
pa pdes Ades

f2 ˆ m_ g …h1 h2 † m_ s …ha hb † …11†

  !
t1 ta t1 ta …t2 tb †
f3 ˆ exp Usu Asu …12†
t2 tb m_ g …h1 h2 †

f4 ˆ m_ g …h2 h3 † m_ s …hb hd † …13†

  !
t2 tb t2 t3
f5 ˆ exp Uev Aev …14†
t3 tb m_ g …h2 h3 †

f6 ˆ m_ g …h3 h4 † m_ s …hd he † …15†

1154 M. Valdes, J.L. Rapun / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 1149±1159
  !
t3 td t3 td …t4 te †
f7 ˆ exp Uec Aec …16†
t4 te m_ g …h3 h4 †

W_ st ‡ W_ gt
f8 ˆ gcc …17†
m_ fuel QLHV
The unknown variables are m_ s , t2 , t3 , t4 , tb (p), td , ta and gcc .
Considering that not all of the partial derivatives for the fi expressions are directly obtainable,
the ®nite di€erences technique is advisable when calculating the partial derivatives.
The iterative Newton±Raphson procedure must be started assigning initial values to the vari-
ables. The convergence depends upon the skill in the selection of values that are not too far from
the real values. In the design point some of the initial values would be the nominal whereas other
would need to be guessed. If the gas turbine load curve is being followed for partial load per-
formance calculation, the values of the previous load point should be used as a starting point.

3.2. Example of application to a single pressure HRSG

The method can be easily clari®ed by means of a numeric example, focused on the calculation
of the in¯uence coecients of the areas of the HRSG components on the whole cycle eciency.
Each of these areas are isolated in the Eqs. (12), (14) and (16) and therefore its in¯uence coe-
cients can be readily obtained from Eq. (1).
The main features of the single pressure CCGT power plant selected for this example are shown
in Table 1.
Calculating the in¯uence coecients for a 90% load so as to analyse a point slightly far away
from the design point (therefore showing the evolution of the calculations as they move away
from the nominal values), and selecting as initial values (in S.I. units) m_ s ˆ 65:42, ta ˆ 786:37,
p ˆ 50:105 , td ˆ 535:44, t2 ˆ 741:35, t3 ˆ 547:44, t4 ˆ 425:12 and gcc ˆ 0:4986, that come from the
calculation procedure for the previous CCGT load point, the next fi and xi are obtained in each
step of the iterative process, as shown in Table 2.
The convergence is reached in only two steps because the initial values were very close to the
solution.
The matrix of partial derivatives in the last iteration is readily obtained, and its determinant is:
det J ˆ 30287:31
The ®nite di€erence technique is employed in order to calculate the partial derivatives with
respect to the parameters. Taking for increment step of the areas a value of 500 m2 the results are:
of3 =oAsu ˆ 4:547e 5; of5 =oAem ˆ 1:822e 3 and of7 =oAec ˆ 9:522e 6
Substituting in Eq. (1):
ogcc det J83 2
ˆ 4:546e 5 ˆ 2:47e 7m
oAsu 30827:31

ogcc det J85 2

ˆ … 1:882e 3† ˆ 3:161e 7m
oAev 3082731
 M. Valdes, J.L. Rapun / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 1149±1159 1155

Table 1
Main characteristics of the CCGT power plant used in the numeric example
Gas turbine
Air mass ¯ow (kg/s) 506.9
Gas turbine inlet temperature (K) 1368.1
Eciency (%) 33.3
Gross power (kW) 151 950.0
Gas exit temperature (K) 818.0
Heat recovery steam generator (at the design point)
Drum pressure (bar) 50.0
Gas to steam temperature di€erence at superheater exit (°C) 32.0
Pinch point (°C) 10.0
Approach point (°C) 2.0
Total heat exchange area (m2 ) 60 400.0
Area distribution (ec±ev±su) (%) 40.3±49.9±9.8
Steam mass ¯ow (kg/s) 65.4
Steam cycle
Steam title 0.87
Gross power (kW) 78 140
Combined cycle
Gross power (MW) 227.8
Eciency (%) 49.9

Table 2
Evolution of the variables in the Newton±Raphson calculations (at 90% load)
Function kˆ1 kˆ2 Variable kˆ1 kˆ2
f1 0 2.95e 4 m_ s 65.16 65.17
f2 309.6 2.53e 2 ta 786.35 786.35
f3 1.43e 3 8.51e 6 P 49.80 49.806
f4 37.79 29.02 td 535.36 535.36
f5 1.402 2.31e 2 t2 741.12 741.11
f6 107.86 28.95 t3 547.98 548.0
f7 5.137e 3 2.47e 5 t4 426.02 425.97
f8 9.469e 4 8.11e 8 gcc 0.4969 0.4969

ogcc det J87 2

ˆ 9:522e 6 ˆ 3:92e 7m
oAec 30827:31
The element of the HRSG with the higher in¯uence coecient is the economizer. So in this
example, if the heat transfer area of the HRSG is to be optimized, the modi®cation of the
economizer area would be the most e€ective way to search for potential improvements in the cycle
eciency.
The same calculations could be performed for other parameters such as tube lengths, diameters,
pitches, etc. modifying the settlement of the previous equations in order to explicitly express those
1156 M. Valdes, J.L. Rapun / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 1149±1159

parameters in the equations. The in¯uence coecients calculation could also be used for the
analysis of the e€ect of thermodynamic variables such as the di€erent temperatures and pressures
at the design point, etc.

3.3. CCGT optimization by in¯uence coecients calculation. Application to the distribution of the
areas of the HRSG components

The previous example suggests the possibility of modifying the percentage distribution of the
heat exchange areas established in the initial design of a HRSG, while keeping constant the whole
transfer area (and therefore the boiler cost in a ®rst approximation).
Fig. 1 shows the in¯uence coecients vs. the area distribution of the heat transfer components
for the CCGT power plant described above. Surface plots are drawn for the in¯uence coecients
of the economizer area (Fig. 1a), the evaporator area (Fig. 1b) and the superheater area (Fig. 1c).
Their analysis makes it possible to see which are the areas towards it is advisable to adjust the
HRSG area distribution.
Theoretically, the points in which the in¯uence coecients reach low values are those that
should be closer to the optimal design, because the modi®cations in the distribution of the areas at
those points do not contribute to substantial improvements. Nevertheless, in order to select a real
optimal point, it must be surrounded by areas of high values of the in¯uence coecients. In those
high in¯uence coecient areas, the bene®ts of the modi®cations towards lower values are higher
and therefore more justi®able.
Close examination of Fig. 1 shows that perhaps the most convenient design point is the one
de®ned by (Aec 45%, Aev 45%, Asu 10%), since this percentage distribution accomplishes the
previously stated principles. There are indeed minimum points close to zones of high values at (Aev
40±45%, Asu 10%) in Fig. 1a and at (Aec 45±50%, Asu 10%) in Fig. 1b. In both cases the same (Aec
45±50%, Aev 40±45%, Asu 10%) area is concerned. Fig. 1c gives more strength to the (Aec 45%,
Aev 45%, Asu 10%) point.
This type of analysis must be carried out each time a design procedure is accomplished, con-
sidering that the results are strongly case dependent. These results may not be always concordant
between the di€erent plots, and some degree of compromise may sometimes be needed.
The starting point for the design in this case was an area distribution given by a 40.3% for the
economizer, 49.9% for the evaporator, and 9.8% for the superheater (Table 1). With that distri-
bution the cycle eciency was 49.86% at the design point (nominal power). The new area dis-
tribution of 45%, 45% and 10% yields an eciency of 50.01% at the design point without
increasing the whole heat transfer area. The methodology described above requires some skill and
practice when evaluating jointly the plots for the di€erent elements, and gets even more com-
plicated when evaluating multiple pressure con®gurations. Nevertheless it constitutes a powerful
tool when optimizing a pre-existing design.

4. Conclusions

A new methodology for the optimization of the CCGT HRSGs has been presented in this
paper. The application of in¯uence coecients to the thermal systems design permits a better
 M. Valdes, J.L. Rapun / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 1149±1159 1157

Fig. 1. In¯uence coecients vs. area distribution percentage of the HRSG components: (a) economizer, (b) evaporator
and (c) superheater.

understanding of the e€ects of the modi®cations in the variables of these systems. The optimi-
zation of the distribution of the areas of the components of a HRSG is a tool especially interesting
both for the design of new HRSG and for the redistribution of the components already existent in
current boilers, or in those to be repowered. The application of the in¯uence coecients calcu-
lation gives clear support to the optimization tasks requested in those activities and can easily be
extended to the analysis of other relevant design parameters.
1158 M. Valdes, J.L. Rapun / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 1149±1159

Future developments in this ®eld could be devoted to reducing the plots meshing with the aim
of obtaining better de®ned in¯uence coecient surfaces, and of analysing them mathematically
searching for conditioned local minima.

Appendix A

For an n-equations, n-unknowns system:

f …x† ˆ fi …x1 ; . . . ; xn † ˆ 0 …i ˆ 1 . . . n† …A:1†
The Newton±Raphson method, expressed in an intuitive way, consists in replacing the f …x†
function in every step k of an iterative process, with a function model Mk …xk † de®ned by the
hyperplane tangent to f …x† at the point xk .
Using the Taylor-series expansion when x is close to xk and neglecting second order terms:
Mk …xk † ˆ f …xk † ‡ J …xk †…x xk † ˆ 0 …A:2†
where J(xk ) is the matrix of partial derivatives given by:
0 of1 …x† of1 …x† 1
ox1
. . . oxn
J …xk † ˆ @ ... A
ofn …x† ofn …x†
ox1
. . . oxn xˆx
k

Solving for x in Eq. (A.2)

x ˆ xk J …xk † 1 f …xk † …A:3†
A new point xk‡1 ˆ xk J …xk † 1 f …xk † of the iterative process is obtained. When all the absolute
values of fi (xk ) or when the Dxk ˆ xk‡1 xk values are small enough the process is ®nished.
The partial derivative matrix obtained in the last iteration of the Newton±Raphson process can
be employed to obtain the in¯uence coecients. To calculate a given in¯uence coecient, a small
change di is introduced in a function fi . That is done by changing a given parameter ci of the
function fi in a small amount Dci :
ofi
di ˆ Dci …A:4†
oci
Then the Newton±Raphson procedure calculation is continued:
0 1
0
B ... C
B C
B C
J Dx ˆ B di C …A:5†
B. C
@ .. A
0
The Dxj change produced by di in the variable xj can be obtained through application of the
CramerÕs rule:
 M. Valdes, J.L. Rapun / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 1149±1159 1159

…A:6†

Expanding the determinant in the numerator on the jth column:

di Jij
Dxj ˆ …A:7†
det J
where Jij is the co-factor of the di term with its corresponding sign.
Combining Eqs. (A.4) and (A.7):
ofi Jij
Dxj ˆ Dci …A:8†
oci det J
The in¯uence coecient oxj =oci is the limit of the increments when Dci tends to 0:
oxj ofi Jij
ˆ …A:9†
oci oci det J

References

[1] P.J. Dechamps, Incremental cost optimization of heat recovery steam generators, ASME COGEN-TURBO 95.
[2] B. Seyedan, P.L. Dhar, R.R. Gaur, G.S. Bindra, Optimization of waste heat recovery boiler of a combined cycle
power plant, Trans. ASME, J. Eng. Gas Turbine Power, July 1996.
[3] J. Warner, H. Nielsen, Un procedimiento de selecci
on global permite la concepci ptima de centrales de ciclo
on o
combinado, Revista de ABB, August 1993.
[4] J.H. Horlock, Combined Power Plants, Pergamon Press, New York, 1992.
[5] J.L. Rapun, Modelo matematico del comportamiento de ciclos combinados de turbinas de gas y vapor, Tesis
doctoral ETSII, UPM (Ph.D. Thesis), October 1999.
[6] W.F. Stoecker, Design of Thermal Systems, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1989.
[7] P.J. Dechamps, N. Pirard, Ph. Matieu. Part load operation of combined cycle plants with and without
supplementary ®ring, Trans. ASME, J. Eng. Gas Turbine Power, July 1995.